Five Nights at Freddy's (FNaF) is an American media franchise created by Scott Cawthon. It began with the 2014 video game of the same name and has since gained worldwide popularity.
The main series consists of eight survival horror video games taking place in locations somehow connected to a fictional family pizza restaurant franchise named "Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza", after its mascot, the animatronic bear Freddy Fazbear. In most games, the player assumes the role of a night-time employee, who must utilize tools such as security cameras, lights, doors, and vents to defend themselves against hostile animatronic characters that inhabit the locations. The series has an extensive lore that is gradually revealed through various voice recordings, minigames, and easter eggs, and revolves around various disturbing incidents in the locations' history, which started with a series of child murders carried out by one of the original restaurant's co-founders.
The franchise also includes spin-off games and other media, including a novel trilogy and an anthology series, comprising an all-encompassing fictional universe. The franchise maintains an active fanbase, known for its production of fan art and fangames, and merchandise for the games is available internationally.
History[]
The idea for Five Nights at Freddy's stemmed from negative reaction to Scott Cawthon's previous game, the family-friendly Chipper & Sons Lumber Co. Players said that the main character (a young beaver) looked like "a scary animatronic animal", and reviewer Jim Sterling called the game "unintentionally terrifying". Initially discouraged by the criticism, Cawthon (who had previously primarily developed Christian-oriented games) eventually used the feedback to make something intentionally scarier.
Five Nights at Freddy's was released via Desura on August 8, 2014. On August 20, after it was approved by the service's crowdsourcing platform Greenlight, Five Nights at Freddy's was also released on Steam. When the game was picked up by well-known YouTubers it became an internet sensation.
The sequels were released on November 10, 2014, March 2, 2015, July 23, 2015, October 7, 2016, December 4, 2017, June 27, 2018, May 28, 2019, and November 25, 2019, respectively. A spin-off from the series, FNaF World, was announced in a Steam post by Cawthon in September 2015, and was released in January 2016. Cawthon releases teasers for his games on his website, and trailers on his YouTube channel.
He used Clickteam Fusion 2.5 to create the Five Nights at Freddy's games and Autodesk 3ds Max to model and render the games' 3D graphics. To enhance Sister Location, Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, Ultimate Custom Night, Help Wanted, and Special Delivery, Cawthon used professional voice actors and original soundtracks. In May 2016, he announced that all titles would be remade by third-party companies for release on consoles.
Cawthon posted on his website in 2015 that he planned to publish his first novel (The Silver Eyes) in the near future, with its stories separate from that of the games. Cawthon also announced that it would be co-written by author Kira Breed-Wrisley. On June 20, 2016, Scholastic announced that it would collaborate with Cawthon on a multi-book deal. The Silver Eyes was released on December 17, 2015 on Amazon Kindle, and the paperback version was published on September 27, 2016, slightly earlier than its originally planned October publication date. A second novel, The Twisted Ones, was published on June 27, 2017, followed by The Fourth Closet on June 26, 2018.
Gameplay[]
The Five Nights at Freddy's series consists of horror-themed video games in which the player is usually a night-time employee at a location connected with Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, a fictional children's restaurant that takes inspiration from family pizza chains like Chuck E. Cheese's and ShowBiz Pizza Place. The restaurant has life-size animatronic characters that perform at children's parties. The animatronics wander the restaurant at night and the guard is instructed to watch over them. To progress through the games, the player must guard themselves against animatronics with a variety of tools. In Five Nights at Freddy's, the player can control the two security doors connecting their office to the adjacent hallways as a barrier against animatronics in the vicinity. Each night, the player has a power supply that depletes faster when a tool is used. If the power goes out, the player can no longer use any tools and is defenseless against the animatronics. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 has different tools; there are no protective doors, and the player must instead use an empty animatronic head and flashlight to defend themself against the animatronics. The game introduced a music box which must be remotely wound up on a regular basis to prevent an attack from a particular animatronic. 8-bit minigames were introduced, which are played randomly after death.
