Here’s a premise for a game you don’t see every day — perhaps one that hits too close to home for some. But that’s exactly what makes it so interesting.
Night In The Woods is the latest project by by Alec Holowka, the man behind Aquaria and the more recent Towerfall. Here’s the premise: Mae the cat drops out of college and returns home, a crumbling mining town. Except everything back home is different, and the people she used to be close with have all grown apart. It’s a familiar story for some, but the catch here isn’t just that this stars a cat named Mae, but also that it sounds like the game will feature a ton of mystery and intrigue.
From the game’s description over at Kickstarter:
Mae herself is undergoing some sudden and unexplained changes, giving her mysterious abilities that grant her access to a side of town she never knew existed. The world is changing, things are ending, and the future is uncertain. Up behind the park at the edge of town, back in the trees by the old mine- there’s something in the woods. And it could mean no future at all.
Sounds kind of bleak, and yet there’s a certain charm to it all — mostly, it’s the combination of presentation (Scott Benson, the animator/co-developer on the project, does a swell job with the visuals) and the fact that everyone is an animal (which helps diffuse the bleakness a bit). You can see for yourself in the game’s pitch video:
Hell, it almost doesn’t even look like a game, right? Kind of looks like a cartoon or something, but no, it’s a game. You can expect to do stuff like exploring a town, doing extracurricular activities, talking to your friends, running, jumping, gaining abilities, and discovering secret passages. Oh, and you can play bass.
And also, you can smash some things with your baseball bat. You know, typical stuff. It doesn’t seem like the game falls under a specific genre, but that’s ok.
Why would you want to play a game where you drop out of college and move in back home? Well, I don’t know man. I’m not sure wanting to play a game where, say, you get to shoot someone in the face is any more logical than wanting to play something like this, but I will say that because Night In The Woods seems uncomfortable/dark and unique in some ways is exactly the reason that it seems worthwhile. I’m certainly intrigued,at least.
Holowka and Benson hope to raise $US50,000 to make the game, which you can support here.
Comments
7 responses to “A Game About Dropping Out Of College. Also, You’re A Cat.”
Whoaaaaa… this looks incredible :O
This intrests me as someone who agrees that everything does indeed suck forever.
I was sold on this game by that very first gif. the trailer only makes it look even better. I’m actually really excited for this game!
That does look pretty cool, actually
This game excites me more than most of the launch titles on next-gen!
Ok, so I’ve dropped out of uni before, sat on the floor drinking in a store and had fluro bulb fights.
And I’m a cat.
The graphics style is adorable
As a huge fan of Daria for the humourous and cynical life views, this has enraptured me since the title image. I just hope that it doesn’t end up in “You found the true meaning of Christmas and lived happily ever after, wondering how you could ever think that life was just something to pass the time on your trip to the grave.” kind of territory. It can show hope for the disillusioned and apathetic cats in all of us, just not cheesy motivational poster kind of stuff.