Alan Wake Gets the Humble Bundle Treatment

[Andy Chalk]

Alan Wake Gets the Humble Bundle Treatment

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All things Alan Wake are now available for whatever price you want to pay.

If you're a PC gamer who for some reason hasn't gotten around to doing the Alan Wake thing, today is a good day, for today is the day that Remedy's psychological thriller about a novelist with writer's block who takes the worst vacation ever begins its week-long sale on the Humble Bundle store.

And I'm not just talking about Alan Wake here. This is the Alan Wake Collector's Edition, with bonus content including The Signal and The Writer episodes, developer commentary, an illustrated book in PDF format and the soundtrack. I'm also talking about Alan Wake's American Nightmare, the follow-up that comes with a soundtrack of its own. I'm talking about supporting the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Child's Play Charity. And I'm talking about all of that at any price you want to pay.

The Alan Wake bundle also includes exclusive, previously-unreleased content including original screenplays, comic books, an "extended collection of concept art and photos," early demo videos, hi-res art, music videos and, it is implied, even more stuff than that. What else do I need to say? How about this: The Alan Wake Bundle comes in both Steam and DRM-free flavors, so you can download and play it however you like. (As long as you like it on Windows, of course, since that's the only supported platform.)

The Alan Wake Humble Bundle sale is live now and runs until the early afternoon of May 29. I strongly suggest that you do not miss it.

Source: Humble Bundle [http://www.humblebundle.com/weekly]


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[twaddle]

THANKS ESCAPIST! With a price like that....Ahem. I mean...I did it. For the children
-_-' Yeaah.

 

[Bobic]

While it is good that this game is making its way into the hands of many new gamers (because it's awesome and deserves to be looked at), seeing it with an average price of $2 is quite a shame. So guys, you should really buy this, it's awesome, but chip in a bit more than $2.

In fact, I might grab it too, just to get my hands on the comics and soundtrack, which hopefully includes "Children of the Elder God"

 

[Rad Party God]

*sigh* I have mixed feelings towards this, I mean, it's awesome Alan Wake has gotten the HIB treatment and it's definitely a fun little game for such a low price, but on the other hand... I personally didn't liked the game that much, I mean, it tries very hard to emulate it's multiple (better) sources of inspiration, be it horror books, shows and movies, but comes off as a pretentious, mindless and generic shooter with none of that horror in sight.

Don't even get me started on the mental institution part... such a freaking missed opportunity...

But otherwise, it's a fun little game to play over a weekend and even with it's flaws, I'd definitely recommend it for such a low price, but just adjust your expectations accordingly, this is a(n easy) shooter, not a horror game.

I already bought this on a GOG sale, but I'll grab another copy for Steam, just for shits and giggles.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Definitely recommending this to all my mates who have never played it.

 

[Doom972]

I'm happy that they decided to continue with the weekly sales. Got it as soon as I became aware of its existance.

While it is good that this game is making its way into the hands of many new gamers (because it's awesome and deserves to be looked at), seeing it with an average price of $2 is quite a shame. So guys, you should really buy this, it's awesome, but chip in a bit more than $2.

There isn't much incentive to pay more than $1 when there's no bonus for beating the average. I'm surprised that they didn't make American Nightmare or the DLC that bonus.

 

[Zaydin]

I definitely can't pass this up. Loved the game on the 360, and wanted it on the PC.

 

[A3Bf72rVWE5hA]

I'm happy that they decided to continue with the weekly sales. Got it as soon as I became aware of its existance.

While it is good that this game is making its way into the hands of many new gamers (because it's awesome and deserves to be looked at), seeing it with an average price of $2 is quite a shame. So guys, you should really buy this, it's awesome, but chip in a bit more than $2.

There isn't much incentive to pay more than $1 when there's no bonus for beating the average. I'm surprised that they didn't make American Nightmare or the DLC that bonus.

There is the whole "supporting charity and the developer," but I can see how that wouldn't appeal to some...

 

[GothmogII]

Fun fact: Sam Lake, Remedy's spokesguy/creative director there in the vid is the face model for the original Max Payne in the comic panels and the in-game constantly constipated looking facial skin. x)

This is a damn fine offer though, I only got to play a bit on my brother's XBOX, but I'm not going to miss out.

