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Alec Holowka (Night in the Woods, TowerFall) accused of sexual assault [Update: Alec Holowka has reportedly passed away] [See staff posts/threadmarks]

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Famassu

Famassu

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,186
That sounds horrible. It's horrible she had to go through this.

Selfishly annoying to myself too. Aquaria and Night in the Woods are some of my favorite games. Can't really play them after this.

ItWasMeantToBe19 said:
Title is slightly incorrect, Zoe accused Alec Holowka of emotional and physical abuse following her being sexually assaulted. At least from what I can tell from reading it.
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He had sex with a person he wasn't allowing to leave the apartment & was physically abusing. I'm fairly certain that would fall under rape/sexual assault.
 
OP
OP
TacomaSCDisaster

TacomaSCDisaster

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,977
Thank God Bethany and Scott, the people who made NitW special, seem to be in the clear.

I own the game on three platforms. It still holds a special place for me. But this is something that will sadly hang over it forever now.
 
Miracle Ache

Miracle Ache

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,229
It seems the dominos might have finally begun to fall in the game industry.

I can't fathom how she's still a functioning human being after all the shit she's gone through. Hopefully getting this out there will provide at least some relief.
 
deepFlaw

deepFlaw

Knights of Favonius World Tour '21
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Oct 25, 2017
23,516
aGuyInaBearSuit said:
Thank God Bethany and Scott, the people who made NitW special, seem to be in the clear.

I own the game on three platforms. It still holds a special place for me. But this is something that will sadly hang over it forever now.
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Even hints of stuff around him made it harder to think about going back to the new Weird Autumn stuff, after I missed playing that when it came out. Similarly just realized the music's been on my phone for a while now, and I haven't ever listened.

Not to get too much into the selfish stuff, though. It's just good to see it talked about; hopefully this helps the people he hurt even a little, and is another step in more people's horrible actions coming to light.
 
Instro

Instro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,132
Obviously this is terrible, but it strikes me as particularly sad that it's Zoe Quinn considering what has already happened to her.
 
Bastables

Bastables

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Dec 3, 2017
369
vestan said:
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It's never just a one off bit of evil with these scumbags is it. They have to poison everyone around them repeatedly hurting others, Trump Wienstine, Soule, Holowka. Super sickened by Holowka doing personality shifts, but even with that it seems others (men) knew he'd have meltdowns.
 
Zips

Zips

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,917
I just got done reading it on my Twitter feed before coming here.

That is just absolutely horrific. I can't imagine how much it takes to get over that amount of fear to finally talk about that sort of thing.
 

rehjul

Member
Dec 27, 2018
73
SolidChamp said:
I had buyer's remorse after. I thought it was pretty average and never understood the heaps of praise. You did yourself a favour, IMO.
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The game did a legitimately fantastic job of portraying mental illness and economic decay in the rust belt.
For fans that it helped, it seems fortunate that Holowka seemed more involved with the game's music and sound design than its writing - unless I'm wrong?
 
Arm Van Dam

Arm Van Dam

self-requested ban
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Mar 30, 2019
5,951
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Well I'm never buying Night in the Woods now

I'll admire Zoe for being very open for this, I hope for others to come out on this, and I really hope she has protection because those alt righters still have a grudge on her.
 
apocat

apocat

Member
Oct 27, 2017
10,100
aGuyInaBearSuit said:
Thank God Bethany and Scott, the people who made NitW special, seem to be in the clear.
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Honestly, the soundtrack is a big part of what made it special. I love it to bits, and it complements the writing so well.

And I still love it, but every time I hear it from now on it will remind me of what an asshole the composer is.

Either way I'm glad she spoke up.
 
EarthPainting

EarthPainting

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,878
Town adjacent to Silent Hill
What a horrible read, but as uncomfortable and dark as these stories are, they're important to drag out of the shadows. Both to out the culprits, but also to show support for any other victims out there.
selo said:
Is this the same person with the controversy a few years back?
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Unfortunately, yes. I'm sure her experience with targeted harassment groups made coming out with this all the more difficult, since those clowns will most likely go after her all over again.
 
Verelios

Verelios

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Oct 26, 2017
14,878
That's dark, jesus. And the details are even worse than I'd initially thought, he's fucked up.
 
