Let's Play Alan Wake (Finished, For Real): The Writer: Episode 2: The Final Countdown

Rent

What is Alan Wake?
Developed by the intrepid minds over at Remedy Studios, Alan Wake is a psychological horror action thriller revolving around the title character, Alan Wake, and his debilitating coffee addiction. Thrill as you enter rehab! Chill as you recount to other junkies the time you sucked a man's dick for a triple shot of espresso! Gasp in horror as Alan Wake leaves rehab, in control of his life once more!

No really
It's a psychological horror action thriller that subscribes to the formula of "Max Payne + Silent Hill 2 = GOLD". Which should come as no suprise, since Remedy developed both previous Max Payne titles.

What's your format here
This is a Video Let's Play, recorded in stunning HI DEFINITION, featuring commentary by myself and my good friend Earwig Squad. We're not gonna talk over cutscenes or any of that bullshit. Formats should be blip, viddler, and direct download

Updates should be roughly 20-30 minutes in length.

Any other hosts?

Youtube is not gonna be a host for a myriad of personal reasons, but it generally boils down to "Youtube sucks", but if you have a personal favorite video host that you like to use then yeah, sure, I'll upload it there.

One rule for this LP: Do not, under any circumstances, discuss spoilers in the thread, spoilered or not. Spoilers are defined as "things that haven't been shown in a video in any way, shape, or form". Speculation doesn't count as spoilers; speculate away (though I'd prefer it be spoiler tagged). Confirmation or denial of speculation is considered a spoiler.

Seriously. Don't discuss spoilers here. Firstly, we have a thread for that. Secondly, this game is super plot focused and I don't want any potential viewer looking for a good story to be ruined by the thread. (The reason why I ask for no spoilered discussion of future events is is two-fold: 1) it makes the thread a bore to read for a viewer looking to not be spoiled if it's just a shitload of spoiler tags; and 2) if one spoiler tags both speculation and actual spoilers, one could be spoilered by errant clicking on what they thought was a speculation.

Are you going to be picking up all of the thermoses/destroying all the can piles?
No. It's a huge waste of time so fuck that.

Are you going to be picking up all of the

manuscript pages/turning on all of the tvs/finding all of the hidden chests?

Note: this is an example of a spoiler, for illustration for how seriously I interpret "no spoilers allowed" to be.

Respectively: Yes, yes, and hopefully. I have a guide for the first two items, and for the third, I'm going to make all attempts to find all of them during my trial runs.

Also I'm currently doing a Nightmare run as my test, so I'll hopefully be able to show off all of those pages as a bonus video or something.

Will you be doing all of the DLC?

Hopefully. I haven't played it through yet, but I own the collector's edition of the game so I'm automatically entitled to The Signal for free. It, honestly, depends on whether or not I can download the DLC for my 360; right now I have only wifi, no wired.

Dual commentary?

Depends on how many people actually download the source. If a lot of people watch the video that way, and people would be interested in dual audio (the second audio track would be us talking over the cutscenes), then yeah, I'll do it.

god your lp sucks you suck Rent

Yeah, I really want criticism, so be brutal. I can't improve unless I know what the problems are, so be ruthless.

In that same vein if you really like something, mention it and I'll make a note of it.

How often will you update, and how long are updates
Every other day, and 20-30 minutes

Rent go

THE VIDEOS
Episode 1: Under Pressure Viddler blip direct download
Episode 2: Don't Stop Me Now Viddler blip direct download
Episode 3: Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy Viddler blip direct download
Episode 4: Play The Game Viddler blip direct download
Episode 5: Death On Two Legs Viddler blip direct download
Episode 6: Another One Bites the Dust Viddler blip direct download
Episode 7: Flash Viddler blip direct download
Episode 8: Bohemian Rhapsody Viddler blip direct download
Episode 9: I'm Going Slightly Mad Viddler blip direct download
Episode 10: Fat Bottomed Girls Viddler blip direct download
Episode 11: Stone Cold Crazy Viddler blip direct download
Episode 12: Calling All Girls Viddler blip direct download
Episode 13: Princes of the Universe Viddler blip direct download
Episode 14: Pain Is So Close To Pleasure Viddler blip direct download
Episode 15: Need Your Loving Tonight Viddler blip direct download
Episode 16: We Will Rock You Viddler blip direct download
Episode 17: Innuendo Viddler blip direct download
Episode 18: Loser In The End Viddler blip direct download
Episode 19: Killer Queen Viddler blip direct download
Episode 20: I Want To Break Free Viddler blip direct download
Episode 21: I Was Born To Love You Viddler blip direct download
Episode 22: Hang On In There Viddler blip direct download
Episode 23: We Are The Champions Viddler blip direct download

The Signal

The first of two dlc packs for Alan Wake, The Signal was released on July 27, 2010 as a direct sequel to the events of Alan Wake 1. Me and Earwig Squad thought that it'd be a good companion piece to the main LP, so here it is for your enjoyment! The Signal is roughly an hour to a half to two hours long, so this "mini LP" is only gonna be three videos long.

