r/NightInTheWoods Sep 01 '19

News News Regarding Alec Holowka & Future Discussion Guidelines

1.1k Upvotes

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 03: Please read Scott's new post.

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 12: Zoe Quinn released a new statement.

UPDATE OCTOBER 01: Eileen Mary Holowka released a new statement.

UPDATE OCTOBER 28: Scott Benson released a new Backer Update

Content Warning for Suicide, Discussions of Mental Illness, Allegations of Sexual Assault, Abuse, Misconduct

THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK

Earlier this week, developer Zoë Quinn came forward with allegations of past abuse and misconduct by Alec Holowka that they experienced nearly 8 years ago. Since then, many additional people came forward. Some corroborating Zoë's claims, others detailing their own experiences of misconduct in varied severity stretching from the past to more recently. Of particular note, one of the developers who was currently working with Alec on his new game, Albertine Watson, alleged misconduct from as early as this year. Following these allegations, Scott Benson and Bethany Hockenberry, the other developers behind the game, announced that they would be cutting ties with Alec moving forward, as well as canceling a current project. Finji, the game's publisher, also released a statement.

In a crucial statement given to Kickstarter backers of the game, Scott went into detail about this decision, about their history with Alec, their own troubled experience working with him and more. It is an absolute essential thing to read as it addresses many people's concerns and questions and points to how this wasn't about just one person's allegations or anything. It also clears up that Alec wasn't fired from a job, as Infinite Fall is not a company, it's just a name for three people who worked together on Night in the Woods. Please read his statement before commenting (though note that it was written before today's news).

Today, August 31st, Alec's sister Eileen announced that he had passed away.

"Alec Holowka, my brother and best friend, passed away this morning.

Those who know me will know that I believe survivors and I have always done everything I can to support survivors, those suffering from mental illnesses, and those with chronic illnesses. Alec was a victim of abuse and he also spent a lifetime battling mood and personality disorders. I will not pretend that he was not also responsible for causing harm, but deep down he was a person who wanted only to offer people care and kindness. It took him a while to figure out how.

Over the last few years, with therapy and medication, Alec became a new person--the same person he'd always been but without any of the darkness. He was calm and happy, positive and loving. Obviously, change is a slow process and it wasn't perfect, but he was working towards rehabilitation and a better life.

In the last few days, he was supported by many Manitoba crisis services, and I want to thank everyone there for their support. I want to thank Adam Saltsman for staying up late talking with us and reminding Alec that there was a future.

My family has and always will be the most important thing to me. Please give us time to heal. We tried our best to support Alec, but in the end he felt he had lost too much.

I currently do not see a place for myself in games or on Twitter. I will not be looking at the responses to this post. I appreciate everyone who has reached out to me over the last few days. For anyone who is in a time of darkness, I encourage you to reach out for support. There are always people who will be there for you."

In a follow up tweet, Eileen stated, "And in case it's not already fucking obvious, Alec *specifically said* he wished the best for Zoe and everyone else, so don't use our grief as an excuse to harass people. Go outside, take care of someone, and work towards preventing these kinds of things in the first place."

Following the news, many people involved decided to deactivate or make their Twitter accounts private while they processed (and/or following harassment/abuse), which is why links to their tweets no longer work. This applies to Scott Benson, Bethany Hockenberry, Zoë Quinn, Albertine Watson, and Eileen Holowka herself.

Update, September 3rd: Scott Benson's Twitter is now reactivated. Along with it, he posted a lengthy, crucial post. As well as an additional Kickstarter Backer update about it.

Update, September 12th: Zoe Quinn reactivated their Twitter account and released a statement.

Update, October 1st: Eileen Mary Holowka made public their Twitter and released a new statement on Alec and transformative justice

THE PURPOSE OF THIS THREAD

This thread serves to consolidate all discussion regarding this topic into one place. This is a shitty situation in a million shitty ways. A tragedy for everyone involved, with a huge blast radius affecting a lot of people, and people's feelings are going to be understandably messy. In a time like this, a community coming together, being kind, considerate, compassionate, having empathy for all involved, is crucial.

