Why Alan Wake has the best video game story-telling in years

Agreed. Definitely one of the best I have ever experience. Excellent game! A Gamers game.

Red Dead good storytelling? WTF? Heavy Rain with all it's half assed plot holes and random tories mashed together to try to accomodate to your decisions? seriously people...the game was not scary per'se but i was very suspenseful and it did had some very good story telling, red dead's story was gripping and if it were a movie it would've been mazing, but the story was not well told, and I LOVE RDR!!! Heavy Rain , on the other hand once again had a wonderful story but because it was a game of player's decisions it failed at putting your options together in the story and in some cases a cutscene that would've made perfect sense in one route taken ,it would make shitballs sense if thrown in a different player's game. the story was great but there were many loopholes that it was not told properly, I agree with Eaxis, awkm you citing someone else's review does not win your argument sorry, but repost all you want and you will still look like a tool at this point, live by your own words and Do it well, or don't do it at all.

@JADENkOTOR yeah, sorry. I was indeed being a big tool. A little hot-headed. I definitely agree with you on Dragon Age and ME1 + ME2. Bioware has used traditional styles of play and presented a very compelling and masterfully written story to go a long with those traditions. Dragon Age was the last game I played that I really felt connected to the story and other characters. However, BioWare wasn't trying to do anything crazy and present us with new mechanics or methods of delivery. They just did a phenomenal job of what already worked and made it that much better. Also agreed with Bioshock. I could go into a whole other flame about the morality system of saving/killing little sisters--as you said, it's far from earth shattering. I'm glad you enjoyed my follow-up.

@ awkm: I like your new post good argument

Yeah I have to agree, awkm is being a tool on this one. I have a hard time putting this up with ME1,ME2 and even Dragon Age. There is just so much more depth to these stories and BioWare has absolutely perfected the art of telling them. I don't think Bioshock even comes close though. The atmosphere and setting of the story was great but as for the story itself, not so much. Also you don't have that tie with your character that makes him feel like a representation of yourself... there are no decisions to made other than that of the little sisters which isn't earth shattering in itself. That being said I own both and they are still very legitimate games.

@tp84 you are right, indeed. I neglected to state my points clearly. Here are points that I will use to back up my crit: http://www.criticalsmack.com/?p=600 @eaxis rehashing my format and debate does not garner an automatic win for you, sorry. To reiterate the points in Critical Smack, the foreshadowing technique that is used in Alan Wake feels stilted at best. Although Mr. Houghton does mention tropes that traditional horror genres take advantage of (prolonging anxiety to create very real biological and chemical reactions to the body), Alan Wake relies too heavily on these and repeats them too often. While not having cut scenes is great, Alan Wake does not effectively convey emotional content in a way that is new or interesting. I feel that the game medium affords itself to express emotion through each individual button press--doing something physical to recreate an emotional response. This is why I mention Heavy Rain and Shadow of the Colossus. The electric wire sequence was great in that it reproduced an awkward in-game physical gesture into a a real-life button physical gesture. In addition to that is cutting-own-finger sequence. I would argue that no one would sit through a torture scene like that. It's not pleasurable. However, Quantic managed to get players to not only sit through and witness it, but to also actively get players to cut the hand off and exacerbate the self-torture by not making it cut the finger work on the first try--you have to do it multiple times! Almost made me throw up. In SotC, you are constantly trained to hold on in-game to the colossi's hair and literally hold onto the R1 button in real life. Holding the R1 button replicates the physical strain that the protagonist is going through in the game, it's hard to keeping pressing R1, it puts a lot of strain on the wrist. Finally, at the end of the game you are given the choice to hold on before getting sucked into the vortex. However, the game will not end if you keep holding on. You MUST let go. The game is about letting go. I argue it to be the most powerful moment in gameplay to date. (more on shadow, http://www.etc.cmu.edu/etcpress/content/shadow-colossus-nick-fortugno) Going back to Alan Wake, the screenshot of the manuscript that Mr. Houghton provides is enough evidence to allow me to make the case about the game having terrible writing. The game is about a writer, but why does he have the writing capacity of a middle schooler? It's so bad to the extent that it makes pulp horror fiction look good. I don't understand how this happened. If the game was marketed differently, it might have done better in my eyes. However, maybe this is enough to be considered a "good" game. I would argue that Bioshock its narrative+gameplay tie-ins are weak as well. It feels like Ayn Rand's objectivism was just slapped on. To me, it's just an FPS with some nice art deco architecture and a strange narrative backdrop that doesn't seem to tie in. As a game designer, I strive to make games like SotC. As a gamer, we should demand more well thought out and executed games. Honestly, I was so excited for Alan Wake when I heard about it, but it just didn't deliver on its promises. Anyway. I always love a debate. Flame away!

