Bright Falls | The Forgotten Alan Wake Prequel

[@TheBlackKakashi]

I watch Bright Falls all the time before I play Alan Wake. Hopefully they do another season before Alan Wake 2 comes out.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I still have my fingers crossed for the TV show that has been in the works for a while. Last I heard it was still in the works.

[@listofromantics]

@@GamingUniversityUoG Wait... Remedy is making another TV show??? Is this a prequel for Alan Wake 2?

[@WikiSorcerer]

Hopefully sponsored by a company with the initials "FBC."

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Yeah they have been working on an Alan Wake show for a while now. I don't think it is past pre-production though. From what I understand it will cover a LOT more than just the main game and tell more stories than just Alan's.

[@TheBlackKakashi]

@@listofromantics yeah I think they announced it before Alan Wake 2

[@modelmajorpita]

Since the notes were taken during an interview with Hartman "I will be the first one to make it through and come back" could be something Hartman is saying, rather than Jake saying those things. The notes in control say Hartman does manage to escape the darkness after Alan leaves him to be consumed by it, spending some time in the real world before first becoming fully consumed by the darkness while in the investigation wing, and then becoming the third thing when the resonance affects him. The notes and recordings from Hartman also make it clear he wanted to enter the lake and come back to gain power, those lines in the document sound like something he would say.

[@tech-bore8839]

What I love most is the Twin Peaks vibes the game and prequel give off.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Oh it is definitely intentional. So many little easter eggs relating to twin peaks too.

[@carsilk2492]

I just played through Control for the first time, and was immediately in love with both the game and how much they referenced Alan Wake. So after I beat Control I jumped right over to Alan Wake even though I played the hell out of it already. Remedy does two things right: Storytelling, and fucking incredible music sequences!

[@EthanRom]

@@RandoLePerson even had paramore and toto in Quantum Break tho it is their weaker work since it wasn’t Sam Lake’s writing

[@meg8278]

Have you played Quantum break? Remedy also made that came along with control and Alan Wake I love all of those games.

[@HeatherHolt]

Lol I did the same thing. Played control and then played Alan wake bc I needed it in my life again. Then heard about Alan wake 2 later this year! I played quantum break long ago and didn’t really care for it. I think it’s cool They tried to do the whole tv show within the game thing to lengthen the lore but… it just didn’t hit with me. The whole game was pretty much meh for me. Alan wake is a solid 9/10 for me tho and I’m a picky b*tch.

[@manganimesYT]

that shot in the destroyed room is so so good, i remember how it freaked me out a lot, even inspired a shot in a short i made for uni

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I love how thet handled it. A narrative scene but also making hin look like a Taken in the reflection is incredible

[@willisrose9756]

I really liked the prequel story of Bright Falls.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

It definitely has a different tone but works perfectly within the setting.

[@petebop]

Love the unique ways Remedy adds layers and depth to, what seems like, "generic enemies". Great breakdown, always learn something interesting from your videos! 😄

[@Tzen03]

Wow, I had no idea there was a prequel mini-series! This was really interesting to watch, along with your analysis. Great video as always!

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

You got it! Yeah I figured a lot was not aware of it so i wanted to shine some light before we get more Alan Wake 2 into next year.

[@polaralpha5561]

Awesome video, nice job clearing up some things 👍

[@central3425]

Sheesh I was just thinking about this the other day when I was playing Alan Wake Remastered. Timely video

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I promise I'm not a mind reader

[@jonathonpolk3592]

Thanks for the summary. I had forgotten most of the details from this prequel series. My theory is that "Jake" at the end isn't the same one that arrived in BF. Based on his notebook statements, I think he dove into the lake to try to get to/through the Dark Place, or beyond it to the Wild Ocean. And he never came back. The body dragged out of the lake at the beginning was probably a doppelganger, much like Mr. Scratch was to AW. This doesn't hold too much significance, since we know he was Taken and people don't have to go into the lake to become Taken. However, it does mean that other doppelgangers are out there, AND it means that we may one day run into Jake again if future Remedy protagonists travel outside our world to wherever Jake is right now.

