Passionate Guide on Everything You Should NOT Do in Your Bad Fangame via /r/FNaFb

hello today we're going to learn how not to make your fangame complete and utter shit. this is all advice coming from a jaded former fnafb fangame maker who has broken a lot of these rules, and also experienced them in lots of bad fnafb fangames so hey im more than qualified to tell everyone how to not be bad.

RULE 1 — NO SELF INSERTS

I shouldn't really have to explain this one. Yet I do, since i've seen embarrassing self-insert characters in a lot of bad fnafb fangames. Inserting yourself into your game as some secret OP boss just comes across as self-aggrandizing and egotistical. And even worse, don't make YOURSELF a major character in your game's story. I've seen that more than a couple of times and it never ceases to be egotistical and annoying.

RULE 2 — BE WARY OF HOW YOU USE CHARACTERS FROM OTHER GAMES

Try not to have too many characters from other game series playing major roles in your game. Just because you like a character, doesn't mean they have to be in your game.

If you want to have a few in there, at least change their personality enough to fit into the basic FNaFb style. And make sure they have a valid reason for being there, don't just have Sans from Undertale as the shop keeper for no reason. And also try not to make characters from other games the main villain, because that just ends up being really weird and fairly cringey.

RULE 3 — ACTUALLY TRY TO BE ORIGINAL.

This seems to be a very, very difficult rule for a lot of fangames to grasp, so I'll try to explain it as easily as I can.

Try to make your game more than FNaFb 1 with a different map. Have something to offer besides killing 8 < cameras and recruiting 4 party members and maybe fighting a couple of bonus bosses for skills. There's loads and loads of other FNaFb fangames with that exact same premise and gameplay you won't stand out in the slightest.

Actually try to change up the formula to some extent and have some different ideas and scenarios beyond just "killing the cameras and then killing the final boss". For example, by uniqueifying cameras and other enemies by giving them some sort of gimmick or trick, you could actually make them feel like new experiences. Or you could have actual story events that take you to different locations occur in between some of the camera killing to break up the monotony. Or if you're feeling really fancy, maybe you could part away from FNaFb standard gameplay all together.

And also changing "Tophat Toss" to "Bowtie Toss" or "Sword Toss" or "Microphone Toss" isn't being original either. Actually come up with new skills.

RULE 3.1 — TRY TO COME UP WITH ORIGINAL JOKES TOO.

Dong inhale, dong inhale, dong inhale eventually gets old, guys. You can't base your entire FNaFb Fangame around repeating already existing FNaFb jokes. Try to come up with original jokes for your games, even if you do plan to reuse some of the game's original jokes. Please. Pretty please.

RULE 3.2 — JUST BECAUSE FNAFB DID IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO.

Just because an official FNaFb game has something, doesn't mean you need to put it in your game. Your game doesn't need a second puppet because FNaFb has a second puppet. Your game doesn't need 3 acts because FNaFb 3 has 3 acts, and so fourth.

RULE 3.2.1 — AND DONT FEEL THE NEED TO TRY AND ONE-UP THE ORIGINAL FNAFB GAMES FOR THE SAKE OF TRYING TO BE INNOVATIVE, EITHER.

You're not being innovative by adding in a third puppet, and you're not being innovative by having more than 10 – 12 cameras. If you actually feel adding in a third puppet would add more to the game as an experience, then do it, but if you're doing it for the sake of "YEAH MY GAME HAS THREE PUPPETS WHILE THE ORIGINALS ONLY HAD TWO HEHE" then don't do it.

RULE 4 — DON'T ADD STUPID GIMMICKS FOR THE SAKE OF STUPID GIMMICKS.

Consider this a follow-on to Rule 3.2.1. Don't add in random mechanics and scripts to your game, if the only purpose for having them is for the sake of advertising that your game has random mechanics and scripts.

For example, take all-time classic JRPG, FNaFb1 Shitty Fan Made Expansion. Note how it has a crappy custom HUD added in with no real changes or edits to make it really FNaFb-themed. This is what you should NOT do. Don't bother adding in super fancy custom battle HUDs and similar aesthetic things if you don't plan to change them up to be FNaFb-themed.

Same thing goes for adding in things like crafting systems. More likely than not, your game does not need a crafting system, and you'll just be over complicating things for the sake over complicating things.