Five Nights at Freddy's 3 uses a monitor panel, which contains audio, camera, and ventilation. The player must keep certain systems from malfunctioning. These malfunctions can be triggered randomly or by the hallucinations of the animatronics from the first and second games. The ability to seal vents is also added and must be used to prevent the sole tangible animatronic from entering the office. The player can use an audio-based function on the cameras, which triggers a childlike voice to lure the animatronic away from the office. The 8-bit minigames return and are activated by completing side tasks such as clicking on a poster or inputting a code into a wall. If the player completes the minigames, they unlock a secret ending. In Five Nights at Freddy's 4, the gameplay occurs in a bedroom setting, and instead of being a nighttime security guard, the player takes the role of a small child. The player also no longer has access to a camera system. The player has four areas in the bedroom to monitor: two hallway doors on both sides of the room, the closet directly in front of them, and the bed behind them. At the doors, the player must listen for animatronics' breathing, which can determine whether they are near. If the player hears breathing at the side doors, they close the door and wait for the animatronics to walk away. If they open the doors too early, however, the animatronics jump scare the player. The player must also prevent small animatronics from accumulating on their bed, and prevent an animatronic from entering their closet. Five Nights at Freddy's 4 also introduces a minigame involving a new animatronic, which offers the player a two-hour skip in the next night for completing the minigame.
An elevated control pad is introduced for Sister Location, which can light a room or shock the animatronics. Other mechanics include a second control pad in a breaker room, which controls power to the facility and a flash beacon, which allows the player to see in the dark Funtime Auditorium (a party room) and avoid its animatronic. Sister Location is the only game where the player can move between rooms. Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator has business-style gameplay, and the player must spend in-game money to buy features for their pizzeria. A series of minigames can be played by testing the establishment's attractions. After the player has completed this portion of the game, they complete tasks in a room and fend off hostile, previously-salvaged animatronics. The gameplay of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator shares a number of elements with Five Nights at Freddy's 3, including the importance of ventilation and the ability to distract animatronics with sound. Ultimate Custom Night is a customizable night, in which fifty animatronics are present and have a maximum AI level of twenty. The game includes many mechanics from the previous games, such as the heater, fan, music box, and power generator. The player can choose which characters they want active for a night, and how active the characters will be.
Help Wanted combines the gameplay of every other game, and turns into a virtual experience for the player. It also introduces several other minigames, in which the gameplay is variant, and also at times has free-roam. Special Delivery features location-based augmented reality gameplay. The player can switch on their camera, and the footage itself is the game's background. The animatronics will try to attack corresponding to the environment. The animatronics generally have cloaking, which leads them to being invisible.
Common Elements[]
Security cameras: In the first, second, third, seventh, and eighth games, the player has a security-camera system, which observes the animatronic characters. One location can be viewed at a time, and some areas are not visible on the cameras. Most camera feeds are dull, sometimes almost black and white in colour, and full of video noise. In the third game, the cameras stop working if their associated system fails. Cameras are used in the fifth game as a mechanic in the Fake Ending and Ultimate Custom Night, but not in the main game.
Lights: In the first, second, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, and ninth games, lights are used to ward off animatronics or warn the player. Lights in the first, second, fifth, seventh, eighth games are activated with buttons on the walls and illuminate the player's blind spots: the doorway or vent exit, respectively. The lights are similar in the fifth game, but are mounted on a control pad and illuminate the animatronics' rooms. The flashlight in the second and ninth games has a finite battery life, but is infinite in the fourth and seventh games, and must be switched on or off. Battery life varies in the eighth game. The flash beacon, introduced in the fifth game, is used to orient the player in the third and fifth nights' pitch-black rooms. The flashlight is also used in the sixth game, but it is automatically turned on when the player looks at the vents and has unlimited power.
Doors and vents: In the first, fourth, seventh, and eighth games, doors are to be closed when an animatronic is near. Doors are also present in the fake ending and custom night update of the fifth game with the same function. Vents are featured in the second, third, sixth, seventh, and eighth games, as a medium through which animatronics can get to the player. They are also present in the fifth game as the primary means of transport for the player.
Jump-scares: Every game in the main series contains jump-scares, which end a game in defeat as the animatronics are implied to attack the player off-screen. In most jump-scares, an animatronic character suddenly appears in the player's view, followed by a loud screaming or roaring noise. Some jump scares, including those by Golden Freddy (in the first game), Nightmare, and Nightmarionne (in the fourth game), consist of a single screen with shrill, distorted audio; these jump-scares usually crash or restart the game. The player must use various tools to prevent being attacked via jump scares and advance through each game.
