Alan Wake/Characters

Alan Wake
The primary character, a best-selling novelist who is vacationing with his wife in Bright Falls while wrestling with his writer's block. She disappears abruptly, and Alan comes to in a wrecked car in the wilderness, missing a week's time, and searching for clues as to what happened to his wife.


 * Action Survivor: He's literally just a novelist who spent a bit of time on the gun range and wears a quite dapper tweed jacket. This is generally shown in his performance in-game; Wake can't run very far without getting tired, he can't take very many hits, and he's not an exceptionally good shot. If the enemy is more than twenty or thirty paces away, he's not likely to hit them, even with the hunting rifle.
 * The Alcoholic: Mainly due to the many parties thrown in the wake of his most recent novel.
 * Author Avatar: For writer Sam Lake.
 * Badass Bookworm
 * Berserk Button: It's Alice and Dr. Hartman who have provoked it with his writer's block.
 * Captain Obvious: Has a couple of these moments.
 * Determinator: He is going to find his wife. Get out of his way.
 * Happily Married: He and Alice do fight occasionally, but Alan wouldn't keep looking for her with such determination if they didn't have a good marriage.
 * Help Your Self in The Future: Just about every useful item in the game was . Lampshaded in his internal monologues when noting that flash grenades aren't exactly standard electrician equipment.
 * The Hero
 * : Maybe.
 * Jerkass: He has quite the short temper.
 * Jerkass Woobie: Consider his situation.
 * Jerk With a Heart of Gold: Also, his affection towards his wife and allies proves he's a decent sort of person.
 * See also Took a Level In Kindness
 * Large Ham: The could possibly make even Mr. Scratch look like a salad in comparison.
 * Nerves of Steel: Earned them after the events at Bright Falls. In American Nightmare he notes multiple times that he has a hard time getting stressed out anymore.
 * Perma Stubble: Becomes more noticeable as the game progresses, especially when compared to his flashbacks.
 * Private Eye Monologue
 * : His manuscript pages foreshadow various events throughout the game.
 * Took a Level In Badass: Twofold in American Nightmare. He's much better at working with the plans he's written into being as well as his own instincts. However, he's also altered the genre of the story from Surreal Horror to a surreal form of Action, allowing himself access to bigger guns.
 * Took a Level In Kindness: In American Nightmare, Alan is far more patient with the other survivors than he was during his time in Bright Falls. He notes that, given the sheer insanity of the challenges he faced in the original game and beyond, there's next to nothing that could really get his blood pressure up anymore.
 * The Un-Smile: Alan mentions that he has never been capable of smiling in a convincing way.
 * Weapon of Choice: Light and noise to combat the darkness, in the form of a flashlight and guns.
 * The Un-Smile: Alan mentions that he has never been capable of smiling in a convincing way.
 * Weapon of Choice: Light and noise to combat the darkness, in the form of a flashlight and guns.

Alice Wake
Alan's wife, who helps him write and manage his novels, and is vacationing with him at Bright Falls.


 * And I Must Scream: While trapped under Cauldron Lake.
 * : As revealed to Alan by Dr. Hartman. DON'T BELIEVE HIS LIES
 * Distressed Damsel: Her kidnapping is what sets Alan on his journey through Bright Falls.
 * Posthumous Character: Although not dead, most of her characterization comes through flashbacks.

Barry Wheeler
Alan's agent and best friend, who rushes to Bright Falls when things go down. Initially skeptical of what's happening, he rapidly catches on and begins to help Alan. By the end of the game,


 * Acrofatic: His girth doesn't seem to slow him down even when a school bus is flung at him. He's not exactly obese, though. Just a bit on the heavy side, and his jacket makes him look bigger than he really is.
 * Big Applesauce
 * Comic Relief
 * Companion Cube: A running gag has him carrying around the cardboard cut-out of Alan and snarking about Alan to it.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Imaginary Friend: In the DLCs anyway.
 * Shout Out: Delivers many references including Zork and Lord of the Rings, to name a few.
 * Tender Tears: When saying goodbye to
 * Took a Level In Badass: After arming himself in the general store and taking out a huge Taken with a flare gun.
 * What Happened to The Mouse?: It is never revealed what happened to him and the others
 * The Alan Wake files reveals that
 * American Nightmare reveals that he's now a manager in the music industry, and the Old Gods of Asgard are one of his clients. He also keeps in touch with Sheriff Breaker, and co-handles Alan's works with Alice.

