Reality is Just a Toy for Adults
In the footage Remedy showed off from one of their Alan Wake 2 prototypes, we’re introduced, briefly, to a new mechanic that involves my being granted the ability to bend time and space to my will, for they are my playthings and all who challenge me will burn. There wasn’t enough time to really flesh out the idea, but there’s enough there to give me some ideas.
That is, assuming I understand where they were going with it. Using dimensional tears to rewrite reality is the godlike power I was born to possess, and it’s also a nifty trick employed by Elizabeth, the Master of Unlocking, in BioShock Infinite.
This sort of thing can be an incredibly useful tool for a storyteller like Same Lake, and it can even add a layer of intrigue to the gameplay. Going back to BioShock, the rifts Elizabeth could open could quickly turn a losing battle into a guaranteed victory.
There’s an endless number of ways this sort of mechanic could be used in a series like Alan Wake, which already deals with alternate dimensions and a reality that can be easily rewritten — figuratively, and in some cases literally — so long as the author has the right tools.
Reality is But a Toy for Adults
Keep it Weird
Of the plethora of things I could list that I love about this series, its greatest strength might be how weird it is. These games are unabashed in their strangeness. Its somewhat dreamlike visual style and a tenuous grasp on reality give these games a surreal quality that I’m used to seeing in a David Lynch production.
There’s nothing quite like Alan Wake right now, at least as far as video games go. This is a series that has never sold out, never hesitated to be less than what it is. This series has never been anything less than fully committed to its relentlessly quirky nature, and that’s a small part of why it’s so special. What’s not to love about a franchise that’s wholly unique and honest, with no intention of stealing market share from Resident Evil. You’ll never see an underdeveloped multiplayer get shoehorned in on the whim of a greedy publisher, and if all of that isn’t reason enough to love these games, I honestly don’t know what is.
