Microsoft: Alan Wake will no longer be coming to the PC

[Sedako]

I actually don't think of horror at all when I hear "thriller" mentioned in the context of a movie's genre. It doesn't mean horror at all, but suspense.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/thriller

Suspense is not the same as horror.

 

[Remus]

Scratches

Clock Tower

Fatal Frame

Enjoy living out the rest of your life wearing diapers because you can't control your bowels anymore.

/me watches gameplay videos of said games/series.

:| You're kidding me right? Those are the best examples you could find? However if you're going to argue that I have to actually be playing those games to experience the "horror", then I could use that logic to say that you have to play Alan Wake first before claiming if it's scary or not.

I wish they would make a new genre for movies and games called "startle" so that we could have real horror movies still be called horror, and movies that just use shitty tactics like sudden and loud noises be startlers. I jumped at a few things in FEAR, but they were nothing more than cheap gimmicks that didn't make me fearful of anything in the game.

Also this.

 

[Bad^Hat]

/me watches gameplay videos of said games/series.

:| You're kidding me right? Those are the best examples you could find? However if you're going to argue that I have to actually be playing those games to experience the "horror", then I could use that logic to say that you have to play Alan Wake first before claiming if it's scary or not.

Clearly you don't understand the horror-shattering implications of being able to shine a flashlight on things.

Wait.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb1nVP6RX7E

 

[Darkside55]

He sprints through a hail of gunfire, but there was no slo-mo.

Beginning at 1:42 in the video. You clearly see the action slow down, the bullet traces are visible, the sound takes on that "underwater" quality in order to simulate the sound traveling slower. That is bullet time.

I've never seen a "bullet time" effect in any of the videos I've watched that wasn't a cinematic effect, or a byproduct of something you'd already done (like shooting a flare).

It may all be controlled by the game; that is, you yourself might not control the slow-mo like in Max Payne, but it DOES occur. And in the police chase videos as well as the 2009 trailer, it gives you the slow-mo in advantageous situations or as some kind of encounter reward.

The entire time he was being pursued by an unseen assailant. You know, the thing you were complaining doesn't happen earlier.

No, you mistake me; I didn't say that he still isn't pursued by things. Except now we know the things he's pursued by are easily bested by a flashlight and a gun.

But yeah, you're totally right, BANG BANG BANG haha, who ever heard of an effective horror/thriller game/movie with guns.

You're being ironic, but think about it: who did? It's like Frictional said in their blog, if you don't fear the monsters, if you can kill them with (relative) ease, that's not scary.


You know I think the reason I hate on Alan Wake so bad is because my expectations were completely different. Four years they were showing that day/night cycle with the shadows lengthening along the coastline, the atmospheric effects, the car chase with the Raimi-zoom and Alan's mad scrabble to unlock the gate to the lighthouse. And all the themes that Remedy was talking about...I mean, am I to blame for thinking this game was going to be a horror game? Because with all that they were saying, my mind built up some serious hype around this shit. Years of development dulled it considerably, but I was still looking forward to it. And they give me bullet time and shadow men you shine a flashlight on and then gun down like your average mook.

I mean doesn't anyone else in here feel like, "Man, what the fuck? This is NOT what they were showing me." Maybe it's just me, because everyone else seems to be like, "NO YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT DARKSIDE HERE ARE SOME DEFINITIONS AND LISTS AND I DIDN'T SEE BULLET TIME AND THE GAMES YOU SAID ARE SCARY DON'T SEEM SCARY."

It's like, damn. Maybe it was just me then who saw these trailers of a horror writer getting chased and went, "Awesome, a horror game."

 

[Krynn72]

I mean doesn't anyone else in here feel like, "Man, what the fuck? This is NOT what they were showing me." Maybe it's just me, because everyone else seems to be like, "NO YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT DARKSIDE HERE ARE SOME DEFINITIONS AND LISTS AND I DIDN'T SEE BULLET TIME AND THE GAMES YOU SAID ARE SCARY DON'T SEEM SCARY."

