Alan Wake Thread

Xzibit · *Last edited by Xzibit; 02-10-2012 at 21:58.*

Nordic studio Remedy has told CVG that it didn't make the decision to cancel Alan Wake on PC.

Speaking at GDC 2011 in San Francisco today, Remedy boss Markus Maki and programmer Olli Tervo presented a spot called 'Alan Wake: The Writer Who Made Us Rewrite Our Engine', in which they discussed the reasons behind the game's lengthy six-year development cycle.

The game was originally planned to release on three platforms - PS3, PC and 360 - but, following a deal with Microsoft, Remedy dropped Sony's console from the mix.

Building the game primarily for the 360 caused a technical headache for a team whose pedigree was on PC, the pair explained. Remedy made Max Payne and its sequel on PC, after which Rockstar ported them to console.

Despite this and other issues - including the use of an original engine and over-scoping an open world environment - Remedy triumphed in the end. Maki noted that Alan Wake is a rarity in the modern games industry - as both the title itself and its two batches of DLC have not needed a single title update.

However, the mystery of the cancellation of the PC version of the game - announced by Microsoft in February last year - was not touched upon in the presentation.

Afterwards, CVG asked Maki to explain why the title was canned on the platform.

"I can't really discuss that," he said. "I will say that it wasn't a technological call. And it wasn't made in Finland."

Source

WhiteLightning · 03-04-2011, 12:39 | posts: 20,473 | Location: Netherlands

alan wake, good game, was a bit dissaponted with the bosses though

Nosgoth · 03-04-2011, 12:50 | posts: 97

I think everone believed that it was Microsoft who were behind the decision anyway

It's all too similar to Halo, there was a huge buzz in the pc community about it for years and suddenly MS makes it an Xbox exclusive and the game ends up as barely 10% of the game it could/should have been

SiriusTexra · 03-04-2011, 13:37 | posts: 167 | Location: Australia

^ Funny thing is, the Halo 1 PC community was huge. Especially after the custom stuff was released and people starting making their own content. The game at one stage was one of the top played PC games. We were all looking forward to Halo 2 PC. Would have been a great game. Sucked that MS made it vista exclusive, when vista was first released, and buggy and locked down as ****. It was also one of the debut titles (if not THE) for Games for windows Live, in it's first iteration. Nuff said.

Halo 1, with it's barebones nice simplistic level design, the vehicle gameplay and the predictable simple physics, made 16 player multiplayer just really ****ing fun. You could confidently lay down grenades in the path of vehicles, have 2 troops of warthogs running around, banshee annoying everyone on the ground etc. Plus, the Halo 1 pistol is one of my favorite weapons in a game ever.

Console people had no idea what that games was able to pull off. The console version never had online.

Even to this day, really great game . Halo 2 and onwards are garbage though. Halo 1 still had half the development with a "PC" feel in it. The laters ones obviously lost the plot and became full on corridor shooters.

Microsoft just have a track record of ruining everything.

The day Valve in partnership with the hardware guys announce "Steam OS" that runs on Unix, and is purely games and no back end wastage, the happier we'll all be.

thecake90 · 03-04-2011, 13:48 | posts: 4,065 | Location: Earth

Why doesn't Microsoft support its own platform

Mr.Bigtime · 03-04-2011, 13:55 | posts: 16,711 | Location: Turkey

Quote:

Originally Posted by thecake90

Why doesn't Microsoft support its own platform

yeah

Darren Hodgson · 03-04-2011, 13:56 | posts: 9,696 | Location: England

I would have loved to have played Alan Wake but not on my Xbox 360 as the game, from what I've seen of it, has hideous screen tearing and is rendered at sub-720p. It's a real shame it never came on the PC as originally intended with its open world structure because the earlier trailers made it look very promising. In the end the design was severely compromised by being shoe-horned onto a five year old console and, to add insult to injury, it apparently sold poorly.

And, yes, Microsoft do *suck*! This is a company who claim they are committed to the PC as a gaming platform but show little evidence of it beyond their awful Games for Windows Live software. Fable III came out months ago on the 360 and we're still waiting for it in March 2011 (apparently it is due for release in May... 2011, in case you're wondering).

TheHunter · 03-04-2011, 14:31 | posts: 13,439 | Location: √╥²

imo they canceled it when they saw dx11... at first i was known as no1 dx10 title, but yea dx10 is nothing special compared to dx11... maybe yea they saw the same thing and now they're gonna do it dx11..

Well this was my bet from the start..

Damien_Azreal · 03-04-2011, 14:36 | posts: 3,458 | Location: Kansas, USA

Quote:

Originally Posted by thecake90

Why doesn't Microsoft support its own platform

They do. The 360 is their platform.
PC is not specific to Windows, there are other OS choices that people can use on PC and play games on.
Now, Windows is the most commonly used OS and Microsoft has made efforts in the past few years to boost PC game sales and support...

