Bright Falls - Alan Wake Live Action Prequel

Rick Burroughs' Alan Wake Book Now on Apple's iBook Store

2011-07-18T11:38:00.000-07:00

The Alan Wake Novel I wrote about a few months back has made it's way into the digital era.

The novel is now available >on Apple's iBook store. You'll be able to read it on an iPad as well as an iPhone or iPod Touch.

If you'll remember, this was the adaptation that was written by Rick Burroughs and published by Tor Books. The digital copy is $10, just like the physical, and was a great way for non-gamers to discover more about Bright Falls via Alan Wake. A year after the game's release, this is an excellent time for fans of the game to relive the experience as well.

High Resolution Bright Falls Cover Art

2011-05-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

The Double Feature page for the Bright Falls episode now includes high resolution cover art!

Last year the film podcast did a lengthy analysis of Bright Falls for their The Shining + Bright Falls episode. They just put up a new website, and one of the features is full on 1000x1500 pixel movie poster art. Every single episode got one, and that includes Bright Falls!

The image looks like it's a slightly altered version of the teaser movie-poster mockup that has been featured on the IMDB page as well as IGN.com. It's a real clean version, without all the text and whatnot on the bottom. It would be perfect for your own version of the Bright Falls DVD you'll never be able to buy at retail. Head over to the site to get the full resolution image. It's about half way down the page.

Bright Falls Analysis on Double Feature

2010-07-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Need a little more Bright Falls chat in your life?

The Shining + Bright Falls

Double Feature is a weekly podcast (like a free internet radio show) that puts two films back to back and discusses just what makes the films so awesome. I (Eric Ingrum) host the show along with Michael Koester. We've bent the rules a bit this week to include Bright Falls on the show, despite the fact it's not exactly a film. We're pairing it up with Kubrick's The Shining.

The discussion on Bright Falls starts around 34:15 and last until the end of the show. There's not a lot of in-depth stuff for people who read this blog, but there's some great surface discussion. Michael had never seen Bright Falls before, we we talked a bit about beginning theories and how someone might begin to solve the puzzle. We also focused on some of the film making aspects of the series that I don't often get to write about here.

A little warning - the episode is spoiler inclusive and fairly vulgar. Unnecessarily vulgar, even.

Grab the episode for free on the website. If you know someone who's just seen Bright Falls for the first time, by all means send them the link. If you like the show yourself, subscribe in iTunes! We cover a new set of films every week.

Alan Wake Music Video

2010-06-10T12:04:00.000-07:00

Less than a week ago some live action Alan Wake footage hit the web. We now know that the footage was part of the new Poets of the Fall video for their song War. You can now view the full video!

Also: YouTube Link.

Ilkka Villi, who played Alan Wake in Bright Falls, reprises the role in the video. Even knowing that he was the model for Alan Wake in the video game of the same name, it's a still pretty amazing seeing him standing there on the road. You can't believe what you're looking at.

While a lot of people may have been hoping for some sort of Bright Falls TV series or even a film, this music video is actually a pretty big deal. As Remedy teased earlier this week, this is something unlike anything that's ever been done in the industry.

It was only in the last decade when Grand Theft Auto created a break through licensing deal to collect a massive soundtrack of known artists and musicians for their franchise. This led to the videogame industry working hand-in-hand with the music industry. Today we see not only a great deal of licensed content, but entire franchises based around it. Guitar Hero, Rock Band...some of the most popular games today wouldn't exist without a deal like that.

Now we're seeing another part of the equation. In the 90s, the movie tie-in music video became common place. Only now has the gaming industry caught up. Here's an artist promoting their hit single using not a movie tie-in, but a video game tie-in instead!

This represents a turning point where games have gotten so realistic (not to mention popular) that something like Alan Wake makes sense to put in a live action music video. Not only is this a music video about a video game, but it's done without using a single frame of the game itself. Alan Wake's imagery is so powerful and its characters are so lifelike that you can do an entire five minutes of live action and people know what it's from. You see Ilkka, you see that obnixious jacket and the flare, and you know this is Alan Wake. It's pretty incredible.

New Alan Wake Live Action Teaser

2010-06-05T10:09:00.000-07:00

A mysterious new Alan Wake video has just shown up on YouTube.

Not working? Watch it directly on YouTube.

We see Alan Wake and a woman who may or may not be his wife (looks like her hair is pretty long!). You get the iconic flare, the manuscript pages, and Alan lying around in the dirt. Is that the infamous clicker in his hand?

Remedy is being really tight lipped about what exactly the teaser is. E3 is nearly upon us, and the first episode of downloadable content comes out in a month or so. It's most likely a promotional ad to get keep people about the game as the new content becomes available.

There is also speculation that this may be a clip from the new music video from Poets of the Fall. The band is currently working on a video for their song "War," which is featured in the Alan Wake videogame.

Bright Falls Explained

2010-05-28T07:51:00.000-07:00

The time has come.

Since I started this site, the most common email I get is "Can you tell me what's going on in Bright Falls? I'm frightened and confused." After nearly one billion re-watches of the entire Bright Falls series, I'm going to lay down what I think happens.

What follows in an explanation of Bright Falls. If you haven't seen the series, this is probably the worst place on the internet to be right now. Bright Falls is a magical series full of amazement and horror. You'd be doing yourself a serious injustice to ruin the plot twists without ever seeing it. You can watch it for free on this very site. Make sure you go in order, starting with "Oh Deer" and ending with "Clearcut."

I have write-ups on each of the six episodes. I did them directly after each episodes came out, so they only contain information up to that point in time. They're worth reading separately from this. Although there will be some overlap, I can't cover every observation I made in those posts (or this one would be ridiculously long). If you're looking for some explanation in the order that events unfold, try the full write-up on each episode.

Alright, are you ready?

There are serious, no-messing-around spoilers below.

The series is a supernatural story of a man who travels to Bright Falls, only to be consumed by the dark presence hidden there. How that's for a one sentence explanation?

It helps to re-watch the series in the context of the final outcome, so let's focus on where we end up first. We know by fifth episode that Jake is blacking out and doing crazy violent things. We know by the final episode that he's lost the struggle against these urges. No mater how you interpret anything else in Bright Falls, I think those few ideas are fairly clear.

Jake is corrupted by the darkness. Jake struggles to fight or escape the inner darkness. Jake eventually loses to the darkness.

Although it may be frustrating to think about, there are only two types of questions in Bright Falls - ones that are answered, and ones that aren't. Any time you do enigmatic science fiction like this, there are going to be unanswered bits and as an audience you have to just accept that. In six episodes, there's only so much of a scope for your narrative.