Nah, me and several other people realized that this was not the game we thought it was, and have completely lost interest. Its quite obvious that the game has changed in fact. I mean, it was originally supposed to be a horror game, supposed to be out with vista, supposed to show off DX10, supposed to make exemplary use of quad core processors, etc etc. Now, they just dumbed everything down and made it a gimmicky shooter thats console exclusive. I'd wager that Microsoft figured a good horror game wouldn't sell as well as another gimmicky shooter, and forced Remedy to make it this way.

 

[Warbie]

I was expecting something like a more open ended Alone in the Dark. Mooching around town and talking to creepy locals during the day, finding places to hide at night, looking for clues, suspense, mystery. I'm not against a bit of action - even a killing shadow beasts with a torch, although i'd rather it wasn't revealed you'd be killing shadows beats with a torch in the damn trailer! - but not if that turns out to be the main event.

 

[Harryz]

Wait, people thought this was going to be a straight horror genre? I'm not sure what everyone is trying to argue here. The game is a psychological thriller, as in Twin Peaks; touching on the same themes - supernatural, horror and thriller. Although I agree we what most people are saying, I do not like the direction Remedy have taken the game.

 

[Bad^Hat]

I was merely arguing what the game is, not what it was or could have been. I clearly haven't been following the game as closely as I thought I had, but in all honesty everything I saw before the recent gameplay footage I took as them displaying their tech and little more. Maybe I missed something. Either way, doesn't matter now.

I rewatched the video (several times), the slo-mo is almost certainly just for cinematic effect. It slows down slightly and the noise cuts out, but if you actually watch it the bullets are still hitting instantaneously, so there's no way he could dodge them. If he was even trying, that is.

And just to be clear, the unseen assailant I was talking about wasn't the shadow men, it was whatever was "creating" them. The Lost monster sounding thing. Which isn't to imply it's spectacularly subtle or anything.

Edit: Also, I always thought they were trying to strike a Stephen King vibe with the game.

 

[<RJMC>]

I also have diferent spectations,I remnber in a video the players seems to escape from a tornado so I thought "cool you have to scape from tornados" and now it looks like a resident evil 4 kind of game whit a flashlight

also remnber the living bulldozer and that gives me a vision that the game was going to be a bit like shadow of the colossus were gameplay is about solving and doing diferent sutff and not just killing enemies earning points and passing next lvl

but sure microsoft pushed them on that

microsoft: "wait,this looks too inovative and original and not very frecuent compared to the most sellled games,change it! put zombies and filters! and quick michael bay-like action on it!"

but still I find it interesting,but mostly for the enviroments

 

[bam23]

2005: "Alan Wake is a Vista and 360 exclusive"

2009: "****, we dunno about Vista atm, 360 version will come first"

2010: "lol sry"

 

[Bad^Hat]

"Oh man this selective footage doesn't look like the other selective footage I saw GUESS THEY MUST HAVE CUT IT ALL goddamnit Microsoft."

 

[Darkside55]

We're talking about what appears to be the core game mechanic, the way you resolve encounters. If you're being chased by groups of shadow people, getting mobbed, and you simply have to shine a light on them before dispatching them, that's probably not what most people were expecting from the initial trailers.

It isn't about something being cut or picking-and-choosing footage, we're talking about core gameplay here. Maybe the original scene with the lighthouse is still in the game, but the tension it was trying to convey, with Alan frantically searching his pockets for a key to get into the lighthouse, is completely trumped by the fact that all he needed to do was shine a flashlight on them to keep them at bay.

 

[VirusType2]

What if it's dark and they are coming from all angles -you can't see well and you're desperately searching in the darkness, aiming the flashlight in all directions trying to stop them, but there's too many of them. They are relentless.

It all depends if it's challenging or not. I often see gameplay videos where the difficulty or AI is standing there waiting to die, not even putting up a fight. If the game releases like that, it won't be any good. But maybe they just wanted to show the player dominating because - it sells. I don't know.

