Do we really need combat?

[dirty_ripper]

Surely this game is all about the atmosphere and running around shooting stuff and shining torches at enemies would kinda ruin it. Does anyone else think it would be better if either:
1: You just ran away from the hooded figures. It could be quite tense, just like that bit at the start of HL2. You have to run to safe places like churches or towers.
2. There were more creative ways of killing. For instance, you have written these creatures in your book adn they came alive so maybe you can write certain other things, for instance on the trailer when he is pinned down on the lighthouse bridge you could write that the bridge falls down, killing these creatures. Sounds a bit crap i know but it could work. It jus cant turn into an average atmospheric shooter.

[sidetwo]

The first one would get quite repetitive and the second one isn't very good in gameplay sort of sense.

They both would make the game feel more like a interactive movie then a game since you wouldn't be doing much :)

[TDNPeon]

I don't know if you've seen the non-violent video game market lately but A Tale in the Desert sucked. You should have a pinky cut off just for bringing back memories of that peice of crap.

[edifice]

I like the second idea. I saw a game on that hand-held nintendo thing (the new one) when when the player comes across an obsacle you used the controller to draw/paint a bridge over the water. Then continue on with your adventure. I don't think that this idea would be suitable for Alan Wake, in it's current state... *tangent alert*

It might be cool to have AW in an adjusted theme and with new gameplay mechanisms. Your character writes his book (set narrative, naturally), and is having nightmares and the manifestations of which are your enemies. You can use your book to rewrite events (based on multiple-choice) but because your psychosis is actively trying to defeat you, the book twists and turns the events, taking things out of context and adjusting things for its evil purpose. In fighting these demons you're representing the struggle inside of the character. To defeat the creatures you could use mainly environmental features like, as you say, collapsing the bridge. Or creating a landslide. It would be really fun to have a fully malleable world with which to defeat these machinations. I like the idea that the book represents the hub of the world, that the book is the fundemental block which the game is based around, and is kept adding to with sketches and notes, helping us get inside the characters head, developing into a kind of diary-cross-grimoire that can be read again long after the game is completed.

Anyway, here's me rambling on and on to myself. It would be a cool idea, very challenging for the developers, but if it was pulled off it could lead to wonderful gameplay. Like HL2's gravity gun, only taken to the nth level. But, your idea is pretty far and away from what Alan Wake appears to be (not to mention technology requirements), so I wouldn't hold much hope for it. :)

[MentalSentinel]

This idea would maybe be good for a small segment, something like the first encounter with them. But not during the entire game.

[Caim]

I'm actually hoping Alan Wake is as far away from Max Payne in terms of gunplay- and maybe even terms of gameplay in general- seeing as Max is a cop and Alan is a fictional horror writer, most likely not knowing much about guns.

[raizok]

wow, edifice made my noggin hurt!

but I see some of what you're saying there, creative approaches to defeating an enemy is a good idea. rather than just pointing a gun at their heads all the time :)

I hope Remedy takes note of this, we need MORE physic based gameplay. And I'd be very happy with a limited weapon arsenal provided that they do a good job on animating a realistic shooter's stance, bullet physics, etc.

[dirty_ripper]

Its just that in my experience, when games promises to be a stylish action adventure game it is let down by its average use of combat

[big2006]

-
Yall really thinking here. I would love to play a game like that.

[The Great Bundini]

I'm actually hoping Alan Wake is as far away from Max Payne in terms of gunplay- and maybe even terms of gameplay in general- seeing as Max is a cop and Alan is a fictional horror writer, most likely not knowing much about guns.

Please. And your average theoretical physicist is the equivalent of a trained commando. :P

[The Great Bundini]

2. There were more creative ways of killing. For instance, you have written these creatures in your book adn they came alive so maybe you can write certain other things, for instance on the trailer when he is pinned down on the lighthouse bridge you could write that the bridge falls down, killing these creatures. Sounds a bit crap i know but it could work. It jus cant turn into an average atmospheric shooter.

Text-based adventure game...with GRAPHICS!

I like it!

It is dark. You are likely to be eaten by a grue. But first, please stop and admire it's normal-mapped flesh and inverse kinematic wireframe structure.

[Snakе_IT]

Yes,we really need combat =)

[raizok]

I think maybe the game should be split into three "acts" where Alan slowly discovers that these creatures are actually part of his imagination. Still, since light is used as a weapon, I think thats innovative enough as far as combat goes. Remedy certainly seems to have their heads on straight :)

[Barbaren]

I see a lot of good ideas here. But if you were going to run from you enemy the entire game it would indeed get a wee bit boring after a while. So it would be better to run from the the first few times you see them (Who wouldnt anyway? :P ), and then when you get further into the game you would shoot em up and down the town.
And for variation in ways of killing anemies it would be kinda fun to create traps. The kind of traps that will kill everything that comes near it (eplosives are a lot of fun.)
Extreme and nearly suicidal traps would be my idea of fun, especially since things would be blown to pieces :D

But since this probably would take too long to crate guns are just as cool explosives.
So, instead of running away all the time you shoult have the option of fighting back with guns.... lots of guns.... huge guns.. okey okey, maybe not RALLY huge guns, but the rifles and stuff.. Cause then you would ba able to run (if youre a runner) or fight them.. or fight to death against hordes of these "enemies" while empetying several clips of ammo before you die..