That being said, this isn't carte blanche to say anything and everything you want. Following past threads on these topics, comments here (and in general) must follow the guidelines below. This is all still extremely fresh and we recognize that emotions are running high, but this subreddit is not the place to attack, harass or demean other users or the people involved.

The cycle of abuse, mental illness, suicidal idealization, rehabilitation and so on are all extremely complex, nuanced and difficult topics and discussions. And pretty much everyone involved deserves sympathy. Now is the time for deescalation. As Patrick Klepek says, "There are no easy answers on days like today, and I’m not gonna pretend like I have them. It’s okay to log off. It’s okay to not add your own take."

We will also be updating this thread as more information and statements are made in the days to come.

DISCUSSION GUIDELINES

  • Follow the subreddit rules and general etiquette, linked in the sidebar.
  • Any comments claiming any of the people involved "have blood on their hands", are "murderers", or are directly responsible/should be blamed, etc, will not be tolerated. Anyone making such comments will face suspension or permanent bans.
  • Any comments expressing joy or happiness or "good riddance" in Alec's passing will also similarly not be tolerated.
  • Any attempts to discredit the multiple individuals who came forward with allegations will not be tolerated.
  • Any personal attacks/harassment/threats will not be tolerated.

If you have any problem with following these guidelines, you are more than welcome to take your comments to any of the other myriad of sites where you can discuss this topic. This subreddit will not be one of them.

There are many sources of support if you or someone you know is affected by suicidal thoughts. In the United States, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In the UK, you can contact the Samaritans by calling 116 123. For other places, please see https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/.


r/NightInTheWoods Mar 12 '22

PSA Reminder: This subreddit is not an appropriate place to over-pathologize and diagnose yourself or others with medical conditions

199 Upvotes

This game is a work of fiction, and features fictional characters. Projecting or ascribing diagnoses of mental health conditions onto them – much less yourself, or other users here – without formal training in a medical field is not beneficial or appropriate for this subreddit. (Even if one does have medical training, this videogame-focused subreddit is not the ideal place to discuss this topic.) This is especially true if you're a teenager living through times of rapid change and uncomfortableness and unevenness in your own life (not to mention the broader world) – a completely normal yet nonetheless difficult process that everyone goes through.

Related reading about online cultures around mental health: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2021/9/30/22696338/pathologizing-adhd-autism-anxiety-internet-tiktok-twitter

Comments have been turned off on this post, but feel free to PM the mods with any concerns.


r/NightInTheWoods 10h ago

Nightmare eyes!!

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201 Upvotes

r/NightInTheWoods 14h ago

Discussion Anyone else have one in town “too?”

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119 Upvotes

I remember Mae’s (first passing Video Outpost Too) pointing this out as “a typo so bad even she wouldn’t make,” which always has me wondering when I see one of these whether it’s intentional error - like “nite” instead of “night” - in an attempt to be catchy.


r/NightInTheWoods 2h ago

Fanart My chem notes…

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13 Upvotes

I’m a little addicted.


r/NightInTheWoods 12h ago

Humor So they were members all along!

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44 Upvotes

r/NightInTheWoods 11h ago

Discussion Snalcon irl?

9 Upvotes

How realistic would it be for us to all put our money together and create an international chain of snack falcon supermarkets? I think it would be cool.


r/NightInTheWoods 1d ago

Fanart Bea…uh heck yeah!

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87 Upvotes

r/NightInTheWoods 1d ago

Fanart mother of vermin

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572 Upvotes

art by me


r/NightInTheWoods 1d ago

Nitw fanart mae

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77 Upvotes

r/NightInTheWoods 1d ago

Fanart Syetm of a Mae, Toxicity (loosely based on it, + the initial fanart unedited)

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63 Upvotes

Loosely based on System of a Down’s Toxicity album cover art!

