Saturday, April 19, 2008

Whatever Happened To Alan Wake?

I bumped into my MP3 of the theme from Max Payne this morning, and was reminded that talented Max Payne developer Remedy Entertainment had been working on another game a while back.

Called Alan Wake, it was to tell the tale of a writer haunted by his past who finds his writings are being reflected in the small town he is staying in. Influenced by the likes of Stephen King and David Lynch, it promised to be more than a little different from your average top-shelf game.

Unfortunately, after some impressive trailers at E3 2006, Alan Wake fell off the radar. There's really been no showing of the game since, and while apparently it's still being worked on, the official release date is "when it's done". A projected release of 2008 seems to be slipping, which is a shame as this is one of the few upcoming games I'm really looking forward to.

At least it's not alone; Heavy Rain, the new game from Quantic Dream (Fahrenheit) has also vanished from scopes since 2006, with no word on whether it will reach shelves in 2008.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

*nods*
Spore too.
I was so looking forward to that, but haven't heard anything since E3 06...

Greg Tannahill said...

Spore's definitely still on its way; it just keeps slipping deadlines. There's been regular looks at it over the last few years; there's a theory around that they're having difficulty making it "fun".

Anonymous said...

Alan Wake is still on the way too, don't be worried about that.
Microsoft is keen on 2008, but both MS and Remedy want the game to be polished and ready upon release. That's why it's "When it's done".

GregT said...

Thank you, mysterious commenter. Your anonymity imbues you with an air of authority that I cannot help but respect.
8-)