The above explanation about Jake brings up a lot of questions about the nature of the darkness. Those types of things can only be loosely speculated; most are out of the scope of the story. While this would normally be infuriating, the series has a perfect out in Alan Wake. We know the story of Alan Wake will go much deeper into "What is the darkness?" and in a way Bright Falls was created to make us want to know that. In the mean time, think of it like this -There's something evil at work in the town of Bright Falls. A dark presence is corrupting people. Bright Falls is the story of one such individual.

With that in mind, we can start asking the right kind of questions. When did the darkness take Jake? At what point did he turn? Was it gradual or was there a breaking point? In order to answer these questions, we're going to have to form some kind of time line. That's where things start to get a little more complicated.

The first image in the entire series is Jake being pulled out of the lake. Even after the series is complete, this is one of the biggest mysteries. I've been assured by the creators that although elusive, the answer is buried somewhere within the series. At first I thought it Emil. Remember that Jake seems to be in Bright Falls to get some information on the doctor. Emil acts very strangely around him. Something's up. As you can see from an enhanced version of the opening shot, Emil would probably look a lot weirder in a wet suit so I've got another idea.

In my original post about episode four, I speculated that Jake was trying to get a new headlight or similar part. We never hear what he's ordering, only that he'll have to wait for it. He ends up buying duct tape, so I assumed this was his Plan B. That doesn't make a ton of sense though, because he has the duct tape at the counter before he's ordering. He doesnt know about the delay yet. If you rewatch the scene, he's holding a small slip of paper. Behind the man at the counter, there are shelves full of pill bottles. I think we can confirm that Jake is trying to order his medication. Believe it or not though, Jake's reaction to the shipment delay isn't the most important thing in the frame. Check out this sketchball:

I believe that's the man known as Smith Mott, played by James August. He's one of the few characters I could never account for in my repeated study of the credits.

I need to take a second to applaud the creators on this one. Someone on this very blog once commented that they thought the diver was the man in the department store. Creative Director Mat Bunnell responded to the specific comment by stating There's no 'man in the hardware store' in the credits. At the time, of course, I thought that meant that a random background extra would clearly not be the elusive diver. Looking back, it more likely meant that a careful look at the credits would reveal that there's no credit for a man in the hardware store because he has a more vital role. He's got a name. He's important.

We do know that Mott is an important character in Alan Wake, but without reading the novel or playing the game we don't have a whole lot more information available to us. There's a lot more to say about this character and his connections, but have to save that for when I do the post on Alan Wake.

This is one of the events that makes the chronology so confusing. Bright Falls teases us with the body bag image right at the beginning of the series, but that isn't where the timeline actually begins. This is a glimpse of what will be happening at the end of episode four. At the end of the episode, Jake makes his way out of the body bag wearing his grey shirt and no shoes. Although he makes a rather humorous attempt to dress up when he visits Hartman again (nice blazer Jake, I'm sure you'll fool him) the grey shirt and lost shoes are his attire for the rest of the series.

I want to present some evidence for this though, because the chronology is one of the hotly contested points of the series.

I"ll assume you're with me on the idea that scene 1 of episode 1 is the same scene as at the end of episode four. Episode four shows more of that scene - Jake gets out of the body bag, as seen in the right side of image above, and runs into the woods. Wet, night time, grey shirt, no shoes. Episode five begins during the day, with Jake finally making it to the road. While some think this is a different day or time, the creators have confirmed that episode five starts the morning after episode four's evening ends.

So it's the very next morning. Jake is dry, the sun is up, and he's found his way back to the car. He spent all night wandering around trying to find his way back. When he reaches the road, he finds some broken glass as well as his car. This scene requires careful study, and even then there's no hard answer. The broken glass doesn't appear to be from his car. I mean, a normal person would see that damage to their car and inspect it. Then again, Jake just woke up in a body bag. He walked right past (even over!) the glass without a second thought. I guess it's fair to say he isn't a normal person, but we can't see any new damage to the vehicle so I'm going to say it's from somewhere else.

Alright, time for things to get weird again.

Jake's trunk is open, and his keys are in it. My first assumption was that he drove here, rushed to get something out of his trunk, and took off into the woods. I thought perhaps it was Sam Smith's body, which doesn't seem to have been found. While that's still a possibility, we know a little more about Jake's darkened state now. Does it really seem like the man who tore apart that room with an animalistic carelessness would try to cover his tracks? He's a beast, not a hitman.

I mean, we see someone who's been taken by the darkness. What do they look like?

That doesn't look like someone who can drive, let alone someone who cares about concealing a body. If anything, I think it's more likely that Sam was eaten by Jake than driven off somewhere. Episode four is called Local Flavor, after all. The series reminds us several times (again in episode six!) that these people are more like animals once the darkness has taken hold of them.

My bet is that Jake was driven there in the trunk, or at the very least someone else drove him there and opened the trunk in a hurry for some reason. It's interesting that there's rainboots in the trunk as well. Are they Jake's? Did someone else throw them in there with the intention of heading down to the water? How does Mott tie into this? The questions are starting to become overwhelming again. The best we can do is continue to speculate. Without the series actually showing us, we may never have a real answer. Perhaps there is no "right" answer, or perhaps when need to spend some time with Alan Wake.

Once Jake is back in the car, he drives through the dark tunnel we saw at the end of episode two. Think back to the episode. I bet you forgot all about that guy with the deer head, didn't you! "Who" is probably the wrong question here. The camera isn't shy about concealing the man's identity...it just doesn't care much either. Who the man is isn't the concern here.

Jake had just experienced some bizarre flashes while talking to Dr. Hartman, one of which included a brief glimpse of a deer head floating in the water. Could it be the same one the man is carrying? Right before Jake enters the the tunnel, he also notices an image of deer head scribbled on his notes among some other psychotic ramblings. The drawing of the deer head is probably a sort of premonition. It's like the flashes, showing what's to come. It's more an a coincidence that he notices it as he passes the man on the road. It's similar to the connection he makes when he sees the crazy lady behind bars, only to notice her later in episode four.

When we first saw the notes, they were meaningless to us. Knowing what we do now, they're worth another look.

