Tech Analysis: Alan Wake trailer

By Richard Leadbetter Published 18 August, 2009

And so the gamescom madness kicks off with the first triple-A trailer: a fascinating developer insight into Xbox 360's forthcoming psychological thriller, Alan Wake. The vid ran exclusively on Eurogamer TV yesterday, and today, Digital Foundry adds its tech annotations courtesy of contributor Alex Goh.

Impressions on the video are positive; it's genuine, it's real-time, there's a ton of actual in-game action (in addition to the engine-driven cut-scenes) and it is curious to note that the v-sync issues the game currently has have not been corrected in the final, released video as is mandated in the Xbox Live Marketplace video specs. Technology-wise, Remedy is certainly going for it with the volumetric lighting, and the dynamic nature of the lighting scheme and the shadows is superb.

There's also much to love in the game's atmospheric approximation effects, manifesting not just in the "haze" enveloping each scene but also in elements such as the cloud rendering. Performance in the final game should be interesting; graphics technology really has its work cut-out dealing with transparent alpha textures, and Alan Wake seems to be employing them in spades. The level of post-processing involved is also noteworthy in that, combined with the muted colour scheme, it works well in reducing the instances of edge-aliasing.

The latest Alan Wake trailer, complete with Digital Foundry technical analysis.

On the not-so-impressive side, even in this specially prepared showcase video there is some low resolution geometry, and the texture filtering sometimes isn't brilliant, but none of this has anywhere near as much impact as the screen tear. Yes, it's exaggerated somewhat owing to the 30FPS nature of the video source (if you need reminding, in such cases, torn frames are on-screen for twice as long as they should be, or they are completely removed), but regardless, clearly it's an issue, so it will be interesting to see how the final game stacks up in comparison.

Overall though, this is an excellent trailer and we're very excited about the game itself. Light as a weapon and a safety net is a neat concept, and it'll be interesting to compare it to Gears of War and its Kryll creatures, and the story elements sound intriguing. And as a kick-off to the expected riches of gamescom, this presentation will do quite nicely...

Picture of Richard.

About Richard Leadbetter

Rich has been a games journalist since the days of 16-bit and specialises in technical analysis. Commonly known around Eurogamer as the Blacksmith of the Future.

Read more articles from Richard by visiting the Richard Leadbetter archive page.

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Comments (18) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Xerx3s #1 3 years ago

    Hopefully the new SH1 of this era. Fuck knows how long it has been since we had a decent game in that genre.

  • hesido #2 3 years ago

    The graphics are awesome. I hate how he can point the flashlight with no bob on the target with dead-on accuracy tho, it is a reminder that this is computer game and somewhat destroys the mood. There should be a bobbing motion of the flash light target, even if muted compared to a realistic motion for the sake of targeting.

  • womble #3 3 years ago

    "Spring".

    Sigh. It'll be Autumn on one-half of the planet. Just saying... I mean, Americans would go "huh?" if southern developers announced their products at the wrong time of the year.

  • ukgamer #4 3 years ago

    the tech looks really solid, but the story is what sets AW apart.

  • Darren #5 3 years ago

    "... and it is curious to note that the v-sync issues the game currently has have not been corrected in the final, released video as is mandated in the Xbox Live Marketplace video specs."

    Could that be because Microsoft are the ones publishing it? I've seen lots of videos on the Marketplace with screen tearing in them, most recently the Batman: Arkham Asylum Combat one, so I'm not convinced that there ever was a policy in place myself. Unless it's something totally new. Then that would suggest that Microsoft are aware of screen tearing and that people notice it but would rather see it hidden (deceptively) rather than insisting developers minimise it or get rid of it completely. :?

    As for Alan Wake, it looks really intriguing and very much like a 21st century Silent Hill as others have said, but, boy, does it need a lot of polish. Good news that it is finished and that the remaining six months are being spent doing exactly that. :)
    Edited by 1 at 20/08/09 @ 08:43

  • BillyBrush #6 3 years ago

    May i say Darren, MS i don't think could please you, it's just not possible that that company, if they turned water into wine, would receive your approval.

    As for this...i'm pretty intrigued, graphics aside, some of the things like camera (when an axe hits that car and it sweeps back to the mob throwing it), look to be really well done...i usually say nooo to anyone taking camera control away for a second...but..it looks fairly well finessed & slick.

    This game is probably going to have it's work cut out vs the very high, and very low expectations different groups of people have for it....and it's not going to have the kind of legs that FPS games have that reviewers can say you'll be playing it for months.....but...as a story based, one time, possibly memorable experience it looks very interesting, and those are the kind of games i like
    Edited by 1 at 19/08/09 @ 11:55

  • Huffman_D #7 3 years ago

    @sharkxtreme: the last time df had a ps3 game on comparison with 360 was batman arkham asylum. where it said that the game is fantastic on both platforms. it also stated that the ps3 version doesn't have SSAO and AA. you know why? BECAUSE IT FUCKING DOESN'T. what part of that is biased journalism?

