Sami, 53, designed Finland’s largest entertainment product – Price up to 60 million euros

The Unknown Soldier, which premiered in 2017, was a Finnish blockbuster. Its budget of 7 million euros was huge in Finnish terms and many times compared to normal domestic films.

However, The Unknown Soldier falls far behind when compared to game company Remedy’s Alan Wake 2 horror game. Its exact budget has not been revealed, but analysts have estimated that it will rise to 50-60 million euros. Remedy’s previous big game Control cost about 50 million euros, and now an even bigger game has been made – probably the biggest entertainment product in Finnish history.

With chalk lines

– Do you want coffee?, creative director of the Finnish game company Remedy Sami Järvi, 53, asks right after shaking hands when arriving at the office. After a short reflection, we end up with bubble water, because several cups of coffee have been drunk throughout the morning.

– It seems to be more reasonable at this point – although you can always drink coffee, Järvi says.

Coffee has become necessary in Järvi recently. Remedy’s most massive game project, Alan Wake 2, has been in the works for four years. As the release date approaches, Järvi has had to go around the world talking about the game. During his career, Järve has also become the recognizable face of the company.

– In the final stages of the project, of course, you have to go a little to show what has been done here in the dark chamber.

In Alan Wake 2, Järvi acted as the second director, the main scriptwriter, and he also plays one side role in the game. As creative director, he is also responsible for marketing the game. Järvi says that making games is above all teamwork.

– Fortunately, we have a good team. Kyle Rowley there has been another director with me and Clay Murphy has helped in writing the manuscript. Even for a supporting role, I’ve received compliments from real professional actors. So there are support groups.

The Alan Wake game series is about a possessed writer who has run into problems with the forces of darkness. The budget for the sequel has not been published, but according to estimates, it is one of the largest Finnish entertainment productions, if not the largest.

– At least we’re on top. Compared to American competitors, our budget should be almost zero, Järvi laughs.

There has also been no training in creativity. According to Järvi, elements have been introduced into the game that have never been seen in the gaming world before.

– Of course, it’s tired at this point. We have worked really hard and for a long time for this.

The pain of the creative process

Järvi couldn’t wait to get into his current position. His original dream was to become a writer. Now that writer is the main character of the game written by Järvi.

Järvi has managed to bring his own experiences of the challenges of writing to the character of Alan Wake. The story of the game and the prequels of Alan Wake reflect the pain of creativity.

– For Alan Wake, I originally wanted someone other than an action hero to be the main character. We then wondered what he could be by profession. Inspiration was then found in Stephen King’s books, quite a few of which have the author as the main character.

Järvi says that he was inspired by postmodern literature to make the games. Before his career at Remedy, Järvi studied English language and literature at the University of Helsinki.

– Postmodern literature is like a game between the reader and the writer. These ideas have also been present in our games since Max Payne, where we play with metaphors and the idea of ​​which side of the screen we are on, says Järvi.

The in-game world is full of thoughtful content. For example, the graffiti in the game are made by hand in the real world, from which they were imported into the game.

The extent of the creative process is also indicated by the fact that, according to Järvi, Alan Wake 2’s story will almost correspond to two entire seasons of the television series. However, not everything planned has been added to the game and the content has been carefully considered.

– Yes, I feel quite empty now. There is a lot waiting for the players.

The pressure to implement the game has been great. Despite this, a lot of room for creativity has been given by the publisher Epic Games, for which Järvi seems to be grateful.

– The idea of ​​Alan Wake was received at Epic Games with great enthusiasm. The creative vision has been wanted to remain and it has been given space.

Finnishness is emphasized

Järvi says that he was especially inspired when he was younger by the working methods of fantasy author JRR Tolkien, and how Tolkien knew how to use folklore in his works. This also explains something about Remedy’s creative solutions.

– At one point I devoured fantasy literature like crazy porridge. I read the Lord of the Rings book many times when I was younger, Järvi says.

Remedy’s games contain references to various folktales. The massively popular shooter game Max Payne (released in 2001) contained references to the Edda poems of the Viking age.

Järvi says that in addition to folk tales, his inspirations have been – depending on the stage of his life – comic books, fantasy literature and tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons.

– Many people in the gaming industry have a background in tabletop role-playing games. It’s a good school for building interactive games on paper.

Alan Wake and its sequel are no exception in terms of their creative punishments. The game plays with the sense of reality and metaphors a lot, and there are also plenty of references to Finnishness.

– I would say that more than ever.

However, the story of the game is not just fantasy. The story of Alan Wake 2 is more of a horror detective or an agent thriller. According to Järvi, the sequel is built in such a way that the game is easy to approach, even if you haven’t played Remedy’s games before.

In addition, Alan Wake features numerous Finnish cultural influencers. He returns to the role of Alan Wake Ilkka Villi and by Peter Franzé plays twin brothers Ilmo and Jaakko Koskela in the game. However, this is only a prelude from Remedy.

Remedy’s games are currently being built around their own universe, which means unifying the game worlds by adding references to other games in the works.

For example, Ahti, the janitor who appeared in Remedy’s previous Control game (Martti Suosalo) can be seen singing karaoke in one of the trailers. In Finnish, of course.

If you don’t see the embed, you can watch it from here. The supercharger can be seen at 01:20.

The trailer also shows that the Koskela brothers are wearing vests familiar from motorcycle gangs that read Kalevala.

Coffee, please

So there is a lot of Finnish embedded in Alan Wake 2. Järvi’s creativity has been enhanced by coffee and it has been consumed a lot, as Finns usually do now.

– Coffee has become a kind of trademark for me, Järvi says after the interview while looking for a cup of coffee.

Järvi reveals that he also makes Tiktok videos for fun and introduces his channel, where he is uploaded videoswhere he drinks coffee in different places.

Peripheral products also belong to the game industry, and Remedy has not forgotten coffee in these solutions either. In cooperation with Airam, the name thermos of the “Oh Deer Diner” restaurant that appears in the game has been produced, which was previously an in-game collectible.

If you don’t see the embed, you can watch it here.

Alan Wake 2 will be released on October 27th. The release date has had to be postponed by 10 days, because according to Järvi, October will be historically full of big games.

– After this I will take a long vacation. The contents of the magic cauldron of creativity have now been scraped to the bottom here, and it needs filling, Järvi laughs.