Ben Mott
The "Kidnapper" who contacts Alan in Episode 2 and is the antagonist throughout Episode 3, claiming to have his wife and offering her in exchange for the manuscript pages of Departure. Is quite dimwitted and have aggression issues.


 * Badass Normal: Does remarkably well fending off the Taken. Indeed, he's well-versed with their weaknesses, and is entirely unintimidated with fighting them (so much so that he has absolutely no problems setting up his meetings with Alan to take place in the middle of the night deep in the Taken-infested woods.)
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: Alan quickly deduces that he is the kidnapper and repeatedly asks for his gun. Mott simply replies that things are going to be done his way and refuses to let go of his only weapon.
 * Early Bird Cameo: First seen on the ferry at the beginning.
 * I Have Your Wife
 * Jerkass
 * Villainous Rescue: Rescued Alan after he loses his gun.
 * : One manuscript page reveals that was incredibly frustrated that Mott

Rusty
A park ranger who rents out cabins outside Bright Falls.


 * All Love Is Unrequited: Towards Rose. It will never come to fruition now that he's been Taken.
 * Elite Mook: The second named one.

Rose Marigold
The waitress at the diner in Bright Falls, and one of Alan's biggest fans. , and doesn't quite recover. At the end of the game,


 * And I Must Scream: When she is
 * Break the Cutie
 * Creepy Monotone: While
 * I'm Your Biggest Fan: Is a fangirl for authors, especially Alan.

Agent Nightingale
An FBI agent investigating and pursuing Alan Wake.


 * The Alcoholic: Brought on by his partner's death. Before that he never even touched the stuff.
 * Ax Crazy
 * Big Bad Ensemble: With the Dark Presence and, but doesn't acknowledge either of them and only aims to capture Alan Wake.
 * Cowboy Cop: A deconstruction, as he is portrayed as reckless and dangerous in his pursuit of Alan and the townsfolk don't particularly like him.
 * Inspector Javert
 * Jerkass: It's no wonder nobody in Bright Falls likes him.
 * Jerkass Woobie: Can be seen as this if you've read his backstory in The Alan Wake Files bundled with the limited edition of the game.
 * And carried on with the Novel which goes into even more detail; He and his partner were two By The Book cops, until the latter's death at the hands of the Dark Presence.
 * Knight Templar
 * Obstructive Bureaucrat
 * Pet the Dog: Comforted a broken Rose during his interview with her.
 * Rabid Cop
 * Running Gag: Calls Alan by different author names.
 * What You Are in The Dark: Makes up his relatively few Pet the Dog moments.
 * What You Are in The Dark: Makes up his relatively few Pet the Dog moments.

Sheriff Sarah Breaker
Head of the local Bright Falls sheriff's office, who is investigating Alice's disappearance and eventually joins Alan in fighting the Dark Presence.


 * Action Girl: Accompanies Alan and Barry while armed with a shotgun.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: In contrast to Agent Nightingale, is ready and willing to listen to Alan.
 * Shotguns Are Just Better: The fact that it has unlimited shells probably helps.
 * What Happened to The Mouse?: It is never revealed what happened to her and the others
 * In the Alan Wake Files, set after the game,
 * American Nightmare implies she's still sheriff, and states that she and Barry still keep in touch.

Cynthia Weaver
One of Bright falls' residents, who is obsessed with making sure all the lights in the town are working properly.


 * The Atoner:
 * Crazy Prepared:
 * Not to mention (which is the absolute end all of crazy, but is completely necessary and useful) and  that goes right to it.
 * Mysterious Protector:
 * Properly Paranoid: A timid-looking old woman who carries a lantern and is afraid of the dark? Well, there's a good reason...

