Remedy 'Threw Away Six Months Of Work' Due To 'One Big Mistake'

CC: Alan Wake's been coming for a long time. Six years to be precise. But when Remedy Entertainment started development on the highly anticipated title, they didn't realise that six months later, all would be thrown away and started again.

[kevco33]

I'm sure a lot of developers have similar problems... doesn't mean their games arrive four years late!

[mjolliffe]

LOL! Yes, annoying. But, I'm still really looking forward to it!

[blitz0623]

IW can learn from that. If they do, less glitches for MW2

[mjolliffe]

Yeah, well maybe with Activision supposedly hiring a third developer for the COD series, IW can take longer to create their games.

But anyway, lets look forward to Alan Wake. IW's next game can wait until they tell us about it :)

[Venatus-Deus]

Small developer, 6 years, one game, one investment, one egg, one basket, one platform.

I think if you could create a guide to running a successful games studio then the Alan Wake direction is certainly a way to mess with the Finance Director’s head.

@FOXGOD… Sure, but that’s not the point I was making.

[Foxgod]

One big platform.

[Denial]

It's funny cause he has a FFXIII avatar.

[Venatus-Deus]

Why? FFXIII is multiplatform.

EDIT: @ Denial. Ahhh, OK, I see your point. But is kind of like not really ironic seeing that SE has released tons of games since 2006. There is a difference between “scheduling” and “delay”.

I guess we’ll agree to disagree.

[Denial]

How is it being multiplatform relevant? I found it ironic that a guy with a FFXIII avatar (which has been delayed for 4 years I believe) said what he said.

[bjornbear]

ONE BIG MISTAKE

not

ONE BIG PLATFORM

get it right g0d!!!

- still, this happens to the best of them =) its cool they were honest...

[Commander TK]

cool IMO. Oh well. Alan Wake is my most anticipated title of 2010, despite me not having a 360.

[orange-skittle]

I appreciate that they took the time to see that a sandbox thriller would not being so thrilling after all. Honestly, it wouldn't have been. You cant tell a dynamic story w/ many side stories branching off. Look at the pacing of GTA...you would complete a couple of missions and come back to it. This game is supposed to be like a movie/mini series and pacing is important. If you go off into side missions, you lose focus on the game and it's direction. You cant have all the side missions thrilling and heart pounding, they would just be filler.

@ catguykyou

Socom took a year and 10 patches to be where it is at the consumers expense. They used the game sales to fund the project because Sony told them to put it out there without going gold. Slant 6 was running out of funding from Sony(Publisher) and used sales profit to fix it. I know this for a fact.

[FamilyGuy]

Having to restart something from scratch sucks in any situation but at least they never gave up or got too lazy to finish like another game that took forever and eventually became vaporware.

[Strikepackage Bravo]

are much larger than Remedy, they only have about 40 to 50 people in the entire company.

[Old Greg]

It could have been 6 years later.....
Thats prolly what happened to Duke Nukem Forever, lol.

[Tiberium]

Please don't put quotes in all caps. It's extremely annoying.

[andron]

If your trying to tell as story a bit of linearity and control of the way the game develops is needed.

This reminds me of the Insomniac "Killing your babies" story, Great devs. must make some hard choices sometimes, probably why their games often turn out great...

[KingME]

Oh, I see what you're saying...Kinda like GT5 right?

[Microsoft Xbox 360]

That's what happens when you over promise

[SaberEdge]

Well I think they made the right decision for their game.

[360FTW2]

I Agree kinda like "Every Game will run at 1080p 60 FPS right?"

[mythamp]

Better than every game below 720p in the "NEXT GEN" - HD world. FOOL

[360FTW2]

You have a robocop avatar and you call me a fool....lol you crack me up.

[SpaceSquirrel]

I don't mind the extra wait. As Miyamoto said, "A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever"

[sashimi]

Miyamoto is a wise man anyway this happens , its a part of developing games.

[Rainstorm81]

I think games like Too Human is the exception to the Miyamoto rule.

[dabri5]

Unless it's patched to be good *socom*

[BeaArthur]

SpaceSquirrel...agree, I'd rather have a game that was delayed for quality purposes instead of a game that was released before it was ready and sucks.

[Christopher]

@Raiinstorm: Just means it wasn't delayed long enough... long enough to get Dyack off the project and someone with a better gameplay design to fix his mistakes.

[Nihilism]

They must be refering to the formerly PC exclusive status of it, but I think the big mistake was not bringing it to PC, now if it comes, it will be a last minute dumbed down port...

