Sam Lake
{{short description|Finnish video game writer and director}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sam Lake
| image = Sam Lake-MichaelFörtsch.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Lake at Gamescom in 2014
| birth_name = Sami Antero Järvi
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1970|3|28}}
| birth_place = Helsinki, Finland{{Cite web |last=Hartikainen |first=Ville |date=2020-03-26 |title=Sami Järvestä tuli rahapulan vuoksi 2000-luvun alun hittipelin Max Paynen kasvot, ja hänellä on valmis selitys pelisarjan suursuosioon |trans-title=Due to lack of money, Sami Järvi became the face of the hit game Max Payne of the early 2000s, and he has a ready explanation for the franchise's huge popularity |url=https://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/art-2000006452387.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=Helsingin Sanomat |language=fi}}
| occupation = Writer, director
| credits = Max Payne, Max Payne 2, Alan Wake, Quantum Break, Control, Alan Wake 2
| education = University of Helsinki
| employer = Remedy Entertainment (Creative director)
}}
Sami Antero Järvi ({{IPA|fi|ˈsɑmi ˈɑntero ˈjærʋi|lang}}; born 28 March 1970),{{Cite web |title=Shareholders |url=https://investors.remedygames.com/shareholders/ |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=Remedy Games investors |language=en-GB}} better known by his pen name Sam Lake ('Järvi' is Finnish for lake), is a Finnish video game writer and director. He is the creative director at Remedy Entertainment, known for his writing (as well as his likeness) on the popular Max Payne video game series (in which photos of his face were used as Max Payne's face), and Alan Wake.
Career
Lake attended University of Helsinki studying English literature around 1995. He was introduced to video games through a long-time friend Petri Järvilehto, one of the early members of Remedy Entertainment. Remedy was developing their first game Death Rally and needed text for the game, and Järvilehto asked Lake, one of the few people Remedy knew in writing, to help. Lake accepted the offer, and has since remained with the company.{{Cite web |last=Machkovech |first=Sam |date=14 May 2020 |title=War Stories: Alan Wake's transformation emerged from a two-month 'sauna' |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/05/war-stories-alan-wakes-transformation-emerged-from-a-two-month-sauna/ |access-date=14 May 2020 |website=Ars Technica}}
= ''Max Payne'' =
Lake played several roles in the development of Max Payne. He wrote the game's story and script and helped design levels. Because of the game's budget, Remedy could not hire actors. As a result, Lake, along with other Remedy programmers, artists and staff played the roles. Lake became the face model for the title character and he even got his mother to portray Nicole Horne, the game's main antagonist, whereas his father played Alfred Woden.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-HukXrW5J0 |title=Behind the Scenes – Max Payne |date=25 March 2019 |publisher=Neoseeker |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/M-HukXrW5J0 |archive-date=13 December 2021 |url-status=live |via=YouTube |accessdate=6 January 2020}}{{cbignore}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lod6L554GKg |title=Remedy talks Max Payne 1 and 2 |date=3 October 2011 |last=Douglas |first=Jane |publisher=GameSpot |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/Lod6L554GKg |archive-date=13 December 2021 |url-status=live |via=YouTube |accessdate=6 January 2020}}{{cbignore}}
In the sequel, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, the expanded budget meant Lake could stick to writing. The game's script ended up being about four times as long as some movie scripts.{{Cite web |date=19 September 2003 |title=Max's Pain |url=http://pc.ign.com/articles/450/450824p1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017104627/http://www.ign.com/articles/2003/09/20/maxs-pain |archive-date=17 October 2016 |access-date=22 December 2008 |publisher=IGN}} For the sequel, the budget increase allowed the team to hire professional actors to model for the graphic novel cutscenes and Lake was subsequently replaced by actor Timothy Gibbs.{{Cite magazine |date=2 November 2008 |title=The Making of Max Payne |url=http://www.next-gen.biz/features/making-max-payne |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426182014/http://www.edge-online.com/features/making-max-payne |archive-date=26 April 2012 |access-date=22 December 2008 |magazine=Edge}} However, if the player should watch any of the TV set shows during the game, they will see that Lake models for various characters in Max Payne's meta, in TV shows and billboards, such as John Mirra in the television show Address Unknown as well as "Lord Valentine" and "Mama" in Lords and Ladies, and, finally, "Dick Justice" in Dick Justice.
