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Night in the Woods Discussion (Nintendo Switch) [game]
 
Night in the Woods on the Switch
8.78/10 from 5 user ratings

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This highly praised side-scrolling adventure game just came out on the Switch, anyone check it out?

I'm about a half hour in and loving it. It's kind of like an indie / punk animals Twin Peaks, which is awesome. It has a great art style and soundtrack, interesting characters, fun dialog. Some real gameplay bits to spice it up too, like a Guitar Hero-ish rhythm mini-game.

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02/03/18, 20:04    Edited: 02/03/18, 20:11
 
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@Guillaume
Just a short reply, but:

They don't really talk about the conservative cult in any foreshadowing way, no. And speaking of the conservative part, I don't think the game is quite as much anti-conservative specifically as it is generally anti-bourgeoise or perhaps pro-socialism. Anti-conservatism just happens to be a natural effect or biproduct of those, and conservatives embody the opposite end of the spectrum. The game gives the struggle between bosses and employees/unions focus because it makes sense in that context, with worker's rights and the questioning the employers' authority and so on. Personally I'm very fond of how the game essentially turns capitalism into a part of the cosmic horror. An all-powerful, intangible force that exists on its own terms and doesn't give a fuck about your life.

As for Bruce, I don't think he contradicts or diminishes anything, because while he may be homeless he would be missed - or at the very least noticed - if he'd disappear without a trace. The minister talks to him on the regular, and she's even got the town council group discussing his situation. Those circumstances likely functioned as a deterrent for the cult, at least at that point in time.

Aunt Molly does talk about disappearances, but also says something to the effect that (unspecified) bad things happen to people at various (specific) places, including up in the hills, where you later encounter the cult. She keeps warning Mae about stuff, but never goes into detail, and is quick to dismiss the kidnapping and so on. Very fishy behaviour. Granted, there is nothing explicitly stating that she knew, but that would have been boring, IMO. Maybe I'm finding stuff between the lines that isn't there, but I think her actions are those of someone who knows something that they want to keep their niece away from.
02/14/18, 18:51   
@Guillaume While I know they have been working on the game for awhile, and it's tough to make big changes halfway into development, it's a lot easier with an indie game. It's not unthinkable that, especially in a game like this, they made some story shifts once they saw the way things were headed.

Either way the mining thing is like... yeah Trump isn't the first one to talk about saving mining, but it was a huge part of his platform. If this was not related it sure was a lucky coincidence.

As for Bruce I mean, thematically yeah it doesn't quite connect to THE THING, but realistically they probably only need to sacrifice here and there, and doing it too much would get them caught, so they don't necessarily need to rush onto some homeless person who has been there a few days. Plus he made friends with the pastor right away, so it's not like he wouldn't be missed at all.
02/14/18, 19:39   
@Zero
I think someone states that the cult had sacrificed 39 people during its run, and apparently (I don't recall this myself, so take with a grain of salt) they're hinting that the cult's been around since sometime in the 90's, so that's not too many sacrifices a year. I think they sacrifice when the black goat starts singing to them, in order to stave off the disasters that strike the stown every now and then, and then lay low until next time.
02/14/18, 19:59   
I’m maybe 3 hours or less into this game. I’m definitely enjoying it. That said at least thus far I find the main character to be hard to connect with on any level. I also wish there was more to do and interact with. Waking up at 4pm and talking to 2 or three main characters before going back to bed made me lose touch a bit with the setting. That said the animation, graphical style and entire vibe of the game is wonderful. Further based on what others have said, reviews and people in this thread I’m sure I’ll end up loving it. Just starts out a bit slow. Firewatch, Oxenfree, Kentucky Route 0 and even something like Dreamfall Chapters drew me into their world and characters much more quickly.
02/15/18, 01:59   
@Oldmanwinter There is a weird period for awhile where it's basically just hanging out with whoever and not much plot stuff happens, but then it picks up and it's lots of plot stuff until the end.
02/15/18, 05:45   
Starting this now... I look forward to reading all these spoilered texts!
03/03/18, 03:22   
The creator of this game has died...five days after being accused by Zoe Quinn of sexual assault. Whoa.
08/31/19, 22:46   
@TriforceBun Yep, what a sad story. His sister posted about it.


