When thinking of videogame protagonists' professions, especially within the action-adventure or survival horror genres, author or writer isn't usually the first one that comes to mind. Typically, they are military operatives, grizzled survivalists, and the like. In Alan Wake and its upcoming sequel Alan Wake 2 however, the titular character is the author of a bestselling series of crime thriller novels, happily married and living a comfortable life in New York as a successful writer. He possesses neither combat training nor any related skills that would normally aid in dangerous situations. Even within a genre known for stacking the odds against its heroes, Alan would be the most unlikely and unprepared in almost every other circumstance.

What Alan does have is a vivid imagination and a natural talent for bringing his stories and ideas to life. This is the key to his role in the series and what makes him unique among gaming's survival horror/action figures going into Alan Wake 2. It is initially his biggest weakness that the game's antagonist exploits, and later his greatest strength in the contest of wills between them. Alan's expertise in story crafting grants him the capacity to grasp the true nature of the threat and formulate a plan to outwit it at its own game during the events of Alan Wake.

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How The Dark Presence Turned Alan Wake From Writer To Fighter

The Dark Presence/Place in Alan Wake is a supernatural force and alternate dimension entity that preys on artists, enticing and ensnaring them in its efforts to further empower itself and increase its influence over the outside world. After putting some of the puzzle pieces together, Alan discovers that it's trying to manipulate him into literally re-writing reality for its own insidious ends. Crucially, he is able to recognize that The Dark Presence is bound by certain rules, operating on a sense of underlying narrative logic. The type of logic that Alan happens to be extremely well-versed in. Due to the nature and details set up in the world, Alan eventually realizes that he is the best person in the most advantageous position to leverage his specific skills precisely because of his creativity and resourcefulness as an author.

Thus armed with this knowledge (and with a little help from his friends) Alan can take action against The Dark Presence in the most effective way he knows how. He is able to turn its rules against it, at least enough to prevent it from succeeding outright while freeing both his wife Alice and the town of Bright Falls from its clutches. At the conclusion of Alan Wake and through the subsequent The Signal and The Writer DLCs, Alan still remains stuck in The Dark Place, locked in a struggle to outmaneuver it. By the time of the events in Alan Wake's American Nightmare, he has become familiar enough with The Dark Presence's machinations and is using all his literary prowess to try various ways of freeing himself and rid the world of it once and for all.

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Alan Wake: Words and Weapons

Remedy Entertainment's creative director Sam Lake is well-known for focusing heavily on narrative in his own works. It's not hard to imagine he may have imparted at least some aspects of himself and his own creative issues into creating the character of Alan Wake. Alan Wake touches on the subject of writer’s block and the negative effects it can have on both those experiencing it and others around them.

After finishing the final novel in his popular detective series, Alan has decided to start something new. But despite his previous literary accomplishments, he can't seem to get his next project going. Eventually, this begins to affect the quality of his life and relationships. Alan begins drinking heavily, lashing out at his loved ones, and alienating them. He starts to spiral downwards as his frustrations mount.

Alan Wake's struggles with writer's block are the impetus for his trip with Alice to Bright Falls. She thinks a break from their busy life to a quiet town in the Pacific Northwest will help him settle back in and overcome his issues. In an earlier tender moment between them, as they cuddle together, Alice playfully praises Alan on his ability to spin an engaging tale on the fly. She hopes their vacation will restore him, and their marriage, to the place where they were before. When Alice is taken by The Dark Presence, it is just after an argument they had; Alan was upset that Alice had secretly planned for their retreat to reignite his creative spark. He was insulted at the implication that she thought he lost his direction and drive. But the instant he realizes Alice is missing, Alan literally jumps into action, diving into Cauldron Lake after her and kicking off the events of the plot.

Alan's profession is directly tied to gameplay mechanics as well. While he makes use of various standard weapons like guns and grenades, there's another set of items more personally relevant to him. These are Alan Wake's collectible manuscript pages. Scattered throughout the game world, these pages provide further descriptions of the supporting cast of characters, while others hint at upcoming plot events (sometimes verging into spoiler territory.) They are styled as written by Alan in-universe and are read by his voice actor, Matthew Porretta. Through the manuscript pages, Alan is more believably fleshed out both within the world and in the eyes of players.

The manuscripts highlight Alan's intuition and instincts regarding his chosen profession. They provide him the edge he needs while giving players a fuller sense of his character as a truly gifted author. With them as a guide alongside his own inventiveness, he is able to figure out what's really happening, and how exactly The Dark Presence is manipulating him through his art. This element increases immersion in Alan Wake and allows players to feel that they're in the shoes of a competent writer first and foremost; one who knows what he's doing and has a solid plan to save himself and everyone else using his particular abilities.

Alan Wake 2 releases October 27, 2023, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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