Tag Archives: Alan Wake

Soundscapes – The broken sound of console ports

Written by on
screenshot-58-sebastian_arcane_horror-p

There’s a problem with the sound in games that appeared in the last 5 years. Many  “well done” console ports to the PC such as Alan Wake and Dragon Age 2 actually have a serious problem. If you run these games in stereo mode, the original intent of the sound designers is subverted and you are instead presented with a broken version of the game. Unless you know what the game is supposed to sound like you wouldn’t know that you’re getting a compromised version of the intended sound experience. Even critics and technically knowledgeable gamers seem to have overlooked this issue despite it appearing in many games over several years. It’s an issue of sound samples not being played properly, compromised dynamics and ultimately a lesser emotional impact than was present in the original design.

Read More from Soundscapes – The broken sound of console ports

Terror when walking in their shoes, terror when running in their stilts

Written by on

Now go, my child. Go and throw yourself into the world of ghosts, armed with a camera. She'll be alrigh- ARGH

What makes survival horror terrifying is a well discussed topic. From the ambient sound to the ambiguous environment, there are plenty of articles already regard to how to stir up most fear in players.

Fear, like humour, is such an individualised thing; which makes it impossible to have a one-for-all approach. Say, to set the atmosphere of vulnerability. Part of the appeal of the genre is that we are not taking up the role of invincible tanks that could steam roll through a corridor and crush everything with sheer badassery.

There are two distinctively different approaches to that.

The first approach, via plot and character, is based on story vulnerability. Make the lead ordinary, someone who’s of gentle temperament and reluctant to engage in combats; make them out of place for the horror background.

The second approach, via game play, can be difficulty based. When the player character is used as a tool and the end goal is to survive, are we over or under equipped for this goal? On the game-play level, the vulnerability the player feels is related to how easily …

Read More from Terror when walking in their shoes, terror when running in their stilts

Shadows of the Damned First Impressions

Written by on
shadowsofthedamned

Shadows of the Damned is one big, long, juicy dick joke. Wait, what?

I’m sorry, it’s just that its pottymouth crass humor is infectious. Recent public outcry of vulgar games would have you think that we’ve all ‘grown up’ and can’t take a good inappropriate joke anymore, but the critical reception of Shadows of the Damned has shown us that this isn’t the case. Shadows of the Damned may just be the most juvenile thing I’ve played since Bulletstorm, but damn does the game put a smile on my face.

Let’s put it this way: Shadows of the Damned is if you took Adventure Time and made it punk and inappropriate. It has the same type of random nonsensical humor delivered with a joyous, confident attitude. In that sense, Shadows of the Damned feels rejuvenating in that it requires a distinct suspension of disbelief, one kind that allows you to buy into its weird non sequitur world and its eccentric rules. The real world need not apply to Garcia Fucking Hotspur. He finds his girlfriends in dumpsters behind the Dime-A-Dozen supermarkets and he saves his games …

Read More from Shadows of the Damned First Impressions

ALAN WAKE: THE SIGNAL & THE WRITER – Review

Written by on

ALAN WAKE: THE SIGNAL & THE WRITER are expansions developed by Remedy Entertainment to be downloaded at Xbox Live Arcade for the game ALAN WAKE for the Xbox 360. It was directed by MIKKO RAUTALAHTI and MARKUS MÄKI.

Alan Wake is lost again. This time, he’s gone deeper than ever before: inside his own mind. But luckily for him, his mind is inhabited by a terrain he is certainly familiar with: a surreal version of Bright Falls. Both expansions, The Signal and The Writer, are about the same story and one will be incomplete without the other. That being said, they are still distinctively different gameplay-wise. While The Signal has some more interesting combat mechanics, The Writer is focused, has a clearer objective and cooler scenarios. If I were to rate them separately (although that doesn’t make much sense (more on that later)), I would say The Signal is schlock but The Writer is good.

The main problem with The Signal is its general lack of direction.

Read More from ALAN WAKE: THE SIGNAL & THE WRITER – Review

Awards Are Awesome: Here are some more!

Written by on

Screw introductions. Let do this!

Game of the Fuckin’ Year: Alan Wake

When I first played Alan Wake, I have experienced something that has only occurred a few other times during my life as a gamer. It also happened when I first played Yoshi’s Island, Metroid Prime, Resident Evil 4 and Half-Life 2. I have played all these games until 3-4am, slept for 3 hours and then resumed playing before going to class, during which I fantasized about playing some more. Whenever this phenomenon occurs, I know it in my gut that I have just experienced a great game.

Alan Wake is a great game and it certainly is the best thing I’ve played in 2010.

But what truly captivates me about this game are the little touches. The radio shows; the red chair, with beer cans on the side, set in front of a dam; the tangent descriptions you read on the manuscript pages; the Night Springs TV shows; the crazy developer of the Night Springs videogame; the Alan Wake cut-out Barry steals from Rose; the countdown to Deerfest, etc. I love to find that kind of care in the smallest of details. Ultimately, it’s what makes the world of Bright Falls …

Read More from Awards Are Awesome: Here are some more!

