Night School Studio co-founders, Sean Krankel & Adam Hines (definitely more than 10 years ago)

Night School is ten years old! No wonder we’re always asking too many questions and whine about our bedtime.

Honestly, this journey began long before the last decade. Back in Illinois, my cousin (Night School’s Head of Story) Adam and I were making home movies—a game review show called Game Schmo where we reviewed GameBoy games like Faceball 2000. We produced our homicidal action opus, Ages Six and Up, an achievement we may never surpass.

Many years and different roles in the game industry later, we’d crossed paths with some extraordinary talents at Disney and Telltale. We pulled together a small but mighty crew, and in 2014 we officially opened our (living room) doors. Since then we’ve quintupled in size, made 6 games, playable in dozens of languages, on every major platform. Phew, it feels nice to stop and take stock of that.

Making games is so darn difficult, and it’s not a new sentiment to say that it’s a miracle when any of them see the light of day. I am so grateful that we get to make them, and moreso to have our ideas, experiences and stories resonate with people. It feels like magic, and after ten years, we still feel like we’re just getting started.

Thank you for playing, supporting, and believing in us for the last ten years! To celebrate and say thank you, we’ve got one more cool thing to share with you this year: the Camena High Radio EP.

There’s a new drop on music services from OXENFREE composer, scntfc, featuring three songs from OXENFREE II. Now you can put the Local Dumbasses on repeat, vibe out to flute solos by Philly 68, or spin a classic from Redheaded Bedwetters.   

To another decade of making games we love. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Sean Krankel

Night School Co-Founder

The post Still Magic After 10 Years appeared first on Night School Studio.

Happy 10 years of Night School Studio! 

A whole decade, huh? That’s a long time to be making games. We’re stoked we’re still here, and even more stoked that you’re still here. We at Night School know we’re nothing without our incredible community. These 10 years wouldn’t have been possible without you.

From making OXENFREE as a scrappy, tiny ragtag team to joining Netflix and taking our games to new heights, it’s been a ride – and we’re deeply grateful to have had you along every step of the way.

To celebrate and to say thank you, we’re kicking off a couple of fun things this month:

10 Days to Celebrate 10 Years of Night School

Starting today, Dec 18, 2024, we’ll be giving away exclusive Night School merch and swag every day for the next 10 days. Each piece is a hand-picked nod to our history, featuring designs inspired by our games and the memories they created.”. All you have to do is fill out a Community Survey that’ll be included in each day’s giveaway post. We’ll select a random winner 24 hours later, and notify them directly. (US residents 18+ only. Sorry!)

Online Gallery

We’ve also curated an online gallery on our website to commemorate and celebrate all the hard work we’ve accomplished as a studio. Check out never-before-seen concept and production art, and take a walk down memory lane with us! (And each of our games has its own gallery to peruse!)

Whether you’ve been with us since we were just a few folks working at a kitchen table or you recently showed up to the party ‘cause you liked our vibe, we thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for playing our games – we can’t wait to keep making them for you.

Here’s to the next 10 years. 

Love,
Night School Studio 

P.S. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the giveaways on our Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Threads!

ONLINE GALLERIES: OXENFREE | Afterparty | Next Stop Nowhere | OXENFREE II: Lost Signals

10 Years of Night School Studio, in (some) photos:

The post 10 Years of Night School Studio! appeared first on Night School Studio.

Hey kids, what’ll it be? Your blood starting to clean itself? Let’s fix that. Actually, we fixed some bugs. Thanks for your patience while we sorted them out. Here’s what’s mixed into this latest patch cocktail:

• Satan was getting stuck while walking along curved walls, but we’ve set him straight.
• Skoll’s bouncer went on unauthorized breaks after autosaving. We fired him.
• Autosaving blocked conversations with Lynda, so we got her a margarita. You can finally finish talking to her now.
• Jumping into Milo’s conscience was broken, but we’ve got that little dweeb right as rain again.

While we were at it, we added a few more subtitle languages, including LATAM Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Turkish, Polish, Portuguese, and Traditional Chinese. Bem-vindos ao Inferno, eu acho!

This new patch with hella fixes is out today on Xbox, Switch, PlayStation, and Steam.

Thanks for reporting issues and sharing feedback with our local support demons. If you still see something, say something on our support site: http://bit.ly/NSSsupport

The post Afterparty 1.9.10 Patch Notes + Hell is even more multilingual appeared first on Night School Studio.

To say thank you, we’re celebrating all month long because it’s way more fun to celebrate your game’s birth month than just a single day, right?

Harden Tower 4K Wallpapers

Our minds were blown last month when our sound designer, Chris Purse, very casually shared a 3D environment he’d recreated from the game. Chris clearly is a multi-talented artist that we’re lucky to have on our team. So, our community team instantly knew we had to squad up with Chris to share his work for OXENFREE II’s anniversary. You can download 4K wallpapers of Chris’s interpretation of Harden Tower and see it come to life in our “Missed Connections” story on our studio social media channels.

