Initial Research

In contextual studies in BA3, we are to create a group presentation on games. I am in a group with Jess Smith, Stacey Bone and Olive Viles, whose blogs can be found below.

http://jessgamergirl.blogspot.co.uk/
http://nerdasaurus-rex.blogspot.co.uk/
http://olivegamesartanddesign.blogspot.co.uk/

We were told it has to relate to showing a link between western and eastern games. After some deliberation in our group we decided on this title:"An Exploration into the Horror & Terror genres in Eastern & Western Culture/Media".After we decided on the title we split up to do research. I am researching into horror games created in the West, and how they have either gained some influence from eastern games, or even complete influence from the East.

The first thing I looked at was defining the Horror and Terror genres. The Horror genre is defined as "fiction that inspires or deals with fear, through the use of the supernatural—or at least the superhuman". The Terror genre is defined as "fiction that inspires or deals with fear, through the use of humans and their endeavours". (http://writeanything.wordpress.com/2007/10/23/defining-the-genre-horrorterror/)

After this I began looking at one of my favourite games, Alan Wake. (http://www.alanwake.com/) 


Synopsis: "Part action game, part psychological thriller, Alan Wake® is a pulse-pounding thrill ride. When the wife of the best-selling writer Alan Wake disappears on their vacation, his search turns up pages from a thriller he doesn't even remember writing. A dark presence stalks the small town of Bright Falls, pushing Wake to the brink of sanity in his fight to unravel the mystery and save his love."

I knew this would be a good place to begin looking for influences, as a lot can be seen in the game. The first obvious influence is Stephen King. The story of how what Alan is writing comes to life is a theme that Stephen has been exploring in some of his novels. Alan also directly quotes Stephen King on a couple of occasions, such as the games opening line, which was taken from a Stephen King essay. There is also clear influence in the story to 'The Shining', such as the picture below, as well as the hedge maze later in the game. Stephen King was asked permission to be quoted, and Remedy also gave him copies of the game as a thank you. 


"The setup of the game _ a best-selling but troubled writer whose dark work of fiction starts to come true, blurring the line of nightmares and reality _ is a very Stephen King type of a starting point for a story, so King's works were definitely a source of inspiration for us."

The TV show 'Twin Peaks' is also said to be an influence, as the town in which the game is set, Bright Falls, drew inspiration from the town in the show. Remedy also admitted to drawing influence for the character Cynthia Weaver from Twin Peaks Margaret Lanterman, as seen below.

There is also an influence from Alfred Hitchcock's horror film 'The Birds', as Alan is occasionally attacked by a flock of crows.

Alfred Hitchcocks The Birds

In the game there is also a TV show which the player can watch on television sets around town. This short program called 'Night Springs' is directly influenced by 'The Twilight Zone', a series created by Rod Serling in the 1950s.