The ending theme song, "Late Goodbye" which appears in various points of the game, often sung by in game characters, is based on a poem by Lake.{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Andy |date=21 August 2018 |title=The story behind Late Goodbye, the song that defined Max Payne 2 |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/the-story-behind-late-goodbye-the-song-that-defined-max-payne-2/ |access-date=24 June 2020 |website=PC Gamer}} The song was written by the Finnish group Poets of the Fall.
Mob boss Vinnie Gognitti remarks that the creator of Max Payne's in-game cartoon series, Captain Baseball Bat Boy, is a man named Sammy Waters, which is a play on the name Sam Lake.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}
In the Max Payne movie which was released in 2008, Sam Lake also provided some writing help, though mostly for the character background.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}
=''Alan Wake''=
Lake was the lead writer for the 2010 "psychological action thriller" Alan Wake,{{Cite web |last=Stuart |first=Keith |date=30 April 2010 |title=Alan Wake writer Sam Lake on the creative process. Part one |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2010/apr/30/alan-wake-remedy-sam-lake |access-date=24 June 2020 |website=The Guardian}} which went on to receive numerous awards and a positive critical reception for its characters and story.
The first game also features references to Lake’s earlier work with Max Payne when the player is allowed to read a few pages from the protagonist's novel The Sudden Stop.{{Cite web |date=13 May 2017 |title=Easter Eggs and Secrets – Alan Wake Wiki Guide – IGN |url=https://www.ign.com/wikis/alan-wake/Easter_Eggs_and_Secrets |access-date=24 June 2020 |website=IGN}} When opened, the pages are voiced by James McCaffrey, the voice of Max Payne, and makes clear references to the previous games, such as the troubled character's murdered wife & baby and his abuse of painkillers.
Lake appears as himself in the 2023 sequel Alan Wake II, during a fictional in-game interview where he appears as a guest on a talk show along with the title character.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ao3mFxeGZw |title=Alan Wake – Harry Garrett Show Teaser |date=30 March 2010 |publisher=Remedy Entertainment |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/2Ao3mFxeGZw |archive-date=13 December 2021 |url-status=live |via=YouTube |accessdate=24 June 2020}}{{cbignore}} Lake also lent his likeness for the character of Alex Casey, with the voice once again provided by James McCaffrey. Lake also appears as himself in the game's first downloadable content expansion, "Night Springs".{{Cite web |last=Gottschalk |first=Perry |date=10 June 2024 |title=Alan Wake II: Night Springs Is An Exciting and Appropriately Meta Follow-Up |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/games/alan-wake-ii/alan-wake-2-night-springs-review |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=www.pastemagazine.com |language=en-US}}
Works
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title !Role(s) |
|---|
| 1996
|Writing |
| 2001
|Story and screenplay, graphic novel model |
| 2003
| Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne |Writer |
| 2010
|Concept design, story and screenplay |
| 2012
| Alan Wake's American Nightmare |Creative director and writer |
| 2016
|Creative director and executive producer |
| 2019
| Control |Concept and writer |
| 2023
|Director, Creative director, Lead Writer, Alex Casey's model & motion capture |
Awards and nominations
File:Sam Lake - Game Developers Choice Awards 2025 - 03.jpg in 2025.]]
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{cc}}
- {{IMDb name|id=1053843|name=Sam Lake}}
- {{moby developer|id=108328|name=Sami Jarvi (aka Sam Lake)}}
- [http://www.payneandredemption.com Payne & Redemption – An Independent Film Based On The Works Of Sam Lake]
- [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2010/apr/30/alan-wake-remedy-sam-lake Sam Lake] interviewed about Alan Wake
{{portal bar|Biography|Finland|Video games}}
{{Remedy Entertainment}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake, Sam}}