NORE MORE LIGHT
IT IS HUNGRY FOR MORE
EMBRACE ME OR FEAR ME
I HAVE ALREADY ARRANGED MY LEGACY
HE KNOWS

We've narrowed down our "when" question. By the end of episode two, there's already something taking hold of Jake...something that's almost certainly been there since he crashed into the deer with his car. It's all over for Jake before it's really even begun. The darkness lives in him, waiting for its first meal. As he entered the tunnel, there was a similar fade to darkness as the ending of episode six. I think it was in the tunnel that he lost control and maybe even attacked the man. It isn't out of the real of possibilities that he went after the man or even the deer head, chasing them all the way to the water. Perhaps he tried to devour the deer. He may have also attacked the rabbit you see in the flashes, trying to bury it in the woods as an animal would.

The note pad gives you a glimpse of the darkness, but toward the top it also says he knows. Emil knows whats happening to Jake. Not only does he know the nature of the darkness, he knows it's happening to Jake specifically. By the second time they meet, he's looking at his watch - maybe seeing if the sun would still be out. He checks Jake with the light to see how far gone he is. He's known all along. What we see is his evaluation of Jake's progress.

So how does Emil know? I think he's having Jake followed, or at the very least getting information from someone else. Jake's here to investigate Hartman, and Hartman's already a step ahead of him. It could be Mott, but at this point it may be Ellen as well. Remember that Jake has already talked to Ellen at this point. It's a small town, it's probably safe to assume everyone knows everyone. That's part of what makes everyone a suspect.

During their conversation in the second episode, Jake says to her You know, I never understood why you moved here. She has a very negative reaction, although she tries to cover it. She says No, I guess not. Maybe her look is disappointment, maybe it's alarm, but whatever it is she abruptly leaves. Their entire meeting has a lot of similarities to Dr. Hartman's evaluations.

Don't forget Jake's other interactions with Ellen - they're no less suspicious. It seems like she knows what's happening, but wants to believe there's more hope for him than there actually is. When they meet for the second time, she pushes him away. She tells him to leave. She may be trying to protect him...but there's also that phone call she receives. Who's on the other end? Dr. Hartman? Deputy Mulligan?

This is only the first in a series of posts picking apart the series. I plan to do future posts on the individual characters, unanswered questions, and what the game Alan Wake tells us. There are still lingering questions...it could be months or even years before we have solid answers. In the mean time, the best we can do is continue asking. It's time for some peer review. Get in the comments with your own ideas and theories.

Alan Wake Novel

2010-05-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

That grand theory post is coming! There's a draft of it sitting right here, it should only be a few more days. I've been busy this week securing some very cool stuff for this site - more on that later. As you may have guessed, I've also been distracted playing Alan Wake!

For those of you who love Bright Falls but aren't into gaming, there's now a way for you to enjoy the story of Alan Wake without picking up a controller.

Tor Books has published an Alan Wake Novel. It's written by Rick Burroughs, and covers the story of the Alan Wake game. At 320 pages and only $10, there's really no reason not to check it out. I haven't gotten my hands on one yet (they just came out today!) but I can say the videogame's story is pretty incredible.

In a previous post on Gaming and Art I wrote about an ongoing debate on whether gaming can be considered a valid art form. Personally I think dismissing gaming (in the way Roger Ebert famously did) only shows your ignorance regarding how far the medium has come.

One often underestimated component of modern video games is how deep and complex their stories have become. Alan Wake is only one of several games to recently receive the novelization treatment. The mere fact that it could be made into a novel should prove that it has a story comparable to those told in other mediums like film or television.

Pick up the novel on Amazon and let us know what you think!

Phillip Van Bright Falls Atmosphere Video

2010-05-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

It's been several days since the Bright Falls series finale finally went up (you can view all the episodes now). As I continue to prepare an upcoming post on the mysteries of Bright Falls, I have another way for everyone to get their fix: The Bright Falls Atmospheres Montage!

If the player is giving you trouble, watch it over on Vimeo.

This all new footage can be found on director Phillip Van's Vimeo page. It's presumably a complication of location footage they shot before the actual series to help narrow down the feel they were looking for - although it's also possible that it's extra footage taken during filming. Some of the best parts of the series were the setting and cinematography, so it's pretty exciting that an additional feature like this exists.

The series was shot in Oregon and Washington using incredibly powerful Red One digital cameras. While I can't say for certain, it looks like this footage was shot on Red as well. Using the same slow, creepy camera work as the series itself, the atmosphere video has a very similar look to the final product. It's a great way to take a trip back to Bright Falls.

Alan Wake Released!

2010-05-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

The Xbox 360 game Alan Wake (on which Bright Falls is based) was finally released today!

Alan Wake
The Bright Falls series isn't currently available on DVD - and unfortunately it may never be. Purchasing Alan Wake is currently the best (and really only) way to tell Remedy and company that Bright Falls was a great idea. If Alan Wake sells well, they will measure their advertising as a success. This is the only hope we have of getting more content like Bright Falls, so click that link and buy a copy of the game.

At the above link you will find two versions. One is the standard game - instructions, disc, the bare essentials. BORING. But hold on-

There's an option at that link to buy the Limited Edition. This version is fully loaded. You've got the game and manual of course, but there's also limited edition artwork, in-game audio commentary, the official soundtrack and score, a book (which I'll get to in a second), and an xbox live bonus disc. The bonus disc contains:

- An Xbox Theme
- An Xbox Avatar Item
- A code for downloadable content
- Behind the Scenes documentaries

The documentaries include "The Theme of Alan Wake," "The World of Bright Falls," "The People of Bright Falls", and "Alan’s Missions."

The most intriguing item in the limited edition may be the book said to be written by Alan Wake. I obviously haven't read it yet, so I'm unsure if it's one of the novels we've heard about in the Bright Falls series or if it presents any new clues to the overall Alan Wake mythology. Can't wait to get my hands on one.

I'll have a write-up of the game in the coming weeks. In the mean time - even if you're not going to play the thing! - buy a copy and show your support of the amazing series that was Bright Falls.

Bright Falls Episode 6: Clearcut

2010-05-16T01:01:00.000-07:00

The sixth and very last episode of Bright Falls called "Clearcut."

This player not doing it for you? Better try YouTube.

Episode six is the last episode. Before you watch episode it, make sure you've seen the previous episodes.
1. Oh Deer | 2. Time Flies | 3. Lights Out | 4. Local Flavor | 5. Off the Record

The time for curiosity, exploration, and mystery solving is over. Self preservation has kicked in, getting out is all that matters anymore.

Previously I expressed a fear that Bright Falls would fail to live up to the promise it first showed. As I watched episodes one and two, I remember thinking "there's no way it will stay this good." Sometimes as you watch a great film, you can't help but wonder how they're going to mess it up. The sense of excitement, the fresh atmosphere, the new and mysterious characters...most times progressing through sadly diminishes these attributes.