 

[Kurt Cristal]

How much of toss-pot would it make me if I donated less than 5? Apparently this is common?

 

[wulfy42]

First time I ever paid only a dollar. I figured, why not, it's a dollar, maybe some year I'll play it.

I don't know when though. I probably have 30+ games waiting on steam that I would actually like to play, and to be honest this type of game isn't really my favorite.

But it was a dollar, and I will give it a try some year and might be surprised.

Most of the time I have paid at least $5, and often more towards $10. I generally try and pay 1-2$ more then the average to lower it for everyone else.

I didn't see the normal average here, where paying more then it lowers the cost for others, so I just went for the $1 option. I feel kinda cheap, but I probably won't ever play it, if I do, I probably will only play a few minutes...so it's mostly like donating to charity anyway.

 

[Farther than stars]

There isn't much incentive to pay more than $1 when there's no bonus for beating the average. I'm surprised that they didn't make American Nightmare or the DLC that bonus.

Well, there is that whole 'human decency' kind of thing. To some people that "isn't much incentive" to other people there is nothing more important in the world. At the end of the day, when you propose something like this, for charity, you have to assume that your profit is going to be $0,- and that any losses you make are your contribution to this charity.
But Remedy might not even make any losses, since this is 'day 1' and the bundle has already racked up more than $200.000,- USD. The extra publicity helps and the incentive for people to go and look in the first place might have even been boosted by the fact that they threw in everything together to make it extra lucrative. But that's getting back into the business mindset of things and, this being for charity, it should be about what people want to actually give, not what they are tricked into giving. It's a good thing that people are given that full choice, because it strengthens the sentiment.

How much of toss-pot would it make me if I donated less than 5? Apparently this is common?

There's no reason to feel bad about it. Think of it as giving money to a charity that otherwise wouldn't have received your money. See it as: 'every little helps'. You might also be interested in reading my analysis above. But one thing you should understand: the fact that other people do something is never a legitimate reason to do it. In this instance it happens to be the case that everyone who pays towards the bundle is morally in the right, but that is because of the reasons outlined above, not because 'everyone is doing it'. If that were true, then there would be no moral fault with Muslims who join the Jihad against the West.

 

[Farther than stars]

While it is good that this game is making its way into the hands of many new gamers (because it's awesome and deserves to be looked at), seeing it with an average price of $2 is quite a shame. So guys, you should really buy this, it's awesome, but chip in a bit more than $2.

Here's what rubs me the wrong way about that statement: While it's perfectly fine to want to promote a good cause, the way you've phrased it makes it sound like you're criticizing people who are giving $2,- or less. And you should never criticize someone who gives to charity, no matter how little it is, because if the under $2,- category was gone then suddenly you've lost the main bulk of your money. Also, there are social reasons and superstitious reasons not to criticize people who give money to charity.

 

[Bobic]

While it is good that this game is making its way into the hands of many new gamers (because it's awesome and deserves to be looked at), seeing it with an average price of $2 is quite a shame. So guys, you should really buy this, it's awesome, but chip in a bit more than $2.

Here's what rubs me the wrong way about that statement: While it's perfectly fine to want to promote a good cause, the way you've phrased it makes it sound like you're criticizing people who are giving $2,- or less. And you should never criticize someone who gives to charity, no matter how little it is, because if the under $2,- category was gone then suddenly you've lost the main bulk of your money. Also, there are social reasons and superstitious reasons not to criticize people who give money to charity.

But are they giving to charity, or are they buying a game, with charity as a random side effect? If these people wanted to give two dollars to charity they could do that at any time of the year, and I would say 'good on you, Mr. Altruism'. But they haven't, they're doing it in exchange for more than $2 worth of stuff, that's just business. The charitable people here are Remedy Games, for putting their game up for so cheap, and those that donate large amounts, just 'cause, so good on them.

 

[antidonkey]

Well, I did my part to hopefully up the average. I tossed a 10er their way. Haven't the faintest idea when I'll actually get around to playing it though.

 

[VincentX3]

Just got it
I know nothing of Alan Wake, never played or seen lets plays of it.
Hope it's worth it.

 

[Farther than stars]

While it is good that this game is making its way into the hands of many new gamers (because it's awesome and deserves to be looked at), seeing it with an average price of $2 is quite a shame. So guys, you should really buy this, it's awesome, but chip in a bit more than $2.

