The lights are on
SPOILER ALERT: This blog reveals the conclusion of Alan Wake."It's not a lake... It's an ocean." This is the last line of dialogue uttered by Alan Wake. He says it confidently. His tone carries the sentiment of closure and hope. His battle with the darkness is over. He can control it now. He can rewrite his life. All is well for him…apparently.This final moment is poetic…chaotic…confusing as hell. What does it mean? Almost every gamer I talk to interprets its meaning differently. Some people latch onto the same idea, but no two thoughts are identically aligned. Alan Wake’s finale is designed to be misleading, but it does have a definitive ending. Remedy says the “true” ending will be revealed when Alan Wake returns. All signs point toward the ray of clarity coming on July 27, when Alan Wake’s first DLC offering, “The Signal,” hits Xbox Live.So what are some of the theories that gamers have concocted? In my mind, Alan never set foot in the forest. He never fired a shot. There isn’t a Dark Presence in the world. And he certainly didn’t battle a combine. He’s a writer – a crazy, sleep-deprived scribe who has either been institutionalized at Cauldron Lake Lodge, or has fled his New York City home to the most remote location on the planet to write his new book. The game is in turn a journey through a writer’s mind as he dreams up his next adventure. The line “It’s not a lake… It’s an ocean” hints that Alan’s next book will take place near an ocean. Game Informer’s Phil Kollar agrees that the final line comes off as a writer realizing something about his story but thinks that the supernatural elements still exist in Alan’s world. “He is writing a story,” Kollar says. “What he’s writing is affecting that world, which would mean the Dark Presence is real and is a viable threat to him.”And what if the dark presence was a bully of artists? “The Dark Presence seems to be a force that finds power in the imaginations of the artists that it snags into its world,” explains Game Informer’s Matt Miller. “Alan defeats the Dark Presence by playing by the rules of his chosen art form – narrative. Unfortunately, the narrative style demands a bittersweet ending. Alan's sacrifice sets him up on the very edge of this vast blackness that is the Dark Presence. By sacrificing himself to its embrace, his only way out will be to pass through the ocean of darkness that stretches before him, rather than flee from it. Because the Dark Presence uses the thoughts and imagination of the artist, this ocean of darkness will be built on Alan's experiences and fears, but twisted into a terrible nightmare version of those memories. Unlike before, it is now Alice waiting outside that darkness, desperately trying to find Alan and bring him back. It will only be by following the light of her voice and love that Alan will be able to re-emerge into the real world.”Some people believe everything happening in the game is actually happening to Alan. Game Informer’s Bryan Vore is in this camp. “I take the story at face value. Alan follows in Thomas Zane’s footsteps – writing himself out of existence to save his wife Alice. He’s still alive, and still uses the lake’s power to manipulate reality, but I don’t think he’s stuck in a loony bin, drooling on himself.”Other popular theories are tied to the name of the protagonist: A. Wake. They say that the name says it all. He can’t sleep. Everything that is happening to him is from sleep deprivation. The ending sequence is filled with carefully placed dialogue by Alice telling Alan to “wake up.”A character named Mr. Scratch periodically pops into this fiction. As many of you probably know, Mr. Scratch is a nickname for the Devil. The belief tied to this angle is that Alan is sacrificing his soul to attain his dream of getting Alice back.And if you think this is stretching it, other people believe that Thomas Zane (another writer in the game) created Alan Wake. Alan is supposedly a character in his books. Alan is his Jack Ryan. One person I talked to has even gone as far to say that Alan Wake and Clay Steward – a character from the supplementary Alan Wake Files that came with the Collector’s Edition – are the same person. If you read this material, you learn that Clay and Alan share the same dreams.As frustrating as it can be not knowing what actually took place in a game I invested days of my life in, I have to tip my hat to Remedy for creating such an amazing topic for discussion. Seeing how friends and fellow gamers are interpreting this game’s story has been just as much fun as playing through it. I just hope that Remedy doesn’t skimp on the answers like the writers of Lost did in their series finale. A mystery is only as good as the answers it gives in the end.