I'm happy to say Bright Falls is even better at the end than the beginning. Everything I loved about it from the first episode remained true to the last. Each new turn showed off another great side, a trick I wasn't expecting it to pull. Now that the series is over, we can all breathe a sign of relief. Way to not screw it up, Bright Falls. We can chalk this up to ways you've outdone your predecessors.

EPISODE SPOILERS BELOW

Before the series ends, it decides to showcase its skills in tension building. For the first time, we begin an episode right where we left off. There's a four minute scene- half of the episode - where Deputy Mulligan confronts Jake in his cabin. He's come looking for Sam. Jake, afraid he'll see the mess he's made of his motel, tries to avoid letting him in but that doesn't last long.

Mulligan comes off as pushover. I believe he asks Jake, "it's this particular?" I think you mean peculiar, deputy. Jake feeds him an outstandingly lame excuse, but it works. It does even better than work. It's almost as if Mulligan helps him embellish. It's clever to put this scene here, because the conclusion of the last episode changed Jake's motivation. He knows he can't control himself, and now he has to run. Every second he spends here with the deputy is another second wasted. He has to get out of town, and he has to do it now. This is about more than getting caught...it's about getting stuck. The deputy is in his way, and for a while I was convinced he would have to kill him if he had any hope of leaving.

Jake races off to see Ellen. As he pulls in, we see her talking on the phone. "He has no idea," says a voice on the phone. It's a low voice...is it the deputy? Dr. Hartman? He gets out of the car and immediately demands that she help him. Again, no wasting time. Get out now. They jump into the car and head down the road. Ellen tries to get some answers. She appears to be confused. Is she a great actor or is a lot of this above her head?

Jake says he needs to get out of town, and that he couldn't drive himself. As they pass the town's border, he says he's not in control anymore. She asks him what the means. If this were a lesser series, this would be the part where Jake explains that a dark presences is taking hold of him, forcing him to stay in town. He would say that it has possessed him, that it hates the light, and that it injured or even killed Sam Smith.

But this is Bright Falls, so none of that happens. Instead he turns towards Ellen to see she isn't there anymore and he's not driving.

Confused, he looks over and sees and empty seat. Ellen's shoe - the same shoe hidden in the opening credits - is laying bloody on the floor. He's done something to Ellen. She's gone, and as the horror is washing over his face he sees what he is driving by. The Welcome to Bright Falls sign he thought they just passed is right in front of him. He tries to pull a frantic U-Turn...it's the same scene we saw in his second psychotic episode...and he winds up in a dead stop. With his car resting inside the town boundary of Bright Falls, he stares out the window. Maybe he's collecting his breath. Maybe he realizes that it's pointless to resist. Maybe the darkness is paralyzing him, or maybe it's fear.

The final scene is creepy, surreal, and ambiguous all at once. Something that closely resembles the reflection of trees speeds over the windshield of the car. Eventually the interior goes black. When the light comes back up, Jake is gone. It isn't clear where he's gone, but I'm left with the impression he's been absorbed by Bright Falls. It appears that the lighting outside has changed, so some deal of time has also passed. Police have arrive on the scene to investigate. It's the same red and blue flashes from episode four's flashes.

You're left crying out for the remaining seconds of Bright Falls to tell you something. If you're like me, something inside you cries out "wait! I'm still confused! Come back here and spoon feed me answers!" Before the series comes to a close, a car pulls up to an office. It's Alan Wake and his wife, asking what happened here. There're assured it's probably nothing. They continue to drive into town.

This ending is pitch perfect. Jake loses the fight against the darkness, and we lose the fight against Bright Falls. The series ends in a way where you know the answers are floating around in there somewhere, but the creators aren't going to write them down and hand them to you. You're compelled to immediately watch it again. You feel the need to talk about it, make other people watch it, bounce ideas off your friends. It's everything a great piece of film should do.

The creators have also made use of a rare opportunity. Alan Wake shows up at the end, almost as if to tell you "it's ok, Alan's here. He'll help you." In most films this complicated and mysterious - think Memento or Primer, for example - you have only one recourse. You have to watch again and again. With Bright falls, you have another tool at your disposal. You can continue the story of Alan Wake by playing the upcoming game, in hopes that it will clear up some of your uncertainties. Bam! Game tie-in!

Even better than you ever though, a game tie-in that actually makes you want to play the game. You didn't just watch Bright Falls and think "that was cool, I guess I'll play the game, it might be cool too." You watched it and said "I have to play Alan Wake in hopes that I'll learn more about the story." It's soooo perfect. From what I've read, Alan Wake isn't going to explain Bright Falls to you. What it will do is give you a better understanding of the universe in which Bright Falls takes place - and that will help you go back through Bright Falls and understand it better.

There's a lot to digest, so I'm going to hold off on explaining the greater mysteries of the series (as I see them anyhow) for another week or so. In addition to a solid "mysteries of Bright Falls" post I'll be playing the game as well and will certainly have a few entries about that in the weeks to follow - particularly how the game helps inform the series. For now, it'll be great to see everyone's reactions and theories in the comments.

Bright Falls Episode 5: Off the Record

2010-05-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

The final episode of Bright Falls are finally upon us. Episode five is called "Off the Record."

Above player not working? Get over to YouTube.

Before you watch episode five, make sure you've seen the previous episodes.
1. Oh Deer | 2. Time Flies | 3. Lights Out | 4. Local Flavor

There's no turning back now. Off the Record gets right down to business. Jake wants answers, and he's running out of time. The episode continues the series trend of uncompromising development. There isn't a second of filler. Every single frame, sentence, character action - they're all there for a reason.

Unlike the other episodes, this one focuses on a single mystery and really drives it home. Rather than continue asking "why" or "who" and getting vague answers, we're going to find out "what." What is Jake doing when he blacks out? What is going on in the time lapses? What specifically is happening to him?

As we find out, it might be safer not knowing.

EPISODE SPOILERS BELOW

I thought Jake was looking worn out last week...how is this many even able to carry himself? We see Jake climbing up to the road from what appears to be a car crash. There's glass on the highway, although his car appears to be alright. As far as I can tell, there isn't any glass missing from his vehicle.

As he walks back from his car we see his shoes are missing. We saw someone running barefoot in the original set of insane flashes from episode 2, which I think we can now confirm was Jake. When he gets back to the car, his trunk is open. You might be thinking "sure, he crashed or something, he trunk flew open." As Jake goes to close the trunk, you'll notice that he removes his keys from it. What's going on here?

