Hey everyone! It’s been quite a bit since the last post which was the Fanart Contest. I have a couple of things I would like to bring out as the game is gaining more progress.

First of all, I would like to thank you all for your patience with this game. I am well aware there wasn't much progress shown over the course of this year. I can assure you that I have been constantly working on this game for a long while when I am able to. Secondly, it has been two years since I have started the concept in making my own Ultimate Custom Night game! In better detail, two years ago, I have created my first MFA of the project. (I still have it!!) However it isn't anything too special, as all it has is literally a poorly made Office Scrolling function with a badly designed office. In this devlog, I will be explaining a few things people are curious about for this game at the moment.

• CUSTOM NIGHT GAMEPLAY

  From the start of development, the office night mechanics are based around FNaF: Ultimate Custom Night. During development, I have wanted to give my own take on what a fun, challenging, and hardcore Custom Night would be in its true potential. While Ultimate Custom Night is one of my most favorite games in the FNaF series, I did find many flaws that seem to have bugged me from ever playing it again. The replay-ability lacks in variety as playing just the Custom Night can get repetitive despite the game title, as there really is nothing special to earn even after beating 50/20.

  With that said, the mechanics in Hack’s Custom Night will generally be the same with certain twists. The gameplay structure however will be slightly different than Ultimate Custom Night. The structure is not meant to be original in a sense it is, but I feel it would be the best way to handle a game like this better so it would stem away from always playing another six in-game hour duration to poorly stem the gameplay time further. I hope for the best!

• CURRENT STATE

  Compared to the progress I have since my last post, I made a ton of progress! Rooms are being remade into a much more colorful and slightly industrial by me, a concept artist, and @CoffeeRequired ! (Additional help by @TheReal_Marshy !) Go follow both of them if you like! Every character in the roster is being reprogrammed seeing how it became a bit unstable and weak compared to how I program now. Right now, they are working well as they should be! Beta-testing will get down to telling me what to adjust or balance. I won’t mention how far I have gotten to remaking character functions, but it is getting near the end! Art conditions will be the final priority of the game, knowing that style is the main factor of this game. Drawing all of these characters alone can take an extensive amount of time; though if you would like to assist in helping out draw out more work, please consider in contacting me through my Discord server in the game’s description. Just know you need to press agree if you feel comfortable. If you are still having trouble joining the server, comment in this devlog!

• POSSIBLE LEGACY / SELF REFLECTING

  Hack’s Custom Night so far is the biggest project I have ever developed and worked on. So much time and effort was put onto this game for a while, even if it is just bits and pieces being implemented each day. However while this game is being developed, I had to consider debating the aftermath in this game’s (possible) completion. Certainly, the community surrounding FNaF fangames is an interesting one, as it has many passionate and talented people like every other communities have. We have those who are talented in 2D and 3D art, specialized coding/programming, intelligent individuals who take situations into perspective.

  For the future of Hack’s Custom Night to live on positively, I do need to address many things to (in the most peaceful way) settle down catastrophic situations. First of all, there are a rare few of you who think I own others' characters for the sake for this game. That is a no. The characters (besides the Hacks) in this game are owned by various media artists. Every character in this game I was given permission to add them to this game. Second of all, please do not harass any of the character artist owners for Hack's Custom Night. Hack's Custom Night is meant to be a journey for allies I have made for the past certain years, I would not like it if any of them were to be mistreated from this game. Third, know this game is made for fun. Do not take this game too seriously (besides Comments and Criticism), this game is meant to be a silly concept idea I had into a reality.

  In the end of the day, I am not aiming this game to be big, I only want this game to leave a good impression to not only the FNaF fangames community, but also a whole variety of other communities. I am alright if the final product disappoints a lot of people for the long duration this game is being developed. Just a favor I would really ask for is, please don’t push it? Lately I have noticed a lot of games get called out during its development on how bad or lackluster it is. This is common with beta testers who screenshare around public Discord servers or private calls, as random users are able to record and screenshot unseen content to the public. While I may completely understand where everyone is coming from, I still feel it isn't worth exposing its work out in the public. Not everyone, like me, are able to consistently developed game at a time crunch. Hearing more news like that around the community personally made me feel more afraid as to even showcase my own work of the game, as this project means so much to me for myself and everyone else in this. I feel everyone should always take their time in developing a creation. No developer should be controlled by their fans besides criticisms of the work. I hope this will bring a new mindset for current and new developers coming onto any communities.

That is all I have to say, I know this is a bit much, but I felt the need to get this out there so everyone wouldn't think this is canned.

Besides that, see you in the next devlog! :D