  • Darren #8 3 years ago

    @BillyBrush - Well I don't like wine for starters but you're wrong.

    Microsoft did please me immensely with the original Xbox, I loved that platform and its games, in many ways it was ahead of its time technically. I've just been less impressed with the Xbox 360 overall but that's not to say it's been poor or anything, just a tad disappointing given all the hype prior to its release... you know all those promises of 720p minimum resolutions and aliasing being a thing of the past... stuff we now know simply isn't true because the Xbox 360 has all too obvious limitations.

    That said, there's been loads of excellent games for the 360 and I've never said that Alan Wake doesn't look good, I'm sure it will be enjoyable even if it's flawed. I'll be holding out for the PC version though as I have the hardware to run and make the game look better than my 360 can. That's assuming it does come out on the PC obviously.

  • BillyBrush #9 3 years ago

    PC aside - you're a lot harder on those promising 720p resolutions than those who promised 1080p resolutions (and let's not even start on their aliasing shall we?) - big virtua tennis 3 fan perhaps?


  • Darren #10 3 years ago

    @BillyBrush - You're referring to the PS3?

    I've been just as vocal about the PS3's weak anti-aliasing and inferior quality multiformat games actually in the forums, it's just that I don't tend to buy nearly as many games for it as I have the 360 and now the PC so there are fewer comments.

    Both consoles have their pros and cons, both have decent games yet neither delivered quite what was promised by their manufactuers at E3 2005 IMO. The PS3 arriving a year later can perhaps be regarded as more of a disappointment than the 360 and only makes up for that by being a great BD player, not that that has anything to do with games.

    If I had to pick between a PS3 or a 360 on games alone then it would be the 360 without a doubt, purely because it has the better multiformat games and a controller I prefer more. It's the reason I've pre-ordered DiRT 2, FIFA 10 and Batman Arkham Asylum for the 360 for example. Fortunately I don't have to choose though. :)

  • BillyBrush #11 3 years ago

    ...going down nowhere alley

    ...very diplomatic, my view is you're very much overly critical of what they do, but at least you're reasoned & not totally mental like that sharxextreme boy who seems to think there's a big conspiracy going on at DF towers

  • Darren #12 3 years ago

    Make up your mind, BillyBrush... I'm apparently "reasoned" but you still seem to think I'm "against" Microsoft?!? :?

    The truth is I say it as I honestly see it. I have *no* allegiance to *any* of the consoles or the PC because I have been and always will be (for as long as I play games anyway) a multi-platform gamer. If you think I'm being harsh then look out for my Wii posts (and, yes, I do own that console too though I'm beginning to wonder why)! ;)

  • BillyBrush #13 3 years ago

    owning things does not equal being perfectly objective...no one with a heartbeat is.

    Look...differing opinions, and mine is that you are overly harsh on the 360, for instance you mention earlier the 'all too obvious limitations' , whereas i on the other hand consider it's done pretty spectacularly well in terms of competing with the other consoles on a technical level, with most often the best home console version of a game....which i'm sure you appreciate.

    if you compare this to a 2 grand PC...then yes, it might not keep up, but i don't compare it to a 2 grand PC....versus a £129 PC i think it's fair to say it's a pretty amazing peice of kit.

  • womble #14 3 years ago

    "I got nothing against good thriller/survival horror game genre, only DF's not so suspence articles lately."

    Yet more trolling from the Shark. Hasn't a a good word to say about DF, yet reads every article, feels compelled to rubbish DF every time.

  • SaberEdge #15 3 years ago

    I would love to hear your case against Digital Foundry. I am sure it will be so enlightening and not a bunch of paranoid BS like most people who take issue with them.

    I have done dozens of comparisons for myself and I would say, if anything, they are a little soft on the PS3. They go out of their way to point out any little positive on the PS3 side even when it is minor.

  • frankfurter209 #16 3 years ago

    I so desperately want this game to amaze and astonish the way Max Payne did. Sam Lake and Remedy have my faith.

  • Oceans1999 #17 3 years ago

    I know what you mean, SHARXTREME.

    I am not interested in one console over the other and have both. I do tire of the fact that one system is always being tried as a witch for some reason though. Indeed, one poorer scene in this 'tech breakdown' mentions only "The artistic nailing of the puffy jacket!"

    If there is to be a pecking order of praise then how about making every article about how much better Crysis is than anything else? Then the Xbox and PS3 would both be poor Facsimiles full of baked effects and massive shortcuts!

    I hope it's not but it seems like it's the Sony PeSsimistic 3 Vs the Xboptimistic 360 at times (groan). Please, please don't be true :(

  • busboy33 #18 3 years ago

    @Huffman D:

    "what part of that is biased journalism?"

    It's biased journalism because DF didn't say "the PS3 is, beyond dispute, exponentially better in every concievable metric than the 360 version . . . which by the way gives you swine flu".

    You're talking about Sharx here. Don't use complicated terms like "fact" -- he'll just get confused.