Let's Play Alan Wake: The Signal: Episode 1: Colons Viddler blip direct download
Episode 2: Of Monster Trucks and Men Viddler blip direct download
Episode 3: Sexual Eruption Viddler blip direct download

The Writer

The second of two DLC packs for Alan Wake, released on October 12, 2010, this is set directly after the events of The Signal, and finally ties up all the loose ends of Alan Wake 1, whilst simultaneously setting up for a sequel. This DLC pack, which is in my opinion the best of the two and in all honesty better than the Alan Wake main story, is far less combat-oriented than its sister piece. Come join me and Earwig Squad as we plumb the depths of The Dark Place, won't you?

You won't?

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Let's Play: Alan Wake: The Writer: Episode 1: Yes. Extortion DOES Work Viddler blip direct download
Let's Play: Alan Wake: The Writer: Episode 2: The Final Countdown Viddler blip [url=http://blip.tv/file/get/Itsrent-LetsPlayAlanWakeTheWriterEpisode2TheFinalCountdown162.flv
]direct download[/url]

Spoit

god your lp sucks you suck Rent.

Also, hella reverb on the mics. Gain is waaay to high

PaperLuigi44

The gameplay footage on the blip version is stuttering for me, is anyone else having this problem?

Jakorian

Looking forward to it.

Rent

PaperLuigi44 wrote: »

The gameplay footage on the blip version is stuttering for me, is anyone else having this problem?

I just logged out of my blip account and tried it as a pubbie, works fine for me.

Viddler's at 88% on encoding, so in about ten minutes I should have a working viddler link

Also video one has a bit of problems I iron out in the next video, pretty much all relating to audio (like I learn what ducking is, for instance)

Rent

viddler link

edit: by the way for people who don't know, you can also download the source video in viddler, you just need a viddler account (viddler is an mp4, blip's direct download is flv)

PaperLuigi44

Viddler is working fine for me, let the show begin!

EDIT: Finished Ep 1, nice work so far.

valgomir

I'm going to watch this.
The game audio is a bit quiet. Like, almost inaudible. I guess it wouldn't hurt if you turned it up a tad. Otherwise looking good :^:

chidona

Yeah, the game audio is really quiet relative to your commentary - another thing is that when your microphone is switched on, I think we're getting the game audio twice - once from the direct from game feed, and once from your mic, and it's creating this weird ethereal effect when there shouldn't be any (this is on the viddler feed, not sure about the others).

Otherwise it's a really good job so far, can't wait for the second ep!

joshofalltrades

Oh hey it's a Rent LP thread

Looks like it's my turn to treat Rent exactly the same way he treats me during a LP

<3<3<3

Jakorian

In game sound is waaaaaaay to quiet. Also, how much of the game have you played before?

Corehealer

Jakorian wrote: »

In game sound is waaaaaaay to quiet. Also, how much of the game have you played before?

Shady3011

You're definitely having some audio problems. You might want to fix those before you continue.

Edit: Wait, if you were aware of them before you uploaded the first video then why didn't you fix them? A second take is never a bad thing. Maybe this is all stuff you've heard before but a short test video is always a good idea before you decide to do the real take.

Rent

Yeah I didn't know what ducking was so the audio should be a lot better in the next video

Also I've beaten the game before

Adus

I'll just add my opinion that I don't really care for audioducking. The game volume raising and lowering all the time is pretty irritating (especially considering the fact that if no one is talking, then why does the game suddenly need to be louder anyway?). I just prefer to find a balance where neither overpowers each other. It's tough sometimes, I know.

Aumni

Yay! I wanted to get this but couldn't. Now I can watch an awesome LP.

AzadIsCool

I only wish I could play this without shitting my pants. I get scared really easily. I have trouble playing through Half Life 2. I had trouble with Uncharted.

This LP will do.

Captain Carrot

this game is creeee-py

which I guess is the point

good job, Rent

Zen Vulgarity

20-30 minutes is a good length for videos

AzadIsCool

Now that I've watched it: Good job, although the commentary was a bit weak at times. For example, why won't you guys talk during cutscenes? That seems like the perfect time to discuss stuff. Also I'm liking the 30 minute length.

E: Also considering there are subtitles and the game volume is super low, I don't think it would be a problem to speak during cutscenes. Or maybe I'm missing something.

PaperLuigi44

AzadIsCool wrote: »

Now that I've watched it: Good job, although the commentary was a bit weak at times. For example, why won't you guys talk during cutscenes? That seems like the perfect time to discuss stuff. Also I'm liking the 30 minute length.

E: Also considering there are subtitles and the game volume is super low, I don't think it would be a problem to speak during cutscenes. Or maybe I'm missing something.

