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Alan Wake impressed us with its mature storytelling, cult references and haunting atmosphere. Maybe just as impressive was its popular prequel, the live-action web series, Bright Falls. Through the eyes of unfortunate reporter Jake Fischer, Bright Falls gave us a fascinating glimpse into the darkness lurking within the game's picturesque setting, drawing excellently on inspirations like Twin Peaks and the X-Files.
Christopher Forsyth who played Jake Fischer in the series, took sometime to chat with us and we asked him about his involvement in such an unusual but effective project. One which Christopher said will inspire similar campaigns from future game makers.
How difficult was it marrying up real-life locations to ones in the game?
Christopher Forsyth: Well, although I had no part in location scouting, I think the answer to your question has a lot more to do with marrying up the right director with the project. It's been said of the game, that it draws from influences like Twin Peaks for example, which was of course filmed in the Pacific Northwest. Whether the game is influenced by things like that or not can only be answered by the games' creators, but having played the game, I can see where one might sense those types of references. Anyway, the director, Phillip Van, actually grew up in the Pacific Northwest, so he was intimately familiar with the area, including many hidden areas that might not be known to outsiders. So I sense that he had a very personal interpretation of the material from the beginning, and that finding locations for the material was probably a very natural process because of that.
Did you get to play the game before making the film? What did you think if you did?
Christopher: I was not able to play the game before making the series, because it hadn't yet been released, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't even completely finished when we started filming. I am actually glad that I didn't have a chance to play the game prior to filming, because it would have colored my interpretation of the material and the character of Jake, and while Bright Falls was created as kind of a lead-in or teaser to the game, it was also created to stand on it's own as a story. Staying true to the games' influences in the bigger picture was the director's job. My job was simply to bring the character to life, and to organically live through and react to the circumstances and situations that Jake found himself in.
I did however, play the game afterwards, and that was quite a trip. The “dark presence” in the game presents itself in a much more tangible form of course, which is necessary from a game-play standpoint. But it is much more subtle in the series, and that's one of the things that I love about Bright Falls. The game is a thrill-ride to be sure. I have a very vivid imagination, so I am very affected by the experience of playing the game. I literally found myself pausing the game at points to get up and walk around and remember that I wasn't actually in danger of being chopped into pieces. I did also find myself, during certain parts of gameplay (when I was momentarily free of danger), actually looking around and checking out the environment and scenery in detail, in part because it was so vivid and creative, and in part because I wondered how similar it might be to the real locations we'd filmed in for Bright Falls. Remedy did an amazing job with this game, and I feel like they really succeeded in creating a detailed world which instills an eerie and ever-increasing sense of dread in the player.
Your film particularly evokes Twin Peaks - did you enjoy the show as a kid?
 Christopher: Yes, I loved Twin Peaks. Bright Falls has a bit of that flavor in it to be sure, but I also see similarities or references to Lost, X-Files, Stephen King, and some of H.P. Lovecraft's writing as well, all of which I love. I get easily addicted to shows like X-Files or Lost. We've actually received a lot of emails from fans of the TV show Lost, saying that they'd love something like a Bright Falls to be made into a TV show to help fill the void now that Lost is finished. That's a tremendous compliment considering what a hit the show has been. I myself am sad to see that show go. I am a big fan of the genre, so it was a pleasure making something in that vein.
What do you think about adapting ideas and properties across film to games? Why isn't it always successful?
Christopher: Well, I think adapting anything for film probably depends on, at the core, two things: The source material has to be commercially successful in its own right to begin with, and then the adaption has to be handled by someone skilled in writing effectively for the screen. This is probably a gross over-simplification, but I see adapting a game for film as being, from a writer's perspective, a process that is in many ways, almost opposite that of adapting a novel for film. With the adaption of a novel for example, the writer has the challenge of carving out a mere 100 page story from a 500 page fleshed out story, while trying to stay true to the heart of the original story, and at the same time operating within the conventions of a visual medium (film) and the associated screenplay. Games, novels and films do share some common core elements: a defined world, a set of circumstances, characters (our gateway into the world), objectives, and obstacles. Again, all of this is over-simplified – all games are different, and there will be exceptions to every rule. But I think it's safe to say that most video games are not as fully linear as your typical novel or screenplay. In video games, the objective is often represented in some sort of physical / tangible way, for obvious reasons (I'm not sure how you'd measure “interpersonal growth” in a video game), and the obstacles are presented in progressive levels of difficulty, so the journey (to me at least) is more of a vertical one, and its repetitious. If you make it through a level, you re-load and repeat, with bigger obstacles, and “badder” weapons. So where it might be difficult to carve out a 100 page story from a 500 page novel, I would think it would be easier to come from the opposite direction (with a video game), where you're given the world, and a basic set of circumstances, characters, objectives, etc, and then you have to develop a linear story out of that for film.