Anyway, I'm over this game. No PC version, no give a shit.

 

[VictimOfScience]

Anyway, I'm over this game. No PC version, no give a shit.

Here is where I netted out with this game.

 

[Krynn72]

I'd like to take back my comment about having better developers to support. I should have said I have better publishers to support. Remedy isnt the one who made the no PC decision.

 

[Shakermaker]

I'd like to take back my comment about having better developers to support. I should have said I have better publishers to support. Remedy isnt the one who made the no PC decision.

Of course they were part of the decision. Alan Wake's development was a snafu. Seven years of not releasing a game has put Remedy in a tight spot, financially. Microsoft simply made them an offer they couldn't refuse.

 

[Acepilotf14]

After reading most of this thread, all I can think of is Luigi's Mansion.

 

[Krynn72]

Of course they were part of the decision. Alan Wake's development was a snafu. Seven years of not releasing a game has put Remedy in a tight spot, financially. Microsoft simply made them an offer they couldn't refuse.

Not really. Microsoft is the publisher. The case was probably less "we'll give you more money to make it xbox only," and more of "we're not allowing you to make a PC version."

Remedy themselves said they wanted to do a PC version, but that it was all "up to their publisher."

 

[Uriel]

Another reason why I will try to avoid buying ANYTHING microsoft.

 

[VictimOfScience]

They should have published it themselves...on Steam!!!

 

[Krynn72]

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/x10-cinematic-alan-wake/61955


It seriously looks like the only gameplay in it is shining your flashlight/shooting things. The only different thing they showed was Alan awkwardly dodging a helicopter shotgun and hiding behind a conveniently large rock.

 

[Mirage]

It seriously looks like the only gameplay in it is shining your flashlight/shooting things.

Sounds a tad too much like Doom 3! Seriously though, Alan Wake doesn't really seem like something that would hold my interest for very long. I just hope my impulses don't over-power me to the point where I actually end up buying it.

 

[Paulaner]

Remedy themselves said they wanted to do a PC version, but that it was all "up to their publisher."

Next time I advice them to choose a less shitty publisher, because all this Alan Wake story undermined Remedy's credibility.

 

[Krynn72]

I doubt many other publishers would have had the facilities or inclination to fund this project for 5+ years.

 

[Warbie]

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/x10-cinematic-alan-wake/61955

I actually quite liked the look of that. Maybe best to sit back and see what the final game delivers ..

 

[Paulaner]

I doubt many other publishers would have had the facilities or inclination to fund this project for 5+ years.

Yes, I know, money is money. But from an artistic point of view, let's suppose you are a writer and your publisher forces you to make changes against your artistic vision or purpose. If you accept the publisher decisions, to your readers you are equally responsible for such changes. So I will put the blame on Microsoft AND on Remedy.

 

[VictimOfScience]

Here's the box art:

Someone PLEASE mock-up a PC box, mmkay?

 

[Krynn72]

Yes, I know, money is money. But from an artistic point of view, let's suppose you are a writer and your publisher forces you to make changes against your artistic vision or purpose. If you accept the publisher decisions, to your readers you are equally responsible for such changes. So I will put the blame on Microsoft AND on Remedy.

Thats a load of BS. You wouldn't blame a child who reluctantly steals shit because his parents told him to. Unless you're just an asshole who hates kids.

They accept MS's money because they have to in order to keep the company afloat. If MS says they will cut the money off if they dont make the changes they want, then you can't blame Remedy for doing so in order to save the jobs and livelihood of everyone in the company. You blame MS for forcing those changes.

 

[VirusType2]

Microsoft are the assholes here.

Microsoft published games:

Gears of War series
Forza series
Halo Series
Alan Wake
Fable series
etc..

