The Final Boss
Every month an industry leader wraps up MCV/DEVELOP with their unique insight
What would you say is your greatest achievement? I’d say that it’s this whole journey through all this time, always building on the foundation of the previous games, always learning more, always having been able to bring in new ideas. I feel privileged to have been able to dream up these stories, characters and worlds. It has been a ton of fun, being able to play around with different genres of stories. And it’s been hard work navigating these projects. Having been able to do this for 30 years with many wonderful talented people, friends, is special. If I had to single out a game, it would be Alan Wake 2, in my mind a spiritual successor to all the Remedy games before it in some ways, and yet something new at same time. And if I had to single out an element in Alan Wake 2, then it would be the merging of many different mediums as storytelling methods into one experience.
Between Max Payne and dancing on stages, you’re already an icon. What do your ambitions look like when you’re at that point? The ambition is to keep learning and to try out new things. But then that’s what it has always been. Having dabbled in different mediums inside the games, I would love to dive deeper into any of them. All of them, I’d love to write a book, write a comic, make a film, produce and write lyrics for songs. I’d love to keep acting. It’s finding time for these things from making games that’s the real challenge. With games, I’m interested in big things, such as continuing to build a universe, and small things, carefully crafted details that resonate. I want to keep exploring what interactive storytelling can be. I think that when it comes to both breadth and depth, video games can tell the most ambitious, complex and strongly felt stories ever told. I think that with games we are only just getting started.
Is there anything that you learned all the way back in 1996 on Death Rally that you still used while working on Alan Wake 2? The opportunities for writing in Death Rally were very limited, but I learned many things that I still use. Be economical when you must. Make what you have count. Tight limits are wonderful as they force you to be creative. Always think outside the box. Find clever ways of going around the limits when you can. When it comes to style and tone and worldbuilding, never settle for what is good enough and needed, always finds ways to elevate the experience and surprise the audience.
Sam Lake, Creative Director at Remedy Entertainment
“There are brilliant young game creators out there, or just creators in any form of art really, just waiting to blow our minds.”
54 | MCV/DEVELOP June/July 2025
What do you see as the gaming industry’s biggest challenges in the years ahead? How should it overcome them? There has been a lot of talk about the ever-increasing budgets being unsustainable. Very few, if any, publishers and developers will be able to keep up with it, and the risks are enormous. I remain very hopeful when it comes to smaller indie devs and games. There have been wonderful surprises and successes, such as Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 just now. You can create wonderful experiences with less. There are brilliant young game creators out there, or just creators in any form of art really, just waiting to blow our minds.
Do you think the industry is in a healthy place – or headed in the right direction, at least? We’ve been living through bad times for sure, studios being closed, talented people being laid off. It’s awful. Have we hit the bottom for now? It’s hard to know. It’s always been a pendulum swing. I hope we’re headed toward better times now.
How does it feel to be getting the Develop:Star Award? You’re joining quite an exclusive club! It’s hard to believe. My imposter syndrome keeps telling me someone must have made a mistake. But seriously, it’s a wonderful honor. I’m very grateful. I will use this as a motivation boost to keep dreaming up new stories, to keep creating.
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