Alan Wake, the game's protagonist, is a bestselling horror writer, who writes a novel about his darkest nightmares. In the game, those nightmares come true. As with Remedy's previous games, story and atmosphere are fundamental elements.

"In Alan Wake we want to weave the story tightly into the gameplay. Combining intense and cinematic storytelling with player freedom is an interesting and exciting challenge," says Sam Lake, Lead Writer, "Mood and atmosphere are essential parts of a thriller, and we want them to be present throughout the whole gameplay experience."

The game features a massive, open world for the players to explore. The game design is mission based with the player as the driving force behing the action, and as with their previous games, Remedy again focuses completely on delivering the best possible single player experience.

"We're putting a huge effort into building a free-roaming, living world for the players." says Petri Jarvilehto, Lead Game Designer, "The true power of the next generation comes from the dynamic nature of the environment, not only making things pretty, but also making the world more versatile, varied and immersive."

The use of light is a significant gameplay element. Remedy has developed proprietary new technology to support the gameplay of the title and to push the high definition visuals to the next level.

Alan Wake is currently being developed for the next generation consoles and PC's. Remedy has not announced a release date.