It’s no secret that, among many of us somewhat eccentric arts kids, Five Nights at Freddy’s was and/or is a big part of our lives. Now, for those of you that don’t understand why that would be such a self explanatory thing, let me enlighten you on what exactly fnaf is.
Five Night’s at Freddy’s is a series of point and click horror games centered around Freddy Fazbear’s pizza, an animatronic attraction oriented family pizzeria that just so happens to be the site of somewhere between five to a dozen murders. Typical horror game stuff.
However, I don’t believe the actual game is where the “obsession” comes from. Now, make no mistake, as I live and breathe for Scott Cawthon’s games in the literal sense. His creative choices, from level design, to aesthetic, to character designs are nothing short of riveting. The games themselves are enough to warrant more than the reaction they’ve triggered since the first game’s release in August of 2014. (I’m ignoring how incredibly and inexplicably old that makes me feel.)
I think that the reaction this game series triggered in us, as well as the incredibly unique circumstances that were set up for it to trigger said reaction, is the reason we are all still so incredibly attached. Because, stripped of all it’s horrifying glamour, all we really have is a click and point game with jumpscares.
But, because of the lore and mystery and, more importantly, the community they’ve created, we have something far more substantial. We have a fandom. And that, readers, is the exact reason I have not, and likely will not ever grow out of my fnaf “phase”.
This fandom is alive and well, as it should be, because Scott gave us a game series that does something very few pieces of media can: keeps us guessing. From Game Theory videos (admit it, you’ve watched more than a few), to gameplay vods, to timeline/event analysis and everything above, between, or beyond, this fandom has simply soared away with the series Cawthon has presented us with. The fnaf fandom, as Scott himself has admitted, has made this series what it is. In fact, the first fnaf game was meant to be Scott’s last ditch attempt at game design, his swan song. However, due to the overwhelming influx of fan favor, he decided to franchise. And, seven years later, here we are.
Still swirling around in the world of missing kids, bites of 87′, purple guy identity theories, and timelines all set to the soundtrack of never ending fnaf themed songs while we read our fnaf novels and survival logbooks, holding our freddy plushies. Well, at least, I do.
The point is, fnaf came into my life, as it did many others, I’m sure, during a time when I possessed a starved creative mind and nothing to feed it with. So, when I first discovered Mr. Fazbear and his gruesome world of nightmares, my mind latched onto it like a lifeline because it was engaging and stimulating in a way nothing else in my nine year old world.
And I truly hope I never, ever grow out of it. Until next time.
Sincerely, someone who still bops, unashamed, to “Join Us for a Bite”
My fnaf phase is something that I will never grow out of. From the game series to the music that has been created from it, it will always have a special place in my heart.
I think we might have more in common than we once believed! I absolutely love this blog and I can relate to a bunch of aspects from it! Keep up the good work!
Same tbh, the games are great, but also the amount of mystery behind them that keeps even the smartest theorists scratching their heads. I also bop to FNAF fan songs, because a lot of them hit hard, TLT, DAGames, JT Music, and many others have made wonderful songs about the series that are absolute bops. -Someone who has FNAF stickers on their laptop.