What we know is this - at some point Jake drove (or was driven) here. He got something out of his trunk, left his keys there, and went into the woods. He lost his shoes (presumably while doing something in the woods) and then blacked out. Leaving his keys signifies that he was in a hurry during these events, but at this point he's acting so irrationally that we really don't know. It's also possible that he left his keys in his trunk because he's a complete lunatic. The first thing that springs to my mind is that he had a body in the trunk. Then again, burying a body is something a thinking killer does. It might not be something a wild animal would do.

Jake drives back through the tunnel we saw at the end of episode 2. Is this the tunnel in and out of town? Maybe he was trying to leave?

His next stop is returning to Dr. Emil Hartman to get The Creator's Dilemma signed. Apparently while running around the woods he forgot that he promised to do that. The exchange with Dr. Hartman is really telling, in a what-does-it-all-mean kind of way. As he describes what has been happening to him, Dr. Hartman gives him this sort of unwavering stare. Even when Jakes he's "killed...a deer" Hartman doesn't flinch.

He walks over to Jake and begins to stare at his watch He tells Jake he "helps people with problems just like yours." He pauses, and says "stay with us" before shining a light in Jake's eye. This causes Jake to recoil, almost as if in pain, and shout "what the hell is that thing?" This is the moment that all doubt is crushed - for Hartman, for Jake, for us. The darkness that seems to be infecting people in the town has taken control of him.

Dr. Hartman replies "just a light," with an all knowing smile. So much is said with this scene, and at the same time so little. The doctor appears happy. He clearly knows what's going on. Is he behind this? How does he benefit from this situation? What is his motivation? As Jake flees Hartman's office, the doctor watches him without a care in the world. He doesn't seem the least bit concerned, as if to say he'll be back or maybe he's ours now.

Jake gets back to his motel room, positions the camera in front of the refrigerator, and duct tapes himself to the door. I like the videogame-esque assembly in this scene. Here are a few items we know Jake has from earlier in the series (the duct tape in episode four and the camera in episode two) and he's now using them to solve the mystery. This isn't the first time the series has done something like this. If you pay close attention to the opening credits, there are many key items hidden among the trees. Jake leaves the camera rolling and eventually passes out.

The scene that follows may be my favorite of the entire season. It's one of the most clever reveals I've ever seen. Jake gets up, having come undone from the refrigerator, and attaches the camera to the TV. He watches the playback of the tape. You see him rip the tape off the door, and then rip the door off the refrigerator. It's inhuman, the kind of strength he displays. As the crashing and banging noises continue, we switch our perspective from the TV to Jake (who is viewing it).

Normally this would just be a typical reaction shot, but the scene stays on him. Rather than watching the TV to see what's happened, we slowly pan around Jake. We get his reaction to the tape, but more importantly we begin to see more of the room behind him. They never have to show us how he tore up the room - instead we hear the sounds while seeing the aftermath. The scene doesn't even focus on the background. There's never an exact moment where you're supposed to put together the pieces. If you were watching this with a room full of people it's the type of reveal everyone would start noticing at different moments as it becomes more and more obvious. It's phenomenally well done.

So we know Jake has been consumed by this darkness. We know it lives in him, and occasionally (at night?) it takes control in astonishing fits of rage. The most pressing question becomes what does he do now?

Will Alan Wake Live Up to Bright Falls?

2010-05-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

Chris J. Thompson put up a review of Bright Falls for Popculture Hound earlier this week. He's got a lot of great things to say about the series, which if you'll remember was originally planned to be little more than an advertisement for Alan Wake. Since it's release, Bright Falls has earned a great deal of critical praise and even it's own fanbase separate from those anticipating the game itself.

Chris offers up a sentiment I've been hearing with greater and greater frequency:

Based on the strength of the four episodes I've watched, the game itself has a lot to live up to! Bright Falls sets the bar very high indeed and it's obvious they've invested a lot of time and money to make sure this project is done just right.

Videogame "adaptations" have had a poor reputation for years. When it was announced that there would be a live action tie-in to help promote Alan Wake, very few had high hopes for the six part series. How ironic that now, for maybe the first time ever, people are asking if the videogame can live up to the videogame adaptation.

We'll find out in just a few short days.

Deerfest Video

2010-05-13T07:00:00.000-07:00

The Deerfest video from episode four has shown up online.

NOTE: This video is not a Bright Falls episode. If you're looking for episodes you want to go here.

You can also watch the video directly on YouTube.

As you'll remember from episode 4 (titled Local Flavor), Jake goes into a trance while watching this odd video for Deerfest. The event is also mentioned on the radio in episode 2 (Time Flies).

Some people have asked me...what's the big deal about Deerfest? I think that this sums it up: it's about friendship and community.

There have been several incidents relating to deer - Jake's accident, the notepad, the man with the deer head - but I think all this is a bit of a red herring. I don't feel like everything is leading up to Deerfest, or that Deerfest has anything to do with what's going on. It's just one of the odd events of this little town...part of the backdrop. Deerfest tells us more about what kind of place Bright Falls is, not what's going on under the surface.

G4, Lost, and the Setting of Bright Falls

2010-05-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

In a previous post on G4 and David Lynch I mentioned the coverage G4TV has been giving bright falls. They've since posted articles on the third and fourth episodes as well.

In their impressions of episode 3 Gaskill recaps the episode noting specific references to Lost. Fans of the ABC series will find more comparisons between the storytelling elements than anything else. If you've been following Lost all this time (we're almost there, guys!) you're plenty familiar with the "more questions than answers" approach. It's as if each new answer actually reveals a greater distance to the truth...

In the episode 4 impressions Stephen Johnson notes "The Alan Wake 'Bright Falls' promotional webisodes are the best promotional webisodes I’ve ever seen." It's odd to even think of them as webisodes at this point, but I'm right there with you Stephen. He goes on to say:

I know it’s a nexus of nightmare and despair, but I still want to live in Bright Falls. It’s scenic, and I’ll bet it smells great there. I’ll bet the food at that little diner is amazing. I could find a nice girl and settle down into a log cabin, get all excited about Deerfest every year, and keep sane by visiting Bright Falls’ state-of-the-art mental health facilities.

As I type this from my noisy Chicago apartment I can't help but think the same thing. Every day for the last few weeks I've had the urge to move to a quiet Oregon logging town. It's a real testament to how rich of a backdrop the series has crafted.

