I've been playing Alan Wake and want to love it, but...

Why is the DODGE button on the same key as the SPRINT button?

This is getting ridiculous w/ action-orientated PC-ported games having the same key do two things, i.e....
Fallout 3 & New Vegas - RELOAD [tap] and PUT WEAPON AWAY [hold] are on the SAME key;
Mass Effect 3 - Roll [tap] and RUN [hold] are on the same key.
Alan Wake - Dodge [button tap] and SPRINT [hold] are on the same key.

Hey, guys - CREATE EXTRA separate keys for us PC gamers who use KB/mouse, if you gonna do this!
We have enough keys on our keyboard to handle this!

Well, it worked for the original XBox360-Version.
I mean, dodge and running on the same key. That way, you can run away from enemies, right after you dodged.
Now I havn't played the PC-port, so I have no idea how odd this might feel.

In Fallout 3, the "reload" and "put back" were also the same, I think. Havn't played it for a long time.

Actually it's the other way around: it's non-sense using separate keys for actions that can be easily bound to one key and don't cause a conflict. Just because I can use all keys on my keyboard doesn't mean I want or have to.

Also note that in Alan Wake dodging works in a totally different manner than in most other games. Pressing the dodge key doesn't make you magically invincible for a moment. Even if your timing is right, you will get hit if you should get hit geometrically. All the "dodge move" does is introducing the sprint and making Alan bend down a bit, improving your chances of not getting hit while actually running away. It's really just starting a sprint with a special move, so two separate keys won't make ANY sense at all. The way the dodge works it's actually even impossible to bind it to a separate key.

So it's really not about the control scheme but how the doding itself works. Personally I think that it's ingenious, considering that this is a horror game about a (kind of) regular guy who is physically absolutely inferior to his enemies and not some heavily trained fighting machine. It's always about running away and doing so in the right moment adds a clumsy and improvised move. That's it.

I understand the reasoning behind that gamedesign, but i do PLAY A GAME, not watching a horror movie with a believable character. A horror game which generates "atmosphere" through inaccurate and clumsy controls instead of using atmospheric graphics and audio and/or a non-action gameplay design ... what were the devs thinking?

I DO like many parts of Alan Wake, but actually playing it can be a pain the ass!

Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about. "Instead"? The game looks pretty good for a console port and the audio is (arguably, of course) top notch. And compared to most other horror games I've played the controls are very fluid and responsive. Although I must admit that I was playing it on a gamepad which may prove better in case of this game.

The game is fine the way it is. He just doesn't "get it".

I played it on keyboard and mouse - once I turned off that delay thing when you look in a different direction and the mouse acceleration, it was fine. You could barely tell it was built around a gamepad.

I second this, i can't stand this port fad of "DO IT" buttons. ME3 was beyond ludicrous.

Dude, the sprint/dodge mechanic is supposed to flow off of the same motion. You dodge initially, to try and avoid the hit, then sprint away from the enemy to set up your next attack.

Because it was made for a controller. This is a poor PC poor in regard to the controls.