It isn't hard to see. They tried to boost Vista sales with Halo 2 and talk of Alan Wake and DX10. When Vista failed and Sony started actually selling some PS3's, Microsoft put all it's eggs in one basket - as they say - and that basket was the Xbox. No Gears of War 2, no Halo 3, no Alan Wake... if it isn't clear yet, it's over now. They aren't bringing any more games to the PC for as long as the Xbox is around.

Microsoft already owns 93% of the business and home computer market. They don't need to push sales. The only front where they are fighting hard is in the console war.

So that's why they aren't bringing their games to the PC. They need to give you a reason to want an Xbox. But there's no way I'll ever buy a console, and if Microsoft doesn't want to sell me PC games, then some other company will.

As long as people buy PC games, there will be PC games. So here we are back at the 93% number (see above). 93% of people in the world who own a computer run Windows, so that's a huge market for PC games out there up for grabs. So PC games aren't dying, Microsoft are just being ****s. That's what businesses do when it's in their best interest.

*Statistics approximate

 

[Bad^Hat]

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/x10-cinematic-alan-wake/61955

"Something better played than explained."

Thought it worth noting - even at the most basic level, it's not "just" shining your light and shooting. When you shine a light on an enemy, he's instantly stunned, making him less of a threat. However, if you watch closely it seems to take a few seconds for the darkness to peel away, making them vulnerable to fire, so there's actually going to be an element of strategy to how you take out groups of enemies. Things like flares and activating light placements might be more important than it first appears, since your flashlight beam is actually pretty narrow.

(This is just based on my observation of the game, feel free to correct me.)

Also, consider this:

Max Payne was "just" shooting with bullet time.

Fatal Frame was "just" taking pictures of ghosts.

Silent Hill was "just" awkwardly hitting things with a 2x4.

You see where I'm going with this.

 

[jondy]

New preview, Totilo considers it pretty freakin' rad

Man I'm looking forward to the reviews coming in, averaging around the 90 point, and then all you lemons giving it all the 'xbox mags are super-lame' etc. etc.

 

[Krynn72]

Links to reviews maybe? Dont want to read that preview since it seems like its just a summary of the first part, and thus just one massive spoiler.

 

[Barnz]

kotaku is full of shit

 

[Darkside55]

Gears of War series
Forza series
Halo Series
Alan Wake
Fable series

Who cares
who cares
who cares
who cares
who cares

If Microsoft doesn't want to publish any more games for Windows, it's not like there's a big loss.

 

[Warbie]

Yeah! PC gamers are overwhelmed with decent action games these days - even giving them the choice would be an insult!

 

[Darkside55]

If the choices were Gears, Halo, Alan Wake and Fable, yeah, it would be an insult.

 

[Barnz]

I just watched a gameplay video on some french blog. the gameplay is similar to max payne games, which is nice, but why combat looks so akward - it doesn't look fun at all. the graphics also look terrible on xbox360 because there's no anti-aliasing, low-res textures/models. I hope they don't **** it up - I like Remedy.

 

[Warbie]

If the choices were Gears, Halo, Alan Wake and Fable, yeah, it would be an insult.

Because the current choices/console ports are so much better? It's a problem when the powers that be don't deem PC gamers worthy of a choice.

 

[VictimOfScience]

It's a problem when the powers that be don't deem PC gamers worthy of a choice.

Probably something to do with retailers doing the same thing. Assholes. Oh, and the consumers are assholes too because they don't demand more PC presence in stores by BUYING PC GAMES. Ugh.

Oh, and this just got a 'T' rating. I personally agree with 1up that it seems like it is just an attempt at recovering some of the investment from the game's five-plus years in development. Then again, the idiots who shop at WalMart wouldn't know a good game if it shined a flashlight in their face before shooting them in slo-mo.

 

[Gargantou]

Personally I'm looking forward to this, can get it for a total of 30 euro over here(ordinary price is 60) from GameStop brand new on the 360 by just buying two crappy 360 used games for 5 euro each, then trading them both in, and paying GameStop 20 euro.

It's part of their new desperate attempt to get more customers over here in Sweden(I think they're loosing ground to another video game store chain, yay.)