One thing many people don't notice about how Alan Wake seems to operate, but from the Alan Wake dev diaries and remedy interviews and office tours I've seen, it seems as if alan wake is a sandbox game in disguise as a linear one.
I say this becuase you often see the devs freely detatch the camera and move it around far ends of Bright Falls.
So when you look off in the distance and see the lighthouse-even though It may not be part of your current level-maybe you're looking at the actual thing.
Addressing my current level of the technology that powers games, however, I'm probably 100 percent wrong,

Originally ALAN WAKE  was meant to be sandbox game thats why the engine seems like it should be, the design was changed because they said sandbox would not work in the context of the story.

Wow...total chaos

@Kushalafang I'm definitely 100 percent aware of everything you said-otherwise I'd have no reason to watch every Alan Wake video I can find. Just wanted to point out that it might be more impressive than people give it credit for, given that it seems to retain open-worlf elements. "Rolling up to your date's house in a monster truck"

oh right sorry just making sure although the engine is really impressive would be interesting if their next game was a sandbox title might give GTA a run for their money.

Haha, agreed....Although Read Dead Redemption is looking damn good.

We'd be nuts not to think it slightly fishy that both Remedy and Bungie are showing off their 360 tech as if they're trying to advertise it.

I'm almost positive that both companies have every intention of licensing out their respective engines, and/or effectively supplying Microsoft with two proprietary engines.

Witnessing Lost Odyssey 2 or Infinite Undiscovery 2 running under either of these technologies would be quite a sight.

*Wakes up from daydream*