[Foxgod]

Maybe its the shift from open world to semi open world.

[BannedForNineYears]

Alan Wake would be interesting as a sandbox game.

[Hands Up For Games]

But it wouldnt be a 'pyschological action thriller' if they did.

Some Gamers want the Moon on a stick!

[baodeus]

I think they did the right thing to improve the quality of the game.

@killer,

U don't anything about the x360. U can play it out of the disc. Installing game on x360 is OPTIONAL (NOT MANDATORY), FF13 included. Unlike some games on the PS3, including demos from PSN, which have mandatory installation.

How someone actually agree with killer is beyond me (maybe about the part with no HDD, but if you agree on mandatory installation, u should do more research). Fanboy are so ignorant.

Get your fact straight before u post.

[TwistedMetal]

I dont see whats so special about this game when other tps will be better. The fake spirit flash light stuff is a turn off. The othere tps will play better as well. alan wake, wake up is so corny. This game brings nothing new to the table. A whole bunch of bad textures and dark lvls for the loss. after 6 years they only have this mediocre stuff to show lol? also FF13 was shown in 2006 and released in 2009. Its also an RPG which takes longer. It also has far better everything then alan wake. alan wakes 6 years and still looking old and garbage doesnt cut it.

[adex88]

Since you obviously can play games of the future.. could you tell me what the next CoD is like?

[darkequitus]

Twisted and Mental or fortune teller

[BrownPowerzz]

twisted mental sounds like a a clone of iron_sheik, same old song over and over again ...

Alan Wake is going to be killer!!

[k-Lan]

Now this dude is a prime example of a butt hurt fanboy. Your lies are so transparent. Maybe you should work on that. lol.

[hoops]

If this were a PS3 exclusive game you would be singing praises. Dude you are too obvious in your fanboy rants. Open Zone for you!....and some soup from the soup nazi

[nix]

more like they are throwing away 6 years of hard work by working on a wrong console. hardly anything sells on 360 apart from Halo and GeOW series. yes.. there are some other franchises but not as well as the two mentioned.

anyway.. i hope this game sells well. and i wish the same for Heavy Rain. acutally, i'm buying Heavy Rain.

[k-Lan]

"hardly anything sells on 360 apart from Halo and GeOW series"

Your knowledge of the Xbox 360 is astounding! I'm impressed! If you don't mind, could you provide us with all those superior software sales numbers on the PS3?

[Marquis_de_Sade]

And nothing sells as much on the PS3 as GT and MGS, your point being?

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

All games on the 360 sell and 99.9% sell more than the PS3 by 2 to 1.

[hoops]

nix you do know that the overall software sales wise (wich happens to be the biggest form of revenue for console companies) Sony is last behind MS and Nintendo? You know this right?

[Gue1]

That I think you're forgetting about the 4m of Killzone 2, Uncharted and the 2m on only Japan for FFXIII. Now your argument it's completely void.

The X360 = GeoW and Halo. Nothing more. And games like Street Fighter, Batman and Resident Evil sold better on the PS3 too. So multiplat on the X360 doesn't sell that better either.

Don't believe me? Google is your friend. =)

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

360 http://vgchartz.com/games/i...

PS3 http://vgchartz.com/games/i...

Like I said 360 outsells the PS3 2 to 1 99.9% of the time.

[nix]

wow... i love your selective hearing. i also said - "yes.. there are some other franchises but not as well as the two mentioned." WHICH MEANS i did agree that there are other games that sells more but not as much as GeOW and Halo series.

everytime i think of 360 that's the only series i can think of. sorry but that's how MS has been marketing its product. nor it's your fault nor mine.

and where did i even say PS3 has many games which sales more? what PS3 does have is more varied and adult audience. lemme paste the quote made by "the simple truth" in the same thread:

"How many copies will a mature story based game with no online deathmatch sell on Xbox 360?

Not enough to justify 6 years of development. Get real.
If it isn't a stright up shooter, it will never sell on xbox.

Its a chavs platform for chavs, and 13 year old american kids."

and no one has bothered to reply or refute because what he is saying is true. i hope you're buying your copy of AW. i'm buying my copy of Heavy Rain. because i feel both these developers need support.

[BX81]

I really thought they were going to say they threw away six months because they were using the unreal engine. I'm really looking forward to this game, not sure if I'm going to get the C.E. yet.

