Alan Wake Explained - A Writer's Agenda

[@KH0LRA]

I saw Remedy's linear storytelling abilities that once humbly began from Max Payne, flourish further in Alan Wake! I just *adore* everything about them!!

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Same here! I have followed them since Alan Wake was released and I haven't crawled out of the Remedy rabbit hole yet lol. Exploring down there is fun.

[@asifkamal8829]

it's been like 6 to 8 years since I played games like Alan Wake and Quantum Break during my school days. Feeling nostalgic to revisit those mind-boggling stories through your videos. Damn! what happened to the game industry that these types of games don't come anymore :(

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

There are still a few good ones out there. But I agree it feels like things are going for the bigger and better explosions route rather than focus on good storytelling.

[@TheBlueLink3]

I don’t know. While I can somewhat agree with this, at the same time there are still games with good stories coming out. Yes, a lot of them are indie games, but not all of them. Maybe it’s just because I have a wide variety of tastes, but I can usually find at least 5 good stories a year.

[@gawain1268]

I just finished Alan Wake and wow just wow. I only got into because I played control which I also love. I'm so glad I discovered such a great game studio.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Welcome aboard the Remedy train! I'm so grateful for Control for introducing new fans to the games Remedy has made.

[@Asmokedetector]

I just got the DLCs for control, just finished The Foundation, and just started AWE, and just got to the part where they start talking about Alan lol, so now I'm tryna figure out what Alan Wake is before continuing, Control is fun lol.

[@central3425]

Now its time for MAX PAYNE

[@rasmusdegn9690]

As well told as Alan Wake is and how true for this instance the theme is there is a part of me that is a little annoyed at the implication that editors are INHERENTLY evil, sometimes an artist needs someone to tell them "I don't see it, can you explain why this needs to be this way?" "Maybe this isn't a best idea" or even sometimes "No"

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I think an example of this is that dragon series that was a thing in the early 2000s, Eragon. The first book was heavily edited and came out pretty good. After that they gave the author more freedom and it quickly went downhill. In this instance, the editors did a good thing. For Alan Wake, I feel it comes more to a loss of identity. If the author has no say in what happens the story no longer reflects them. I know a lot of authors feel like that when their books get turned into movies.

[@rasmusdegn9690]

@@GamingUniversityUoG And i get that. As i said it works perfectly fine for Alan specifically i just have seen it presented a few times too many, similar to how it's so easy to villanize ones critics using fallacy-ridden rationals like "Let's see YOU do better! What do YOU know about creating! All you do is get in the pure and free artist's way! I create, YOU only destroy!"

[@nandasaputra5932]

Great video dude! Cant wait for another video since we get really close to alan wake 2

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Got quite a few in the works on the lead up to AW2

[@ICountFrom0]

I can understand a poet not wanting to spend all the time working in details, they want things to flow, to be beautiful, to fit in the fewest words needed. A thing, just is. And it is true, and beautiful.

[@mjolnir112]

Thanks for another interesting video in the Alan Wake series, always looking forward to these.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Always a pleasure to hear from you on these! Stick around for the next one. It will be departing the Remedyverse and moving to a different game series for a one-shot.

[@mjolnir112]

Cool! Will keep an eye out for it, any clues as to which game series?

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I'm going to let it be a surprise but it is one of the biggies for Playstation.

[@bobradley9253]

Very interesting work, man. Do you have a certain technique or anything when trying to figure out deeper meaning and symbols? This game is so much more than just the surface level story let’s on to.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Not in this game. For other series I have specific techniques I used like in Psychonauts and Hellblade. But since Alan Wake deals with literature it mostly comes naturally. I've studied symbology and other topics since I was a kid so most of my process is just going online whenever something I'm not sure about pops up on the script.

[@NervXT]

That video game developer hiding behind the couch talking about publisher interjections seems to be a parallel of Sam Lake in regards to writing and producing Max Payne. He says "mullet time" which isn't too far removed from "bullet time", a feature prominently displayed in almost all Max Payne ad campaign material. Maybe Alan Wake is Sam Lake's alter ego.

[@jonnathanwebber5604]

Great video again! The part at 8:20 really made me think about the so called lottery curse. Almost all the people that won the lottery ended up broke, or in a worst situation than they were before.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Right!? I think it's mostly because those who win the lotto probably don't know how to handle money. They are looking for a quick fix to life but don't change their lifestyle once they have the money so they end up back to square one. I've heard of some sports stars with multi million dollar contracts that end up the same way. I always told myself that if I won the lottery I'd pay off my mortgage, go on a vacation, then invest the rest of the money. Living off the interest I'd write full time.

[@ChristianDall-p2j]

I Think I know everything I need to know, to create a Utopia using the power of this Lake, if it was real! And I could do it myself in the real world, if Only I Got my act together and did it!

[@Leevark]

Very good dissection of the craft of story telling.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Thanks man! I really wanted to point out something we learned in grade school. What's the moral of the story? We forget this and simply enjoy fiction on surface level. I'd rather be entertained and walk away with new wisdom rather than be entertained simply to bide time. Looking forward to your next video!

