In 2004, Remedy begun research for their upcoming title at the time, Alan Wake. It's now 10 years later and it seems like a pretty good moment to look back on the game's development process. Personally, I really like seeing the numbers at the end of a title's production; how long did it take to complete? How much did it cost? How many reference photos were taken? It's something that really interests me. So today we're going to be looking at exactly that!
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne was Remedy's final game in the series. They originally shared the IP and ownership with 3DRealms, but later sold the series to Rockstar. Shortly after, Rockstar Vancouver (Barking Dog Studio) then began developing the third instalment of the franchise.
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| Source: Alan Wake Illuminated |
As for Alan Wake, while Remedy doesn't like to reveal much about their numbers, a few years ago they talked about the predicted costs for developing the title.
It's important to note that this was the predicted cost before they entered the publishing deal with Microsoft Games Studios. Remedy was financing the projects themselves for a few years until the deal was made. The final total has not been publicly revealed.
Once the original concept was created, the art team travelled to America, visiting places such as Oregon and Washington to photograph inspiration for the game's setting.
The original concept for the game also looked at having an open world level design. This would allow free movement through Bright Falls. Later Remedy decided that the story structure and themes would contrast with this design; after all the game focuses on Alan treading a predetermined path, while an open world level design gives the impression of freedom.
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| Source: Alan Wake Illuminated |
Going back to the story structure, the narrative is delivered in a number of different ways; through the manuscript pages, cinematics and voice overs. All of these elements were combined into a single script for the game.
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| Source: Official Script released for Humble Bundle |
To round up the article, here are some numbers looking at the duration of the development process from the game's announcement at E3 2005.
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| (Calculated) |
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| (Calculated) |