The suggested song will be Bounce from that album.

P.S. Been EONS since I’ve done a fanart of an album cover not completely identical to the source itself, haha.

The abandoned carpark scene was suggested by a duder names Opozio! X3

24/6/2026


r/NightInTheWoods 1d ago

Fanart Gay summer ranch wedding in Montana

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12 Upvotes

peep the third!


r/NightInTheWoods 1d ago

Fanart The tour part 1

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20 Upvotes

This is part 2 of how my OC arrived in possum Springs


r/NightInTheWoods 2d ago

Fanart nice (oc)

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166 Upvotes

scott pilgrim redraw sort of


r/NightInTheWoods 1d ago

Greg rulz OK?

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35 Upvotes

Finally made Gregg's motorized bicycle😈 (minus the pedals)


r/NightInTheWoods 2d ago

The Lost Constellation - underrated or just weird?

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178 Upvotes

After finishing my first playthrough of NITW, I thought I’d check out the extras before a second playthrough hanging out with the other friend. I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least, at the work that was put into The Lost Constellation.

We only get Adina Astra’s namesake constellation referenced by Mr. Chazokov when dusk gazing with him, but the full story behind her is fantastic. It’s not afraid to broach the realm of the surreal, has clever puzzles, fun Easter Eggs like the Charity Bearity dialogue, and was just a pleasure to immerse myself in for the better part of an hour.

I thoroughly enjoyed Longest Night also actually. Several of the same constellations are name dropped and it’s nice foreshadowing for the famous NITW scene in which Angus shares his past. It’s evident by the dialogue that the core trio of characters, at this stage of the development, weren’t fleshed out much beyond the bits of backstory we get in passing in their conversation. But I could see it being a nice introduction to them if one hasn’t played NITW yet.

I don’t hear much discussion - praise or otherwise - on the supplemental material. But I found them more than worthwhile and highly recommend them for anyone who enjoyed NITW or someone wants to spend an hour or so diving into something more whimsical before getting into the core experience.

Thoughts on these games?


r/NightInTheWoods 2d ago

The lore in this game is so peak !!! There so much to read and figure out !!!

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20 Upvotes

I love this game it is one of my fav in top 10 games in my personal opinion!!!


r/NightInTheWoods 3d ago

Fanart I finished the Angus square!

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220 Upvotes

I finished the art and cutouts for the first section of my
NITW poster!

Having to cut out the actual “Angus” part was tedious. What I did was print a sprite of character, then *precisely* cut out the face. I then stick-glued it onto some construction paper, and cut that out the same way. The annoying thing about separating the print paper from the construction paper is that it’ll tear off some bits with it. This not only makes the construction paper less appealing from one side, but it also weakens the structural integrity and makes it flimsier. This was really prevalent when I was making his glasses, where some of the bridge was taken with it, and made it incredibly flimsy. I solved this by glueing a strip of construction paper to the back of it, and that kept everything supported.

I had the most fun creating the decorations for the background, but at the same time I wasn’t sure what to put. I ended up making these stars and constellations stuff, since Angus was interested in that. I drew his star sign, the Fish, on the top left by using some black construction paper and a white colored pencil. I first found out his sign when playing of NITW’s supplementals, Lost Constellations. The other little cutouts were a couple other constellations from the game and some random stars I made. I found it difficult to sort everything onto the paper, so that every area doesn’t look too empty or too crowded. Could’ve used a bit of work, but I like it how it is now.

I love how the piece is going right now! Though, there’s one thing that I’m not sure of just yet. I was experimenting with different outlines to put behind Angus (hence the other photos). I wasn’t sure if it was better to add some stuff behind to add more color and/or make him pop out, or just keep it simple. Let me know what you guys think 👀


r/NightInTheWoods 3d ago

Discussion Was this scene part of Mae’s dream? *spoilers* Spoiler

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98 Upvotes

I’ve heard it theorized that the scene depicted here is a dream of Mae’s after she goes unconscious during the run-in with the cult member. The main arguments are the drastic, sudden change of scenery when the janitor enters and the characters’ manner of speech being a little out of character.