[@Leevark]

@@GamingUniversityUoG you did a great job breaking down the relationship between the author and his/ her text. I enjoyed it from start to finish although I'm personally fonder of the Death of the Author approach to texts. I like to think that texts have an existence outside the will of the Author.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Generally I agree with you on Death of the Author. As the audience we perceive things within the text that may or may not have been intended by the author. I'm likely very guilty of it as well. I believe in both philosophies. For some we interpret our own thing, others are open receivers and unconsciously take in the message, for good or ill. Any literary analysis, much like a rorschach test, reveals just as much about the viewer as it does about the story. I'm working on my own novel right now and I'm curious about how it would be perceived in relation to what I intended.

[@Leevark]

@@GamingUniversityUoG Nice analogy with the rorschach test! Would like to read that novel when it's done.

[@meimei8718]

Thanks for the video

[@elessal]

really good video and quite spot on in my opinion. have you read the other things related to alan wake? the house of dreams blog, the alan wake files, and the in-game documents in Control? there is also the alan wake blackboard in Quantum Break, which I can't remember if you already mentioned it in some video. the game novelization also has some interesting parts, I remember. there is quite a lot of info in those you could use. I haven't read alan wake illuminated yet, but there sure is a lot you can use for your analyses.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Actually yes! I've gone over This House of Dreams briefly and included stuff from the Alan Wake Files. The next AW video will be a pseudo setup for the connection to Control & The Oldest House. I didnt know about Alan Wake Illuminated. I just ordered it off of Amazon after your comment. I'm looking forward to going through it.

[@elessal]

@@GamingUniversityUoG this house of dreams has references to literary concepts/books that you may want to check for your videos. one was something related to ''the hero with a thousand faces''. I got it but haven't come to read it yet. there is also the book ''house of leaves'' from which the game got a lot of inspiration, according to fans.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Absolutely. I have read the first few bits of Joeseph Campbell's 'Hero with a Thousand Faces.' It's incredible! I definately recommend getting to it. I'm working on that, just picked up Jung's Aion and I plan to check out House of Leaves one of these days. I know it is very similar to Control.

[@mjolnir112]

@@GamingUniversityUoG There is also the two comics in the free Alan Wake bonus materials on Steam, apologies if you have already seen them but there's some interesting stuff there especially about Hartman. Also IIRC Sam Lake mentioned House of Leaves being one of the inspirations for Alan Wake as well.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I do have a digital copy of both of these comics but sadly I haven't read them yet. I'm slacking on my duties!

[@phira360]

apologies if I have got this wrong & for the rambling, but just trying to connect some ideas. if we take the dark presence as an editor, as well as a manifestation of alan's inner persona as the successful writer, then the dark presence is kind of like alan's own personality critiquing his writing. since the dark presence wants to maintain homeostasis so that everything is balanced, this can kind of be equated to wanting the story to make sense (can't invent things/money out of thin air as you mentioned). In addition, since alan's persona is a confident & successful character, where success = popular with an audience (the tv interview host keep mentioning how everyone bought his detective books), then it might mean that a story has to make sense to it's readers in order to be well accepted/popular. For a story to make total sense, the author can't have complete control over everything (can't have a contrived message). So, the game represents Alan's inner voice struggling between wanting to write a pure/contrived story with everything that he wants, and writing a story ruled by chaos/homeostasis such that the final story will still be commercially successful to his audience. I guess Dr. Hartman would represent an external editor (from a publishing company). Tying this back to one of your videos which mentions how alan, the dark presence, and dr hartman's patients are influenced by each other, this is like when art is created to be seen by an audience, and then it is critiqued by an audience. in the next artwork, the artist will be influenced (consciously or subconciously) to include elements which the audience liked and change the ones that were disliked in order to be popular again. The act of favoring and disfavoring elements based on what the audience wants becomes an influence upon the artist themselves. pure idea > edit to what you think an audience would like > release > consider audience's reception >> next pure idea = idea + subconscious audience influence As Zane tried to save himself and Barbara, which would represent an artist's original message, this story would not make sense because it would be unbalanced. Zane then disappeared from the world=unsuccessful. After his detective book series ended, Alan didn't want to continue writing for the audience (he ended the detective series). But what he thought the audience/dark presence wanted was him to keep writing more books to be a "successful" writer. Alan realizes he must give in to the audience/dark presence/inner persona and keep writing. He puts himself into his story, with control over his own actions, but ultimately all actions are done to deal with the dark presence. Then unlike thomas zane, then sacrifices himself for Alice. Although all the ideas and events of the story were Alan's own, the act of writing and the ending was caused by what he thought the audience wanted in order to maintain homeostasis/be successful. Not sure if any of that makes sense but just getting out some thoughts to try to make myself less confused...