Also don't add in that fucking script that adds in a custom saving and loading screen that takes like 2 seconds to process a saving function that's normally instant RPG Maker. Like holy shit, I shouldn't need to tell you this.

If you still can't tell if your script or new mechanic has any real purpose or not, consider this. If it's gameplay wise – Will it add to the player's enjoyment of the game in any way, or just hinder it? Are you just adding it in for the sake making the game be more fancy and stand out for incorrect reasons?

If it's an aesthetic thing – Will adding in this fancy aesthetic thing be taking away from the game's functionality as a whole? Will changing this aesthetic thing add to the game's over all style, or just be really tacky and tacked on for the sake of making the game "different" and "innovative"?

Think about it.

Rule 5 — PLEASE STOP USING FNAFB YOUTUBERS AS BOSSES IN YOUR GAMES, IT WILL NOT MAKE THEM PLAY IT.

No, Ashton101 does not like being featured in your fangames. And don't include FNaFb Fangame devs in your games, while I'm at it. Sivelos doesn't like being in your fangames either.

Rule 6 — DON'T TAKE YOUR GAME AND CHARACTERS OVERLY SERIOUSLY.

This is a less common thing, but still should probably be adressed. Don't take your game about a robot bear named "Freddy Fuckboy" overly seriously and fill it with dramatic emotional moments. I've genuinely seen games like this and they're rather hilariously bad, but if you aim for any degree of quality, try to avoid having overly serious moments if there isn't any form of comedic pay off to it.

Rule 7 — PLAY TEST YOUR FUCKING GAMES.

OH MY GOD.

PLEASE PLAY TEST YOUR FUCKING GAMES.

AND GET OTHER PEOPLE TO PLAY TEST THEM, TOO.

YOU DONT EVEN HAVE TO TEST IT YOURSELF (tho i reccomend you do before giving it to other people to test), JUST GET FUCKING SOMEONE TO PLAYTEST IT AND MAKE SURE THAT IT WORKS ON AT LEAST A BASIC LEVEL.

I have seen SO MANY completely broken fnafb fangames that it isn't funny. Just play through your goddamn game and make sure it works on at least a BASIC RESPONSIBLE LEVEL AND IS ACTUALLY BEATABLE.

Rule 7.1 — MAKE YOUR GAME ACTUALLY BALANCED

Get different people to play through your bosses to ensure that they're actually beatable, or not incriedbly easy. It's not really that hard.

Rule 7.1.1 — ALSO TRY TO MAKE YOUR BOSSES ACTUALLY INTERESTING.

Try to go beyond the standard FNaFb boss model of ATTACK, DOUBLE ATTACK, TRIPPLE ATTACK, POISION LENS, SMOKE LENS, INSTANT KILL, STAT BOOSTING MOVES, MOVE THAT SETS YOU TO ONE HP, HP REGENERATION, MP REGENERATION, SPREAD BOMB AND STAT BOOSTING MOVES and make an actually original boss that's interesting to fight.

Rule 8 — like rape isn't cool guys don't put lines like "im going to rape that fucking night guard" in your game please.

Rule 9 — TRY TO MAKE ORIGINAL GRAPHICS AND STUFF PLEASE

me and sivelos do not like it when you steal our battlers and other graphics it hurts our feelings please stop the abuse.

It's okay to use other people's sprites and battlers and stuff occasionally, but make sure there's at least SOME original content in there. And ask permission to use them, too.

I mean, you wouldn't steal a handbag…

Rule 10 — MAKE SURE THE SHIT YOU'RE ADDING HAS AN ACTUAL PURPOSE AND ISN'T JUST BE ADDING FOR THE SAKE OF BEING THERE

If you want to have 3000 bonus bosses in your game, cool. But make sure there's an actual purpose to all of them, that they're actually unique and fun to fight, and that they're not there for the saking of having more content in your game. The same thing could apply to a lot of different aspects of your game. Don't brag about having, say for example, 3 whole different pizzerias in your game, if you're not going to fill them all with equal amounts of purpose and content. Only make your game as big as it needs to be.

RULE 11 — LIKE TRY TO HAVE FUN DUDE.

If you don't enjoy making your game, then people won't enjoy playing it. Just try to have fun making your game, and feel free to stop if it stresses you or whatever.

Just don't announce your games too early to avoid being stressed to finish them, and don't set release dates for your game, either.

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And that's IIIIIT.

If you have any questions about some of the rules, or have any additions to the guide, feel free to share them with me.