Alan Wake Writer Blames Ludonarrative Dissonance on Game Expectations

Written by on

Ah, ludonarrative dissonance: we’re all familiar with it. It’s the disconnect between the narrative and ‘play’ aspects of a game. Think, for example, how Nathan Drake is characterized as a likeable good guy and yet we spend all game killing dozens upon dozens of people: the narrative would suggest Nathan is not capable of that.

Anyway, in an interview with Game Sugar, Remedy studios writer Mikko Rautalahti has the following to say about storytelling in video games:

“I think it can be difficult to tell stories in video games. There are all these conventions – you are expected to have a certain amount of combat, a certain minimum number of gameplay hours, etc. These conventions aren’t really engineered with storytelling in mind. So a lot of the time, you end up kind of glossing over some of the details in your head – I mean, if you’re playing the lone hero, in terms of the story, does that guy really rack up a four-digit body count? Does he really get repeatedly shot with high-caliber weapons and mysteriously heal himself? And if you really get stuck at a difficult part, does that really …

Read More from Alan Wake Writer Blames Ludonarrative Dissonance on Game Expectations

Not-So Weekend Note: It's Persona 3's Fault

Written by on

Yup. That’s why there was no weekend note last week, and there almost wasn’t one this week! Last week, there was only a month or less left in my game, and I figured that I could burn through it and move on to P4. How wrong I was…there’s still 10 days left and they’re taking forever to go through. Today, however, I am confident that I will finish the game. Nyx is gonna taste my shiny metal ass in just a few hours. It’s funny how the end of the world can be stopped by a bunch of high schoolers…

Seriously, playing P3 is just about the only thing I’ve been doing for a while. I don’t even know why, I just can’t stop playing it. I did, however, manage to beat Uncharted 2 during my downtime. I still haven’t gotten to the Indiana Jones movies, so that review won’t be coming for a while. One of the best games I’ve played in a long while was followed by just about the worst final boss fight…but I’m not sure that could have been helped. Actually, it’s better than the final “boss” on Alan Wake, so I guess I can’t say it’s …

Read More from Not-So Weekend Note: It's Persona 3's Fault

In Praise of Being Praised

Written by on

It all began in the confessionary. Graham was telling us how he almost stopped playing videogames forever (I don’t think he would though) when we started debating about how to algebraically measure a game. It eventually came down to issues related to in-game grinding, which led to issues related to grinding for achievement points. I love to make fun of Graham’s inexplicable (well, to me (and everybody else) at least) gaming tastes. With this debate I might just have just given him the ammo he so longed for to fight back.

I’m an Achievement Whore.

Pretty obvious, right? After all, I am the guy who posts fictional achievement messages into his own stuff. Coincidentally, I am also the leading writer in terms of Nightmare Mode’s writerscore. Also important: who cares? Well, I do. That’s more than enough for me to keep posting these things. And….. ooooops! I did it again!

I don’t have a Gold membership for Xbox Live. I tried playing Gears of War online only once and discovered that I suck at it. Nevertheless, I have finished both games at the Insane difficulty. Why? Because of the Suicide Missionary 150 G …

Read More from In Praise of Being Praised

Alan Wake Sells Under 200k In US

Written by on

Ruh-Roh, Shaggy. This can’t be good for the folks over at Remedy, who have said they are “betting the farm on [Alan Wake] and if this isn’t a success we’ll be selling hotdogs in Helsinki. Really.” Of course, Alan Wake isn’t the only title cowering in fear behind the shadows of Red Dead Redemption and Super Mario Galaxy 2–reportedly, Prince of Persia, Blur, Shrek, Lost Planet and Skate all failed to hit the 200k mark. Patcher speculates that these underwhelming performances by big-name titles are  “beginning to reinforce the notion that the video game industry is in a state of persistent secular decline.”

“Everything’s gone into this project so this will ultimately set us up for how we continue and how many video games we can make in the future,” Remedy has stated in the past. And yet, they are apparently hiring someone for a “key position in a AAA console project.” I mean, we all know that they’re itching to make Alan Wake 2 a reality. In fact, that’s probably exactly what they’re hiring for. Is that endeavor really a good idea with such sale figures flying around?

I may have disliked Alan Wake, but I really …

Read More from Alan Wake Sells Under 200k In US

If You Own Alan Wake, You Can Enter This Contest

Written by on

Remedy is holding a contest which can net two lucky winners an Alan Wake poster signed by the entire development team, an Alan Wake 360 faceplate and mini-flashlight. Actually, I’m surprised one of the prizes isn’t a pack of Energizer batteries, a Thermos and/or a Verizon cellphone…I mean, they’re giving us a flashlight, why not give us batteries to go with that? The advertising would make the most sense here, in real life!

Anyway, entering the contest is simple. All you’ve got to do is take a picture of yourself holding a copy of the game, which you have to post on the Alan Wake Facebook Page. This also means that you have to become a fan of Alan Wake on Facebook, because otherwise you can’t write on its wall. There will be two drawings, one randomized, I assume, that will be awarded to any old picture that features someone holding a copy of the game. The other one will be awarded to the most creative entry…for those of you that are stumped, Remedy has the following suggestions, “Dress up like Alan or a character from the game, make the photo spooky with lighting or anything really.” I, …

Read More from If You Own Alan Wake, You Can Enter This Contest

  • Archives