Game News Five Nights at Freddy’s: 75 failures before success
It is commonplace to stop one’s activity after a certain number of failures, in order to change one’s formula or quite simply reorient oneself in another sector. However, this week we’re going to talk about a man who went the opposite of that idea: Scott Cawthon. Despite his 75 failed games, he manages to design a real success, thanks to his perseverance. This is a game based on animatronics and horror, we are of course talking about Five Nights at Freddy’s.
An eventful journey
Scott Cawthon is a young American who grew up in the 80s, and if there is one thing that is slowly gaining momentum at the time, it is video games. Our little Scott is passionate about it, and seeing his interest in the flourishing medium, his mother decides to offer him programming software: Klik & Play. From the mid-90s, the budding developer created his first games, such as Doofas, a Shoot’em Up. Afterwards, he manages to enter the famous Houston Art Institute, where he learned to use the most common development tool of the time: 3D Studio Max. The only problem is that he only knows how to use his mother’s software, which only manages 2D. Despite everything, he manages to leave school with his diploma in his pocket. Once on the labor market alone, it’s a cold shower. Among its nearly 75 productions, none is successful. He decides to enter an animation box, in parallel with other small jobs in order to be able to feed his family, and despite this more than busy schedule, he continues to create games, still on the old Klik & Play . It was in 2014 that he discovered Steam Greenlight, a program allowing independents to offer games without going through a publisher. By releasing his games on it, he hopes to finally meet with success… But still not. His productions are considered mediocre, even disturbing because of the particular designs of his characters. Our Scott doesn’t give up, however, and uses criticism constructively to create something new.
FNAF, the long-awaited consecration
Are his characters scary? Never mind ! Scott embarks on a horror game by reusing his very particular designs. He decides to draw inspiration from the culture around animatronics, becoming antagonists stalking the player. From this premise, he designs a very simple scenario around his humanoid robots. The player embodies a night watchman in a pizzeria where animatronics are displayed. The problem is that at night, they come to life and have only one desire: to kill the guardian when he is not looking at them. The player is obliged to watch them constantly, even to lock himself in his office to protect himself for a total of 5 nights, hence the name of the game. Once his concept is in place, he develops the game in just 6 months . He offers it on Steam Greenlight, and this time the feedback from players is rave reviews. The game is a hit, in particular thanks to its original horrific proposal, creating a spectacle for content creators, but that’s not all. Scott has scattered some story elements around the animatronics, fascinating fans to the point that they are inventing many theories around it. Our developer uses this glory brilliantly for the release of the second episode only two and a half months later. Success is once again at the rendezvous, but the sequel will not know the same fate. Episodes 3 and 4 are starting to tire players, with redundant mechanics. The formula is definitely running out of steam thereafter, to the point where Scott Cawthon decides to officially retire from developer in 2021. Despite this end, Scott will have known how to mark the media with this mythical horror license that is Five Nights at Freddy’s.