The success of a video game adaption for film would depend on a variety of things I would think, not the least of which is the writer's ability to craft a compelling story. I would think that the adaptions source material – the game itself – would have to be hugely commercially successful in the first place for the film to be a success just based on it's association with the game. I don't know how much these worlds intersect (gamers and filmgoers). But the major difference obviously between these two mediums, is that in one, the consumer is a physically active participant, while in the other, they are a physically passive participant. Whether or not the game is a “first-person” or “third-person” game, the experience is “first-person experience”. From a players perspective, you are physically involved in your own survival, and who isn't interested in their own survival – that is an immediately immersive experience. With a film however, you are living through the story and its circumstances entirely vicariously, through one of the films characters, typically the protagonist. Characters have to be compelling from a distance, in a voyeuristic sense. They have to be fully relatable, such that we are drawn into the story, and travel with them on their journey, and care about them deeply, and root for them. With the game, you, the viewer, are the main protagonist. With a film, you are watching someone else's story, and it has to be something so compelling that you want to watch. So in that sense, the success of the adaption really almost entirely hinges on the writers' abilities. Taking it a step further, I suppose it is entirely feasible that you could have a virtually unknown game, adapted for film by an incredibly talented writer, that is a huge box office success, and vice versa. Alan Wake, unlike most games, is practically written in a linear filmic format. It is even played in “episodes”. This would make it a lot easier to adapt for film I would think. That's certainly not to diminish the fact that the adaption would still have to be handled by a talented writer for it to work. In less capable hands, Bright Falls would not have been as wildly successful as it was, that much I know for sure.
Will you consider making more films for other games, and in particular Alan Wake?
Christopher: Well, I am always inspired by good writing, and any time I get the opportunity to sink my teeth into well crafted material, I am always “game” (pun intended). I don't discriminate based on story source material. So if an opportunity were to come my way to make a film, based on a well-written compelling story that inspired me in some way, I'd definitely consider it, whether it was based on a game, a novel, or an original screenplay, and that includes films based on Alan Wake or the continuation of Bright Falls.
Do you think we can we expect a film depicting events after the end of the game?
 Christopher: I honestly don't know the answer to that. I would assume that the most likely continuation of Alan's story will come in the form of Alan Wake II if the first game is a financial success. Whether or not the game is ever adapted for film is anyone's guess. The way the game is written, it certainly lends itself well to that end.
Now, do you think other publishers and developers will take up the idea?
Christopher: I think that this form of content-based advertising is a relatively new and unproven concept. I'm not aware of too many other examples where an ad campaign was turned into a film or episodic series of films. If fan response to Bright Falls is any indication, I'd say that Bright Falls was a huge success. I know from the insane number of emails that we received, that there are many, many people who saw Bright Falls that had not previously ever even heard of Alan Wake. Whether or not that translates into sales of the game remains to be seen I guess, and that is what will subsequently determine whether or not we see more of this type of thing with future game releases.
I can imagine all of work involved, even in such a short project. How long did the film take to produce?
Christopher: Well, I don't know the exact details, but I know that the director Phillip Van began writing for the project back in December of 2009, and it was released in April of 2010, so it was at least 5 months in the making. The agency behind the project (AgencyTwoFifteen) may have been working on it even earlier than that in concept, I don't know for sure.
How difficult is it to convey the tone and ideas of a game in six five-minute episodes?
 Christopher: I don't think it's necessarily all that difficult, if you have the right writers, and the right cast. Phillip Van and Mat Bunnell are very talented writers, and Alan Wake, the game, lives in a very distinct and well defined world. There has been mention of the game drawing from influences like Twin Peaks, which was filmed in the Pacific Northwest. Phil just happens to be from that area, so he was intimately familiar with Oregon and Washington, making it that much easier, I'm sure, to tap into locations that would convey that tone. Beyond the visual aesthetics, the rest of the world – the dark presence and the supernatural aspect upon which the game is built, is really the other important thing that Bright Falls had to convey. That, again, starts with the writers, and I think they did a wonderful job crafting a story that effectively does that. From there it is then up to the cast to bring that story to life. I was very fortunate to be able to work with very talented cast members, writers, and a great director. This was one of those rare situations where the sum was truly greater than the parts, and that is reflected in the end product.
Many thanks to Christopher for his time. You can watch all the Bright Falls episodes here, and find more of Christopher's work on his website: www.ChristopherForsyth.com
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