After years of development and uncertainty over whether the DLC would come to fruition, the long-awaitedFive Nights at Freddy’sDLC forDead By Daylightis almost officially here. The Public Test Build (PTB) is out for players to test drive Springtrap throughout Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria, which includes a series of security doors that allow Survivors to access cameras across the map and allow the Killer to teleport instantly through them. The inspiration behind this gameplay, which harkens back to the core gameplay ofFNAF, came from the king ofFive Nightshimself: Markiplier.
Five Nights at Freddy’shas always had an extensive fanbase, and understanding that fanbase is incredibly important to understanding the series as a whole. There’s no argument that Markiplier’s original videos launched the games into popularity and helped form the fandom surrounding the series, and that’s why I’mso happy the developers behind this chapter ofDBDwent back to the very beginning to fully understandwhat exactly madeFNAFso beloved by fans for over a decade.
The King Of Five Nights At Freddy’s Still Reigns Supreme
Behaviour Interactive developers Dave Richard (Creative Director) and Jason Guzzo (Killer Designer) spoke in a recent interview withIGNabout their creative process around theFive Nights at FreddyDLC, which featuresSpringtrap as the new Killer.To connect with the community around the games and figure out what resonated with fansthe most, Guzzo and Richard went to an interesting, but ultimately unsurprising, place: YouTube. To capture the overall vibe ofFNAF,they went to one special YouTuber, as Guzzo stated, “I watched, no joke, about 70 hours of content. I won’t name names, but the king of FNAF. Everybody knows who it is.”
The influence of Markiplier on theDead by Daylight x FNAFcrossover doesn’t end there.In fact, he’s partially what sparked interest in the collaboration in the first place. Later in the interview, Richard revealed that Markiplier’s content was the initial catalyst for his interest inFNAF.Richard explained,“Of course, I watched FNF videos, and this is where I actually learned a lot about FNAF, that I was really interested in the franchise, that I learned about Markiplier. I had a lot of fun with it, and it triggered this idea, and this want.”
Embracing The Origins Of FNAF Is The Best Way To Honor The Series
A Series That’s More Than Just Jumpscares
After a decade since the first game’s release,Markiplier andFive Nights at Freddy’sare synonymous at this point. The YouTuber and the game series rose to fame together back in late 2014, and while channels like Game Theory also helped the series gain popularity, Markiplier has always been the king ofFNAF,even thoughhis channel has expandedfar beyond the series. Learning that the developers behind the newestFNAFcollaboration went all the way back to Markiplier’s original run of videos has made me far more excited about this chapter ofDead by Daylight.
Often, when people are unfamiliar with the property, they think that its essence is in cheap jumpscares and rip-off Chuck E. Cheese imagery. While those two things are, arguably, major starter points forFNAF, the series became more than that through its extensive lore and incredible main villain. Watching Markiplier’s videos through each successive sequel (which Mark always thinks will be the last) isa fantastic window into the history of the franchise, how it evolved in its storytelling and gameplay, and what fans loved about it.
Now that theFive Nights at Freddy’sPTB is out for players to try out before the DLC officially releases, and how Springtrap and the Fazbear map will function are public,it’s clear that the developers really came to understand the soul of the series. Utilizing security cameras around the map for both the Killer and Survivors to use is a stroke of brilliance that could only come from appreciating the games all the way from the beginning. Instead of relying solely on jumpscares - which the DLC does still include in how the security doors and the Memento Mori function - the devs at Behaviour found a way to marry the core functions ofDead By DaylightandFNAFtogether.
