His name may quite literally be the title of the game, but Alan Wake is not the only main character in Remedy Entertainment’s upcoming survival horror. The ‘2’ in Alan Wake 2 doesn’t just point to its sequel nature, but also to the duality that runs through the entire game. Two protagonists. Two perspectives. Two worlds. And two approaches to gameplay.
Three priorities for creating a safe and diverse games studio
07.09.2023 - 15:53 / gamesindustry.biz / Saga Anderson / Geoff Keighley / Melanie Liburd
At Develop Brighton earlier this year, Code Coven's co-CEO Cinzia Musio advocated for improved support of marginalised people in the gaming industry.
Musio's talk, entitled 'Supporting Marginalised Genders in Games: Where is the Accountability?', explored studio initiatives aimed at promoting accountability and creating an atmosphere of diversity and inclusion.
She also introduced Code Coven's new Evolve program, of which GamesIndustry.biz is a partner. Evolve is a studio accreditation initiative that aims to set a standard for accountability and DEI in the games industry, with Vancouver-based studio East Side Games becoming the first studio to be Evolve-accredited.
"The real journey towards equity, diversity, and inclusion is not always going to be paved with easy wins," Musio noted. "Sometimes you are going to have to have difficult and uncomfortable conversations. Getting yourself comfortable with this is important to be able to embrace these conversations rather than shying away. You must become comfortable with the uncomfortable.
"It's not going to be easy to make systemic changes, and you're going to have to confront and unlearn the systems of privilege you have in place — it has to happen to move forward."
Throughout their talk, Musio emphasised that if developers and studios can commit to systemic change, they can prevent instances of discrimination and harassment from happening within the wider entertainment industry.
She acknowledged that while representation is marginally improving — a recent UKIE census showed a 4% rise in marginalised people working in the industry from 2020 to 2022 — systemic issues in areas like leadership have not seen any improvement.
Musio also noted the lack of diversity at this year's Summer Game Fest as a symptom of a number of issues at play. In an interview with CBC, host Geoff Keighley acknowledged the issue and said Melanie Liburd, the actor who stars as Alan Wake 2's new protagonist Saga Anderson, was set to appear on stage but couldn't due to scheduling conflicts.
"This really highlights that in many places in the industry, we continue to treat diversity and inclusion as a tick box exercise," she explained. "That once you've done one thing, you've brought in one woman, then you've fixed it for everyone. The obvious thing is that this showcase still would have had a massive diversity issue if that one woman did show up."
Musio stressed that "everyone deserves to be safe, no matter who they are" and that while people "can keep having this conversation and think about how they are going to advance the industry," marginalised people cannot be left out or left behind.
"If we're not talking about the end point, which is making marginalised people safe,
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pushsquare.com
19.09.2023 / 00:40
Alan Wake 2 Is Over 20 Hours Long as Remedy Makes Its Biggest Game Yet | Push Square
Finnish team Remedy has revealed its upcoming PS5 survival horror game Alan Wake 2 will be its longest yet, clocking in at more than 20 hours. Creative director Sam Lake shared the respective playtime in the latest episode of the Kinda Funny Games Daily show, revealing the studio has wanted to makes its games longer for some time. «So Control was our longest game to date, and Alan Wake 2 is going to be longer than that — 20 hours plus,» he said.
gamespot.com
18.09.2023 / 15:57
Unity Promises Vague "Changes To The Policy" Of Charging Devs For Installs
«We have heard you,» stated the game engine company on Twitter/X.
wccftech.com
15.09.2023 / 18:29
Witchfire Q&A on Long Dev Phase, EGS Exclusivity, DLSS 3’s Phenomenal Boost, FSR/XeSS Support and System Specs
Polish developer The Astronauts was founded nearly eleven years ago and only released the horror adventure game The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (in 2014), though that's about to change with the upcoming early access debut of Witchfire.
destructoid.com
14.09.2023 / 15:31
Most anticipated games – October 2023
The year is moving so quickly, and somehow the October 2023 games are drawing near. We’ll finally be able to continue Spidey’s story in the Insomniac Marvel universe and play a traditional-style Assassin’s Creed game. Both Sonic and Mario return to the 2D platforming genre as well. Here’s what to expect from the October 2023 games lineup.
techradar.com
13.09.2023 / 09:49
Unity’s plans to charge per game install has developers begging gamers not to download their games
Yesterday (Tuesday, September 12), it was announced that the game engine Unity will soon begin charging developers a monthly fee based on the number of installs their games have, in a move that has left many indie studios upset and frustrated.
gameranx.com
12.09.2023 / 16:47
Alan Wake 2 Developers Strived To Deliver Longer Video Games
Remedy Entertainment is a rather well-known video game development studio. They have delivered some big hits, including Max Payne, Quantum Break, and Control. Now, their focus is bringing out a sequel to one of their past hits from 2010, Alan Wake. Today, we’re learning that Alan Wake 2 will be Remedy Entertainment’s longest video game to date. While their past works were not necessarily lengthy ventures for players to deal with, Remedy Entertainment’s creative director, Sam Lake, has revealed that the studio has continued to strive to bring out longer video game experiences.
gamingbolt.com
12.09.2023 / 00:03
Alan Wake 2 – New Gameplay Showcases Combat, Exploration, Puzzles, and More
After a long, long wait, Alan Wake 2 is now finally approaching release, and with a little over a month left until the survival horror sequel’s launch, new details and gameplay footage are continuing to be doled out at a regular clip. IGN has also uploaded a hands-on preview of the game, revealing plenty of new gameplay footage and details.
ign.com
11.09.2023 / 16:01
Alan Wake 2: Exclusive Hands-On Preview First
Deliciously pulpy horror storytelling was at the heart of the original Alan Wake. It returns for the sequel, too, but the Stephen King-isms look to be confined to The Dark Place; the New York-styled nightmare cage the titular writer is trapped in. Out in the real world (or at least what seems like the real world) – the domain of our second protagonist, FBI agent Saga Anderson – developer Remedy Entertainment has crafted a new collage from pieces of its favourite detective stories. The eerie shadows of True Detective, Seven, and The Silence of the Lambs creep through Alan Wake 2’s gorgeous digital depiction of the Pacific Northwest.
pushsquare.com
09.09.2023 / 00:46
Alan Wake 2 Really Does Look Like One of the Best PS5 Games of the Year | Push Square
Every time we see Alan Wake 2 we’re blown away, and this 11 minute demo published by IGN is no exception. Unlike the Gamescom footage, this sequence focuses on second playable protagonist Saga Anderson, and showcases some of her FBI detective skills, as well as general exploration and combat. The atmosphere and overall sense of style is seriously impressive.
gamingbolt.com
07.09.2023 / 17:33
Summer Game Fest Will Return in June 2024
The future of E3 is continuing to look bleak, but the games industry has seen the emergence of another major summer event in the form of Summer Game Fest. The event has been running for four years at this point and seen quite a bit of success, and unsurprisingly, it will be returning for its fifth year in 2025.
gamespot.com
07.09.2023 / 16:09
E3 2024 Could Be Canceled, But A "Complete Reinvention" Of The Show Is Planned For 2025
With ReedPop no longer involved, the ESA is working on new plans to evolve and reinvent E3.