How Alan Wake Turns a Writer Into a Hero

When thinking of videogame protagonists’ professions, especially within the action-adventure or survival horror genres, author or writer isn’t usually the first one that comes to mind. Typically, they are military operatives, grizzled survivalists, and the like. In Alan Wake and its upcoming sequel Alan Wake 2 however, the titular character is the author of a bestselling series of crime thriller novels, happily married and living a comfortable life in New York as a successful writer. He possesses neither combat training nor any related skills that would normally aid in dangerous situations. Even within a genre known for stacking the odds against its heroes, Alan would be the most unlikely and unprepared in almost every other circumstance.