Coinciding with the release of Alan Wake 2, BAFTA published a special mini-documentary packed with interviews from key developers after a deep-dive visit at the Espoo-based offices.
Alongside a studio tour, the team talks about a range of topics, including the challenges of game development, the Alan Wake 2 script, world-building, chalkboards, the motion capture process, the Northlight engine, what makes Remedy unique, the connected universe, and what's next.
In the introduction to the video, Sam Lake (Creative Director) talks about the misconceptions of game development, which branches to an array of topics. Early on, he admits, "I don't think that a lot of people realise all the different aspects that are part of a video game and make up a video game, and just the sheer complexity of it. People just think, well.. coding is one thing, but it's actually so many different important parts of it; creating the tools, or creating the totally baffling and genius-level mathematics of how light works inside the game engine and how things are rendered, and then the scripting of the logic of actions that we need to script in. All of that, so many areas of expertise just within that... but then on top of that, audio and music, 2D art and concept art, and animation."
In the video, we hear from different members across multiple projects, including Sam Lake (Creative Director), Elmeri Raitanen (Art Director, Control 2), Simon Wasselin (Lead Narrative Designer on Alan Wake 2), Brooke Maggs (Senior Narrative Designer), Mikael Kasurinen (Creative Director, Control Franchise), and Muhammad Mughal (Senior Performance Capture Artist) on their individual crafts.
While at the office, they also recorded a special video with Sam as he talks about the games that have influenced him growing up, the current games that have inspired him, and what he looks forward to playing next. In the interview, they also talk about his work at Remedy, the origins of Alan Wake, and what Sam's ultimate personal dream game would contain.
