The Truth About Quantum Break's Hidden Chalkboard Message
Not all video game Easter eggs are created equal. Many Easter eggs are simple hidden messages that reference pop culture or memes, like Hitman 3's hidden Potato Jesus. But when a developer references another game in its own catalogue, this is pretty much unofficial confirmation that both games take place within the same universe. And that brings up all sorts of implications.
This is the case with Quantum Break's Easter egg referencing Alan Wake. Developer Remedy Entertainment's Alan Wake was released in 2010 and told an atmospheric survival horror story about a horror novelist who confronts his nightmares in the waking world. It was one of the underrated titles on Xbox 360 and PC. When Quantum Break was released in 2016, it wasn't quite as beloved as Alan Wake, but it did use a blend of video game and TV storytelling styles to create a unique game about a man who can stop time trying to clean up a time-travel experiment gone wrong.
One particular Easter egg in Quantum Break definitely sets up "connected universe" possibilities. But the deeper implications are even wilder than that.
The Alan Wake Easter Egg in Quantum Break
The Easter egg can be found during Act 1-3 "Library Chase," on the chalkboard inside the Lecture Hall. The chalkboard contains an elaborate diagram of Alan Wake's plot, as if the events of that game were a novel. That would suggest the story of Alan Wake is actually a novel existing in the Quantum Break universe. However, a closer look reveals the lyrics to a poem that appears in the beginning of Alan Wake. That poem is written by Alan Wake character Thomas Zane, a poet whose works can manifest in reality. As revealed in Alan Wake, Zane "created" Alan Wake himself by first inventing him in his fiction in the 1970's.
On the chalkboard, two words in Zane's poem are underlined: "Wilder" and "Serene." Beth Wilder and Paul Serene are two Quantum Break characters. Does this mean the world of Quantum Break also came from Zane's mind? Maybe. But the chalkboard also delves into the conundrum posed in Alan Wake. Zane "created" him. Wake also wrote about Zane, "creating" him as well. It's a chicken-and-egg situation that only gets more complicated by adding in the world and characters Quantum Break.
So, who created whom? Hopefully it will all be explained in a possible Alan Wake sequel.