Bright Falls Episode 4: Local Flavor

2010-05-11T23:05:00.000-07:00

Well look at that! Bright Falls actually shows up on Xbox Live on time this week. Hopefully that trend will continue next week. If they're sticking to the schedule they originally announced, the last two episodes should go up a week from today. In the mean time we've got the fourth episode, which is called "Local Flavor".

This player uses HTML5 and some other fancy nonsense. If it's too much for your browser to handle, watch it over on YouTube.

New to Bright Falls? Bright Falls is a series and this is episode four so you really don't want to start here. The other episodes are all online, so start from the beginning and make sure you don't miss anything. Episode 1: Oh Deer, Episode 2: Time Flies, and Episode 3: Lights Out.

After spending some time with Sam and Daniel last episode we're right back to following Jake. Local Flavor was notable for having a good deal of both funny and frightening moments, even though it was only four minutes long. Sometimes those moments even overlapped, which isn't an easy thing to do. It's a real testament to the series that it can pack so much into such a tiny package.

"The plot thickens!" is pretty much the Bright Falls motto - however, after three straight episodes of fleshing out the mystery, the pieces are finally starting to come together. Many of the characters are still a complete mystery, but the time lapse clues are droping right into place. With only two installments remaining, I think we're deep enough into the series to formulate some solid theories.

EPISODE SPOILERS BELOW

We're inside some kind of hardware store, and the clerk is telling Jake it's going to take six days to order it. Six days?! Outrageous! Just what Jake is trying to order is never stated. Our protagonist is looking incredibly worn out. He realizes the order request isn't timely enough and buys some duct tape. Naturally the question here would be just what is he trying to order? The very next scene shows the front of his car duct taped together. I think it would be safe to say he was probably trying to order a new headlight or something, but don't be suprized if this too is revealed to be part of some insidious plot.

At the diner, a woman is going crazy in the parking lot. It appears as if she's trying to knock out a light. A cop sees and arrests her. This is one of an increasing number of references we've seen to lights. While light and darkness continues to be a major theme in Bright Falls, there has been some very specific destruction of lighting fixtures. If you'll recall just last episode - which is even called Lights Out - Sam was replacing one of many broken lightbulbs outside the building.

It's possible that some crazy town person is killing the lights (maybe even this woman), but I think it's someone more bizarre. More on that in a second.

Jake tells the waitress Rose about the incident in the parking lot. They look outside, but there's no police car. Just as Jake is about to look like a mental patient yet again, the cop car pulls up outside the window. Jake sees the crazy woman violently flailing in the back seat and makes the connection. It's the woman from his psychotic flashes in episode 2! Have we seen this woman before though? Is it also the woman who was laughing behind him at the diner earlier in that same episode? If it is, it looks like she's been having a rougher time than he has.

As Jake watches the commercial for Deerfest, he starts to space out again. He has another psycho-montage, filled with just as many clues as before. If you can keep your eyes open through the terrifying nightmare imagery, here's what you'll see:

-Someone standing in the woods
-A car screech into a 180
-Someone being drug through the dirt
-A spinning fan
-The deer in the road
-A repetitive voice in the woods
-Red and blue lights on the wet highway pavement

The episode ends with the very opening of Bright Falls episode 1. The body pulled in from the lake is revealed to be Jake. What's that all about? I hope it's not blowing your mind or anything, because its about to get weirder.

I think it was Jake who attacked Sam last episode.

Let's examine the flashes we just saw. The person standing in the woods is probably Daniel. The framing of the shot is done carefully so as not to show his head, but it looks like the type of clothes he's usually wearing. The car and deer stuff is probably all from the accident. I think the red and blue lights are something yet to come, and the fan is from Jake's motel room. These are all things Jake has seen or likely will see. By showing us the scene with the crazy woman, Local Flavor also suggests this is true of Jake's last set of flashes.

The person being drug through the dirt is most definitely Sam. If you look at his clothes, there's no doubt there. The shot of the woods is ikely where Sam was attacked, and the sound we hear might even be Sam's laugh. Maybe this also suggests why Daniel is appearing in the flashes.

I think Jake is freaking out like that woman did. I think he was probably the one destroying lights at the motel, and I think he probably attacked Sam without knowing it, I'm careful not to call these flashes visions, as I think its possible that everything Jake has seen may have already happened. We know from the end of this episode that not everything we've seen has been in chronological order. He has these periods of missing time, and I think he's out doing crazy violent things without even being aware of it.

There was a lot of good conversation last time in the comments, so I'd love to hear what everyone thinks of this theory. You can leave your ideas about this and anything else related to Local Flavor (like what does that title even mean?) in the comments below.

Joystiq Interviews Director Phillip Van

2010-05-07T15:51:00.000-07:00

Griffin McElroy did an interview with Phillip Van for Joystiq. Phillip, the director and co-writer of Bright Falls, shed some light on a few popular questions fans have been asking.

He talks a bit about pitching his idea through the company Little Minx. Apparently he and Agency 215 (who set up the project) had very similar ideas and were a natural fit for one another. After constructing an outline and writing a treatment, he talks about his presentation for the pitch.

I'm from Oregon, and I was able to include a photo series and a bunch of footage that I shot, some of which made it into the final cut -- wide establishing shots, things like that. It just gave a greater sense of my vision for things.

Phillip goes on to talk about filming the series in Oregon and Washington and the problems they encountered along the way.

One of the focuses of the interview is the relationship between Bright Falls and Alan Wake. He addresses support from Remedy (the company responsible for the game) and the ways the series functions apart from the game itself - is Bright Falls self contained, will the game add to it, etc.

Apparently the series ends with some intentionally unanswered questions. Phillip views Bright Falls as it's own work, but not it's own story. It's something that viewers really will need to play the game after if they want all the answers. While many have suspected this, fans have been quick to squeeze Bright Falls for every last detail. Van thinks this is the way to go:

What I really love to see, and have seen already is the in-depth thought on details of the series. We really try to design everything to mean something. There's not a lot that we placed in the series incidentally. I think the way I've seen Wake fans reading into the series is really encouraging, and totally in line with the kind of investigation that we were hoping for when we concieved it. It's awesome to see. It's really reassuring, and it reminds me that these are some of the greatest fans out there. You can't get a better fan base than a video game fan base. They investigate everything and read into every detail, and it's awesome.

Joystiq asks about the potential for future Bright Falls or Alan Wake related content as well, although it's probably to early to consider any of that.

