For the Collectible, see Ordinary (Collectible).

Ordinary was a town in Maine, United States, that became the site of the Ordinary AWE in 2002.

History

AWE

Main article: Ordinary AWE

In 2002, Jesse and Dylan Faden, two children residents of Ordinary, discovered a Slide Projector in Ordinary's dump. The projector, an Object of Power, created portals to other dimensions when used in conjunction with the slides discovered alongside it. In playing with the projector, the siblings unintentionally exposed Ordinary to hostile paranatural forces, causing the town's adult population to vanish before Jesse managed to turn it off. In total, only 17 residents remained.

Shortly after, the Federal Bureau of Control arrived to the site, taking Dylan Faden and the Slide Projector into their custody.

Post-AWE

The AWE was covered up by the FBC, who attributed the population's disappearance to an industrial accident. The town was repopulated sometime later, with Samantha Wells moving in during 2012.

Known residents

• Jesse Faden
• Dylan Faden
• Neil Hosenberg
• Tom Barlow
• Frederick Bartwell
• Hugo
• Mrs. Chester
• Nervous caller's brother
• Samantha Wells

Trivia

• Ordinary was heavily alluded to as a significant location in previous Remedy Entertainment games.
  • In the game Alan Wake's American Nightmare, the Old Gods of Asgard song "Balance Slays the Demon" contains the backmasked message: "It will happen again, in another town, a town called Ordinary."
  • The Alan Wake ARG blog "This House of Dreams" documents the life of a woman named Samantha who lives in Ordinary, and experiences strange events after purchasing an old house there. Samantha's blog is also mentioned in Control.
  • In Quantum Break, a Quantum Ripple will lead to a severe power outage in the town of Ordinary, resulting in a spike in violent crime (though Quantum Break's reference states that Ordinary is in Maine), while at the release of Control, it was stated to be in Wisconsin before being changed to Maine.
• Prior to the release of AWE, the Ordinary AWE documentation in Control stated that Ordinary was located in Wisconsin. This was later changed to Maine. Quantum Break had previously stated that Ordinary was in Maine.
• Given horror writer Stephen King's influence on the Alan Wake franchise and its Maine setting, its possible that Ordinary was inspired by the numerous fictional small towns found King's novels and short stories, such as Jerusalem's Lot and Castle Rock.
• The FBC created a replica of Ordinary in the Ordinary AWE hangar. The Ordinary Dump is the entire landfill of Ordinary, transported to the Oldest House.
• Ordinary, Maine doesn't exist in real life, but Ordinary, Kentucky and Ordinary, Virginia do exist.
• One of the photos of Ordinary found in the Prime Candidate Program is actually of real-life Plymouth, Ohio, at the intersection of  US 603 and E Main Street. The water tower was added and signage blurred.

Gallery

"Ordinary, Maine"...

...and the real-life location in Plymouth, Ohio.

Concept art by Stuart Macdonald.

Town model concept art by Leonardo Calamati.

Environmental art by Miro Vesterinen.