The boss of Remedy really wanted a quote from Stephen King to introduce the horror adventure Alan Wake (Xbox, 2010). The “King of Horrors” granted his wish.
What game is it? Alan Wake is an atmospheric horror game from Remedy Entertainment. In it, players control the eponymous writer who travels to a remote village with his wife Alice to overcome his writer’s block.
But after the sudden disappearance of his wife, Alan Wake must face the forces of darkness armed only with a flashlight and a simple revolver.
The thriller-adventure appeared exclusively for the Xbox in 2010 before a PC release followed in 2012. In 2021 the game was then given a prettied remaster version, the long-awaited successor is to appear in this one.
The developers even promise the “best looking game of 2023” (via GamePro).
Alan Wake 2 – Summer Game Fest Trailer
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David Lynch meets Stephen King
What’s the deal with the intro? Already in its opening sequence, Remedy makes it clear where the inspiration for Alan Wake lay. Weave through a mountain pass, soar over spruce forests as the glowing sunset slowly gives way to the fog.
Like the cult mystery series Twin Peaks, Alan Wake is also set in a supposedly idyllic small town in the coniferous forests of Washington. As soon as the voiceover of the protagonist, spoken by Morit Brendel in German, begins, the second major influence also becomes clear.
Because Alan Wake begins with a quote from legendary horror author Stephen King:
Nightmares exist outside of logic. There’s little point trying to explain them. They are the antithesis of the poetry of fear. In horror stories, the victim keeps asking “why?” but there is no explanation, and there shouldn’t be. The unsolved mystery haunts us the longest and is what we finally remember.
This atmospheric opening caused plenty of goosebumps at the time and still has an effect years later, as the comments under a YouTube video show: “I will never forget the first time I played the game on my Xbox360. This is a real work of art!”
Sam Lake: “It was very generous”
How did the intro come about? As Sam Lake, Remedy’s creative director, told Eurogamer at Summer Game Fest, he really wanted a quote from the author to open the game.
After all, the style of the “King of Horrors” fits perfectly with the supernatural haunting that awaits Alan Wake in the game. Luckily, Stephen King was on board and only asked for a token price for his quote:
From what I understand he wanted $1 for the usage rights. [Es war] very generous.
Sam Lake via Eurogamer
The quote is from an essay Stephen King wrote for Entertainment Weekly in 2008. Titled “Why Hollywood can’t do horror,” the author discusses the failure of major film studios to properly capture the emotion of fear while appealing to the masses.
For even more scary fun, MeinMMO-Demon Cortyn has put together a list of the best horror animes for you. From brutal moral questions to more pleasant horror comedy, we don’t know what Stephen King thinks of the series.
The best horror anime if you want to get really scared