New York Times Article

2010-05-06T05:05:00.000-07:00

It's worth reading the original write up on Bright Falls in The New York Times Arts Beat blog. If you haven't seen it yet, the article was written by Seth Schiesel and talks about Bright Falls an an introduction to Alan Wake. "These days", the article states, "the best and most interesting games are distinguished not by their graphics or combat mechanics, but by their writing, design, portrayals of character and depth of story." It goes on to explain Bright Falls as a way to convince potential players that Alan Wake is prepared to deliver on that promise.

There's a few quotes from Phillip Van (the director and co-writer of Bright Falls) about the making. Van talks about attempting to match locations from the game. Dr. Harman's lodge, for instance, is the same location that Stanley Kubrick used for the Overlook Hotel in the Shining. On an unrelated note - who knew Phillip Van was only 29?! I suddenly feel like I haven't done anything with my life!

It's great to know we're going to be revisiting some of the locations from Bright Falls in the game. I really love the diner and the lodge. Being able to explore those places would is really enticing. In a broader sense, this just adds more credence to the hope that the game will mirror the experience of Bright Falls.

The full article is at Creating a Video Game's World With Real People.

Bright Falls Episode 3: Lights Out

2010-05-05T09:30:00.000-07:00

There's a brand new episode of Bright Falls that seems to have hit the web before Xbox Live. Not sure what's going on over there...anyways the episode is called "Lights Out.

Video not working? Try YouTube.

If you haven't already watched them, the previous two episodes are also available. Episode 1: Oh Deer and Episode 2: Time Flies

This episode is a little different in that it focuses equally on Jake as well as Sam Smith (Cooper Huckabee's character). Seeing what Sam's up to while Jake isn't around is revealing, as I'll get to in a moment. The tone remains very suspenseful without the usual scare moment we've come to expect. A nice way of mixing things up.

As with each episode, the more we learn the less we know. The characters are front and center in Lights Out. We knew there was something not to be trusted about the people of Bright Falls, but now it's a question of who to trust the least. Motivations are really starting to come into question. Everyone is suspect, although I'm starting to change my mind about a few of them.

EPISODE SPOILERS BELOW

Jake starts in the woods, with what he'll later describe as red-ish mud on his hands. At first I scoffed at this, thinking he didn't want to admit it was blood. Thinking back to insane flashes in episode two, perhaps it was some kind of red dirt. There's that brief scene of someone digging, which I'm almost positive was Jake. As Jake is having a look around, he sees Daniel - the weird kid from the motel - who quickly runs away. Daniel seems to wander through the woods a lot...we also seem him doing so in the intro to each episode.

Jake goes to talk to Ellen Adams (Allison Lange's character) at The Bright Falls Record. This gives us some confirmation that she's also a reporter (or at least writes for what I'm assuming is a newspaper or sorts). Her co-works seem just as odd as the rest of the people in town, although she's pretty level. On the table is something peculiar - a bunch of photo slides and a magazine article with the headline Alan's Wake. It's either signifying that Alan recently passed away (in which case what a tasteless headline!) or is a criticism of the direction he has chosen to take in his new novel.

Ellen wants Jake to leave, which is really odd. This is where I start to question her. What is she protecting? The town? Jake? If something insidious is going on, you might assume she would tell him outright - but remember that their relationship is a bit awkward. She doesn't know exactly where they stand, and whatever is going on is probably bigger than he connection with Jake right now. She's either protecting something in the town, or wants Jake to get out (but doesn't disclose the full reason, thinking he won't understand).

This is where the focus shifts to Sam. He's seen with Daniel (who's holding an orange bucket). Sam hears something and then looks at Daniel. With a recognition of what I think is some understanding between them, Daniel runs off. It's possible he's going to investigate, but I think it's more likely he's running off to hide. I get the feeling that noise signifies something unsafe. Then again, the way Daniel runs off is almost as if he has a job to do. As we'll see later, perhaps he's preparing one of Sam's guns.

The titular moment from the episode comes from the next part of the scene, when Sam sees the lightbulb above the employees only door is burnt out. He goes to change it...everything seeming pretty mundane and routine...until you notice the trash can below is full of broken lightbulbs. The obvious question here is what's making the lights burn out? As we've seen in the previous two episodes, light and darkness (without any kind of balance between) are key elements of Bright Falls. There's almost two worlds, but we probably haven't seen enough to know the key differences yet. Pretty vague, although certainly something important to keep in mind as things develop.

As Sam reaches for the light, he strains with a look of discomfort or pain on his face. He motions to adjust something velcroed at his waist when he hears another sound behind him. He goes back to the motel lobby where Daniel helps him put a vest on. Sam picks up a shotgun, checks to ensure it's already loaded, and heads out into the woods.

Sam fires off what's probably a warning shot. He goes to reload (checking for ammo in the vest Daniel put on him) but hears another sound. Stepping backwards, he slips on the shotgun shell and injures himself. He's in pain and startled for a moment before he begins to laugh. I get the impression his laugh is a show to taunt whatever is in the woods. As he begins to revel in that show, he's pulled away unexpectedly.

The big question at the end is pretty clear - who or what pulled him away? Is it a person, or something a little crazier? Bright Falls has done a good job following it's predecessors lead of only alluding to the supernatural. We know something's not right, but what is that something? An even more important question is probably why was he taken away into the woods? Whoever (or whatever) is stalking the motel is doing it for some reason. I think figuring out why is crucial.

Gaming and Art

2010-05-02T09:05:00.001-07:00

You might expect that Bright Falls would get a lot of coverage on gaming sites because of it's connection to Alan Wake. You would be right!

Joystiq posted a Public Service Announcement about the shorts appearing on Xbox Live. It's fascinating to note that nearly the entire audience for Bright Falls are gamers. The Xbox Live launch gave the series a great built in audience. As I wrote about in a previous post, the two entities feed off eachother.

As the reactions to Bright Falls have been coming in, Joystiq still has one of my favorite quotes: "Watching it is like staring into the inky, black eye of madness."

Speaking of great reactions, MyGaming put up an article called Alan Wake prequel Bright Falls is out, is weird. How great is that? Where as Joystiq framed theirs as a PSA, the MyGaming post reads like a warning. "...late at night, when you’re trying to sleep, and you can’t seem to forget what you saw, or what you think you saw, or what you might’ve imagined all along, and what was that, anyway?"

The gaming blog Destructoid had a quick write up announcing the series as well. While there isn't a lot of substance to the actual post, some of the comments are worth contemplating. One writes:

I must say that the pacing was absolutely spot on, with the exact right amount of suspense and shocks. I hope to god the game follows this trend, but I fear Roger Ebert may be right in the case of this kind of story. It needs to be in movie format, its a lot better when you aren't controlling the character.

