When the original Alan Wake begins, the titular character introduces himself to the audience through a quote from Stephen King. The quote originally appeared in a 2008 Entertainment Weekly essay King wrote titled “Why Hollywood Can’t Do Horror.” The quote talks about how nightmares are not logical, and provided explanations aren’t very fun. King’s main point is that horror is at its scariest when we’re left without answers. The moment serves as a fitting introduction to the Alan Wake character, who happens to be a writer like King. In a new interview with Eurogamer, Remedy Entertainment head Sam Lake revealed that King allowed the studio to use the quote for the paltry sum of just $1.
Videos by ComicBook.com
“Creating the original Alan Wake, I really, really desperately wanted aquote from him to start it off,” Lake told Eurogamer. “It’s my understanding hewanted $1 for us to get the rights to use it. [It was] so verygenerous.”
The original Alan Wake pays tribute to the works of Stephen King in several ways, and the quote alone is not the only element that King fans should find familiar. Alan Wake pays tribute to King works such as The Shining and Christine. While King’s small asking fee was only just revealed, the moderator on King’s message board revealed back in 2010 that Remedy Entertainment sent over copies of the game as a way of saying thanks, but the author did not have an Xbox, so he was unable to play it!
Alan Wake 2 is set to release on October 17th on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. It’s unclear whether the sequel will similarly pay tribute to King’s works, but it seems like a pretty safe bet, considering the reverence Lake and the rest of the team seem to have for the writer. Since the sequel will launch on more platforms than the first game did, maybe Stephen King will actually be able to play this one.
Are you a fan of the original Alan Wake? Are you surprised Stephen King allowed the quote to be used for so cheap? Letusknowin thecomments or share yourthoughts directly on Twitter atย @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