Odin and Tor Anderson
Two brothers who formed a heavy metal band in the '70's on their farm near Cauldron Lake, and renamed themselves as Norse gods to further their image of reborn deities. Now mentally-unstable old men who live in Dr. Hartman's clinic, but occasionally sneak off to raise hell in town or get some moonshine.


 * Cloudcuckoolander
 * Cool Old Guys
 * Crazy Prepared:
 * Drop the Hammer: Tor, at least.
 * Eyepatch of Power: Odin
 * Heavy Mithril
 * Passing the Torch
 * The Power of Rock:
 * Invoked again in American Nightmare with their new single, Balance Slays The Demon.

The Dark Presence
The central antagonist of the game, a hostile, aggressive supernatural entity that exists within Cauldron Lake, which creates the Taken. Its power is limited by. The Presence


 * Author Avatar: It makes stories come to life, it directs the flow of the plot, and it ultimately is the reason anything in the game happened. Draw your own conclusions.
 * Big Bad
 * Blue and Orange Morality: The developer commentary track remarks that the Dark Presence is an utterly alien being that simply doesn't understand human morality, or even human behavior, which is why it lets Wake get away with a lot of the stuff he does. However, it does understand humans well enough to manipulate Wake by holding Alice hostage, as well as to lure him into a trap using Rose.
 * Eldritch Abomination: According to Alan's reading of Zane's poetry, the Presence is an avatar of a vast, horrible monstrosity that is explicitly compared to a Lovecraftian being.
 * Everything Trying to Kill You: The poltergeist objects in particular. Including the parade float.
 * The Heartless
 * Humanoid Abomination: The Taken forms as well as the avatar of
 * Reality Warper
 * The Virus

Thomas Zane
A poet and apparently bestselling author who lived in and around Cauldron Lake in the 1960's, and was in love with a woman named Barbara Jagger. In response, Thomas Zane  He also wrote in a loophole that allowed

Later on, when Alan Wake arrived at Cauldron Lake,


 * The Atoner
 * Deus Ex Machina: Writing this
 * Enigmatic Empowering Entity
 * My Greatest Failure
 * Posthumous Character
 * Reality Warper
 * Ret Gone:.
 * The Obi-Wan: He acts as Alan's guide and aids him, though indirectly.

Pat Maine
A retired cop who is now the host of a late night radio program. Alan first meets him on the boat into town where he asks him to stop by later for an interview.


 * Cool Old Guy: It may not be obvious the first time you meet him, but he is definately more awesome then he first appears.
 * Most Wonderful Sound: His late night radio broadcasts really help take the edge off of fighting shadow monsters alone in the woods.

Carl Stucky
Works at a local garage and


 * Large Ham: "The name's Stucky, CARL STUCKY! Pleased... TO MEET YOU!"
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Hot dogs. He even has a top ten list of his favorite brands!
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Hot dogs. He even has a top ten list of his favorite brands!

Dr. Emil Hartman
A doctor who owns a clinic reserved for artists near Caldren lake. He's also the one who convinced Alice to bring Alan to Bright Falls. As it turns out


 * Blatant Lies:
 * Hoist By His Own Petard:
 * Smug Snake
 * : He was
 * Smug Snake
 * : He was

Mr. Scratch
The antagonist of Alan Wake's American Nightmare. Originating from the Dark Place, he is the embodiment of all negative stories and loose rumours ever told about Alan, making him a maniacal, flamboyant, sadistic serial killer. Capable of travelling freely between the Dark Place and the real world, he finds delight in threatening to take over Alan's life and taunting with his evil deeds.

""But the difference between you and me...? I'm not afraid to be the center of attention.""
 * Attention Whore: Is pretty clear about this right from the start. In his own words:

""... Nevermind...""
 * Ax Crazy
 * Big Bad: Of Alan Wake's American Nightmare.
 * Card-Carrying Villain: He is fully aware that he is one, and it appears that he is embracing it on some levels, while resenting it on others.
 * Complete Monster
 * Disproportionate Retribution: While speaking to Alan via tv in the observatory the guy in the next room begins getting on his nerves. Its heavily implied he strangled the poor bastard.
 * Disproportionate Retribution: While speaking to Alan via tv in the observatory the guy in the next room begins getting on his nerves. Its heavily implied he strangled the poor bastard.


