GDC 2011 – Remedy Reflects On Why Alan Wake Took So Long & Why It Needed A New Engine

Remedy’s CTO at their Alan Wake talk at GDC yesterday, discussing why they created a new engine for Alan Wake and why it took them so long to get the title out the door.

[TheDarkness]

The best looking game on the 360.

[eggbert]

debatable, I'd still say the best looking 360 game is Gears 2. Alan Wake was pretty, but the lip syncing and women's faces were a bit weird.

[darthv72]

i took advantage of it being only $2 on amazon for the downloadable version. Even with $8 shipping (yeah) I just got the official 360 card in the mail. Cant wait to try it out. I will let my system dl it overnight and play it first thing in the morn.

I have read good things about this game. This make my 2nd full download 360 (retail) game. 1st was fable 2 when MS screwed up and gave it away for free.

[BabyTownFrolics]

darthv72

i picked up Alan Wake the same way, its a great game, and at that price a steal.

[gamingdroid]

I don't know, Gears of War 2 looked pretty good, but Alan Wake look fantastic too.

That said, I didn't buy the game and splurge on the Limited Edition because of the graphics. It was the entire fantastic package. Lots of gamers gave it bad flack, but personally I thought the atmosphere and story telling is awesome.

Don't regret my purchase one bit.

[starchild]

I, too, loved Alan Wake. It was one of the best games I played last year. I still wish Microsoft would have brought it to the PC, but oh well it was still an awesome game.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

By the time the game came out, I was very disappointed with a lot of the presentation of the game. The characters were not nearly as detailed as I had expected (even in the cutscenes), and a lot of the textures were very bland. And what was up with the lip synching? It looked like the game was translated. Nah, I definitely wouldn't say best looking game on 360.

[starchild]

What you are doing is simply focusing on the negatives. A person could have that attitude about any game and then suddenly every game sucks.

For example, you could say 'Killzone 3 was very disappointing because some of the shadows and lighting is baked, there are some clipping issues and shadow pop-in, the jaggies are quite bad in some areas, and some of the textures are low res'.

Yet, despite all that, Killzone 3 still looks very good.

Alan Wake also looks very good. Its strengths definitely outweighed its weaknesses. The detail and realism in some of its outdoor environments are simply some of the best I have ever seen.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

@starchild I'm focusing on the negatives? Was it not clear that I was pointing out graphical hitches, in response to the comment about being the best looking game on Xbox? Besides, I waited over 5 years for the game, and I was disappointed with the final product. I'm entitled to that.

[Megaton]

Care to reflect on why the PC version was canned?

[plb]

Ms paid for that.

[gamingdroid]

... more accurately MS refused funding it!

[sp1deynut]

MS was the exclusive publisher...they didn't HAVE to pay, genius. The publisher decides what platform a game is released on. Better luck trolling next time. :o

[kaveti6616]

If MS let it go to PC, wouldn't some people on this site say, "no reason to get a 360, because I can play it on PC"????

Aside from that, I think Alan Wake is an okay game but suffers from a lot of problems in gameplay design and plot.

I would rather hear Remedy announce that they are going to be developing another Max Payne title and that the Max Payne 3 game we've been seeing has been canned because it is Max Payne in name only.

[PandaJenkins]

Problems with the plot? What a joke. It has the best plot I have seen in years. The so called 'problems' you seem to think there are is probably your poor understanding of it.

[kaveti6616]

The problem with the plot is that it is crap.

It's like an M. Night Shaymalan movie. There's no point watching it because I'm already predicting a twist.

That's why Alan Wake sucks.

It deserves its low sales.

[hoops]

The lighting in this game was the reason it was subhd. It was a great looking game. Too bad it was not on the PC where it could have really shown its game engine

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Didn't Intel or Invidia actually use Alan Wake years ago to demo their new chips? I remember watching the presentation, and it was clearly downgraded after the PC version had been cancelled. Really big shame.

[hoops]

They did. The xbox360 could not handle all that high level HDR in real time at that FP.
None of these consoles can.
AW was a great game but should have been on the PC also where the game engine could have really shined.

[andron]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Intel showcase where Remedy showed how multicore cpus would make PC gaming great...

Edit: From the time where AW was an open world game, fun to watch...

[etowntwo]

Gears 2 is a better looking game.

Alan Wake is up there.

But damn .... isn't there other 360 exclusives we can put up on the list?!

lol ...

[Workshyskiver]

Laugh all you want but Banjo nuts and Bolts is pretty than 99% of all games out there.

[Aloren]

And so is viva pinata, which is one of the most underrated games this gen.

[starchild]

I agree. Banjo-Kazooie Nuts and Bolts was one of the best looking games of its type. It didn't get the recognition it deserved. It had huge sprawling levels and dynamic real-time lighting, something which competitors like Ratchet and Clank lack.

That said, Microsoft do need to push their console more. The 360 is a capable console and it would be nice if Microsoft would invest in some core games that more fully take advantage of the console.

[PandaJenkins]

Games like Nuts and Bolts keep their visual appeal over time thanks to the strong sense of art style it has unlike most of the games today. There is a reason why games like that such as Borderlands and Team Fortress 2 still appeal to me visually. Nuts and Bolts on a whole though was so underrated in almost every sense and really a game more people should check out instead of being bitchy about how it isn't like the old games.

On the topic of Alan Wake, I would say it is quite possibly the best looking game on the 360, or at least definitely one of the best. It has fantastic atmosphere, lighting, foliage, weather effects and so forth. Who cares if the lip syncing is a bit bad when everything else looks good.

[etowntwo]

I have Banjo nuts and bolts .... but to say they it's up there as one of the best looking games? Sony has Ratchet, and from what I've seen Rachet looks way better then Banjo.

Anyways, it's pretty sad I can't name exclusive games that really shine on the 360 as far as graphics. I remember when I saw Reach and thought that game would finally raise the bar in graphics.

[Kran]

Hopefully Alan Wake 2 shouldn't take 5 years. And hopefully Remedy are listening to what we want from it.

[ct03]

@above: what, you think I bought an xbox because the pc version was canned? No way, I just spend my money on other games instead.