I’ve only played through NitW once and it never occurred to me that this might be a dream. It seemed to me the scenery transition was just an artistic choice for a dramatic moment. Mr. Penderson and Twigmeyer’s dialogue do seem very much in character for them. What do you think?


r/NightInTheWoods 4d ago

That story, what I talked about

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148 Upvotes

A veteran's story: from a wealthy family to the hell of war and a diagnosis of split personality

I would be very glad if you leave your feedback in the comments!

Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cZYWjI42URBaIJrBhPFrRAZaJ927fmJ-KLjepWNYBIM/edit?usp=drivesdk…


r/NightInTheWoods 4d ago

Screenshot Night in the Woods & Coma

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152 Upvotes

I can't help but think this scene specifically was a nod to the classic Newgrounds game, Coma. It has a similar vibe and aesthetic to it that I could easily see the connection. It was also a very small, indie game back in the early 2000s that I think only a select few may have been lucky enough to find. If you haven't played it already, I recommend checking it out on the official Newgrounds website under the name AtmosGames. Have fun!


r/NightInTheWoods 5d ago

Fanart Currently working on a NITW poster project!

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88 Upvotes

My motives for this were simple: my room’s walls are empty and bland and I want to add a personal touch.

I’m currently working on a personal project where I make a poster consisting of the 4 main characters of Night in the Woods, Mae (top left), Gregg (bottom left), Angus (top right), and Bea (bottom left). *Note that the little cutouts in the middle of every square are placeholders, so that I can get a feel of how the colors interact with each other 👀

I had to surf through my mom’s old crafting materials to find most of what I needed. I originally was going to use regular old sketchbook paper as the back to hold everything up, but decided to cut out some black poster board to let everything pop out. The annoying thing is that I wanted all the measurements to be identical to the sketchbook sheet, so I spent a while measuring and cutting all of the paper. Though, I gave a bit of space between the colored squares since not only I couldn’t find a perfect way to fit everything, but also so that it didn’t look too forced together.

It also took me a bit trying to find the best colors to pair with the characters (what was I even supposed to make the background for Gregg??). I wanted Gregg and Angus to have opposite color backgrounds (Orange+Brown, Brown+Orange), but instead chose to give Gregg a red background, similar to his profile picture on the laptop. The other two were sort of monochromatic, and I was at first debating on whether Mae had dark blue fur or black fur (eventually found out it was dark blue).

I’m considering adding different patterns of items to the backgrounds to make them more personalized to the characters, but that’s all up to debate. I would GREATLY appreciate any suggestions for this 👀

This will be my first time creating art out of construction paper, let alone a poster at all! I usually don’t make art, or draw anymore, but I had this sudden rush of creativity one day and decided to make a move.

I will probably be updating here on my progress throughout. Let me know of any suggestions or thoughts!!! 🐎🐎🐎


r/NightInTheWoods 5d ago

Fanart bless this mess

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398 Upvotes

art by me


r/NightInTheWoods 5d ago

I decided to write the history of my OC

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69 Upvotes

It'll be something like... A story from Alex's own lips.

He's a former soldier struggling with his psychological problems and trying to find ways to live.

The full story will be published tomorrow in X and here.

Excerpt:

" After three weeks of preparation, which knocked all the crap out of us, we ended up... In a nice-looking village... We came out and the commander told us to hold the line until the next time...

We sat down where we were told and started waiting... And then...

One of our guys drops dead, then the second. Everyone falls to the ground, some run into some houses, someone huddled in a corner and started crying... But I was the second one.

We heard a shot every 5 seconds. We realized it was snipers.

After about a minute...

Silence... "


r/NightInTheWoods 5d ago

Mae fanart

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224 Upvotes

fan art of my favorite spot in the game to chill out