But fact is, they are in competition with Sony and PS3 and as such they need strong, console exclusive titles for the 360. Making Alan Wake 360 only was a smart business move... sadly they botched that business move when they didn't advertise the game for crap.

I love Alan Wake, it's a great game and a great experience. And, I feel the game could've done much, MUCH better had it gotten more publicity and advertising from MS.
And, had Rockstar not delayed Red Dead Redemption to the same release date.

Rich_Guy · 03-04-2011, 14:48 | posts: 6,678 | Location: UK

At the end of the day, it was Remedys fault, for selling out to Microsoft.

Damien_Azreal · 03-04-2011, 14:49 | posts: 3,458 | Location: Kansas, USA

Yes, how dare a small company with limited funds sing a contract with a publisher to help fund the development of their game so they can turn a profit and pay their employees.

Horrible.

nutyo · 03-04-2011, 15:50 | posts: 4,596 | Location: Brisbane, Australia

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damien_Azreal

But fact is, they are in competition with Sony and PS3 and as such they need strong, console exclusive titles for the 360. Making Alan Wake 360 only was a smart business move... sadly they botched that business move when they didn't advertise the game for crap.

You have got to be kidding me. Smart business move... SMART business move!!!

Point out to me the part that is smart about taking a talented PC developer, ruining their open world DX10 tech demo that wow'd audiences at gaming conventions, canning the project on a platform that you own, forcing the developer to develop the game for a medium they don't have as much experience with and then combating a rival platform with an exclusive title that has just become a sub-par corridor shooter.

NO.

The smart thing to do would be to develop the game properly on PC with high quality assets to show case DX10 and then have another developer who has more experience with the 360 port it over. You then have the game on two platforms owned by Microsoft. The quality of both is higher. And the PC version acts as advertising for the 360 version and both do more damage to the PS3. It is still Microsoft exclusive. Gamers have the option of running the more demanding higher quality version on their PCs. Or leaning back on the couch and relaxing while playing on the 360. The market is better saturated because you sell it to people who may not have a console. Or even those that have a PC and a PS3 and to those who have a 360.

Smart business decision my arse.

cheesebeard- · *Last edited by cheesebeard-; 03-04-2011 at 15:58.*

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_Guy

At the end of the day, it was Remedys fault, for selling out to Microsoft.

This.

The Alan Wake that was released isn't the same game that was showcased years ago.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damien_Azreal

Yes, how dare a small company with limited funds sing a contract with a publisher to help fund the development of their game so they can turn a profit and pay their employees.

Horrible.

You mean how dare they not add a clause that says Microsoft can have influence in what platform is gets released to? Remedy isn't fully to blame but they sure as **** share it equally IMO.

Mr.Bigtime · 03-04-2011, 15:57 | posts: 16,711 | Location: Turkey

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve-

This.

The Alan Wake that was released isn't the same game that was showcased years ago.

You mean how dare they not add a clause that says Microsoft can have influence in what platform is gets released to? Remedy isn't fully to blame but they sure as **** share it equally IMO.

i still remember easily they show off the C2D cpus power etc..a tornado or something was spinning etc...

Damien_Azreal · 03-04-2011, 16:03 | posts: 3,458 | Location: Kansas, USA

Quote:

Originally Posted by steve-

You mean how dare they not add a clause that says Microsoft can have influence in what platform is gets released to? Remedy isn't fully to blame but they sure as **** share it equally IMO.

Didn't say anything like that.
I just said that for a small company like Remedy, signing a lucrative publishing contract with Microsoft was a good move for them.
A lot of smaller developers have closed in recent years because they've tried to stick it out on their own... and I'm glad Remedy didn't go that route.
The proper business move is not always the one people like, it's not always the one that makes the fans happy. But, to keep your company going... to keep your employees with an income... you have to, at times, make such decisions. For the better interest of your company.

And after playing Alan Wake, I'm glad the game isn't open world anymore. I agree with Remedy's previous statements. That for the story they told, and open world design was not the best format to deliver it.
And really, haven't people realized by now that DX10 was... pointless? And it was stated years ago, Alan Wake didn't utilize exclusive DX10 features, it was part of the publishing contract with Microsoft that the game needed Vista exclusivity.
In the same way for HALO 2. It didn't use DX10, but required Vista.

cheesebeard- · *Last edited by cheesebeard-; 03-04-2011 at 16:15.*

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damien_Azreal

Didn't say anything like that.
I just said that for a small company like Remedy, signing a lucrative publishing contract with Microsoft was a good move for them.
A lot of smaller developers have closed in recent years because they've tried to stick it out on their own... and I'm glad Remedy didn't go that route.
The proper business move is not always the one people like, it's not always the one that makes the fans happy. But, to keep your company going... to keep your employees with an income... you have to, at times, make such decisions. For the better interest of your company.