Famassu

Famassu

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,186
I wonder how the alt right nazi fascist shitgibbons will react. On one hand it's a Man being accused of Sexual Assault by a Lowly Woman, on the other a game like Night in the Woods is basically about everything that they despise. Can they overcome this discrepancy in ideals to arrive to the defense of this Noble & Talented Man?
 
Alucrid

Alucrid

Chicken Photographer
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Oct 25, 2017
11,488
that was a tough read. glad it's helping some people out though
 
Gabriel Hall

Gabriel Hall

Member
Oct 27, 2017
514
Zoe Quinn deserves the biggest break in the history of breaks. Christ almighty. I believe her, and I hope she has a strong support group to help handle the harassment that'll follow.
 
Buzzman

Buzzman

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,549
Famassu said:
I wonder how the alt right nazi fascist shitgibbons will react. On one hand it's a Man being accused of Sexual Assault by a Lowly Woman, on the other a game like Night in the Woods is basically about everything that they despise. Can they overcome this discrepancy in ideals to arrive to the defense of this Noble & Talented Man?
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Fascists are very flexible in their belief system, they recognise that they are a relative minority so they will of course try to charm and recruit anyone who gets alienated from the mainstream. You don't need to have the same ideals or goals as them, just the same enemy.
 
Boddy

Boddy

User Requested Ban
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,160
Read all of it, vile stuff and apperently she is far from the only one.
aGuyInaBearSuit said:
Thank God Bethany and Scott, the people who made NitW special, seem to be in the clear.

I own the game on three platforms. It still holds a special place for me. But this is something that will sadly hang over it forever now.
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Just started playing and I don't even know if I should keep playing. Defiently nothing touching it for a several months.
Things would be a lot more clear cut if this was just some fun video games, but it obviously has a lot more going on.
 
XaviConcept

XaviConcept

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Oct 25, 2017
4,986
Jesus Zoe has had it rough. Really sorry for her and the victims. These threads have been really upsetting to red, these poor people :(
 

Werewolf2000ad

Member
Jun 30, 2018
22
Famassu said:
I wonder how the alt right nazi fascist shitgibbons will react. On one hand it's a Man being accused of Sexual Assault by a Lowly Woman, on the other a game like Night in the Woods is basically about everything that they despise. Can they overcome this discrepancy in ideals to arrive to the defense of this Noble & Talented Man?
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[Cartoon of sweaty neckbearded incel looking back and forth between two buttons labelled "Zoe Quinn is a lying bitch who hates videogames" and "Programmer of acclaimed left-wing indie game is a rapist"]
 
kami_sama

kami_sama

Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,045
Well shit.
I feel for Zoe, after the shit she's been through, I can only praise for her bravery in this moment.
I wish all the strength and luck to her.
 
Jamesbuc

Jamesbuc

Member
Dec 29, 2018
177
Eeesh... This is horrible. Im trying to rack my brains now if this effects how I feel about stuff ive really heavily enjoyed like Aquaria and Offspring Fling. Im settling a little on im still okay with the games as there are plenty of good people also involved in these titles (Like Derek Yu) but its a rather horrible series of events all the same.
 
ZixlerBavala

ZixlerBavala

Member
Oct 29, 2017
408
How much shit can just one person go through? All the best to Zoe Quinn, life certainly hasn't been kind to her.
 
Bufbaf

Bufbaf

Don't F5!
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Oct 25, 2017
12,741
Hamburg, Germany
Famassu said:
I wonder how the alt right nazi fascist shitgibbons will react. On one hand it's a Man being accused of Sexual Assault by a Lowly Woman, on the other a game like Night in the Woods is basically about everything that they despise. Can they overcome this discrepancy in ideals to arrive to the defense of this Noble & Talented Man?
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What do you think? Hint:

Mod Edit: Image removed. Please do not post images that may create cross forum drama.
 
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PepsimanVsJoe

PepsimanVsJoe

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Oct 26, 2017
6,191
Another piece of shit.
Feeling really terrible for Zoe Quinn. She's had to put up with multiple lifetimes worth of despicable assholes.
 
FallenGrace

FallenGrace

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Oct 27, 2017
6,045
Whelp this morning was pretty hard hitting with the news on the front page. It must have taken some real courage to post that with what happened to her before :(
 
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