Minigames: In the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth games, the player gains access to a series of (predominantly eight-bit) minigames randomly after death, or after completing a specific task. The minigames usually relate to a story or event relevant to the game, in a cryptic manner. The minigames in the second game portray homicides mentioned by another worker of the restaurant, and the reason of the animatronics gaining life. The minigames in the third game show the story behind Springtrap's creation. Minigames in the fourth game tell the story of a character who dies in a tragic accident. There is only one minigame in the fifth game, which depicts the death of animatronic engineer William Afton's daughter. The minigames in the sixth game depict various events in the series, all connected to Afton. In the mobile version of the seventh game, the player can access a minigame called "Princess Quest", which depicts the origins of Vanny.
Phone calls: In the first, second, third, seventh, and eighth games, the player receives a telephone voice message from a previous worker of the location, commonly referred to as "Phone Guy". The messages are a tutorial for the player, describing several gameplay mechanics and outlining the location's backstory. Phone calls from the first game can be heard in the fourth game as ambience. The fifth, sixth, eighth, and ninth games have AI voices which tutor the player. The sixth game also contains a tape recorder that guides the player through some gameplay mechanics.
Easter eggs: Every game in the series contains easter eggs and rare screens, some of which add to the story. They are often presented as hallucinations, with some examples including a character named Golden Freddy in the first game, eight-bit minigames in the second and third games, various random items appearing near the bed in the fourth, blueprints in the fifth and sixth and a minigame called Princess Quest in the seventh.
Closings: In the first, second, third, and sixth games, the player's location closes shortly after the game ends. In the first game, the location is said to close by the year's end due to a "tragedy that took place there many years ago". In the second game, the location closes due to malfunctioning animatronics. In the third and sixth games, the locations close after a fire. The fifth game is unique, however, in that the restaurant in which the game takes place, Circus Baby's Pizza World, closes before the events of the game due to a supposed gas leak.
Characters[]
The first game has four main animatronics: Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie the Bunny, Chica the Chicken, and Foxy the Pirate Fox. A secret fifth animatronic named Golden Freddy occasionally appears, who is later revealed to be an apparition of a character called Fredbear, the in-universe precursor to Freddy Fazbear. Other versions of these characters appear frequently throughout the series.
The series' main antagonist, William Afton, was first introduced in Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (identified colloquially as the "Purple Guy"). As revealed in various minigames, Afton is a child murderer, who killed at least six children before the events of the series. William Afton has had various personas throughout the series, most notably Springtrap/Scraptrap in Five Nights at Freddy's 3 and Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, as Glitchtrap/Malhare in Five Nights at Freddy's Help Wanted, and as a secret antagonist in Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach.
The character known as the Puppet was also introduced in the second game, and plays a prominent role in the backstory of Five Nights as Freddy's, most likely being the one responsible for the children haunting the animatronics. A version of the Puppet also appeared in the Five Nights at Freddy's novel trilogy as the main protagonist, known as Charlie Emily, who is the daughter of William Afton's business partner, Henry.
Michael Afton, the son of William Afton, is implied to have been the protagonist of several Five Nights at Freddy's games, making his official debut in Sister Location.
The main antagonist of Sister Location is Circus Baby, appearing as a recurring antagonist in other Five Nights at Freddy's media since.
In GameToons[]
- Five Nights at Freddy's Logic
- The Secret Origin of GLAMROCK FREDDY...
- GameToons Gaming has two mods based on FNaF. The first was uploaded on 31st March 2021, while the second was uploaded on 8th January 2022.
Timeline[]
- Five Nights at Freddy's (2014)
- Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (2014)
- Five Nights at Freddy's 3 (2015)
- Five Nights at Freddy's 4 (2015)
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location (2016)
- Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator (2017)
- Ultimate Custom Night (2018)
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted (2019)
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Special Delivery (2019)
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach (2021)
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Into Madness (In Development)
- Unnamed AAA Game (In Development)