I Play, Therefore I Think: Procedural Philosophy in Remedy Entertainment's Alan Wake 2 (2023)

Abstract

Regarding video games as loci of philosophical thinking, not simply illustrations of preexisting philosophical concepts and positions, is far too rare in gamic thought studies. Yet due to the conceptually complex nature of the critically acclaimed Alan Wake 2 (Remedy Entertainment, 2023) such a perspective becomes necessary in order to fully understand the philosophical, gamic, and aesthetic complexity of the game. Subsequently, this article argues that the game performs what is termed “procedural philosophy” as it involves adapting a position of radical skepticism and questioning the essential ontological categories of both the gamic and the nongamic reality. As the analysis shows, Alan Wake 2 develops a philosophical conceptualization of reality which results in the formation of “obscure ideas,” related to a gamic flattening of ontology.