Vote To Finish The Story

To celebrate our game’s anniversary, we’re digging deep into the archive of stories that didn’t quite make it into OXENFREE II and featuring a special one on our social channels. Join us over the next few days on Instagram and Twitter to meet Tanner and Danny. Together, the OXENFREE community will forever decide their fate, voting for how their story will come to an end. Will Riley and Jacob fix their missed connection? It’s up to you.

Join scntfc for an AMA

We teamed up with iam8bit to release OXENFREE II’s soundtrack on vinyl (by the way, it’s not too late to get your copy here) and now we’re hosting an AMA with our composer, scntfc, in r/OXENFREE on Reddit. Join us on July 24th, 2024 from 9 AM PST to 11:30 AM PST where he’ll answer questions about making the record, crafting OXENFREE I & II’s soundtrack, and much more.

Get the entire Night School Complete Collection on Steam

Back in 2016, our team was honored to take home the IGF award for Excellence in Visual Art with OXENFREE. This year, we’re including our entire game collection for a 60% discount during IGF celebration days. Check out all of the games for sale on Steam and pick up the Night School Complete Collection right here.

Thank you!

Because of your passion for both OXENFREE we were able to make OXENFREE II. Seeing the community’s lasting enthusiasm for Night School’s games is what fuels us as we work on the next thing at our studio. We can’t wait to share it with you. See you around at Seafood Sammy’s… if you can look past the health code violations. If not, we’ll catch you on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or maybe even YouTube! 

The post Celebrating A Year of OXENFREE II appeared first on Night School Studio.

Put down your radio and get over to iam8bit.com. The OXENFREE II: Lost Signals soundtrack is officially available now on vinyl. The two-disc record is available to order on iam8bit.com today, June 6, 2024, and ships immediately.

Music is a crucial part of OXENFREE II’s DNA. Composer scntfc has once again crafted a foreboding, mercurial synth-powered soundscape that adds a whole new layer of intrigue and mystery to OXENFREE II’s foggy, treacherous cliff tops and streets. The music seems to whisper: “Danger is just around the corner, but so too is hope.”

With 22 tracks pressed on Radio Disturbance Red vinyl, its otherworldly grooves let listeners enjoy the music and mood of OXENFREE II again and again. What’s more: The ludicrously talented Calder Moore crafted all-new cover art worthy of the moody music found inside, calling to mind the brain-bending, jaw-dropping visuals present in the game itself through a stunning new perspective. We’re thrilled with Calder’s fresh, mind-bending take on Camber Cape.

Track List:

[Side A]

1. Atwater Station
2. Nightfall, Camena
3. To The Valley
4. Cleaned Slate
5. Lift

[Side B]

1. No Exit
2. Waterhead Bluffs
3. Atalanta Argonaut
4. Galvanic
5. A Block. A Rock. A Grave. A Cave.
6. Change The Station, Time Went
7. It’s Time To Go

[Side C]

1. Blacklake
2. The Stars Are On Their Side
3. A Bridge
4. Garland
5. Past Days

[Side D]

1. To The Island
2. Plots
3. Space Between Time
4. To The Summit/To The Docks
5. Ghosts Of The Pacific Northwest

The post Finally… Planetshine: OXENFREE II Vinyl Soundtrack Now Available appeared first on Night School Studio.

Dang. 8 years ago TODAY, we were crossing all our digits getting ready to launch the game into the world. Only a year and a half earlier, we weren’t a company, or even a team. Most of us were strangers 18 months earlier, and I’m so grateful that our game is what brought all of these cool folks into my life.

Today is the 8 year anniversary of OXENFREE, and your passion for the game is why we were able to create OXENFREE II (which is awesome and you should play if you haven’t yet). In retrospect it all seems stupidly simple; we dove headlong into a game design and story that were intuitively inspiring. We didn’t overthink it, hunted down like-minded folks with crazy skills, stuck them in a box in Glendale California, and hammered on architecting a tiny, scary world. We argued a lot, but over the little things, which felt a lot healthier than the alternative. It was always about getting the game and its world just right, and we had so much fun doing it.

Night School closed out 2023 with no shortage of cool news! OXENFREE II made a ton of end of year lists, and the voice of Riley, Liz Saydah, was nominated for Best Acting in a Game by the New York Video Game Critics Circle. The USS Kanaloa might not be treating the residents of Camena too nicely these last years, but it’s given us more than we could’ve dreamed of back in 2016. Thank you!

Also, it’s been awhile since we did a community Q&A (here’s the last one) and we’re going to do that again all week long. If you have a burning question about one of our games, send it to us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook or in this form. We’ll pick a few good ones to answer each day until Jan 22, 2023.

– Sean

UPDATE: Catch up on the answers!

• Adam Hines: Who came up with the names of the characters and how did they go about making the names?
• Adam Esquenazi Douglas: Was the writing for the penny scenes in OXENFREE II inspired by any specific personal experience?
• Andy Rohrmann aka scntfc: What is the significance of Jonas’ mom’s song and why does Jacob hum it in OXENFREE II?
• Adam Hines: Why banana bread for Nona’s (now iconic) telling of how the night has turned?
• Adam Esquenazi Douglas: Why the moon big?
• Andy Rohrmann aka scntfc: How did y’all come up with the Sunken’s voice?
• Bryant Cannon: What do you think was the most challenging part of making Oxenfree?
• Adam Hines: What does Jonas see when Alex tunes into the tape player in the bunker?
• Adam Esquenazi Douglas: Do you have any personal headcanons?

