During the relatively short Alan Wake chapter, “Initiation 7: Masks” in Alan Wake 2, you’ll be tasked with leaving the Talk Show Studio.
On your way out, you’ll come across Ahti, who says that you have to go into the basement and get the photos from Alice’s shoebox. Now, the thing here is that a.) it’s not exactly sure what Ahti means by “Alice’s shoebox” and b.) you can actually leave this chapter without getting the photographs.
That said, if you want to unlock the The Trail of a Writer achievement, you’ll need to grab the photos now. The Trial of a Writer trophy relates to one of the game’s collectibles, specifically, Alan Wake 2’s “Writer’s Journey” videos, which give you an insight into the mind of Alan Wake in the Dark Place.
The shoebox that Ahti refers to is actually a callback to the first shoebox you encountered in Alan Wake 2, back in chapter 1, “Initiation 1: Late Night.” Alice’s shoebox is actually the shoebox where you got the Angel Lamp - which you’ll find in the Basement Storage area of the Talk Show Studio, in the north near the Workshop.
To get there you need to head in the same way that you left back in chapter 1 - which involves reversing your steps to get it.
That involves making your way into the basement and onto the balcony that overlooks the Laundry room.
When there, you have to use the Angel Lamp to absorb the light. Doing that will create a path down to the basement that wasn’t there before.
That staircase is actually just to the right of the balcony exit, and can be found if you head out and do an immediate 180. What was once a brick wall, is now a staircase down into the Basement Storage area.
Head down the stairs and when you’re in the Laundry area use the Angel Lamp again, this time making the light source active.
That will open up the path for you to enter the Basement Storage area. Head through the new opening you just created, and head to the back wall and to the right side of the metal shelves.
Then, follow that path to the end room. When in there, use the Angel Lamp to power the light source and Alice’s shoebox will appear on the table.
Head to the other side of the table and grab the photos.
This will do two things. Firstly, it’ll mean that you won’t need to collect these later on in Alan’s story; and more importantly, it’ll mean that you’ll get the highly missable “Writer’s Journey” video.
This video, “Drowning,” will automatically play at the end of this chapter/the beginning of the next, and provided you’ve got all of Alan Wake 2’s Writer’s Journey videos so far, it’ll set you up to unlocking the highly missable The Trail of a Writer achievement in the next chapter, “Initiation 8: Zane’s Film.”
Wednesday, November 01, 2023
During the relatively short Alan Wake chapter, “Initiation 7: Masks” in Alan Wake 2, you’ll be tasked with leaving the Talk Show Studio.
On your way out, you’ll come across Ahti, who says that you have to go into the basement and get the photos from Alice’s shoebox. Now, the thing here is that a.) it’s not exactly sure what Ahti means by “Alice’s shoebox” and b.) you can actually leave this chapter without getting the photographs.
That said, if you want to unlock the The Trail of a Writer achievement, you’ll need to grab the photos now. The Trial of a Writer trophy relates to one of the game’s collectibles, specifically, Alan Wake 2’s “Writer’s Journey” videos, which give you an insight into the mind of Alan Wake in the Dark Place.
The shoebox that Ahti refers to is actually a callback to the first shoebox you encountered in Alan Wake 2, back in chapter 1, “Initiation 1: Late Night.” Alice’s shoebox is actually the shoebox where you got the Angel Lamp - which you’ll find in the Basement Storage area of the Talk Show Studio, in the north near the Workshop.
To get there you need to head in the same way that you left back in chapter 1 - which involves reversing your steps to get it.
That involves making your way into the basement and onto the balcony that overlooks the Laundry room.
When there, you have to use the Angel Lamp to absorb the light. Doing that will create a path down to the basement that wasn’t there before.
That staircase is actually just to the right of the balcony exit, and can be found if you head out and do an immediate 180. What was once a brick wall, is now a staircase down into the Basement Storage area.
Head down the stairs and when you’re in the Laundry area use the Angel Lamp again, this time making the light source active.
That will open up the path for you to enter the Basement Storage area. Head through the new opening you just created, and head to the back wall and to the right side of the metal shelves.
Then, follow that path to the end room. When in there, use the Angel Lamp to power the light source and Alice’s shoebox will appear on the table.
Head to the other side of the table and grab the photos.
This will do two things. Firstly, it’ll mean that you won’t need to collect these later on in Alan’s story; and more importantly, it’ll mean that you’ll get the highly missable “Writer’s Journey” video.
This video, “Drowning,” will automatically play at the end of this chapter/the beginning of the next, and provided you’ve got all of Alan Wake 2’s Writer’s Journey videos so far, it’ll set you up to unlocking the highly missable The Trail of a Writer achievement in the next chapter, “Initiation 8: Zane’s Film.”