Err.... yes.. the point.. The point is: You cant have a game with enemies and no guns!
And the fact that Alan Wake isnt a cop doesnt really stop him from using guns, now does it? Any fool can shoot a gun..

[raizok]

well the new gameplay idea is to defeat enemies with light. I dont see what good are guns going to do.

[matman_91]

You should have guns and they will actually be realistic. I.E you could maybe have A Pistol (Plenty of ammo, but takes a point blank headshot to take an enemy down, making it not much use against more than one enemy), A shotgun (Very ****ing powerfull but with very little ammo and slow reload, but can hit multiple enemy's), a more powerfull pistol like a Magnum (Pretty much always one hit kill, but VERY little ammo) and maybe a hunting rifle of some kind for longer range kills, but NOT any kind of machine gun, it just wouldn't fit. Then you would really have to think about when you use your guns. For example, when faced with a hoard of enemys, you guns are useless and you would have eather sneak around them, run, or use your environment to get rid of them. This would mean the player wouldn't just mow everything in thier path down but really think about ammo, tactics ETC. Also, it might be a good idea that you could only get ammo from the local store at day time, so whatever you got (which would be little due to carrying space) would have to last you the night. Bottom line is combat would always be a last resort for Alan. On another note I really think this game should have melee in it. It's just more likely that Alan would be able to use knife better than an M4 Carbine. In an ideal world you would be able to pick up anything and use it as a weapon. The ability to use the environment against your enemys in any way you want instead of just in prededermined ways would really set this game apart :) But I know that isn't likely :( A man can dream though, a man can dream.

[Barbaren]

well... i'd say guns are a lot of fun,but anything larger thn a pistol or something is going to ruin the game ^^
Like in doom 3.. youre supposed to be or get scared in that game, but... how can you possibly get scared when you have a shotgun and some seriously big guns?

But still.. Weapons and stuff makes the game more fun.

[matman_91]

Shotguns don't spoil the atmosphere, becouse the pump action means you can easily be swamped, making it a tense weapon to use.

[Tickingaway]

I think if they do it right, Alan Wake could be a really great game without killing. Where you run from your nightmares and try to find out what is making them real.

Then again, giving Alan a gun and having him go up against his worst nightmares would be fun to. I mean blasting creatures that could only be thought of in the worst of nightmares would be fun too. They could also make Alan have to face his fears. Like maybe have to kill his father or something...not really his father, but a nightmare creature that looks like his father or something.

There are several ways they could take this game. I trust Remedy to make this game just as fun as Max Payne no matter which path they take.

[Dmz]

I think they should balance the killing and running. Like even if Alan does have a gun he will not have enough ammo to shoot everything he sees in sight. He should a limited amound of ammo and it should be used wisely in the game.

[Caim]

You should have guns and they will actually be realistic. I.E you could maybe have A Pistol (Plenty of ammo, but takes a point blank headshot to take an enemy down, making it not much use against more than one enemy), A shotgun (Very ****ing powerfull but with very little ammo and slow reload, but can hit multiple enemy's), a more powerfull pistol like a Magnum (Pretty much always one hit kill, but VERY little ammo) and maybe a hunting rifle of some kind for longer range kills, but NOT any kind of machine gun, it just wouldn't fit. Then you would really have to think about when you use your guns. For example, when faced with a hoard of enemys, you guns are useless and you would have eather sneak around them, run, or use your environment to get rid of them. This would mean the player wouldn't just mow everything in thier path down but really think about ammo, tactics ETC. Also, it might be a good idea that you could only get ammo from the local store at day time, so whatever you got (which would be little due to carrying space) would have to last you the night. Bottom line is combat would always be a last resort for Alan. On another note I really think this game should have melee in it. It's just more likely that Alan would be able to use knife better than an M4 Carbine. In an ideal world you would be able to pick up anything and use it as a weapon. The ability to use the environment against your enemys in any way you want instead of just in prededermined ways would really set this game apart :) But I know that isn't likely :( A man can dream though, a man can dream.

You're my hero.
Everything I was gonna say, you have said before me.
Congratulations. :)

Remedy did say action games were its bread and butter, and in a few screenshots, Alan is carrying around a small six-shooter... so there will be some action. Let's hope that Alan never sees a fully-automatic...

[Nuky]

I'm actually hoping Alan Wake is as far away from Max Payne in terms of gunplay- and maybe even terms of gameplay in general- seeing as Max is a cop and Alan is a fictional horror writer, most likely not knowing much about guns.

Mostly agree. Guns + Scaryness does not equal atmosphere and nightmares... it equals action. And I've seen enough action (too much) in the shelves in the stores the last hundred years.

The action needs to fit the environments IMO... not the hollywood-action-lover-dudes who can't think of anything else than guns and weapons. and there's those who plays war with themself if they just find a stick on the ground. do not listen to those people... listen to the book/game :)

kthx :|


*time for bed -_-*

[Awaken]

Advanced physics and all kind of different use of lights. That all weapon we need.

[Nuky]

Movements.