[@arlom5132]

This theory has new context with AW2, and how Alan loses his memory of when Scratch is there.

[@EthanRom]

Man the ending of this short was so good. The sudden cut to just the lady's shoe left and him driving straight back to Bright Falls was so good

[@UberNoodle]

I'm sure there are fans who are keeping an eye on the socials of the actor who plays Jake just in case he posts something like "Getting my face scanned for a part! So cool!" to then follow up with lots of tourist posts about Finland. ;)

[@maxmorgan3370]

Never forgotten

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

At this point we kind of have to lol.

[@psudodrake]

Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it. - Sir Terry Pratchett

[@Cold_Cactus]

Ok but what if the light is traveling towards a sun when it gets to its destination there will be no darkness...

[@Cold_Cactus]

Sir dude was trying to sound deep but that right there is some pot head lvl of quote lol like the opening to rings of power lmfao some rock looks down so it sinks lvl bs 😂

[@majajajajajaty]

Another great vid brother, keeping our anticipation for Alan wake 2 going!

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

We will not let the AW2 hype die!

[@tabarebruch6257]

10:21 The diver is played by James A. Smith, whom IMDb credits as Ben Mott. It makes perfect sense; we know that Mott knows about the supernatural shit in BF, and that he is insane enough to do whatever Hartman asks him to do,.

[@deankelly5760]

Bright falls has potential to be a fantastic fully fledged show. I think a 8-10 episode season would be brilliant

[@DonnieExeter]

Man it's crazy to see how this channel has grown so much, keep up the great work dude!

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I'm still surprised at how much we've grown. Its nuts lol. I'll keep it going thanks!

[@JamiHeart]

I had no idea these even existed! I'm excited to watch the series.

[@NicolasDominique]

Interesting to know we had a prequel to the story. Nicely served!

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

It went under the radar for a while sadly.

[@NicolasDominique]

@@GamingUniversityUoG access to FBC's archives paid off.

[@Raybro16]

I watched Bright Falls for the first time before my latest playthrough of Alan Wake several months ago, it’s a bit jarring (in a good way) on how the show is practically full blown horror compared to the game. Its a shame games don’t do this kind of thing anymore, the miniseries was fantastic. Would LOVE for a new miniseries for Alan Wake 2

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

From what I've seen Alan Wake 2 will dive more into the horror aspect. But yeah the tone is definitely different here.

[@Raybro16]

@@GamingUniversityUoG I completely forgot to mention that! XD

[@VDiddy5000]

Ever since you pointed out in that podcast that the ending of Bright Falls -where Alan and Alice drive by where the car ended up- makes no sense in the timeline presented by the game, it’s all I can ever think about when talking about this miniseries 🤣 the fact they take a ferry into Bright Falls, Alan rides shotgun the whole time, and that the sun doesn’t set until they’re already at the lake… Still, really wish we got more tie-ins. Can totally see how they got to the idea of Quantum Breaks split game/tv show idea from here. Too bad we didn’t get any “adventures of Jessie Fayden” prequel media to Control, since that would’ve helped flesh out Jessie a bit more

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I'm still hoping we get an Ordinary AWE prequel in the form of a book or movie at some point. I think it would be perfect to bring in a new audience too. It is weird to think but the This House of Dreams blog was intended to be the character setup for Control. But during production they scrapped the plot line and made Samantha a different character separate from Jesse.

[@VDiddy5000]

@@GamingUniversityUoG I’ll take any books centered in the universe of AW/Control, to be honest. But yeah, maybe they could do a miniseries set in Ordinary, featuring Samantha? IIRC, she states in her last post that she’ll “be [there], waiting”, probably for Wake, right?