[maxcer]

..and im sure you know the ins and outs of middleware like UE3 to make a statement like that? Your supposed to be a gamer, not an armchair developer

[BX81]

Maxcer said "and im sure you know the ins and outs of middleware like UE3 to make a statement like that? Your supposed to be a gamer, not an armchair developer"

Just so we understand each other Alan Wake looks better than Gears 2. So it clearly would have been a mistake to use the unreal engine. So that's what I thought they were going to say. Keep in mind how long Wake has been in development. So yes to give us the wowing effect of Alan Wake now using the Unreal engine would be a waste of time. WTF is an armchair developer? You geek monsters keep coming up with the greatest material.

[Nicaragua]

When this game was first announce I thought it looked amazing – open world full of dynamic elements. Now it looks like a next gen Silent Hill, which is still good since I like Silent Hill games.

The excuse that it wouldn’t be scary or lose the story by being open world is lame. GTA San Andrea’s managed story and open world, Even Zelda has managed story and open world since the SNES.

[The Simple Truth]

Its just that Remedy are not tallented enough.

Any developer that takes 6 years to make a game is clearly inept. I don't care who they are. 2 years for a stright sequel. 3 for a new i.p 4 maybe 5 for a revolutionary new concept and I.P.

[Wrathman]

how long were them ps3 exclusives in developement for again?

[k-Lan]

You're an idiot. Now that's as close to the truth you're ever gonna find.

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Name one open world thriller

[maximus1985]

i completely AGREE

[Pumbli]

I'm sure they just realized they had made a game too big to fit on a DVD.

[ManiacMansion]

6 years for the best console graphics is ok ;)!

KZ2 needed 4 years to be the king.

Now Alan will take the crown from Drake.

360 - it only does the bets console graphics.

SOny need now something better than uncharted2.. i mean God of War 3 cant even reach uncharted1 graphics, its more like GOW 2.5 HD

[Dev8 ing]

The 360 hasn't been the graphics king since uncharted 1 came out. If any game for the 360 this year has a chance at challenging any game on the PS3 it is Alan Wake.

[nix]

it's Open Zone. so, you're forgiven. but don't go around saying such things in the real world unless you want to get laughed at or if you're an attention wh0re.

[k-Lan]

"if you're an attention wh0re"

lmao. Like you right?

[NeutralGamer]

I got a feeling that you both are jealous fanboys...
They made 1 mistake.. So what? I bet alot developers had done that before...

[Strikepackage Bravo]

just report them and ignore.

[The Simple Truth]

How many copies will a mature story based game with no online deathmatch sell on Xbox 360?

Not enough to justify 6 years of development. Get real.
If it isn't a stright up shooter, it will never sell on xbox.

Its a chavs platform for chavs, and 13 year old american kids.

It just shows you how inept Remedy are to make a game over 6 years and still expect to recoup the costs, let alone make a profit.

[Socomer 1979]

Thats sad.
Nobody in the real world is excited for alan wake.
the gameplay animation looks stiff like cardboard.
if this was a movie release at the theathres it would be beat out by sandra bullock and the black kid because its a more efficeint use of time to enjoy.

weve all played this game before when it was called silent hill and alone in the dark and just about every other survival horror game.
Flashlights burn demons? okay whatever.

who the hell is going to buy this game? I hope microsoft already paid remedy in advance. Not even inflated reviews is going to help this title out. Even the title is corny. Alan wake? C'mon who cares? lol !

Just like mass effect the game is promised to be something different and new for the genre but turns out its just another third person shooter with dialog choices. not a rpg. and stiff and broken.
Alan wake is just another game we played years ago with less content and problably a extra disc because the 360 cant even process the power of the dark.

[TengkuAmir10]

I'm buying this game(((((.)))))

[maximus1985]

and im not.

[magicwalnuts]

This game isn't on the PC either, good job Remedy.

[TABSF]

Sand Box Game then
Corridor Shooter now

Microsoft has lost a sale from me, why make games more last gen, Heavy Rain Friday!!! =)

Should of been on PC

[SlippyMadFrog]

Linear doesn't mean bad, look at Killzone 2

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Many Linear games out there like UC2, KZ2, MW 1&2, Bioshock 1&2, Half Life (even though levels are huge) RE5, Dead Space. Play GTA, Red Faction or Saints Row f you dont like linear. I don't think you could even do a horror game with a deep story like AW open world.

[TABSF]

OK good case guys but it would of been nice for something different

[ASSASSYN 36o]

No TABSF <(WTF does that mean) I agree with you. I thought right up to this article that alan wake was a sandbox game.

[nygamer28]

@Mark:wow ur disrespectful......mark beaumont died yesterday,so ingronrant

[GiantEnemyCrab]

Glad they realized the Open World thing was not working.. Many devs would of just continued on and put out a lesser title just to save the work.