@ awkm. I’m gonna disagree too. not with your opinion as its yours and you can say what you damn like sir! but you just said its a terrible game with bad writing etc... ok, you think its an awful game with terrible narrative but you didn’t say why at all. eg: i think cornflakes are terrible, I hate them so much. they a probably the worst breakfast cereal i have ever put in my mouth. I wish they would die. like your comment i have learned no information at all apart from the hating of cornflakes. Back your points up buddy, we’d live in a happier place. Peace ps. eaxis = burned

Dear awkm. I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with just about everything you have said. That is NOT a good way to criticise a great article. It's an article about why Alan Wakes story-telling is good. He has a lot of good points, and his writing is great. Even the way your words are integrated into sentences fails. I think that people like you are actually extremely detrimental to the forward momentum of good criticism. For what it is... your criticism fails on so many levels that it's not even funny. Furthermore, not giving the article credit for anything is even worse. Seriously, Mr.awkm, you need to step up your game. Your comment was terrible if you consider its genre and subject matter. Serious? Not at all. It was only about being negative, and your writing is dreadful. I'm seriously wondering what school you came from. Do it well, or don't do it at all. BTW it's spelled Criticism.

@ awkm: Did you even play Alan Wake?

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with just about everything you have said. This is NOT a good step for game narrative. It's a story about a writer and his writing is TERRIBLE. Even the way in which narrative is integrated (rather, it's not) into gameplay fails. I think that games like Alan Wake are actually extremely detrimental to the forward momentum that games like Shadow of the Colossus and (if I dare say) parts of Heavy Rain have accomplished. For what it is... this game fails on so many levels that it's not even funny. Furthermore, giving the game credit for its failure is even worse. Seriously, Mr. Houghton, you need to step up your critique. Alan Wake was terrible if you consider its genre and subject matter. Scary? Not at all. It was about a writer, and the game's writing is dreadful. I'm seriously wondering what school these writers came from. Do it well, or don't do it at all.

I mean, I thought it was clever how in Deadly Premonition how it seemed York's split personality was actually the player, and blurred the line between what was his action and hat were yours.

spawny0908: Red Dead Redemption was just the classic GTA recipe with mission dialogue, and then cutscene after cutscene.

Mass Effect 1: Virmire-Illos-Citadel sequence. Anyone who disagrees with me can go die

Great read. I really liked to find as many manuscript pages as I could to make it more immersive. I think the tv shows was cool, and the radio shows gave another angle on the scenes that played out.

So, do you think the story telling is better then Deadly Premonition? Hey, stop laughing, I'm being serious here!

Better than Bioshock and Red Dead Redemption? I disagree HIGHLY.

this actual seems like its contender for this years storytelling award i wish i had a xbox to check it out since they canceled the pc version

It's not a lake. It's an ocean.

Sorry, I meant storytelling-wise, not overall game-wise. BioShock just jumped in my head as the most recent game where the story really grabbed me, and made me want to hunt down every recording.

Alan Wake is one of my favorite games of all time. I enjoyed the game itself so much, I also bought the novelization, which is very awesome and has served to draw me even deeper in. The narrative is slightly different than that of the game, but it's that difference that allows the reader to really find out more about the characters than if they had simply played the game alone.