[@L1z43vr]

@@GamingUniversityUoG Actually, no, they didn't scrap the plot. They mention the events of This House of Dreams in Control, even saying "where's the shoebox?" in a certain point.

[@OneWheelMan]

I wasn't even aware of this prequel! I didn't play the game until recently (played Alan Wake, American Nightmare, then Control all within the past month or so). I'll have to check it out! The saddest part is I bought Alan Wake 9 years ago on a Steam Sale and didn't play through it until this year, not realizing what I was missing out on.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Well welcome on in to the Remedy fandom! All you need is Max Payne and Quantun Break and you're all caught up on the series

[@OneWheelMan]

@@GamingUniversityUoG I've actually owned Max Payne 3 since 2014 but haven't played it yet (same thing I did with Alan Wake) and I do have Quantum break in my steam cart/am planning to buy it on a sale.

[@TheVentrexian]

Rewatched an uprezzed version of it here, it's great. Would love this stuff to turn back up somehow.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I think it would be awesome to mention some of these plotlines in AW2

[@TheVentrexian]

@@GamingUniversityUoG if we are heading back to bright falls in some way then for sure.

[@meimei8718]

I watched it after I played the game. I thought it was weird and I didn’t get it at the time but I remember feeling admiration for content outside the game.

[@_altoarcadevere]

Im late (again) in party but i cannot stress much how much i enjoy Bright Falls and im gonna rewatch it as part of my "refresher course" before alan wake 2 arrive

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I'll be going back through it all leading up to the release of AW2

[@nekowhite7894]

You were talking about the broken lights from what is known as far as playing Alan Wake, the darkness itself, if it happens to be dark enough the darkness itself can take out something as simple as lightbulbs

[@willisrose9756]

I could be wrong so correct me on this, I think the reason why Jake wasn't taken over so quickly as with Carl Stucky is because before Alan started writing the Manuscripts for Departure; the Dark Presence in the beginning of the story was weak however after Wake started to write it had growing more and more powerful to the point that rather than a slow process of transforming individuals into Taken the stronger it is, the quicker it possess anyone in a matter of seconds. That's my hypothesis, as I said I might be wrong on that!

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

My opinion for Jake is that since he is a writer, kind of, he was a candidate to be manipulated. It is possible it gave up once Alan was approaching. A much more powerful writer.

[@KapasaGamer]

I woke up at 3am, no idea why. I could not fall asleep so I looked at KZbin and saw this... Posted when I woke up, coincidence? I THINK NOT

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Haha I wanted to make sure I could help your insomnia!

[@KapasaGamer]

@@GamingUniversityUoG diabolical! Absolutely diabolical! Hahaha

[@hanspeter731]

The entire Series is only about 30 minutes long. So if you havent watched it yet, i recommend watching it before this video.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I 100% agree

[@crazziemonkke]

i remember watching this when it came out, but didn’t play alan wake for years later.

[@CorporateKoe]

This hit different while wearing the Brightfalls Varisity T 😂

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Lmao!

[@Neb_Raska]

Been a while since I've seen the episodes, very much appreciate the video. Control 2 on the way, I'll pee myself.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Both Control 2 and Alan Wake 2! I'm beside myself with joy

[@dgc1570]

More people really need to know about this miniseries, it's really good

[@jonaz7312]

Imagine Dale Cooper getting thrown into Bright Falls.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Well this whole town was based upon Twin Peaks so he would fit right in

[@tabarebruch6257]

I had the feeling that it must have taken around a week for Stucky to turn into a... taken. When Alan goes to the gas station, the sign indicated that 8 remained until Deerfest. Someone had to have changed it on that very day.

[@SirLaguna]

I watched this weeks before playing the game and didn't really liked it. Then loved it after playing the game.

[@Optimus97]

Nice to know there was more to the AW lore. :)

[@HeatherHolt]

Reminds me of the SOMA prequel videos they did that expand the lore. Hope to see more of Bright Falls when Alan Wake 2 hits!