She also posted a response to the tons of people calling to try ZQ for manslaughter and such.

08/31/19, 23:30   
Edited: 08/31/19, 23:31
@TriforceBun One of the creators. The main team consisted of him (coder, composer, and co-designer) and two others (story, art, co-design). Yesterday the others sent out a pretty devastating Kickstarter backer update with their response to the allegations. Which were essentially that they believe Quinn (plus another accuser they're close to, who came forward after Quinn with similar allegations of abuse, as well as several others who have since told them privately about things) and cut ties with him for some future projects they had under way (and were thus canceled), but that they had a mostly good working relationship with him and still respect the work he put into the game.

But yeah, hoo boy. This ordeal just went from dark to pitch-black.
08/31/19, 23:40   
Edited: 08/31/19, 23:42
Holy crap.... whoa. for everyone involved.
09/01/19, 00:06   
Yeah, what a crappy situation all-around. Zoe's original post was pretty specific about all the terrible things he did, and you have to think that his team knows him well enough to have looked into this stuff and made what they thought was the right call in good faith, especially since some other women have stepped forward and accused him as well.

If it wasn't evident enough from victims having to go public with stuff like this rather than feeling like they can't trust the proper legal channels, internet lynch mobs driving someone to suicide ought to really make us look in the mirror and rethink what it means to rehabilitate someone who's suffering--or causing other people to suffer. This whole thing should have been nipped in the bud the second Zoe realized she was being abused; get that guy outta there and get both of them the help they need.

I'm not sure what the solution is, but people harassing anyone involved here are making the problem ten times worse. And you can't even blame them that much... getting angry about rape and suicide is a pretty normal reaction. At the very least though, we could stop glorifying this kind of rage that never does anything but harm people and realize that, even if we're not perfect, treating every situation like this with a little bit of reverence and love should be our ideal.
09/01/19, 02:13   
I guess Scott Bensen (one of the other devs on Night in the Woods) made a post after the accusations came out, RE: cutting Alec from some Kickstarter project they were working on (but before the suicide?)

The TLDR is that they saw a lot of iffy behavior from him over the years, had several others come forward after ZQ with similar stories to ZQ (including one Alec was working with before his death), learned a lot of other things that the public is not aware of yet, and that is what fueled their decision to cut him, not just a single post from ZQ.

This whole situation sucks but it seems like it was a very complicated history he had leading up to everything.
09/01/19, 20:43   
@Zero

Looks like the team handled it in the best way they could have, that's a really even-handed post.
09/02/19, 20:31   
Benson elaborates. A long and tough read.

Scott Benson said:
While I praise Alec’s work, consider this- people left the industry because of what he did. People gave up their dreams, the art they wanted to make. People, drawn by the promise of working with a well known indie developer, found themselves caught between giving up their dreams and financial stability and getting away from him. People spent years with him as a destructive presence in their lives. People developed PTSD. People spent hours and money on therapy. People felt trapped by him. It’s hard for me to see how one man’s work is worth what he did to so many others.

[...]

I survived Alec Holowka. A lot of people got it much worse than I can wrap my head around. And I’m a man. People who aren’t men got it worse. I thought I was unique in my experience with him, and that the abuse started and stopped with me. I thought I’d helped him truly change. I was wrong. I feel so stupid. I feel gross. This is how one man can have several victims and never have it come to light. Abuse isolates you. It makes you lonely. It might make you too afraid to talk about it. And if you do, people may not believe you. But mostly it just goes on silently. For years. Because you depend on them. Because they hold control on some aspect of your life. Because you’ve just been beaten down into silence.


Man.

09/03/19, 20:44   
@nate38

Yikes, that's terrible.
09/03/19, 22:42   
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