 * Does Not Like Guns
 * The Dragon: Alan makes an informed guess that Mr. Scratch probably doesn't have his own agenda, but rather works as an agent for one of the many Eldritch Abominations that lurks in the Dark Place.
 * Dressed to Kill
 * Evil Counterpart: To Wake.
 * Evil Tastes Good: He describes the most terrible, evil things he can think of as "Sweet", accompanied by rolling-eyes and a face slack with pleasure from just contemplating it.
 * Faux Affably Evil
 * The Hedonist
 * Hidden Depths: One video has him oddly subdued but clearly agitated. He opens up to Alan, since they're so much alike being dopplegangers, and mentions that the fact of his existence is extremely disturbing to himself. He tries several times to ask Alan for help and to work together, but he literally can't get the words out. For whatever reason, Mr. Scratch was trying to reach out to Alan.
 * Humanoid Abomination
 * Kick the Dog: Good lord, he's basically a dog-kicking machine. Just when you think he's finally topped himself Alan turns on another tv and Mr. Scratch finds some new way to get under Alan's (as well as the player's) skin.
 * Knife Nut: He doesn't believe that he can truly "connect" with people by using bullets.
 * Large Ham: You wouldn't think it, given he shares a voice/mo-cap actor with the rather down-to-earth Alan Wake. However, it's clear he enjoyed himself as Mr. Scratch. A lot.
 * Rage Against the Author: Promotional material depicts him killing Sam Lake in one video, and enslaving him in another after going on a killing spree throughout Remedy's offices.
 * Slasher Smile
 * Weaksauce Weakness:
 * Weapon of Choice: Small knives, or razors.
 * Weapon of Choice: Small knives, or razors.

Emma Sloan
A female mechanic you meet in American Nightmare. She's also into new age stuff.


 * Dirty Coward: She thinks of herself as one, as she ran away when . Alan assures her that this isn't the case.
 * New Age Retro Hippie
 * Wrench Wench
 * Wrench Wench

Dr. Rachel Meadows
A female scientist you meet in American Nightmare who works for Redtooth Observatory.


 * Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!: Definitely not old, but appears to be in her late 40's. And damn does she look good in that dress and labcoat.
 * Hot Scientist: Big time...
 * Little Black Dress: Wears one under her white lab coat. Alan asks her if she always wears it to work, and she explains it as the result of being called away from a party she was attending.
 * Meganekko: Goes great with her lab coat and Little Black Dress.
 * Mission Control: Well, in and around the Observatory anyway. She frequently talks to you over a loudspeaker system.
 * Nerds Are Sexy: And she's got the glasses and a sexy British accent to go with it.
 * Stiff Upper Lip: Her response to a mass of Taken swarming throughout the observatory on the last visit? "I really wish they would stop flagrantly breaking the laws of physics in my observatory. It's rather rude."
 * Unfazed Everyman: She takes time looping best out of all three women (possibly because she doesn't have anything bad happen to her) and actually expresses some minor interest in letting it continue so she can study it.

Serena Valdivia
Serena is a film maker and a supposed friend of Alice Wake, encountered in American Nightmare. Since Alice thought Alan was dead, with the help of Serena, they made a film based on Alan for the annual Night Springs Visual Art Show Film Festival.


 * And I Must Scream: She has no control over her actions, but is left fully aware of her behavior. On the second time Alan passes through the drive in he doesn't have to help and can leave her like this.
 * Brainwashed: Touched by the Darkness via Mr. Scratch, and becomes a total slut.
 * Meganekko: Just like the woman Alan visited before her... maybe one of the developers has a thing for this trope.
 * Mind Rape: Being touched by the Darkness leaves her very disturbed and worried about going crazy.
 * Mind Rape: Being touched by the Darkness leaves her very disturbed and worried about going crazy.

Eddie Rodman
Radio host based in Night Springs. He's pretty much AN's version of Pat Maine.


 * Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Of Pat Maine.