For a game about the story...*spoilers*

[1337Dude]

Does anyone else find the story to be paper thin? The game's entire plot (including the ending) could be written out in a few sentences without missing any key details. And to prove it, here you go:

Bestselling writer Alan Wake travels to the small town of Bright Falls with his wife, Alice, hoping a vacation will cure his writer’s block—but when Alice disappears under mysterious circumstances, Alan finds himself trapped in a nightmarish world where darkness itself comes alive. As he searches for her, he discovers pages of a manuscript he doesn’t remember writing, which predict terrifying events and reveal that a dark force called the "Dark Presence" is using his words to reshape reality. Battling possessed townsfolk and his own unraveling mind, Alan ultimately sacrifices himself by rewriting reality to save Alice, trapping himself in a dark dimension known as the Dark Place.

I'm not under the impression that anyone really thinks Alan Wake has a great story. What people like about Alan Wake is "storytelling".

In other words, the story itself isn't important. It could be about aliens, or anything. Whatever. It doesn't matter. The plot in this game is extremely vague and any element of it could be "switched out" without harming other elements. Sort of how they "switched out" Wake for Saga in Alan Wake 2.

The point is that if it's presented to the player in a series of intense, scripted, action sequences - then players are entertained, impressed, and given the impression they experienced something artistic.

This game takes place where I live (in the Cascades). I regularly drive by the dam (Diablo dam) that the dam from the end of AW1 is based on. So there's a lot of stuff I found cool and entertaining about the game. I think they did a good job at telling a Stephen King-esque story. But ultimately, like a Stephen King story - it feels like I've consumed "pulp fiction". It's basically just an exercise in storytelling but without the depth or emotional payoff usually associated with the process.

It's not like Dragon's Dogma 1 or 2, where I feel emotionally tied to the story in any way. Not that I expect games to deliver such stories reliably.

[mdan2091]

Interesting post. could you clarify what could have been added/removed to the story to make it have an emotional payoff?

A little bit unrelated, but since we are here. Have you played Max Payne 2? I would like to read what you think about it.

[TheWizard]

well it could be done to almost every game.
Like Dragon age origins:
As one of the newest recruits of the Grey wardens, that saved you from an almost immense death sentence - you take part in their last fight against the dark spawns and become the witness of the ultimate betrayal.
Now, as the one of the last of them you must use old diplomatic contracts to gather the country of Tedas, stop civil war and bring together all of the old allies - elves, dwarfs and mages to stop the archdemon and the plague that threatens all living.

alien isolation:
Play hide and seek games vs the ultimate hunter creature on and old cosmic station that would be decommissioned soon as the daughter of the main character of the vary 1st film to uncover the truth of her being disappeared.

It is the nuances not only what, but why and how things happened matter

edit: thinking if you make a good prompt, chatGpt would pack any game plot in such small frame