http://www.brightfalls.net/news/403/

:D I'm too excited to type anymore!

So on Friday, Markus posted his desktop in the desktop thread at alanwake.com, and he it is:

Now, I know what you're thinking, "what the hell?" Yes, it's small, and it's cut off. But damn is it georgeous!:D From what we can see, Alan is looking through a window in a cabin/shack.

But that's not the interesting thing, AnttiAppa over at the forums combed over the desktop and came back with some juicy details:

"

First you notice the AW pic. But let's analyze this picture.

-Xbox 360 neigh..something: A possible dev kit?
-Forged Alliance: They play it :P
-Max_Leffa...: A file about Max Payne movie. Leffa is a finnish word and means "Movie".
-Topte...: I can't read the last letter... Something about top ten or what?

-Possible movie file: There is a remedy logo in one of the files. This must be somekind of a movie file. Remedy logo is just a thumb pic.

-WakePR. PR=Public Relations?

-Summer stock: Pictures

-AW_Oct200...: Darn it! Can't see the last number. A possible timetable for October?

-Red-Yel...: I can't read the last part... I have no idea about this.

-Remedy...: A PDF file about company of remedy, maybe?

-Säännöt = Rules

-Creds

-Temp: Temporary files?

-2006 - shortcut: Shortcut to 2006 version of Wake?

-Scenario: A pic of Bright Falls?

-Toolbar: A music file is playing (AW music?), Alan Wake Synopsis.
We can also see that the picture is .jpg.

That is all i can find.. If you can find more, please tell us.

What can i say about this? There is something fishy about two of these files.. That file with Remedy logo thumb and AW_October200... What can i say about these files? Wait for October... And TGS ;)"

Some pretty cool stuff. Well, Markus responded to these claims:

"

Well, I knew it too. Temp is the folder I moved all stuff from my desktop that I did not want you to see...

The one with Remedy logo is some old team presentation (PPT) file. Vista just generates the thumbnail based on first slide. And in title bar, Winamp's is blanked to save you from my music taste :cool:

Don't read too much into things, I didn't plan every detail..."

Aww...But did you notice? He doesn't mention the file that says,. "AW_OCT20080910." 20080910? Deciphered: October 9th, 2008 - The day Tokyo Game Show starts. Also, he only mentions one of the blanked out tabs. The other he ignores.

So, what does it all mean? Well, IMO, Remedy can try to tease us they all want, but I'm pretty certain Mr. Wake will be at TGS in a few weeks. :)

But as always, we'll have to wait and see...

So, recently over at alanwake.com in the forums, Markus and Mika have been posting moreso than usual. Too often actually.:shock:

I kid I kid, but it's great to see them so involved with the community. At least once a week, we're getting a post from Remedy about the game (no Gears-style cover systen in AW sorry) or something relating to the game. And it's all been following since the "Small Update" from Mika several weeks back. So, are we on the cusp of Alan breaking his silence at long last? Maybe...

This week though, MS is going to have a European convention where they'll be demonstrating and showing off their exclusives. There's a rumor the new Bungie title is going to be there. And there are slight rumors of AW there too. I think it unlikely though with the possible prescence of Bungie there. But with Remedy being European and all, and AW's long media blackout, who knows?

As always, we'll just have to wait and see.:)

So, I know you know by now (sorry I've been away from GS), but just in case you haven't, the Big R spoke just recently, Mika, Remedy's CFO to be exact, on the state of Alan Wake.

http://www.alanwake.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1706

"Dear people,

We feel we owe you all a small heads up, and our apologies for lack of updates. This is just part of our psychological thriller, is it all real or imagined...
Seriously, yes, we're still here and working hard on getting Alan Wake for you to enjoy. Sure, we've been in development for a long time and if everything had gone perfectly smoothly there probably would be a game out for you guys to play already. But designing a completely new game can be hard, and sometimes you need to take a detour to find the best route forward.

We want to entertain you guys in the best possible way and our team is putting in every effort possible in order for that to happen. That is the way Remedy wants to do things. I'm sure you will enjoy Alan Wake when we're done.