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Soma has prequels? KZbin where are you lol. I need to see this

[@HeatherHolt]

@@GamingUniversityUoG omg yes! Transmission and vivarium annnnd maybe that’s all? I thought there were three, if you just google soma prequel shorts they should come up, there are several articles that mention them. They’re amazing!!

[@SplotchTheCatThing]

You know, it took me ten years to realize... ...there's no waterfall in Bright Falls That's not what it's talking about Revelation moment. Albeit *very* belated I actually remember watching these episodes, though I think it was only after I'd finished the game.

[@rodan9773]

This is an excellent video to WAKE up to lol. I have a Theroy i want to put your way what if Max Payne happened in The Alan Wake Universe and those events are what inspired The Alex Casey Books from Alan ?. Respect and keep up the epic work.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

My biggest thought for Max Payne is that it occured in a connected universe and Alan unconsciously was aware of it. Drew upon it for inspiration for the Casey novels.

[@L1z43vr]

Ok, thing to type here, according to the Alan Wake wiki (not really a trustable source, I know, but still quite interesting to speculate), Jake's actor has since confirmed that he did not become a Taken, but something else. If he became the Thing-That-Had-Been-Jake or something else remains to be seen, but one thing's for certain: he did not become Taken. If he did, he wouldn't be having moments of lucidity like he had in the series.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Havent seen that interview. Wither way it is something that is over 13 years old since that actor was involved. Who knows what could have changed since then.

[@Artur-Itas]

Interesting final analogy with the chess piece. I also think of a third television reference with Lost. Two primordial forces locked into eternal combat, the Bright and Dark Presence. So Cauldron Lake is actually an Ocean. My theory is that there are actually two portals. The Bird's Eye Cabin overlooks the Dark Portal. The Other Light Portal is in the Forest. The Dark has minions or Taken. The Light also has servants. On the lower rung or pawns are non artists e.g. Big Mama who was a taken. Creatives are mid tier like journalists e.g. Jake or rooks, while Poets / Writers are top tier like Thomas or Alan bishops,queen and kings. The Dark uses Taken for murder and mayhem. Artists are used to expand their reach/influence. The Light uses the few humans who are immune to the Dark as guides/ muses to help artists who are the only ones capable of stopping them temporarily. As the battle maintains balance. Rose and the Light Lady are examples of this. This journalist is important because the Dark were using him as a battery to give their powers a boost. Remember the chief agent of the Light had summoned Alan to the town and he was a threat. Thomas slingshot was armed. They had to kill Alan or seduce him to their side that would take tremendous energy. I think the light wanted Jake to leave town so he wouldn't fall into the hands of the Darkness. I think they spoke through his ex and directed someone to fish him out of the lake. But unfortunately, it looks like it was too little too late for him.

[@hagopderderian6824]

i also did not know about the mini series i probably watch it today thanks alot

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

You got it dude!

[@hagopderderian6824]

@@GamingUniversityUoG i watched it why its super short?

[@tomboyraider1015]

Ok i had no idea this series existed. But i wanna know and watch everything i can before diving into Alan Wake 2 so I'm definitely checking this series out.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Oh you're in for a treat! All things I know of is the main game, dlcs, two comic books called Psycho Thriller & Night Springs, This House of Dreams Blogspot, American Nightmare, The Alan Wake Files, and the Survical Guide (strategy guide but it has lore stuff in it)

[@tomboyraider1015]

@@GamingUniversityUoG Oh gosh there are comic books too? Wow i didnt know there were so many Alan Wake-related media out there!

[@avocadothecat]

I watched it after I finished AW2 - I was hunting for more content. I wish Remedy made more :)

[@soulreaver1983]

Outstanding video thanks

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

You got it!

[@lils9685]

Your content is top tier. thank you

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

You got it! Thank you so much!

[@elsecaller-jacob8346]

Amazing vid as always mate! Really hoot about the news about Control 2 you got any vids planned on the topic?

