- Five Nights at Freddy's developer Scott Cawthon pens an open letter to his critics.

Despite (or perhaps due to) the remarkable popularity of the Five Nights At Freddy's animatronic horror games, especially among YouTubers, series creator Scott Cawthon has kept a remarkably low profile.

He rarely speaks at length about his work or his experiences as an indie game maker, which is why his recent post on on the Five Nights At Freddy's 4 Steam forum is especially intriguing.

"I think that people who hate on me for being successful are misguided," wrote Cawthon. "I haven’t had a successful life; and now that God has blessed me with some success, I’m doing my best to be responsible with that success. I don’t party on weekends, I don’t get drunk or sip martinis. I spend my evenings playing Mega Man 3, buster only, with my kids. And I try to good with what's been given to me." 

Cawthon was addressing people who criticize his success or his rapid release schedule (he's released four Freddy's games in just under a year) by pointing out that, before striking gold with the Freddy's games, he'd held a series of unsatisfying, demeaning retail jobs. 

He's hardly the only game developer to have done so, but Crawford's post is also notable because he calls for his fans to avoid aggressive, valueluess criticism ("People who make videos bashing other people are like people who run into a public square and scream into a pillow. They’ll get attention, but they won’t change anything,") and instead turn their passion for games towards more constructive ends. Even, perhaps, towards developing their own games.

"I’m getting too old for this. And when I retire someday, I’m going to want to sit down at a computer and play your games, read your stories, and watch your videos," wrote Cawthon. "Don’t fall in with the people who have already given up on themselves. You are tomorrow’s next big thing."

His (lengthy) post is worth reading in full over on Steam's forums.