And after playing Alan Wake, I'm glad the game isn't open world anymore. I agree with Remedy's previous statements. That for the story they told, and open world design was not the best format to deliver it.
And really, haven't people realized by now that DX10 was... pointless? And it was stated years ago, Alan Wake didn't utilize exclusive DX10 features, it was part of the publishing contract with Microsoft that the game needed Vista exclusivity.
In the same way for HALO 2. It didn't use DX10, but required Vista.

How do you know the story wasn't changed over the years to accommodate the linear gameplay? It would be plain out ignorant to think it wasn't man.

The blame isn't solely on Microsoft for this, Remedy is merely pointing the finger at someone else, they are just as much to blame in my opinion. This whole article is just Remedy trying to restore their image with PC gamers, lets be honest here, Microsoft axed the game, and Remedy let them do it.

Damien_Azreal · 03-04-2011, 16:19 | posts: 3,458 | Location: Kansas, USA

I never said the story wasn't changed. But, Remedy did state the switch from open world to a linear progression was made once they evaluated the story they were telling. The change in game design was made to better suit the story.
Has the story changed, yes. Every story in every video game changes multiple times from first inception to final release.
One would be stupid to think the story does not change. But, I know a few people that work at Remedy, and I believe them when they say the gameplay was changed to suit the story, and not the other way around.

And, really, people are going believe what they want to. You can give someone the solid facts, absolute truth... and if it's not what they want to hear, they won't believe it.
So, no matter what Remedy says... some of you are simply determined not to believe them and or trust them.

cheesebeard- · *Last edited by cheesebeard-; 03-04-2011 at 16:35.*

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damien_Azreal

And, really, people are going believe what they want to. You can give someone the solid facts, absolute truth... and if it's not what they want to hear, they won't believe it.
So, no matter what Remedy says... some of you are simply determined not to believe them and or trust them.

The problem is both sides of the story are probably bull**** to some extent. It makes no difference to me who you know and what you where told, none of us will ever know the full truth behind it and to be perfectly honest, I don't really care. The game was forgotten a long time ago, years ago, hell I had completely forgotten about the game until I saw this thread.

The point is Remedy is pointing the finger at Microsoft for the PC version being axed when they are just as much to blame. It wouldn't surprise me if this was one of the clauses Microsoft had from the beginning, 360 Exclusive.

Grim_2o0o · 03-04-2011, 16:38 | posts: 365 | Location: England - Cornwall

Quote:

Originally Posted by serp202

"I can't really discuss that," he said. "I will say that it wasn't a technological call. And it wasn't made in Finland."

So basically, we'll never know the true story, as that comments wreaks of NDA!

Regardless of whether there is a 'conspiracy' or not... I still wanted to play it on PC, and was fairly disappointed when I heard it was 360 only - especially after seeing the demo at IDF all those years back.

TheHunter · 03-04-2011, 17:10 | posts: 13,439 | Location: √╥²

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Bigtime

i still remember easily they show off the C2D cpus power etc..a tornado or something was spinning etc...

me too very well, but they showed off quadcore powah (qx6800 @ 3.4ghz?) what a waste..

Damien_Azreal · 03-04-2011, 17:11 | posts: 3,458 | Location: Kansas, USA

While I would've loved to have played it on my PC, I'm glad I still got to play the game on my 360. It is an amazing game. Regardless of what rumors go around, who did what... who's responsible for what... doesn't matter.

Alan Wake is an amazing game, one of the best third person action/survival games in a long time. And I really hope it did well enough to bring on a sequel.

IPlayNaked · 03-04-2011, 22:46 | posts: 6,559

Quote:

Originally Posted by WhiteLightning

alan wake, good game, was a bit dissaponted with the bosses though

The boss in the DLC is pretty epic.

Ghosty · 03-05-2011, 00:42 | posts: 1,317 | Location: UK

I remember looking at screenshots of Alan wake in a PC magazine, ages ago now. It looked pretty stunning at the time. Shame that it will never be released on the PC.

putty · 03-05-2011, 00:52 | posts: 1,615 | Location: The Netherlands

I remember being so psyched about this game... And when I heard it would be xbox only... grrrrr, I didn't even hear about it being released a few months after

I still hate it... I can only imagine Remedy hating their own guts by signing their own deathwarrent for pc gaming...

isidore · 03-05-2011, 01:30 | posts: 5,597 | Location: Timisoara, Romania

i finished it on my 360, awesome game..impresive visuals but the best thing in this game is the story, i can only imagine how great this game would look if it was PC only as they first announced..