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

I wouldn't need a full video for the artwork. I've been thinking of doing a short on it though. But I do have the next Control video scripted for next seek!

[@fourthwallbreak]

Whats with the random Chrono Cross outro? So random yet so unexpected and good!

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

If you go back to my older videos it had Frog's Theme as the outro. Because Glenn is best boy. I love the Chrono Series. Have a playthrough or the Remastered version of Cross on my other channel

[@Kaden10]

The medication Jake takes could be for Anxiety.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Possibly yeah. I forgot what i said about it here. Honestly I have terrible memory.

[@listofromantics]

Alan Wake is a game that, had it not been exclusive to Xbox 360--where it only sold about 3 million copies (not enough for a sequel)--could have changed the fortunes of Remedy and meant we would have gotten more titles in the Remedy Universe a lot sooner. Could we have gotten Control or Alan Wake 2 sooner??? Or if Remedy / Alan Wake had been Sony First-Party, which has been S-tier at story-based, 3rd person action-adventure games since the PS3...? Naughty Dog had just released multi-GOTY winner / Juggernaut Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (in 2009) and was working on Uncharted 3 and The Last of US (in 2010).

[@yellowbat79]

It is my opinion that if Remedy was under the management of anyone else, especially Playstation at the time of it's release, it would absolutely not be what it is. Playstation studios make formulaic games that have their objective be attracting as wide an audience as possible. Mind you they are amazing at that, SpiderMan, Uncharted, Last of Us, all masterfully crafted games that are made for everyone. Remedy excels when they are not trying to appeal the masses, that's when they can dive deeper and this is readily apparent in Alan Wake. I think in PlayStation's Alan Wake, we would not have a story with so many layers, the esoteric routes that the game takes would be replaced with those more "realistic" points. We'd see more emphasis on characters relationships than their role in the overall "hero's journey" and we'd have a third person action adventure game with crafting tables, climbing sections and environmental puzzles that require you to move boxes. For some that may be appealing and it would indeed sell better, but in my opinion, if Alan Wake is robbed of it's charm and what makes it unique, it's not longer Alan Wake

[@dmitripopov8570]

Gripping and informative essay - wonderful as always! So, Alice is not as linear as she seems, hoh..

[@a.filakiewicz2942]

Alan Wake 2 is exploring this with Mulligan and Thornton - suggesting its guilt that pushed them to the dark and eventually become taken

[@ConradFiat]

I never even know there was a prequel. And I've been enjoying this game since release. What the fuck?

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Haha it went under the radar for most

[@Kranitoko]

Very good analysis. Honestly never properly read what he wrote on the notepad so I'm glad I didn't have to struggle to read it 😂

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Thank the wiki site for all of it lol. Trust me it was a pain to try to decipher it when I tried years ago too

[@Kranitoko]

@@GamingUniversityUoG lol I genuinely didn't realise someone had put that on the wiki even though I manage it often 😅 but that's very useful! If you also need any assistance regarding Alan Wake info that might be on the wiki, let me know. Though you're way more expert at it all than I am 😊

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Absolutely! I appreciate it

[@giovannibrigante8719]

Great video. I saw this episodes years ago but i didn't understand them very well. Thanks for clearing me up the things. Hello from Italy🇮🇹 .

[@Fragmentsinfractals488]

Darkness is also sometimes The Forgetting. The Void in the Knowing. The Destruction of the ability to Understand. The Formless Chaos and the place Logic isn't. This might be why the Dark Presence takes away upper cognition. It is a Shadow without a Ego. This also might be why They cannot write themselves out of Cauldron Lake. They don't how to put the Story elements together is a way that has Creation and Light in them.

[@CrocoDa7m]

Wouldn’t Cynthia Weaver fall under category D in 1:43 ?

