Hey everyone, this isn't exactly a status update, but I wanted to talk about certain discussions regarding Hack's Custom Night I've been hearing about. I figured it is best to make this post so I don't have to keep answering the same questions. All of these questions will be posted in the FAQ section.
"Hack's Custom Night is a horror game!"
This is what a lot of people have thought this game is, and I don't really blame them. Five Nights at Freddy's, including its fangames tend to lean towards a more scarier direction. But Hack's Custom Night, in particular, it is purely meant to be a strategic survival game.
I've always liked the idea of "impossible" challenges being accomplished by the fans of the community. The FNaF completionists/challengers community is also growing pretty big, especially with obscure and ambitious challenges being beaten by people like Frogger25 & Shooter25. It brings a lot of attention and hype surrounding any game. And while Hack's Custom Night is into the hype category, it isn't meant to be made for attention as it's purely made for fun.
Even if I were to make this a horror game, the charm Five Nights at Freddy's initially held as a horror franchise has worn out severely over the years due to many directions changed over the past several games for six years. Additionally, I would not be good at scaring anyone in particular.
"This game is taking almost five years, why is it still in development?"
This is a really important thing I want to talk about, it is also why I wanted to make this post.
There are several reasons why this is the case.
I don't want to risk getting burned out. Hack's Custom Night is a project I am very proud to work on, it taught me how to program while deviating to different techniques with experiments. However, I can't stress enough how I rather not risk working on the game too excessively to the point where it overtakes my mental health on a daily basis. Not only the game would be a huge mess, but it would put me in a limbo state that can damage me and strain everything else I do. I've made this mistake multiple times with some projects I have helped work on, and I have strongly regretted it. It is very important for me to take my time and not rush over and focus on one thing for too long.
This is a one-man project. While there are a lot of people being included in this project (not revealed yet,) I am the only person who is solely working on this project, and it is my own decision to do so. As much as I have tried asking for help in the past, almost every attempt has failed immensely, leading to me having a difficult time developing the game with little to no experience with certain skills. (examples being modeling for rooms, music composing/directing, drawing characters out of my range, and animations with dynamic poses) A lot of people think I am a creative person when this is further from the truth. My creative ability isn't strong as other artists who can simply figure out smaller details like room props and such. I am a perfectionist, and creating something like this can be stressful to deal with.
When it comes to those who are currently contributing, everyone has their own lives, and I rather not have them worried about an ambitious project over something more important to them. It's not my place to determine what they do, I rather have everyone take their time with their stuff first before they work on the project.
I am helping out with other projects. Some of you may know me for being the main programmer of Running in the 80's (2020) & Chomping with Chomper (2021). Both were great projects while having a tragic legacy. Despite that, both projects helped me program without focusing on my game too much. They have also taught me different ways to tackle certain issues I have never encountered. In addition, it has brought me to opportunities that I wouldn't have imagined, and I could not have thanked so many people enough for allowing me to help with their projects. I am still helping other people with their projects, which I will go into detail about later in this post.
I have a personal life. It should be no surprise to some people, but a lot of people have never considered how much adulthood can take so much of your time. Without going through a lot of details, I just have so much to do at home. With each day becoming more limited, time management became much more difficult to tackle. I have to set up limited schedules to balance out everything to deal with, even if I am not completely used to it. Especially for helping out with other projects, I sometimes have to focus on projects other than mine.
You don't feel like canceling Hack's Custom Night?
This is the last part I want to bring up. No one has said anything like this, I felt the need to make this point to set up everyone's expectations surrounding this game.
Yes, it is true this game is taking almost five years by the time I am making this post. Admittedly, there were MANY moments where I really wanted to cancel this project. It is an ambitious and ridiculous project with a massive collab with other particular artists and creators. It isn't easy being the only person dedicated to making something like this. However, I will say this much.
Hack's Custom Night is a personal project that is not meant to beat other fangames in the community. If anything, Hack's Custom Night isn't the most unique FNaF fangame of all time, and the current gameplay footage (here) can show that to some extent. Everything that is in the game is based on how I see FNaF in my creative vision, including random nonsense.
Here is the thing, as long as everyone in the team is on board with the project, I am perfectly okay with working on the game in the long run. And additionally, it is a fun project to work for the most part. I get to place my creative twist on a project I have full creative control on, and I don't have to worry on how long it takes to get this project done. (unless if it really does get stuck, as there are certain things that can lead to canceling the project if it doesn't turn out well.) To add some reassurance, it is a reason why I have started doing Monthly Devlogs to keep everyone on track.
If there is a time when this project has to get canceled, you will hear it from me. It is Hack's Custom Night after all. I'm not saying the project will be canceled, it is just a possibility. But as far as I know, it is developing much better than it ever has been.
That is all I wanted to say about these concerns. There may be more, but the ones mentioned feel more important to talk about. All of them will be listed in different Q&A sections of the game page.
To end this post, I want to showcase a good batch of fangame projects from other people you can look forward to while my HCN is in development, some of them being available to play right now!
(click on the images to get to its game page!)
You can check out @FazieFunbear 
's Playtime with Percy!
A traditional-style FNaF fangame around The Pal Percy, a tamagotchi-like toy.
You can check out @ShamirLuminous 
's FredBear & SpringBonnie: Star Road!
A FNaF World fangame about an iconic duo, Fredbear and Springbonnie!
You can play @RandomHeck 
's Those Nights at Random's!
A traditional FNaF fangame where you play as Brooke Ares, to make sure the R. Animatronics Co. are safe.
(V2 currently in development, programmed by me!~)
You can play @MonkeyManProdStudios 
's CHASE: Surpreme!
An expansion fangame based of the original, CHASE: Animatronics.
You can play @Critolious 
's The Tubbyland Archives: Act 1 & 2, with the association of @Pigsty55 
and @TheresNoSteak 
!
An official reboot of the "Five Nights at Tubbyland" series! You play as Parker Anderson, a college student in need of easy cash with "TubbyLand Activity Center" being an opportunity to take.
(ACT 1 is playable right now, ACT 2 is currently in progress!~)
You can play @Syncaroonie 
's Five Nights at the Krusty Krab: Chapter 3! The third entry to the notable, Five Nights at the Krusty Krab fangame series, where you play as a guard in the deep ocean after the events of the Cold War.
(In addition, a remake of Chapter 1 has been teased here!)
You can check out @bonzee 
's DEERWOOD, where you play as Jaime, a paranormal journalist looking to write articles about haunted locations.
(Programmed by me!~)
Thank you to those who have supported me and this project over the years it has been in development. I can't promise it'll be worth the wait if or when the demo or the full release happens, but just know whatever I am doing, I am doing my very best for this game's development, and for everyone around me.
Let me know if you have any feedback or questions regarding this post in the comments.
Until then, stay tuned for the next devlog on February 20th!~
— Hack 💜
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