Here's what rubs me the wrong way about that statement: While it's perfectly fine to want to promote a good cause, the way you've phrased it makes it sound like you're criticizing people who are giving $2,- or less. And you should never criticize someone who gives to charity, no matter how little it is, because if the under $2,- category was gone then suddenly you've lost the main bulk of your money. Also, there are social reasons and superstitious reasons not to criticize people who give money to charity.

But are they giving to charity, or are they buying a game, with charity as a random side effect? If these people wanted to give two dollars to charity they could do that at any time of the year, and I would say 'good on you, Mr. Altruism'. But they haven't, they're doing it in exchange for more than $2 worth of stuff, that's just business. The charitable people here are Remedy Games, for putting their game up for so cheap, and those that donate large amounts, just 'cause, so good on them.

What you're suggesting is still happening, it's just that the 'buying' dynamic and that 'giving to charity' dynamic are tied in together. Imagine, if you will, that you were to subtract the amount of money that would have gone to charity from the Humble Bundle slider. Essentially you're now just buying the game from Remedy for dirt cheap. Then if you were to later give that amount that you took out of the charity slider to Child's Play directly, apparently you would say 'good on you, Mr. Altruism', even though that person is doing the exact same thing.
In no other situation would someone be criticized for buying a game dirt cheap and then giving some money to charity, but because you're doing both of them at the same time, apparently it's a bad thing if you then don't give enough to charity?
Of course full props should go to Remedy for doing this in the first place. But I would say that the good thing isn't that people are giving money; the good thing is that money is being raised. To that end I would commend everyone who contributed to that effort and not just the people who gave a lot of money (which is also a subjective concept, I should add).

 

[Doom972]

There isn't much incentive to pay more than $1 when there's no bonus for beating the average. I'm surprised that they didn't make American Nightmare or the DLC that bonus.

Well, there is that whole 'human decency' kind of thing. To some people that "isn't much incentive" to other people there is nothing more important in the world. At the end of the day, when you propose something like this, for charity, you have to assume that your profit is going to be $0,- and that any losses you make are your contribution to this charity.
But Remedy might not even make any losses, since this is 'day 1' and the bundle has already racked up more than $200.000,- USD. The extra publicity helps and the incentive for people to go and look in the first place might have even been boosted by the fact that they threw in everything together to make it extra lucrative. But that's getting back into the business mindset of things and, this being for charity, it should be about what people want to actually give, not what they are tricked into giving. It's a good thing that people are given that full choice, because it strengthens the sentiment.

The only reason I bother with Humble Bundle is because I can get a better deal there than with Steam. I would've given more if there was a good "beat the average" bonus (there usually is).
If people have extra money to giveaway - that's good, and you deserve to feel better about yourself. It doesn't mean that everyone can or should do it.

 

[Farther than stars]

There isn't much incentive to pay more than $1 when there's no bonus for beating the average. I'm surprised that they didn't make American Nightmare or the DLC that bonus.

Well, there is that whole 'human decency' kind of thing. To some people that "isn't much incentive" to other people there is nothing more important in the world. At the end of the day, when you propose something like this, for charity, you have to assume that your profit is going to be $0,- and that any losses you make are your contribution to this charity.
But Remedy might not even make any losses, since this is 'day 1' and the bundle has already racked up more than $200.000,- USD. The extra publicity helps and the incentive for people to go and look in the first place might have even been boosted by the fact that they threw in everything together to make it extra lucrative. But that's getting back into the business mindset of things and, this being for charity, it should be about what people want to actually give, not what they are tricked into giving. It's a good thing that people are given that full choice, because it strengthens the sentiment.

The only reason I bother with Humble Bundle is because I can get a better deal there than with Steam. I would've given more if there was a good "beat the average" bonus (there usually is).
If people have extra money to giveaway - that's good, and you deserve to feel better about yourself. It doesn't mean that everyone can or should do it.

I never said anyone could or should give money to charity. It's always a voluntary thing of course. And that's why I like that it's a full choice, regardless of what Humble Bundle has done in the past. But I suppose everyone has their own opinion about that. In the end, the important thing is that money is being raised for a good cause.