Alan Wake

Alan Wake is the main protagonist in the Alan Wake franchise.

Alan was a bestselling author who had been struggling to write anything for two years due to a case of writer's block. His wife, Alice Wake, brought him to Bright Fallsto try and recover his creative/writing flow, which lead to the events of the game.

Personality
Alan Wake is a tired writer in search of a vacation, a place where he could forget everything. Whilst he was once much happier in his life and marriage, his rise to fame coupled with a developing writer's block has made him rather short tempered. At times he can still be caring and sympathetic, but this is rare as he becomes more frustrated with his life and work. Sadly, the continuous pursuit by fans and paparazzi have made him somewhat cynical to people, which is why he usually spends most of his time with his wife, Alice. Emil Hartman says that Alan's history of substance abuse combined with his insomnia makes him especially prone to anger.

He is also very strong-willed and brave, although at times blurs the lines between courage and stubbornness. This is in part fueled by his intense love for Alice, making him willing to take on the seemingly invincible Dark Presence in the hope of saving her. Though it is unknown how he met Alice, it is quickly established that he cares for her deeply and often refers to her as his 'muse'. During the first Alan Wake DLC, The Signal, Alan has memories of Alice which seem to make him happy, most of which are sexual and intimate. Their marriage has recently become turbulent in some ways, due to Alan's insomnia and alcohol fueled behavioral issues, but overall the two love each other very deeply.

Alan also practices at a shooting range, and has a good knowledge of hunting rifles, shotguns and pistols. In the novel, it is explained that he spent time at the shooting range to get research done for his Alex Casey crime series. Sheriff Sarah Breaker comments that even though he is a good shot, he needs to get his knowledge of how guns function down. It should also be noted that he is a quick-thinker, using his knowledge to get past environmental puzzles and to evade numerous Taken at once. He can adapt to a wide array of weaponry quickly and with good result.

Remedy Entertainment has called Alan "kind of a dick". They note that, as before stated, he hates most people and has many problems with his marriage. But they say that this is good because it separates him from most golden-hearted characters and "space marine" G.I. Joes. This is intended to add a layer of realism and depth to him, making him a more relatable character with moral failings of his own as opposed to a larger-than-life hero with high moral standards.

Abilities
Alan is 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.

Trivia

 * Alan Wake is voiced by Matthew Porretta and modeled by Ilkka Villi.
 * Like other Remedy names, clues to the game may be found in the protagonist's name. In this case, Alan's first name initial coupled with his last name spells "A. Wake", symbolizing his battle with the night. Also, various times throughout the game, His wife, Alice, says, "Alan, wake up," alluding to his name.
 * One of the books in the Alex Casey series that Alan wrote is titled "The Things that I want". This is the name of a level in the Remedy game series, Max Payne. Another is titled "The Fall of Alex Casey", just like the subtitle for Max Payne 2. On some of the TVs in that game, a 'Return to Sender marathon' of the fictional show 'Address Unknown' is played, giving another book title. Max muses that "when entertainment turns to a surreal reflection of your life, you're a lucky man if you can laugh at the joke". He refers to the coincidental parallels between fiction and his life as opposed to the rewriting of events that the manuscript pages of Alan Wake describe.
 * The idea behind Wake ending the Alex Casey series by killing off the main character is most likely influenced by the Stephen King book Misery, where the main character Paul Sheldon, also a writer, ends his series of books by the same method and for the same reasons.
 * When Alan sees himself on TV and in two of them he sees something on the wall and goes up to it in Episode 3 and Episode 4. He was actually being watched by the two stuffed Ravens above the door. Explaining that he saw something watching him when he was writing Departure.
 * It may be known that Mr. Scratch may be himself but as a different person. As Alan Wake confronts Thomas Zane he tells Alan that the clone of himself is called Mr. Scratch and that Mr. Scratch will be returning to his friends, Barry Wheeler and Sarah Breaker.
 * Alan's signature weapon is the revolver.
 * Mr. Scratch is a doppelgänger of Alan Wake supposedly created by Thomas Zane.
 * When introducing himself in Episode 1: Nightmare, he says "My name is Alan Wake, and I'm a writer". The exact same thing is said in Alan Wake's American Nightmare as the first line to the first page you see in the game.
 * There are several avatar outfits of his clothes.