Max Payne rocked I am excited to see what Remedy bring with this.

[omegaheat]

I honestly can't understand why there's so much denial about how good of a console the Xbox360 is. I honestly also think that the PS3 is a great console, but I feel that Microsoft's venture into videogames helped Sony to step it up. Competition is always good. I love the exchanged blows between one company and another to put out the best products to win over consumers. I have an Xbox360 because it has great games and it's online community is untouched. I also like the PS3 because they have great games, but I'd never really play games online with the console. In fact, there's times that I've had random conversations with strangers and coincedentally the topic about videogames surface. Does this question sound familiar "What's your gamertag"? Yeah, I'm sure alot of gamers can familiarize themselves with these conversations. I haven't once heard of people talking about PS3's multiplayer online community in public or even in the forums. So, the point I'm trying to make is that I choose the Xbox360 simply because it's the console I enjoy. I don't get angry when the other console releases a great game. I just wish that sometimes I could actually afford to own both or have a reason to own both. It's almost like having two of the same cars but different colors. In one area the Xbox has strengths over the PS3 and vice versa. So people, please stop being angry because you don't own multiple consoles. Be angry at your wallets instead. You're wasting your time if you think the negative comments are going to deter people away from purchasing either. What does it matter to you anyway? The developers support all four platforms. So cheer up, there's plenty of games for all of us.

[BigPenguin]

I own both consoles. PSN: BigPenguin XBL: BigRoundPenguin (I even pay for gold) I have had the 360 for a year longer then my PS3(got it around September the first year(20gig), PS3 on launch(60gig)).

Your arguement is fundamentally flawed, and it is the same flaw that causes so much of the PS3 fan anger you have talked about. The fact is the 360 is a terrible console, that happens to have some good games on it. As someone who does not own a PS3, you really cannot compare them.

The PS3 is superior in just about every way save for cross game chat and invites. I have a 250gig hard drive in my PS3, and linux, so I can directly connect my 1tb media server and watch things on my 200"(not exaggerated) HD bravia projector. When I pop in a blue ray, the difference is not negligible in quality compared to a DVD, it is massive.

DVD is absolutely an outdated game tech, anyone saying otherwise, be it due to lying or misinformation, is wrong. Many other people have written out long rants about this already, so just look in any of the hundreds of articles about DVD9 limitations on this site to educate yourself.

They charge for a service that has been free on every other platform (PC included) and people have to pay for it (even me) or else lose functionality. They went backwards from the Xbox by takeing out the standard hard drive in every system. These both hurt gamers.

The 360 is a terrible console, whose best games are not even made in-house, but are often poached, this does not make for better gaming, it makes for dumbed down games, and the 360 is absolutely less powerful then the PS3. This is the first gen where multi-plat games have had to be the same on each system, or else people throw "[removed] fits". Last gen, when the xbox was far better then the PS2, people accepted it when a game was better on the competing system (I still owned both then as well). This gen, if anything is not exactly the same, people on both sides call fowl, this also hurts gamers.

Also, every time people complain about a pro-sony bias, it only makes them seem like 10 year olds, because if any of them had been around 2 years ago, what I like to call "the mart" era, they would not dare to act like this bias exists. No open/gamer zones, no mods, and the PS3 was putting out far worse games at the time.

The reason I hate the 360 is that it only hurts gamers, it nickle and dimes them($100 for a 120gig hard drive, $50 for wireless, buy a new system for HDMI port, are you effing serious MS. I still got them all though). It prevents games from pushing the envelope. However as someone who loves games, I have both systems, that does not mean however that I love both systems the same.

EDIT: I am absolutely getting Alan Wake.

[nygamer28]

this is not bad news,delyed game means more work put into the game,you cant be mad at that

[PS360PCROCKS]

Well at least they can admit they messed up. I hope this game is as good as it seems it will be

[XsteveJ]

Glad they went the route they did. I agree that a sandbox psychological thriller just wouldn't work, especially while trying to control pacing. I'm looking forward to seeing what they bring to the table.

[Figboy]

they had to scrap a YEAR'S WORTH of work and started over. considering how amazing inFAMOUS is, i can't say that was a bad idea.

Alan Wake is looking really good. i can't wait for it, really. it's my most anticipated 360 title of the year so far.

[arny]

This game is awesome im gonna buy it

[gtamike123]

Only on old gen DVD :)

Six years for a DVD game hahaha

[Richdad]

They were trying to use textures streaming technology back from 2004 when no one used it. They wanted to perfect it so they spent all this years.