The Truth Behind Steel Wool & Post-Patched Security Breach ► A Case Study of Steel Wool & FNaF

I'd like to point out that the sheer scope of the Pizzplex at least in terms of size is not a problem, it's the lack of direction and poor design choices because players LOVE flavour in their games, from things like NPCs commenting on things you've done to things like El Chips but because they didn't design around making traversal actually interesting, hell most of it could be optional content you have to go out of your way to experience or get a passing glance at during a more tightly designed story experience, furthermore the Pizzaplex is already a ridiculous idea so you might as well put a fast travel system in the form of a train that travels throughout the facility or something :v

The sycophantic "influencers" who clearly just gave this game a pass so that they could make more money off of promoting it are honestly just so pathetic.

Security Breach and Ruin absolutely rocked me. I hated them so much it took away all desire to make any jumps back into this series. Like a decade of stupidly enjoying all of the games and the community. And these just suckes the joy out for me.

too much phisnom in this video

This hurts because storytellers who know what they are doing are great. Fundog made forever winter. But they needed to be corralled, this is a sham.

first impression, i'm glad that this video is a lot more critical of scott than the original. even when not absolving steel wool of blame, because they shouldn't be absolved that easily, it'd have been dishonest at best to omit scott's contribution to their mistakes and i'm not fond of people who act like every mistake in this game is solely on the people he oversaw

🔥video

I really do regret getting this game on release. Little 16 year old me was so excited from all the trailers and the hype, and to say that the game was disappointing is an understatement. And I tried so hard to think positively about the game for a while until I realized that what little positives this game has will never make up for its disastrous flaws.

I find it truly fascinating how a significant portion of FNAF fans seem to have completely gaslit themselves into thinking this game was anything but a disaster, and will defend Scott and Steel Wool on anything every single time.

3:00 AM ramble inbound
Idk how I feel about some dude just kinda hashing on some other random dudes for ultimately internet entertainment purposes in this franchise of all things, but then I concluded that they really aren't random people anymore, Scott and Steelwool, are they?
To be fair, FNAF was never meant to be anything beyond that one game made out of spite. It then got juggled around by some guy tryina make something sorta cohesive out of this sudden dynamite, and that was okay then. Scott is not just some guy anymore and FNAF is huge, even if it's not something he ever desired. I mean hell he's been kinda clear about tryna distance himself from it historically, but then he just... didn't which I get, it's his child. I'm glad he hasn't, though, 'cause the future torchbearers' management really needs some work before they can uphold that mantle lol.
I sorta recall a comment of his in his second interview, about coming to realize that not everything he makes is gold(?), think he's still working on that one! lmao (plushtrap mpreg, no further explanation needed). I have the same stubborness tho so I completely understand just how convinced one can be that 'you've really got it this time!' when you really don't at all, but man do I also know the repercussions of it and how CRUCIAL it is to make that clear and move on from it too.

I admittedly started off this video hate-watching but I stuck around because I wanted to learn, critique my own blunder
I know that dumpster fire Security Breach, and I loved that dumpster fire as an experience lookin back, but not as a game.
I'm an artist, Fantasy Land was my shit growing up so boy am I swooned by the visuals of SB.. the vibe... that upon second glance gets completely ruined by clipping/floating models, unloaded textures, etc. I felt incredible wonder just... walking around the Pizzaplex for the first time, but really.. dreaded most encounters with the main gameplay mechanics aka animatronics and security bots
Gah, I soooo hate being a doomer, but damn is this dire! In the end I really appreciate someone getting this healthy critical angle so out there as well as showcasing the similarly concerned expressions of so many others too, I hope the right people see it. I'll be doing my part spreading the word.
I curiously await your take on Ruin. Even if it was a bandai-dlc I enjoyed it, for some more right reasons than wrong.

I hope that Scott sign off the deal with them :).

This video absolutely did not need to be 2 hours

The things Steel Wool and Scott have said are no tone-deaf. It's obvious to me that they know EXACTLY what they are saying. They know about the criticisms. They know how poorly constrcuted the Pizza Plex is and how many bugs there are. It basic PR speech to be positive and ignorant.

I have no words...

The thing with the instruction cards about the cameras is like instructions when youre about to eat dinner like "remember to use a fork! we don't wanna see you dirty!"
Obviously every fnaf player knows how to use a camera, even if they don't know that there are cameras (bruh) there's a square screaming CLICK ME, they can't miss it
Like sc has already jumped to the next page and sw is just sinking and trying to milk every single last penny from the games and the future they have assured and they will take years and years to make it (unless sc decides a change) I'm not sure if they will stop it somewhere
Like scott didn't really analize their past or read or hear any critics about their games that much, and gave fnaf to them just bc they worked on fnaf hw1 (they made it good bc it was just remaking already existing and famous games with the help of its creator working at the time)
They can't just make 5 small games and then simply jump from building a park bench to creating a space station, they selled an unfinished project (with a lot of deleted assets, discarded story, missed hundreds of better mechanics, dumbest logic) to millions of ppl, they changed all those the last month before releasing, they're really playing dumb right there
I also remember Markiplier laughing at one of the endings on the base game while asking "Did they really run out of budget for this?", idk where did he get that information but it really sounds sad and pathetic
And last but also important, what a project for a 2 hour video, the investigation, the information and the dedication is more than obvious here and I already subscribed