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Hmm nice interpretation there, Reiner. I for one, haven't played it or ever will. My mind isn't suited for these sorts of second guessing games. I have enough things going on in my life, some that are even more bewildering than Alan Wake if you would believe. Just yesterday, I was casually looking through my e-mail and I saw not one, but TWO poems about some desiccated place. I didn't thought of it much and when on about my life.
Anyway, I would imagine that Alan Wake is constanly on your mind, day in and day out. Examining every nook and cranny. Playing multiple playthroughs, just to get a better grasp at the game. Reiner, I have to admit, Alan Wake does sound interesting enough. But I can't help but to think that Remedy will stop with Alan Wake after the DLCs are done and over. This might very well be the next Shemnue(2?).. *shudders* Well, thank you for listening Reiner. I would love to discuss other certain "subjects" with you if you want. Until then! ^_^
Your New Best Friend, Crystal <3
I took the ending to be that Alan saved Alice from the darkness. By shining the light right into the heart of the darkness, Alice was released. Whether the Darkness was stunned or killed, I'm not sure. It would seem that Alice escaped and Alan thought he had won, but they very quickly got sucked right back into sitting down and writing in a trance of some sort (like he did during the missing week). Does the darkness now have a hold on him or is he simply using the power of the lake to manipulate the future? I would guess that "the darkness" was just the tip of the iceberg and there is a whole "ocean" of darkness right beneath it. I don't think he is straight up dreaming everything, but that would lead to the worlds worst ending to the series (eventually). I think he unwittingly sacrificed himself to save Alice. I think the darkness isn't close to dead and since he embraced it and its true nature was revealed (it is an ocean), he is in for a lot of trouble. That being said, I don't know how they make gameplay out of that, would you play as Alice? That doesn't make sense. I'm not sure what I think, but I'm pretty sure the darkness is still messing with his mind at the very end.
I'm also in the camp that thinks Alan's still in Doctor Hartman's loopy-house.
But-- interesting tidbit I discovered about the "It's not an lake-- it's and ocean" line in my second playthrough-- if you start at the very beginning (Alan's nightmare that serves as a tutorial) you meet Zane in your dream. After he gives you the flashlight and gun he rattles off a line about a lake and ocean then says something along the lines of "To it's shore's I have been! Do you understand!?"
I can't remember exactly what he says, but I remember it took me aback in my second go-around. If you want to see it, I recommend just starting a new playthrough-- it would take no longer than 5 mins tops to get to the spot.
Now, what do I think Zane meant with "To it's shore's I have been!"? Well, I don't have a clue, but I am nearly certain it dealt with that "It's not a lake-- it's an ocean" line.
I'm actually leaning a little more towards the theory that Alan Wake is actually a fictional character of Thomas Zane. But who knows, the sheer nature of the fiction of this game is overwhelming. Maybe Alan Wake is real, and he is really experiencing all of this.
Or could he be a loony in Dr. Hartman's lodge, spending his days making all of this stuff up in his head and putting it all down on paper?
"The Signal" cannot come out soon enough!
Wont be getting the game, but it does look like a lot of fun debating what the game really means. I like those kind of water cooler games.
More people will have a theory on this when they put down RDR :P
@ Sam Desatoff
That is Rose holding the lantern, and I have no idea what that means. And, the man in the window behind her is Office Nightingale (I think that's his name-- you know, the crazy FBI guy who constantly calls Wake different writers) And again, I have no idea what that means.
"It's not a lake... It's an ocean." Not having played the game, I gotta say that conclusion sounds almost as good as Master Chief's "Finish the Fight" line in Halo 2.
I have to get this game. The ending line sounds like He is saying that there is a lot more to come.
I just finished the game. I believe in the last one. Zane created Wake, as a foolproof way to stop the Dark Presence. But the question is that why would he do it? if he created wake, then that means that Zane was exploiting the power of the lake for his own personal gains. if he knew that he would eventually have to leave, then that means that he created wake so that he knew he would eventually be released? does anyone have another idea?
yea i saw that last line after the credits. i always watch the credits, but if anyone noticed then you probabaly noticed the ability to fast forward
Will the DLC only be available for Xbox LIVE users, or will there be an expansion pack coming ala Fallout 3?
cool article and by the way the signal isnt a ray of clarity more than another twist adding confusion
Sick!! Nice blog!
I want to understand!!!