[@SilverSonic2099]

Well I am extremely late with this comment but I have been replaying Alan Wake and rewatching some of your videos again and a little something stuck out to me here. You say Stucky’s transformation into a taken was relatively fast and used the manuscript page that describes it as proof mentioning that in his case it took only one day. Forgive me if I’m wrong and I’m missing something here but nothing in the manuscript page says it took just one day. At this point it’s been a full week since the “couple never showed up to take the keys” how he puts it, the first time I played it I assumed he turned completely in that very night and things had been fuzzy for several days now which would mean it took a full week for it to happen. Granted thinking carefully about it nothing tells me it was in that night that he became a taken but I always assumed the dark presence had been fully concentrated in Alan while he was in the cabin and only started lashing out and taking over more and more people completely as it had to both follow the story he had written and as it became desperate to capture him again. So in my mind I always thought the story was telling us that in his case it started in the day Alan and Alice arrived, then things had been “fuzzy” for days until the scene described in the page finally happens which would have happened in that very night or I don’t know, the night before. But probably not much sooner since we know the dog chased after him and disappeared in that very night from a radio call. Well I guess he could have just stayed at his garage all week as a taken chilling out doing nothing but I still find that hard to believe since the gas station had all lights on as if it had been in use and fully functional until that night, the giant deer for the parade is even parked out front which tells me things were relatively normal during that week until Wake escaped and all hell broke lose. Of course I may be wrong and to be honest I still haven’t played the remastered version, I always replay my original Alan Wake for the 360 so I don’t know if they added any more details in it. I really should play the remastered sometime soon. Anways forgive me for writing this much, I tend to go on and on sometimes. 😅

[@Oden-gp8xu]

Its strange, is he saying that he knows he will make it through the darkness? or is this about Alan?

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Its one of those open mysteries. Who knows if they will return back to this loose thread.

[@twinchenzotezzuo5150]

The Shadow?! The Shadow! The Shadow...

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

That it is lol.

[@drewmuch]

What if this is alan's prototype old story like Tomas zane

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Not sure if this one is a story Alan did. More likely just a random incident that occurred.

[@virenrana6459]

Guess I'm late 💪🏼

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Never too late!

[@francsiscog]

Where did you get hd video from the series? All I could find were low quality videos.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Check the description. I put the link for the 4k upscaled video.

[@aaronh678]

Did they do a video of just analysing Bright falls? Without spoiling much of control or AW? Just finished Bright Falls but haven't started my Aw playthrough yet.

[@broston_]

Wait but didn't the Wakes enter the town in the ferris?

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Yes. This is a big thing in the community about it. The wakes drove into Watery first then took the ferry into bright falls

[@broston_]

@@GamingUniversityUoG Ah i see, thanks for clarifying. I just now finished Alan Wake and watched all your videos about it

[@polanialmoni6274]

Is the show cg? It looks so real but the movement is wierd.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Nope it is like action. Probably just shot that way to look weird.

[@TheSeba010]

Hello! Please, can you put "close caption" on your videos? Cc from KZbin really sucks, maybe with a program to do that, i dont know. Im from Chile and I want to see all your videos, but, your accent (no offense) is hard to me to understand, plus I dont speak english very well. Sorry if this petition bothers you I love your channel

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Sure no problem! Some of them already have captions but not a lot of them. Takes some time but I'll start working on these again.

[@GamingUniversityUoG]

Just letting you know I updated the captions here. I found an easy way to do it besides manually editing the whole thing. Hope it helps!

[@behnammcdelijani3898]

I have a question. Why don't we fight any female taken in the game? Is there an explaination behind it?

[@-pressxtostart-]

Its probably offensive

[@dignusdingus3709]

I'm gonna be clicking my fingers at the screen like crazy if Alan Wake 2 brings up Jake and other parts of this prequel. Remedy have said it will be far more open ended than the first one. I'll be over the moon if we pass by the Motel Jake stayed at, at the very least. The son of the man would be an adult by now too, perhaps he shows up, or we get to hear about him.