Where is the info about your game consulting work?

watching the security camera lets player footage makes me realize how insanely impressive scp-079 is in secret lab from a game design standpoint. obviously its still harder to understand than the simple monsters where you just run around attacking people but within a couple of rounds most people can be at least competent with the computer. its crazy how much more intuitive it is with the simple addition of being able to click from camera to camera without needing to pull up the map. you still can pull up the map to go to a camera thats far away but its not the main way of moving around the camera view. its like steel wool just copy pasted irl cctv into their game without considering that irl security guards already know the building layout and dont get disoriented as a result. it also helps that you spend the entire game as the computer so theres no jarring transition from running around to standing completely still staring at your watch in the corner

I wonder if this will turn into a dogpack 404 situation probably not but that would be phcking hilarious

This reminds me of a past PS1 Game that has a similar problem. They were a company that made a bunch of Point-And-Click Adventure games, only for one of the people leading to want to make a Resident Evil clone instead. The issue with the people is that the Director of the game was not Directing enough, and the people had more knowledge of how to player a Point-And-Click than they could a Survival Horror; the Company was Creative Reality, and the game was called Martian Gothic: Unification.

Honestly, I know that an Open/Walking version of a FNAF game can exist and work with great quality. Unfortunately for Steel Wool and perhaps many other companies, it is unlikely for them to do due to inappropriate direction and grounding. Even the FNAF knock-offs that exist at this time have had mixed aspects to it that gives people generally differing opinions on them, often negative about one aspect of the game in question or another (be it Poppy, Inky, or any other Mascot Horror). To be honest, from the last video I said that the idea of implementing the camera system of the old FNAF games would work if, say, a game was built around a camera system that was akin to Resident Evil (Before RE4) or Silent Hill (1-4), or other retro-style horror games that made use of a more cinematic camera system. That, and a greater focus on proper AI/function of the 'entities' the player has to deal with instead of everything being a script... but I don't think that will ever happen.

As it were, in order to make Security Breach in their eyes, Steel Wool outright abandoned the core FNAF concept with the 'look' of it, and looked at trying to make an open world of it the wrong way.

The saddest aspect of the game’s downfall for me was the unwavering positivity and support of the FNAF community during the delays and the introduction of new developers… The community was abuzz with excitement and anticipation for every new detail release, and in my opinion, it reached an all-time high—you know, except for the individuals who attacked Scott and forced him to step down from his role as the head storyteller—everyone was captivated by the game’s breathtaking visuals, the exceptional art direction, the incredible animatronics, and the tantalizing lore implications… Heck, the introduction of a new Villainess added even more promise to the game!

Then the game finally released, and it fell short… While the visuals were impressive, the characters enjoyable (except for Vanny/Vanessa, who were barely in the game, and Burntrap, who wasn’t supposed to exist as a character) and the map was beautiful, the game was… Ugh…

I vividly remember the initial disappointment, the coping, and the lingering hope that Steel Wool would revive the game through bug fixes and, unfortunately, that didn’t really happen.

In retrospect, I do believe Ruin was slightly better, both in terms of storytelling and gameplay, despite the bugs— Help Wanted 2 was also an improvement over the original game. And I sincerely hope that Secret of the Mimic lives up to expectations. However, that fear kinda never went away… To this day I’m afraid things are gonna take a turn again…

Despite the game’s shortcomings though, to this day I still find myself mesmerized by the map… Watching this video while zoning out and staring at the map still evokes the same sense of anticipation I felt before the game’s release… However, the truth in your words always creaks back in and reminds me of the disappointment— it’s just a pretty face, with a horrible personality…

Edit-
Scott was Naïve, and Steel Wool were blinded by what they WANTED to do instead of making a solid game first. I don’t blame them for not sticking to SB and completely reworking it though.. It would’ve taken a CRAZY amounts of time and recourses (and I’m far too forgiving).. But I am sad that this game happened at all, and that they didn’t just STRAIGHT UP admit it wasn’t a very good product.. Because it caused all of this fallout.. I wish we were in an alternate timeline where Scott never stepped down and kept the story in check, and Steel Wool had a proper director that reigned in the scope creep and actually BUG TESTED their game.. Good video. It was a bit mean, but I think it had to be.

I still standby the fact that this is more of an Adventure Thriller game than a horror game though, people expecting a straight up horror game were very misguided. I was confused by people thinking it was supposed to be scary since the first trailer dropped, and still don’t get why some think that- But I don’t blame them if all they knew were the first 4 games (The comedy and more lighthearted tone started in Sister Location with hand unit). And that really bad creator statement.. Chills? What?

