Sam Lake
Encyclopedia
Sami Järvi better known by his artist name Sam Lake ('Järvi' is Finnish
for lake
), is a Finnish
writer
who is mostly known for his work on the popular Max Payne
video game series. Lake is good friends with Petri Järvilehto, a founding member of Remedy Entertainment
, the company behind Max Payne. Järvilehto needed help with script writing in one of Remedy's early games, Death Rally
, and invited Lake to write.
He attended the University of Helsinki
, where he studied English
and literature.
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. 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
. 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. There is also an unofficial mod
to give the character his old face back.
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. 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.
In the Max Payne
movie which was released in 2008, Sam Lake provided some writing help, though mostly for the character background.
. Lake cameos in the game as himself during a fictional in-game interview where he appears as a guest on a talk show along with the title character. As the interview wraps up the talk show host asks Lake to 'make the face', and Lake then mimics the infamous 'Max Payne' look from the original Max Payne videogame.
The game also features references to his earlier work with Max Payne when the player is allowed to read a few pages from the protagonist's novel The Sudden Stop. When opened, the pages are voiced by James McCaffrey
(the voice of Max Payne) and make clear references to the previous games such as the troubled character's murdered wife and baby, as well as his abuse of painkillers.
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
for lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
), is a Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
who is mostly known for his work on the popular Max Payne
Max Payne (series)
Max Payne is a video game series developed by Remedy Entertainment and recently, Rockstar Vancouver. The series is named after its protagonist, Max Payne, a New York City police officer...
video game series. Lake is good friends with Petri Järvilehto, a founding member of Remedy Entertainment
Remedy Entertainment
Remedy Entertainment is a Finnish computer game developer founded in 1995 and based in Espoo, Finland. The company is best known for its Max Payne and Alan Wake series of video games.-History:...
, the company behind Max Payne. Järvilehto needed help with script writing in one of Remedy's early games, Death Rally
Death Rally
Death Rally is a top-down perspective racing video game developed by Remedy, published by Apogee and distributed by GT Interactive. It was released on September 6, 1996...
, and invited Lake to write.
He attended the University of Helsinki
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
, where he studied English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and literature.
Max Payne
Lake played several roles in the development of Max Payne. He not only wrote the game's story and script, but also helped design levels, and was the face model for the character of Max Payne. He posed as Max Payne in the game's graphic novels as well. Because of the game's budget, Remedy could not hire actors. As a result, Lake, along with other Remedy programmers played the roles.In the sequel, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne is a third-person shooter video game developed by Remedy Entertainment for Microsoft Windows and Rockstar Vienna for the Xbox & PlayStation 2 and published by Rockstar Games. The game is a direct sequel to Max Payne and is followed by Max Payne 3...
, 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. 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
Timothy Gibbs
Timothy Gibbs is an American actor who has starred in films, such as 11-11-11 as Joseph Crone, The Kings of Brooklyn as Maximilian Sentor and television programs, such as Sex and the City as Detective Stevens....
. 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. There is also an unofficial mod
Mod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
to give the character his old face back.
The ending theme song, "Late Goodbye
Late Goodbye
"Late Goodbye" is a song by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall that appeared in the 2003 video game Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne as well as on the band's debut album Signs of Life...
" which appears in various points of the game, often sung by in game characters, is based on a poem by Lake. The song was written by the Finnish group Poets of the Fall
Poets of the Fall
Poets of the Fall is a rock band from Finland. It consists of Marko Saaresto , Olli Tukiainen and Markus "Captain" Kaarlonen...
.
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.
In the Max Payne
Max Payne (film)
Max Payne is a 2008 noir action film based on the 2001 video game of the same name by Remedy Entertainment. It was written by Beau Thorne and was directed by John Moore. The film stars Mark Wahlberg in the title role as Max Payne, Mila Kunis as Mona Sax, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges as Jim Bravura and...
movie which was released in 2008, Sam Lake provided some writing help, though mostly for the character background.
Alan Wake
Lake was the lead writer for the 2010 "psychological action thriller" Alan WakeAlan Wake
Alan Wake is a story-driven action game in the psychological thriller genre, developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Microsoft Game Studios, released for the Xbox 360 video game console in 2010...
. Lake cameos in the game as himself during a fictional in-game interview where he appears as a guest on a talk show along with the title character. As the interview wraps up the talk show host asks Lake to 'make the face', and Lake then mimics the infamous 'Max Payne' look from the original Max Payne videogame.
The game also features references to his earlier work with Max Payne when the player is allowed to read a few pages from the protagonist's novel The Sudden Stop. When opened, the pages are voiced by James McCaffrey
James McCaffrey
James G. McCaffrey is an American actor.-Biography:McCaffrey was born in Northern Ireland and raised in New York. His first role was for sills models, as a mentally challenged teen, in Bill II: on His Own, the Bill Sackter story. He also played the lead in the first and last seasons of the series...
(the voice of Max Payne) and make clear references to the previous games such as the troubled character's murdered wife and baby, as well as his abuse of painkillers.