Follow the Leader: The developers were inspired first by Loaded and the success of Tomb Raider I (although they were determined to avoid its "horrid camera system").
Franchise Ownership Acquisition: The Max Payne IP was originally owned by 3D Realms and the developer Remedy Entertainment, before being sold to Rockstar Games in December 2001. Max Payne 2 was developed by Remedy for Rockstar, while Max Payne 3 development took place entirely within the latter, while the former moved on to new original IPs.
Game Mod: There are quite a few mods for the first and second game, notable ones include Cinema Mod and Payne Evolution for Max Payne 2 and the Kung Fu Mod for the original.
Writer Sam Lake modelled for Max in the first game, but was replaced by the irreconcilably different-looking Timothy Gibbs in the second, and then Max's voice actor James McCaffrey in the third game; the subsequent quality bumps are owed to bigger budgets.
Ditto with Mona Sax. Her model in the first game's graphic novel cutscenes was Carol Kiriakos. Mona was modelled after Kathy Tong in Max Payne 2, both in-game and in graphic novel cutscenes.
Lampshaded in one of the second game's fourth-wall-breaking dream sequences, when one of Max's doubles looks at himself and says "I've been switched! I didn't used to look like this!".
Subverted in regards to Max's voice: James McCaffery only acted as Max's model in the third game, yet has been the character's voice actor throughout. He was originally supposed to be replaced for the third game to make Max sound older, but due to fan outcry they ultimately brought him back; it helped that, due to the game's long development, McCaffery had aged about the same rate as Max had.
In the second game, the only characters to keep their original voice actors were Max himself and, of all characters, Bicycle Helmet-Girl.
The Pete Best: The most popular model of Mona Sax is Kathy Tong, who replaced Carol Kiriakos in Max Payne 2, thanks to Mona having a much larger presence in the game (including being Promoted to Playable) and her Femme Fatale demeanor and attractiveness being amped up to eleven in that game. Interestingly, it's the complete opposite of Max's The Other Darrin, whose new design for Max Payne 2 was complained about for not looking like Sam Lake.
The European edition of Max Payne 2 prominently featured a quote from PC Zone magazine describing the game as "A Thing of Beauty". Reading the review itself reveals that the quote in question referred to the game's bullet time mechanics, and not to the game as a whole, although fans would probably agree with the quote in any case.
Several American ads for the game used the line "a breathtaking, original ballet of death" from Computer Gaming World's preview for the game, which irked the writer who actually wrote that preview considering there were plenty of quotes from reviews of the actual finished product they could have used for that purpose.
Now, you might think I'm splitting hairs, but there is a huge difference here: it's the difference between commenting on a baby's ultrasound and the finished product. "Beautiful and full of possibility!" can easily turn into "Two heads means double the kisses!" when that joyous bundle is finally released.
Role Reprise: The only voice actor to reprise his role between games is James McCaffrey as Max himself. Credit to Rockstar, as they even went out of their way to get the original voice actors for Mona Sax, Nicole Horn, and Alfred Woden for minor cameos in Max Payne 3.
The first game was initially pitched as Dark Justice, an isometric shooter set during a drug war 20 Minutes in the Future. When the concept was reworked into a third-person shooter set in the present and 3D Realms came on as publishers, 3D Realms asked Remedy to title the game after its then-unnamed protagonist, leading to names like Dick Justice and Max Heat being tossed around.
Initially, Bullet Time was not a player-activated ability but was triggered by scripted events such as charging into a room full of enemies. Remedy found this method unsatisfactory for a number of reasons, such as the player having to chase retreating enemies while locked in slow-motion and the slow-motion effects losing their appeal when used over sustained periods.
Early previews of the original game featured Valkyr as a more fantastical drug that caused physical mutations on top of insanity, with such examples as a Giant Mook guarding the entrance of Deep 6. Early graphic novel panels◊ feature differences such as Max killing Vinnie instead of leaving him to die and what appears to be an early design for Jack Lupino, who looked much more like a cultist. Enemies on motorcycles were briefly seen in early footage, but cut from the final game. Concept art for Max had him dressed in a full trenchcoat similar to B.B.
For the second game, Rockstar suggested having Mexican Standoffs as a gameplay mechanic (similar to the later Stranglehold), but Remedy felt it wasn't right for the game. Sam Lake also said that, had there been more time for the game's development, levels where the player would take control of Vladimir Lem and Vinnie Gognitti would have been added. A multiplayer mode was planned, but dropped due to time constraints and Remedy's lack of experience with online features; What work was done morphed into the Dead Man Walking mode in the final game.
Disowned Adaptation: The game designers at 3D-Realms were apparently unimpressed by the motion picture adaptation. Sam Lake, the writer and original likeness of Max Payne, generally responds diplomatically whenever the movie is brought up in interviews, but when he was asked directly if he thinks he could've made a better Max Payne movie, he says yes while cringing slightly.
Executive Meddling: The reason the film was cut down to fit a PG-13 rating. Also done by Rockstar, who were uncooperative to the film's producers and attempted to shut down production multiple times.
Saved from Development Hell: The film was originally announced in 2001, shortly after the release of the first game. It would take until 2008 for the film to finally be released.
Stillborn Franchise: At least one sequel was planned, but the critical thrashing and poor box office take the film received caused those plans to be canned.
◊ feature differences such as Max killing Vinnie instead of leaving him to die and what appears to be an early design for Jack Lupino, who looked much more like a cultist. Enemies on motorcycles were briefly seen in early footage, but cut from the final game. Concept art for Max had him dressed in a full trenchcoat similar to B.B.
