Alan Wake Was Nearly A Sandbox Title

Remedy Entertainment tried to make Alan Wake into a sandbox title-before scrapping the idea during development for a more linear approach. At Microsoft’s X10 event in San Francisco last week, Remedy writer Sam Lake said that the studio “constantly tried new things” during the game’s creation.

“We were constantly trying different gameplay elements to see which would end up in the game and which would work well together,” said Lake.

“Certainly, there were prototypes we tested and were not happy with that didn’t end up as part of what Alan Wake is.

“For example, early on we tried out sandbox elements. With them we were constantly running into situations where we had to [endure] big compromises in our thriller pacing and our thriller storytelling. At the end of they day we decided it wasn’t worth it. We wanted to do a story-driven game – that’s what we feel Remedy games are supposed to be.

“[Sandbox] was one thing we decided to abandon and go in a different direction. Some of these things look good on paper, and then when you try them out they don’t work as well.”

I agree with their choice not to make it a sandbox title because Alan Wake is all about the atmosphere and story-telling, so the linear approach would be the better option to achieve this.