Well, this is an informative LP aimed primarily at people who want to experience the game for the first time, and the cutscenes are a pretty important part of the experience. Talking through them would ruin the atmosphere and defeat the point, in my opinion.

AzadIsCool

I see what you mean. I thought with the subtitles it wouldn't be a problem, but the commentary would probably distract the viewer from the cutscene anyway.

Rent

the game volume is super low because I didn't duck the audio. this will not be a problem starting with the next video

also, yeah, what paperluigi said

Spoit

Honestly, I'd say the mic volume being too loud, and with the gain set to high, is a bigger problem than the game volume

Rent

Spoit wrote: »

Honestly, I'd say the mic volume being too loud, and with the gain set to high, is a bigger problem than the game volume

how do I fix that? using audacity

Spoit

Rent wrote: »

Spoit wrote: »

Honestly, I'd say the mic volume being too loud, and with the gain set to high, is a bigger problem than the game volume

how do I fix that? using audacity

I don't know how to fix it in post, but during the recording, set the mic sensitivity down a notch or two

Rent

okay, starting with video 6 I'll make sure to lower the sensitivity of the mic

VeritasVR

I think I know what the surprise is! I think I know!

Oh yeah!

... Goddamn it!

Is it another thermos?

:^:

Earwig Squad

I think you can hear the game audio the mic picked up more clearly when we talk over dialogue. Rent patched the problem a little bit by silencing chunks of the commentary track that had nothing but echo-audio on them. This means that some cuts of the finished track are more distorted than others. I think, anyway. These first few videos won't be the best because we're still learning how to make good videos. But don't worry. We're fast learners.

Shady3011

Rent wrote: »

okay, starting with video 6 I'll make sure to lower the sensitivity of the mic

Okay, see, here's your problem. Your very next video should be fixing this stuff. You are honestly better off messing around for a bit until you get your technical problems sorted out instead of continuing the LP. I honestly don't see how having to ride out these problems until it gets better is ever a good thing to do in any LP.

Rent

Shady3011 wrote: »

Rent wrote: »

okay, starting with video 6 I'll make sure to lower the sensitivity of the mic

Okay, see, here's your problem. Your very next video should be fixing this stuff. You are honestly better off messing around for a bit until you get your technical problems sorted out instead of continuing the LP. I honestly don't see how having to ride out these problems until it gets better is ever a good thing to do in any LP.

Yes, I'm working on fixing all the audio problems I encountered starting with the next video. I actually opened up video two and in my personal opinion all the audio problems are pretty much fixed by ducking it

Earwig Squad

Shady3011 wrote: »

I honestly don't see how having to ride out these problems until it gets better is ever a good thing to do in any LP.

Major changes are coming into play at video six because we've already recorded the commentary for the first five. Rent tells me that the next few videos sound better, though, so there might not be much to ride out. We might re-record those sessions later, but I think we'd rather move on. If all else fails you can skip to the good part once we've made it. I'm pretty sure all you'd miss is the tutorial, a stock-option instigating event and a whole bunch of lumberjacks trying to kill Alan.

Someone cut off the power to my selective LP outcome quantum time machine thing, so here we are. Audio often kills first video... in Night Springs.

Lord_Asmodeus

So, I'm loving this so far. Cant wait for more videos (well, I can, AND I SHALL) looking forward to it (and hopefully hearing the game a bit more) :P

Rent

Earwig Squad wrote: »

Shady3011 wrote: »

I honestly don't see how having to ride out these problems until it gets better is ever a good thing to do in any LP.

Major changes are coming into play at video six because we've already recorded the commentary for the first five. Rent tells me that the next few videos sound better, though, so there might not be much to ride out. We might re-record those sessions later, but I think we'd rather move on. If all else fails you can skip to the good part once we've made it. I'm pretty sure all you'd miss is the tutorial, a stock-option instigating event and a whole bunch of lumberjacks trying to kill Alan.

Someone cut off the power to my selective LP outcome quantum time machine thing, so here we are. Audio often kills first video... in Night Springs.

oh my god I just got that joke you made in paragraph two

I think I love you

AzadIsCool

Rent where's the next part, I need my Wake fix.

PaperLuigi44

Great, I just had my first Alan Wake related nightmare.

Thanks a lot, Rent.

Rent

PaperLuigi44 wrote: »

Great, I just had my first Alan Wake related nightmare.

Thanks a lot, Rent.

:^:

Episode 2: Don't Stop Me Now blip direct download

Viddler's still uploading, be up in about 10 minutes or so

AzadIsCool

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUBwjyhRweQ

God I love this song.

Rent

hey so viddler fucked up on the upload job and failed at the last minute

So viddler's gonna be a bit of a while

VeritasVR

You get really excited before punching and kicking inanimate plot devices.

Also, "shadowy Matriochka doll from hell" is a weird mental image.

Rent

Viddler

VeritasVR wrote: »

You get really excited before punching and kicking inanimate plot devices.

you kick a transformer to negate electricity, how is that not awesome