Roger Ebert came out against gaming as an artform last week, and was met with a lot of criticism. The above commenter makes an interesting point - Bright Falls, in all its cinematic glory, is really compelling. Will Alan Wake be able to live up to that?

I'm glad to at least see it try. While I think games are often ruined by their unnecessary desire to be more like movies, some games really do benefit from that kind of story telling. It's rare for a game to match a well crafted film, but as more and more try, the entire industry is getting better at it. Bright Falls is already a great live action series. Let's see if Alan Wake can offer a similar experience as a game.

Viral Advertising

2010-05-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

There are several new articles that popped up about Bright Falls.

Advertising Age listed it in their Best Ads section. The site works in conjunction with Creativity Online who featured it in their AdCritic section. Creative Review is another site focusing on the advertising angle. Although it requires you to login to view the article, Shorts.net had a write up about it this week as well.

The term "viral advertising" has been thrown around so much in recent years that it's become hard to define. When I think of viral advertising, I remember back to I Love Bees, Year Zero, Why So Serious? and The Lost Experience. While I suppose those are all alternate reality games, the two terms used to be synonymous.

It's easy to forget that Bright Falls was created as an advertisement. It was produced to get people excited about Alan Wake. It creates buzz, gets everyone talking. It has a certain "did you see this?!" shock value to it, and that'll get gamers interested in the upcoming Xbox 360 title. While that makes it seem like Bright Falls is doing Xbox a huge favor, think about the other side of thing.

The Xbox 360 is the sole reason anyone knows about Bright Falls. The crew behind it has done some amazing stuff in the past, but the potential audience they have here is astonishing. Xbox has been a big help there. When you think about it, the platform is the very reason Bright Falls even exists. It's not something Phillip Van and crew came up with out of thin air, it was a project based on the preexisting Alan Wake property.

That complimentary nature is a great model for filmmaking. Xbox gave some independent filmmakers an opportunity to create a great piece of stand alone film AND promoted it for them. In return, the film itself promotes Xbox and Alan Wake. Everyone benefits from the deal. Thanks to the talent of above mentioned filmmakers, the product of that deal - Bright Falls itself - also happens to be incredible.

G4 and David Lynch

2010-04-29T20:41:00.000-07:00

Jake Gaskill did an excellent writeup for G4 on his first impressions of Bright Falls. It rehashes what seems to be an obligatory comparison to David Lynch before recapping the first two episodes. The article is fairly surface in its analysis but promises to revisit the series with each new episode.

But while we're on the subject...what about David Lynch?

It's curious how frequently Twin Peaks seems to be thrown around, something this site is just as guilty of. While I've also made my case for the uniqueness of Bright Falls, I do understand the comparisons.

The cause is likely two fold. For starters, Bright Falls is new and requires a sort of elevator pitch to help explain it to new audiences. Two, something as weird as this drives viewers to look for familiar ground. In a world full of mystery and horror, a point of reference can help us gain some footing.

You can read the full G4 article over here: Impressions: First Two Episodes Of Alan Wake Prequel, Bright Falls

Bright Falls Episode 2: Time Flies

2010-04-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

The second episode of Bright Falls is called "Time Flies". If you have trouble viewing below, try YouTube: Bright Falls Episode 2.

Episode 1: Oh Deer was also released today.

This episode delivers on everything Oh Deer did, but in a fundamentally larger way. We're getting a lot of elements of the mystery, but each clue seems to only burden us with the overwhelming weirdness of the world…and I mean that in the best way possible. You would think these new details might lend a sense of stability or normal-ness, but it turns out Bright Fall is a lot more demented than anyone could have seen coming.

The last episode left an eerie, tense feeling about the community and this episode brought that front and center. I won't go into the specifics (it's five minutes long, watch it already!) but I think it's safe to say the levels or real terror and panicked insanity are officially off the charts.

These episodes really deserve some in-depth discussion. There's a lot of clues to puzzle over and various things that need dissecting. It's probably still a little early for for an overall theory, but just between these two episodes you can already see things coming together. Upon re-watching, even some of the sequences that don't seem to make sense actually have a few great reference points in the very same episode.

Over the next few days watch this site for more specific discussion. For now, convince some of your friends to check this out and see if they have any thoughts to contribute.

Bright Falls Episode 1: Oh Deer

2010-04-27T12:39:00.000-07:00

The first two Bright Falls episodes are up! The first one is called "Oh Deer." For ease of comments we'll put the first episode up here and do another post for the second episode.

For a fullscreen version, you can check out Bright Falls Episode 1 on YouTube.

Episode 2: Time Flies came out today as well.

I have to say, I'm personally really surprised at how good it is. Video game tie-ins don't have a great history...and after the other Twin Peaks promise who's name I won't mention I was really skeptical. That's a lot to live up to!

I see the comparisons to David Lynch (and Alan Wake's own comparisons to the X-Files and Lost) coming through. It's the best of everything I miss about those series - that seedy underbelly feeling of the small woodland town. A looming darkness so heavy and otherworldly that it's oppressive. A driving mystery that challenges the audience to watch again and again.

At the same time, there's something Bright Falls does that pushes it beyond it's predecessors: it's scary as hell. From the perspective of someone who basically watches horror movies for a living, I assure you that this is only paralleled by Mr. Lynch on his best days.

Bright Falls is one of those series I watch with an equal sense of excitement and hesitation. We've got six episodes coming at us, and right now it's so good I can't possibly see how they're going to keep this momentum. Then again, I was skeptical about the videogame tie-in, wasn't I?

Bright Falls Website Online

2010-04-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

The new Bright Falls website is finally online. BrightFalls.com

Although the videos will be avaliable on Xbox Live April 26th, they should appear on the website the following day.

EDIT: The site includes the videos everyone was expecting, as well an additional audioscape and pandora integration. Interestingly there's also a section called Alan's Story which appears to have additional clues about what led up to the events of Alan Wake. New clues are being unveiled as the "episodes" air.

Bright Falls Trailer Video

2010-04-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

The Bright Falls live action trailer is our first look into the Alan Wake prequel. The six episode series is set to air one episode a week, with a special two episode debut.

Below is the trailer. It's should open in a fancy lightbox popup, but if you're having trouble with it just watch the full HD version on YouTube: Bright Falls Trailer on YouTube.

...This is going to be awesome.