Artfulness and originality in Alan Wake II: the Remedy for conventional media A formalist analysis of conventions in Alan Wake II in medium, genre and narrative structure

Abstract

With the game Alan Wake II, Remedy Entertainment experiments with narrative structure, remediation and genre in order to deliver commentary on artfulness. The game seems to ask the audience a question: when is a text artful, and how does that relate to the genre and medium it is told through? The game delivers commentary on this theme by strategically breaking conventions. It does so on three levels: firstly, on the level of medium, by remediating several artful media into the game, with which it reflects on the artfulness of games. Secondly, on the level of genre, by breaking ludic conventions of survival horror, motivating the unconventional gameplay elements with narrative conventions. Thirdly and finally, by thematizing the narrative model of the Hero's journey as written by Joseph Campbell, with which it delivers commentary on conventional story structures. All of this commentary seems to be in service of one larger argument: the game seems to refute Roger Ebert’s criticisms of the medium, as he claims games are not an artful medium. However, Alan Wake II contradicts itself in its execution, accrediting Ebert’s criticisms while attempting to counter this idea. Finally, the game offers its own definition for artfulness: artfulness comes from the conscious act of deviating from conventions, in order to create original products rather than familiar ones. This paper applies the method of formalist analysis to reflect on the manner in which the game delivers this commentary, in the context of the debate surrounding the artfulness of the medium.