Scott Cawthon

Scott Cawthon In Person (https://twitter.com/real_scawthon)

Anthony Rubio

Thompson

Period 4 / HSE 2

May 17, 2017

Scott Cawthon: The Unsung Hero

"No one knows I'm here," says Christian game developer Scott Cawthon (Lionet).  Scott Cawthon, someone who created so many games in their lifetime. Scott Cawthon, a guy who hit rock bottom and lost everything. Scott Cawthon, someone who ricocheted and made a game that reached the top paid game in every store. Scott Cawthon, the man who still isn't recognized in his own hometown. Media say that some heroes must be handsome, cunning, or recognized. In today's culture, a hero is looked upon as someone of higher class or popularity, but Scott Cawthon? A nobody from the middle of nowhere in Texas? But that's wrong. Scott Cawthon is a devoted Christian indie game developer and an inspiration because he is a hard worker and he is devoted towards his games.

Legacy of Flan Pictures In-Game (http://hopeanimation.com/news/more-games-by-scott- (Scott Cawthon))

In his career, Scott Cawthon has made over 50 videogames, from Legacy of Flan to Five Nights At Freddy's: Sister Location, trying to put story into every single one. Countless hours of his life have been spent on the development of his games, showing his dedication to the community of people for gaming, ranging from young adolescents to old men. He spent so much time working on these video games he cared deeply about, but it didn't come without a cost. "Despite good reviews, my Christian projects were all financial failures. I came to a point where I was very disillusioned and frustrated with God. Actually it was more like a broken heart. I felt like I'd squandered so many years of my life, years that could have been spent going back to college but were instead spent working on Christian projects that went nowhere," (Morgan). He tried to put his dedication on faith, working on ideas that blossomed into games coming from God himself, but the thought that he could've gone to college and lived a more comfortable, successful life kept coming to him, leading his astray. He has so much promise going to school and finishing his education , but instead followed his hopes and dreams using grit and determination, showing the hard-working nature that he possesses. Before all of the Five Nights at Freddy's games, he lived an unfortunate life that broke his spirit, little by little. In his own words, he asks, "Did you know that last year I was working at Dollar General? I worked as a cashier. I had three bosses who were all still in high school. Before that I worked at Target in the backroom freezer, unloading frozen foods. I haven't had a successful life." (Hodapp). He had to work through the troubles of an unsuccessful life as an adult with minimum wage and high school managers, ensuring that he would never get that comfortable life he deemed for. From this, he put out his grit and determination in order to push through these tough times, making the Five Nights at Freddys games that led him to a life that he seeked. From this hardship, he comes out heroic using hard-work and determination to push through rough times. From losing money trying to create games for god to working unsuccessful jobs with minimum wage, the amount of hard-work shown to push himself on his feet shows how he is truly heroic in the modern day.

Five Nights at Freddy's is a game series jam-packed with tons of interesting gameplay and story in attempt to show how devoted he is to the gaming community, trying to make them happy. Scott Cawthon has made six Five Nights at Freddy's games, each one is filled with tons of story arcs that can be seen under the game's veneer. This subtle storytelling drove Scott's games to become hits. As fans desperately attempted to fit together little details found throughout the games, Scott realised that in order to please his audience, he needed to create more secrets and drive the story deeper under the surface of his games. But as the games kept coming out, it was more difficult to piece together the story when each game came out, but it seemed inevitable that the plot would be found out.  "But then I released part 4, and somehow.... no one, not a single person, found the pieces. The story remains completely hidden. I guess most people assumed that I filled the game with random easter eggs this time. I didn't. What's in the box? It's the pieces put together. But the bigger question is- would the community accept it that way? The fact that the pieces have remained elusive this time strikes me as incredible, and special, a fitting conclusion in some ways, and because of that, I've decided that maybe some things are best left forgotten, forever," (Thier). After all the time he has spent trying to hide the story that wouldn't be found by any observer, he out-thought his fans and figured out how to surprise them. He adapted to his fan's astute observation skills after many games that came out, meaning he has the devotion to change how he acts and plans out his storyline just to please his fans. Now, because of this success, Scott Cawthon has been doubted so many times, people think that his independent creation is 'a piece of cake'. When many people kept bringing up the idea of how easy it was to create the video games and spamming him with hate comments, he spoke back and said, "I think some people have this idea that I spend my days swimming in gold coins like Scrooge McDuck, cranking out games with no effort, then laughing all the way to the bank. The reality is quite different." (Hodapp). Scott Cawthon, finally fed up with all the overloading hate, just wants to live a casual life, only providing enough for him family while also appealing to his fans. He tries to reach out to his fans about the matter to talk to them, knowing they are human and they will understand because of the bond he has with them, trying to stop them from overloading the hate that burdens him. They finally listen to him and stop intentionally hating on his game, showing the devotion to his fans and the deep connection he has with them. Scott Cawthon has shown what it is to be devoted to a life's work and how to handle it well when conflicts arise, showing the true hero inside him.

Through tough jobs and hate-spewing people, Scott Cawthon shows how to truly have dedication and devotion in life projects. From taking much of his lifetime to cram games with meaningful story to having to work part of his life in financial depressions, he has shown how life is not easy, but with the right morals, anyone can achieve the life they desire. So, in the end, Scott Cawthon isn't just a hero with his life dilemmas, he's an inspiration to all, making more of a heroic impact than any popular figure in today's media could ever wish to achieve.

Works Consulted

Cawthon, Scott. "Who We Are." Hope Animation Who We Are Comments, Hope Animation, hopeanimation.com/background/who-we-are/. Accessed 5 May 2017

Hodapp, Eli. "'Five Nights at Freddy's' Creator Scott Cawthon Eloquently Addresses Legions of Haters." TouchArcade, TouchArcade, 29 July 2015,        

toucharcade.com/2015/07/29/five-nights-at-freddys-creator-scott-cawthon-eloquently-addresses-legions-of-haters/ Accessed 4 May 2017.

Morgan, Joe. "Scott Cawthon on Faith, Games and Golden Freddy." Geeks Under Grace, Geeks Under Grace, 6 Jan. 2015, www.geeksundergrace.com/gaming/developer-spotlight-scott-cawthon/. Accessed 4 May 2017.

Thier, Dave. "'Five Nights At Freddy's' Creator Says Nobody Has Figured Out The Game's Real Story." Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 25 Aug. 2015, www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2015/08/25/five-nights-at-freddys-creator-says-nobody-has-figured-out-the-games-real-story/#19234e92121c. Accessed 4 May 2017.