Just follow the light..."

So, there you have it. Just have patience my dear people. Our long awaited game is oh so very close to coming back to the spotlight.

In other news, Leipzig ocurred this week, but Alan was a no-show again. This was to be expected though since Remedy was just getting back from the company vacation, and denied those "confirmed" TGS appearance rumors. But who knows? Maybe Alan was shown at Leipzig behind closed doors a la Heavy Rain. Microsoft was showing several games behind closed doors at the event.

Whatever the case may be, I still expect to see Alan before years end. Maybe at TGS, or maybe at X08, if MS has one of course.:)

http://www.destructoid.com/destructoid-exclusive-alan-wake-tgs-08-teaser-96205.phtml#ext

:o

I don't know about you guys, but I'm speechless. This is quite possibly the best trailer I have ever seen.

So, today, while cruisin for some Alan newsin (terrible), I see that Remedy came back on alanwake.com in regards to the TGS 2008 contest. Rather than me expaining it and possibly confusing the thousands of people that read this, I'll let Markus from Remedy do the talking:

"The Microsoft Vista promotion referring to TGS took place in 2007, and is old news - we've had the winner over for taking the pictures already.

Sorry for the confusion and possible disappointment, but this was not an annoucement that Wake would be shown at TGS 2008. Remedy's team is just getting back from a bit of holiday and we haven't had time to chat with Microsoft on upcoming shows/showings yet."

http://www.alanwake.com/forum/showpost.php?p=29927&postcount=17

Well, there ya have it. I told you guys to treat it as a rumor, but it doesn't matter now. I'm just glad Remedy sorted this thing out before it got any further.

So yes, I've heard about the contest. I have known about it for a awhile now, but due to connection problems and laziness, I just haven't blogged about it.

As you can see, the contest, which ended last year, will take one winner to Finland to have their face in the game, and then jet off to the, clearly stated, 2008 Tokyo Games Show to see Alan Wake on the screen.

But, here comes Mr. Pessimistic!

This is far from a confirmation. So, before you get all excited, let me bring you back down to Earth.

For one, I already stated the contest ended last year. A lot can happen in that time span. Remedy could have just called the whole thing off for all we know. Second, it's a very questionable move to show this game at a Japanese games convention. A game made by Finnish devs about a horror writer who battles his nightmares in the northwest United States? Oh, I'm sure this game will fly over magnificently with Japanese gamers.:roll:

And last, but not least, the biggest achilles heel in this contest comes straight from the terms themselves. It doesn't really give any indication that AW will appear there no doubt. It really just talks about the winner recieving tickets to the show this year. Neither does it say Remedy HAS to be there.

http://www.microsoft.com/uk/windows/prizedraw/Gaming_terms.html

So, let's not have another repeat of E3 this year, where a non-official site lists the game, and everyone loses their minds. This is far from a confirmation, so we'll just have to wait and see. Would I love Alan to be there? Of course I would. Do I think it will be there? I don't really have an opinion actually.

But I will say, until TGS arrives, let's take this as a rumor. And who knows, Alan could appear at Leipzig or PAX before it "supposedly" appears at TGS in October.

Yes, ladies and gents, like expected, Alan Wake was absent from E3. That listing on e3.net proved to be false like we all suspected. I'm not disappointed though because I knew Alan would not show. I'm curious though as to the answer Shane Kim will give to reporters as to why Alan is still sleeping. "We have to be very careful on how we show this game" is my bet.

Well, convention season is far from over. E3 first day isn't even over yet, but if Alan was going to be shown, it would have been today. But, that didn't happen. So, us Alan Wake faithful have to keep our heads up and look torwards Leipzig Games Convention in Germany next month from August 20th-24th. I'm placing most of my hopes on the game appearing there for several reasons. It's closer to home for Remedy, it's after their company vacation, and it's a smaller convention where, if they make an appearance, all eyes will be on them.

But if Alan doesn't show there, I guess we have to put our hopes on an unlikely convention, Tokyo Game Show in October.

I'll update next month during Leipzig on the status of Alan Wake, or sooner. If that ends up being the case. :)