Fulfilling fantasies and building investment: The narrative design of Alan Wake 2

The case board, inspired by HBO show True Detective, originally featured free placement of clues and gated progress until players found a specific answer, but this led to high player frustration. Remedy shifted to a board that featured more questions with easier answers, leading to more dopamine hits with players, and finally scrapped free clue pla... See more

"We have a lot of exposition in this game and we didn't want the player locked into these increasingly repetitive gameplay conversations," Maloney explained. "We needed more varied ways to relay exposition; also, it's fun to grill and interrogate people."

In the finished version, Saga sits at her profiling table and receives something akin to unsett... See more

"Why make the player watch something when they can do it? If possible, we shouldn't rely on narrative bookending to tell the bulk of the narrative," Wasselin said. "Avoid exposition cutscenes, and tie narrative to interaction whenever possible. Even a small interaction is better than none, and when that isn't possible find tricks to make the player... See more

"Wrong answers can be fun as long as you keep the wrong answer interesting enough that there is still some value for the player," Wasselin said. "Letting the player experiment is a great way to give agency, and allowing the player to find the right answer by themselves gives them a sense of ownership over the solution. It also creates more opportun... See more