biosterous posted:

This isn't Alan Wake

poo poo what joke do i do from now on

Blind Sally posted:

Woo! Been waiting for this one for a while.

Fish Noise posted:

Oh?

Cakefarts Carol posted:

CJacobs, one of the things I liked about your previous LPs is that you've a good idea of when to provide commentary and when to let the game do its thing. There's been a lot of commentary (by virtue of two commentators) in the first "cut commentary" episode of Alan Wake, which takes away from the heavyhanded and cliched but seemingly integral narrative of the game. I'm probably not part of the core audience for this LP, since I've never played the game, want to, but lack a means to do so - it's difficult to pay attention to the dialogue in game versus you and Skippy's commentary. It's not so challenging when it's just Alan being a dick to everyone, but the more colorful characters had some interesting scenes the commentary detracts a little from.

That all said I'm still on board, good show otherwise.

White Coke posted:

Is there really a MONSTER TRUCK RALLY BOSS FIGHT? If so then I've got to finish playing the game.

Cakefarts Carol posted:

CJacobs, one of the things I liked about your previous LPs is that you've a good idea of when to provide commentary and when to let the game do its thing. There's been a lot of commentary (by virtue of two commentators) in the first "cut commentary" episode of Alan Wake, which takes away from the heavyhanded and cliched but seemingly integral narrative of the game. I'm probably not part of the core audience for this LP, since I've never played the game, want to, but lack a means to do so - it's difficult to pay attention to the dialogue in game versus you and Skippy's commentary. It's not so challenging when it's just Alan being a dick to everyone, but the more colorful characters had some interesting scenes the commentary detracts a little from.

That all said I'm still on board, good show otherwise.

Stormgale posted:

This is why you are a cool dude, unlike Alan Wake who is both uncool and kinda a Jerk (but interesting).

Apep727 posted:

Also, I really want to see some of those extracts or whatever of his writing.

Clay Steward's Description posted:

Alan Wake’s first published story, “Errand Boy,” a long out-of-print horror tale, was written when Wake was only eighteen, and previously available only in dog-eared copies of Dark Visions magazine. Clearly, Wake was concerned with the same battle between good and evil that he would explore in his more popular crime fiction.

Errand Boy, Excerpt One posted:

Mr. Highway posted:

I love Alan Wake in a weird way. My favorite part of this game is probably accidental in the production of it. I'll concede that some of the gameplay gets samey (like CJacobs said, Nightmare difficulty is a slog), though that never really bothered me. I enjoyed the story, setting, and the writing (as part of the atmosphere). However, this game has an interesting subtext that people tend to overlook either because of it being called a horror game but not being all that scary, or being a third person shooter.

Also, I enjoy the subject of Alan Wake being a good or bad writer. This game's story presents him as both with the player, who will be probably biased based on personal preference, as a final judge. On one hand, I believe the game attempts to portray Alan as a good writer, although not great, but then suffers from a number of genre limitations. One of these, and most ready for discussion after one episode, is that the game writer's are not good writers. (Even though Sam Lake is the easiest name to name, I think the creation of a video game by a full team will have a lot of editing voices). Although the game has a good story overall, as did Max Payne 1 and 2, this does not transfer to the game writers being good writers. Their construction of prose lacks polish. His internal dialog, the most writey part so far, isn't exactly bad, just not good. It mirrors what a lay person would think of good writing, such as girth=quality or complexity=seriousness. These writers rely mostly on stereotypes of good writing, which are formed off a misunderstanding. Essentially, Alan Wake isn't writing as much as he is emulating. He doesn't just emulate Stephen King. He emulates what someone thinks Stephen King must sound like. When Alan must show his chops, the "good" writing is filtered through a bad or an average writer. These writers rely mostly on stereotypes of good writing, which are formed off a misunderstanding. Essentially, Alan Wake isn't writing as much as he is emulating.

I could really go on and on about this subject, but might wind up in spoiler territory.

chitoryu12 posted:

They did some neat live action stuff with Ilkka that I don't want to post yet for risk of spoiling the game.

