The head of Remedy was eager to have a quote from Stephen King to introduce the horror adventure Alan Wake (Xbox, 2010). The “King of Horror” granted his wish.
Which game is it about? Alan Wake is an atmospheric horror game from Remedy Entertainment. Players control the titular writer, who travels with his wife Alice to a remote village to overcome his writer’s block.
However, after the sudden disappearance of his wife, Alan Wake must confront the forces of darkness, armed only with a flashlight and a simple revolver.
The thriller adventure was released in 2010 exclusively for Xbox, before a PC release followed in 2012. In 2021, the game was given a polished remaster version, and the long-awaited sequel is expected to be released later this year.
The developers even promise the “best-looking game of 2023” (via GamePro).
David Lynch meets Stephen King
What’s up with the intro? Right from its opening sequence, Remedy makes it clear where the inspirations for Alan Wake came from. We wind through a mountain pass, floating over pine forests as the glowing sunset slowly gives way to the fog.
Like the iconic mystery series Twin Peaks, Alan Wake also takes place in an apparently idyllic small town in the coniferous forests of Washington. As soon as the protagonist’s voiceover, spoken in German by Morit Brendel, begins, the second major influence becomes evident.
For Alan Wake begins with a quote from the legendary horror author Stephen King:
Nightmares exist outside of logic. There’s little point in trying to explain them. They are the antithesis of the poetry of fear. In horror stories, the victim constantly asks “Why?”, but there is no explanation and there shouldn’t be. The unresolved mystery haunts us the longest and is what we ultimately remember.
This atmospheric opening caused quite a chill back then and still holds its impact years later, as comments under a YouTube video show: “I will never forget how I played the game for the first time on my Xbox 360. It’s a true work of art!”
Sam Lake: “It was very generous”
How did the intro come about? As Sam Lake, the creative director of Remedy, revealed to Eurogamer at the Summer Game Fest, he longed for a quote from the author to open the game.
After all, the style of the “King of Horror” fits perfectly with the supernatural haunting that awaits Alan Wake in the game. Fortunately, Stephen King was on board and only requested a symbolic fee for his quote:
As far as I know, he wanted $1 for the usage rights. [It was] very generous.
Sam Lake via Eurogamer
The quote comes from an essay that Stephen King wrote in 2008 for Entertainment Weekly. Titled “Why Hollywood can’t do horror,” the author discusses the failure of major film studios to capture the feeling of fear correctly while appealing to the masses.
For even more horror fun, MeinMMO demon Cortyn has compiled a list of the best horror animes. From brutal moral questions to more pleasant horror comedies, everything is here – but we don’t know what Stephen King thinks about the series.