Designing a huge open world to explore then blocking off spaces with really lame fences for no real reason feels like they’re fighting their own design choices. It’s so bizarre. The plex is actually a really enjoyable environment visually, I would want to explore it if anything indicated that the game would let you. The gameplay really does feel antithetical to the way the world was designed.

I think that the only good voicelines that can actually scare you are moons that's also why he's my favorite character his also helps his voicelines be good

phisnom complaining about FNAF:SB scope creep is REALLY funny when you remember he spend 3+ years on remake of FNAF 1 💀💀💀

this video is so good and has so much useful information, this needs more views, come on

Everyone in that studio would be way better as making maps and assets under a more competent director

thank you for adding transistor music that immediately makes this game so much more bearable to watch

This and Fallout 3 show us how not to map open locations. Also most other Elder Scrolls, but at least you can get it there and they DO literally signpost most settlements/POIs.

Security Breach was so overhyped to me like it looked good in the trailers and I was like omg I wanna play this then I got it at launch and I was like


....yeah where's like half of tye shit they showed in the trailers and why is it so bug so I completed the game played ruin and I'm sorry but ruin us not interesting so I then decided to nit even touch Steel wools side of FNaf

Well, idk if being vr coders eliminate having enough brain power to FIX FREKING BUGS OR OPTIMIZE. Thanks for reading :)

I miss FNaF when it was semi-grounded (FNaF 1-3 comes to mind). After 4, I have been able to suspend my disbelief (despite how stupid the sci-fi direction is) but Help Wanted and Security Breach broke that disbelief. Are you telling me, a company that had one location left that was burned to the ground became this hi-tech cyberpunk-esque media empire? Who’s running it? Just a bunch of corpos? How were they able to do any of this??? I know FNaF 1 - UCN is implied to be fictitious(but also true??????) but Security Breach being a continuation of them breaks my mind.

RE: removing collisions from daycare instead of fixing AI...

My bet is that the engineers capable of addressing the route cause were being allocated to other projects/tasks on the game. Instead, they gave the bugs to a different dev who was free.

It's very empowering to see a video like this release, with someone who is willing to talk about the legitimate problems that plague Steel Wool's mindset and how everyone surrounding them is giving them medals because they did "good enough".

Games like this need to be held accountable for what they did. As good as Help Wanted was, we, as an audience, can't compare that to Security Breach, because they're ultimately suffering from the issue of biting off an entire steak's worth of food when they can only eat a meal the size of a cupcake.

I get what this video is about, and i agree how bad the game was managed.....
BUT on ther other hand...
I swear it seems like you're really BASHING on them..
Not trying to defend them, not at all, but you are being a little excessively rude..

On the point of Siege's drone cameras, I wonder how Security Breach would have been if you controlled Freddy remotely with the Fazwatch and he acted as a mobile drone. You could use him to scout to a certain distance away, distract animatronics with conversation, or have him stand still and act as a wall.

I'll be honest, I was waiting with bated breath to hear the team's most recent statements, if any.

They were indignant, stubborn, and obnoxious at all points. Everyone says the game is poorly put together slop, and Steel Wool refuse to entertain the idea that they aren't God's gift to gaming. The only way they supposedly patched so many bugs pre-launch is if the game was just malware.

Oddly enough, everything about Security Breach reminds me of Yandere Simulator. Both devs don't understand game design, controlling the scope, being able to take criticism, and self-reflecting on past work being absent plagues both games. The only thing that separates the two is that Steel Wool didn't get outed for grooming minors. Even if that is technically a victory, I don't really count it because it should be obvious.

Steel Wool should have done something more akin to Ruin off the bat, really. I know it's an unoriginal sentiment, but seriously.

It just hurts to see such passionate people who love the franchise fall flat on their faces as their work explodes and sears and scars their careers with the blast and shrapnel.

This Phisnom guy needs to chill out

SB seems like it's Devs didn't test play it themselves at any point.

tbh i feel like security breach only got popular bc of its bugs, funny clips bc of bugs cough that one markiplier clip cough, and how easy it was to break the game nd get out of bounds, both accidentally & through spreedrunning, and bc ppl love complaining

You know a game is awful when it unintentionally reminds you of pathologic.

The unfair ai, having to walk a lot, the sidequests that waste your time and the confusing story telling, are extremely good desing choices if you are trying to make the player suffer. I assume that these weren't SWS intentions considering that they wanted an intense horror game not a nightmarish construct of tedium.

Great video and I would have to agree. The game needed at least another year or two or maybe even three to be fixed even in the interview with Scott he said because of lots of miscommunication and Covid
That the story was all over the place and not what he wanted for security breach

I just want to say I greatly appreciate your use of NieR music in the background :)

It's especially infuriating knowing this game had some solid potential.