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I have definately seen some literature change because the author gives in to the pressure from the fanbase and alters what they intended so the fans will like it more. This happens in television or long running book series. Usually this leads to pacing issues within the maresrive or contrived scenarios that have no logic with the fiction leading up to this point. I don't interpret The Dark Presence as being something from Alan's own psyche since both Zane and the Anderson's dealt with it in the past. More it is a intelligence from the Dark Place. In a literal sense I consider it the Shadow Archetype of the collective Unconscious that uses the position of an editor to free itself. But I understand what you're saying about his Alex Casey novels. He got so used to being loved, a superstar and when he killed off casey on live TV he had to listen to his writing being questioned by fans. Everyone was upset with what he did. This could have contributed to his writer's block as he wanted to make sure everyone would love it as well. To self edit his own creative ideas. As a result nothing got done because in the end you cant make everyone happy. Throughout the Story Alan had to reject the editing of two individuals, Hartman and The Dark Presence, and even his own mind because the reception of his work didnt matter anymore. Saving his wife was the only thing he cared about. As such he crafted a story for that purpose, no matter where that fiction took him. This led to his imprisonment in the Dark Place. I didn't consider Alan and the reception of his fans in this but that's an interesting thought train. Thanks for the comment.

[@han9005]

never too late

[@WSGtr12]

Alan Wake 2 please Remedy.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

2022 by the looks of it!

[@SplotchTheCatThing]

Regarding themes being accidental vs reflection of the author's intent -- you speak as if those two things are mutually exclusive. But, even an accident usually comes from somewhere. You talk a lot in this video series about the subconscious mind being larger than the conscious one -- something I certainly concur with -- so I'd argue that an accidental theme in a written work probably reflects that subconscious, and may show a larger part of the author's intention, or at least their mindset for approaching that intention, than what the author deliberately puts into the story. Part of the writing process is allowing the story you've told so far to follow its own logic and, in a sense, direct its own course, after all. 5:50 ...Nice attempt at pun there, but jaguars don't have tails that long. So what's a *leopard* doing hunting amazonian parrots? :)

[@BalloonMerchant]

Did…did Remedy not want to use Bullet Time? I assumed Max had an OoP or maybe just is asleep in a PoP.

[@delmattia96]

They should have made Alan have Mullet Time and gave everyone a mullet 😶‍🌫️

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Lmao I think they were just poking fun at themselves. The game got remembered because of the mullet time gameplay.

[@macias1236]

Me: Cool staring AWE dlc. Just need a quick summary of Alan Wake really quick video: The Alan Wake Summary: what is THE? what is the intent of a S U M M A R Y ? What is the classical sense of I N T E N T and why... are things... things, and not stuff? me:...

[@No1ANTAGON1ST]

Boo

[@serpenthydra]

Made me think about my own stuff... I guess a lot of works today are obsessed with a, contrived, twist to flummox the watcher and surprise them. Of course the, homeostatic, price is that the story and its themes are sacrificed for said reveal. It seems we're afraid to just write a good story, there has to be a 'gotcha' moment to justify the telling. I blame LOST a little for that, plus Shyamalan. Perhaps the NSC from the Oldest House's Maintenance sector is a gotcha moment, but it's entirely missable even though it's plain as day if you know where to look. Perhaps twists are better used in service of a narrative than at its expense. Often it's the latter. I wonder if that's the fault of the writer or the editor...?

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I wouldnt be able to say. I'm not too familiar with how much control an editor has over how the story is constructed. In the context of Alan wake, Tom definitely contrived his story after Hartman kept pushing him. The Dark Presence/editor took creative control over from Alan and we saw the result. The ending alan wrote of his own volition is the only thing he could have done to make a happy ending for alice and keep with the stories logic. But yes I agree once you begin looking for the author controlling the story in tv and film it becomes blatantly obvious when it happens. If there is going to be a twist or surprise death, the attitude of the author should not be, "haha how should I subvert the audience's expectations and freak them out?" But rather, "I don't want to do this but the story demands it." That's why I love the line from Alan, "Every story looks for its Writer" Rather than force a story, the story already exists and it is the Writer's job to get out of the way and be a mouthpiece to tell it. Gotcha moments are fine as long as they make sense within the context of the story and are not forced.

[@deadlandplacebo1695]

You need like 15x more subs

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Haha I appreciate it! Thank you

[@elrevesyelderecho]

This video explains the ending in Alan Wake 2.

[@CSM100MK2]

Can we get the conclusion to the Psychonauts playthrough please?

[@KimmyQueen]

Ok... so those first five minutes... If you are a believing/knowledgeable Jew and/or a believing/practising Christian or have any knowledge or understanding of religions in general and Judeo-Christianity in particular, I do not need to explain to you what I am thinking off when I hear those first five minutes of this video. Fascinating...? Isn't... To others: basically Hartman and the Dark Presence are enemies that do not accept how things are and seek to shape it into what they think is better. Clearly they are a representation of satan/the devil. I am not going to go deep, but that is a very good and interesting summation of what is going on outside or within our physical world and what we do see. There is a war going on not just between good and evil per se but between the reality that best works for everyone vs the reality that others believe it is better but in the end are just meant to be best for their own agenda (everyone else are essentially slaves). In any case those first five minutes hit a very interesting and serious note that merits meditation outside of this game. Of course the rest of the video is fascinating. Very philosophical video that stems from a video game how interesting.

[@No1ANTAGON1ST]

This stinks