The post Celebrating 8 Years of OXENFREE – Community Q&A! appeared first on Night School Studio.

It’s time to head to Camena. Today, OXENFREE II: Lost Signals is now available on mobile via Netflix, as well as Steam, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch. Here’s everything you need to know for launch day:

Do I need to play OXENFREE before playing OXENFREE II?

It’s up to you. OXENFREE II features a new cast and story in a familiar setting. We think you’ll enjoy making connections between both games but you can jump right in without playing the first game. If you want to catch up on what happened on OXENFREE before playing the new game, here’s a quick recap and a refresher. 

What languages is the game available in?

Over thirty! Here’s the full list of our subtitled languages: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Spanish (Latam), Spanish (Spain), Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese.

Is there a launch discount?

Yep! Check our Steam page for a limited time discount.

What if I’ve run into a bug or issue?

Head over to our . We have documentation to help and if you don’t find what you need, we’d love to hear more about the issue you’re having.

Is the soundtrack available?

Listen to the official soundtrack here or on Bandcamp. 

Any tips?

Explore the radio, let Jacob take a break, and keep in mind that the choices you make impact the outcome of the game and your relationships. Even with the locals you connect with on your walkie talkie.

Will we see Alex, Ren, Jonas, or anyone else from OXENFREE in the sequel?

You’ve gotta play to find out. The good news is that you can start doing that right now.

The post OXENFREE II: Lost Signals is Out Now! appeared first on Night School Studio.

It’s time to tune into the next chapter. OXENFREE II: Lost Signals will launch July 12, 2023 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 & 4, and Steam for PC/Mac. And, we’re excited to share that the game will also be on Netflix for mobile devices, included with your membership without any ads, additional fees or in-app purchases.

Get ready to play by pre-ordering today on the or the . You can also add it to your wishlist on .

This game has been a labor of love and we’ve been fueled by the passion of our community. We’re counting down the days until you have the game in your hands. We cannot wait for you to finally meet Riley and make life altering choices while overcoming supernatural challenges that threaten to destroy her future.

Watch a new trailer.

Today, we also debuted an all-new trailer during the Nintendo Indie World Showcase, uncovering new scenes and details from the game. You’ll recognize some familiar faces, like Jacob Summers and Riley Poverly as well as some new ones from Camena. Watch the full segment here.

Get on the walkie.

We also teamed up with the PlayStation Blog to dive deeper into our new walkie talkie mechanic, which will allow you to connect with contacts all over Camena. Read the article to uncover details about the radio DJ and sailor that you’ll connect with – or not, truly the choice is up to you.

Speak the local language.

Finally if that wasn’t quite enough OXENFREE II news… we have more! OXENFREE II will have localized subtitles and interface support in over 30 languages including: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian Bokmål, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Spanish (Spain), Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.

Thanks for tuning in!

We’ll have even more updates in the months ahead before July 12 so give us a follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Tumblr for the latest.

The post OXENFREE II Arrives July 12, 2023 appeared first on Night School Studio.

In this new year, we wanted to take a moment to learn more about our community – things like where you play and how you play. I’d love for you to tell us about yourself in our first-ever community survey. It’s open until January 30th, 2023 and you can find it here. To say thanks, we’ll select five survey respondents to receive a very special gift. It’s cool but I won’t spoil the surprise.

Speaking of spoilers, I’d like to share a new screenshot from the game with you. It’s an important place that you’ll go to while investigating the mysterious electrical interference manifesting on Camena. MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

That’s right: OXENFREE II has TREES. Surprise! Real Snape-kills-Trinity-with-Rosebud moment, ain’t it?

But on a serious note: you’ll also notice a large building in the background. This is the North Camena Community Center. It’s a fairly looming and ominous place that Parentage uses as it’s church and home base. If you were fo🀰lowi■g the sus🀫🀫cious radio bro■dca🀫◼︎s breaking into our OXE🀫FR🀰🀰 patc◼︎es last year,  you probably heard some of this weird, cult-like group’s messages on the radio. What happens inside the community center is – as Jacob says – “a little to a lot strange.” I can’t wait for you to explore what’s inside. It’s gonna be good. And scary. A little of both?

Thank you again for being a part of this journey with us. I’ll be back with more updates and please say hello to us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Tumblr. We read every message and I can’t tell you how much it means to us when we do hear from you. It’s one of the best parts of our day.

See you around!
Bryant Cannon
Game Director, OXENFREE II: Lost Signals 

Night School Studio Community Survey Sweepstakes
No purchase necessary. Ends Jan 30, 2023 at 12pm PT. Total ERV of all prizes is $420. US residents only. 18+. Void where prohibited. See official rules here. Sponsor: Night School Studio, LLC.

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