Skippy Granola posted:

Ah put it away his handsomeness is taking the focus from this excellent LP

Nice piece of fish posted:

Well, without spoiling anything, I think this question is really answered in this next episode:

Cut Version Uncut Version

Tuxedo Ted posted:

This Alan Awake character seems like a bit of a prat.

Hostile V posted:

Yeah Alan was a bit too abrasive for my tastes. I really identified with the protagonist of the sequel game that my aunt bought from the supermarket.

White Coke posted:

I can't see any body hair. I hope you don't freeze to death CJacobs.

Fish Noise posted:

Comrade, please! We have noticed you, this is not necessary!

chitoryu12 posted:

Have you been recording commentary for a whole year or is there a backlog and you're doing fresh stuff now?

AbstractNapper posted:

In that last cutscene, the sheriff's expression is so well done (it doesn't quite fit the context, but it looks great), and then you get Alan Wake's inexplicably and (consistently) bad facial animation. Was this an inside joke for the team or something?

Nice piece of fish posted:

This is a fantastic loving LP.

nine-gear crow posted:

I've been ribbing him for a while now that this LP was so long in coming that it was originally supposed to be me and Blind Sally along with him instead of Skippy

IronSaber posted:

CJacobs, I swear if you don't make a Liam Neeson joke by the end of this LP, I am gonna be, like, so disappointed.

Skippy Granola posted:

Sam was more creative this time: Quentin Break

Tasteful Dickpic posted:

Hey C-Jakes, how did you change Roy Orbison to avoid copyright shenanigans? He sounded remarkably similar.

eating only apples posted:

I recall episode 2's ending song being the best one and now I gotta listen to it tyvm. Bah dah bah-bah

value-brand cereal posted:

Also, Skippy had a good point about how creepy Stucky is. Either the person infected by the darkness is trying to break through, or the darkness is trying to make constructs that look and act like normal people but just can't get it right. Or maybe I'm giving the writers of this game too much credit.

White Coke posted:

If only this Barry also pulled out an enormous hand cannon.

AbstractNapper posted:

There are a few of those QR codes in the PC version (not too many, I can only think of just two in the entire game). They are easter eggs or sort-of inside jokes.

Jade Star posted:

I remember watching a bit of this game sometime before and I never recalled Alan being such a dick. Probably just bad memory, but it really sank in when Rose was at the cabin talking so highly of him and the look on Alans face couldn't be more 'are we done yet'? Man, what a dick.

chitoryu12 posted:

Also, I definitely recommend reading the Alan Wake novel as well. It mostly follows the game faithfully, but it expands on Alan's history with his wife and his general state of mind at the time. It also establishes why he takes to guns so easily: he went shooting a bunch of times to do research for his Alex Casey novels.

According to his official Alan Wake Wiki page, Remedy intentionally chose to make Alan a dick because they felt that it made him a more realistic and relatable protagonist. He didn't have a top notch childhood and isn't able to handle his fame, so he tends to lash out at paparazzi and overbearing fans. And as the beginning of the game emphasizes, Alan has been under a lot of stress from writer's block. He's already twitchy when he arrives and all of this craziness isn't doing much good for his attitude.

Shinjobi posted:

I will be praying for your wiener, dude.

White Coke posted:

My dad used to suffer from kidney stones. According to him the only thing you can really do is take pain medication and drink lots of water. Unless the stones are impacted, then you'll need surgery. And you will be amazed at how tiny they are once you pass them. They are offensively small for something so painful. Unless they really are hail sized. Then I think you'll make national news.

Nice piece of fish posted:

Get well, CunningJacobs, just make sure you've got a good doctor.

value-brand cereal posted:

CJinkies! It lives!! And it's doing its best Max Payne impression, good gosh. I'm bummed I missed the stream and chance to yell at you for not petting the gross werewolf things puppies, but I am glad to hear you're alive! Not so much the screaming in pain thing though

Nice piece of fish posted:

Well at least you've got the stones to admit your mistake.

Treuan posted:

It's okay, Alan's been writing the same schlock for years.

value-brand cereal posted:

Awww Why come we have to scare Max and the dog's human friend? OH NO MAX. Is the dog ok? Please spoil the entire game so I know the reincarnation of Max Payne is ok. I know I heard barking after Rusty went coo coo for coco puffs, but that was it.