When the Steel Wool development team got the opportunity to work on Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach, we drew deep inspiration from our childhood, our high school jobs, and our parenting planning homework to build the most fantastic pizzeria that has ever existed.
We decided the best thing to do was start with the star and centerpiece of this particular pizzeria, Glamrock Freddy. Everything in the Mega Pizzaplex revolves around Freddy and the new glam rock band. Much like the original game, Freddy deserved a main stage surrounded by pizzas and party tables filled with fans. However, this new, state-of-the-art animatronic group would need even more space to move and perform. We decided to add elaborate stage lifts to elevate Freddy and the band above the audience flanked by stadium-sized concert monitors. The scene would be as updated as them.
Now that we had a concert hall as our centerpiece, we had to surround it with activities and attractions of all kinds. We wanted a putt putt golf course, go-karts, laser tag, retro game rooms, modern game rooms, dance floors, a movie theater – everything. However, Five Nights at Freddy’s is not a series about set design, but about horrific animatronic stars. So we decided to design a character-specific attraction for each member of the group.
Due to Freddy’s ongoing adventures in space, we immediately got to work on Glamrock Freddy’s Fazer Blast laser game. This was the first set mockup completed in the entire game. Not only did we want to honor the source material, but we really wanted to include some solid references to Scott’s super fun side scrolls.
Everyone in the studio looked at Roxanne Wolf and knew she was meant to be a runner. She would become the brutally competitive karting champion of the Roxy Racers. The artistic team had a blast making her a trophy-winning daredevil in the surrounding art of the circuit. Not only was the location heavily inspired by Roxy’s rebellious look, but the art of the railroad then informed her elitist personality and her VO performances. She’s the best and will let the losers know.
Montgomery Gator inspired the indoor putt putt golf course at Monty’s Gator Golf. Toxic barrels of brightly colored balls of bullets traverse a blacklight course of log cabins, water hazards and rock’n’roll iconography. We wanted Monty’s to have arguably the worst dangers of any course. Have you ever tried golf surrounded by ball pools?
Finally, we had to get into the Fazbear Entertainment state of mind. What do they want? What are they really looking for? Is anyone sure? What we do know is that they want to make as much money as possible from every visitor! We have looked at many real world references to develop a suitable Fazbear List of Building Whole Money Making Programs.
Real world experience
The Mega Pizzaplex has very personal links with me. I was an ’80s kid in Tacoma, WA, where I grew up hiding from the rain in movie theaters, bowling alleys, arcades, and indoor malls. There were also several original pizzerias and entertainment centers in the area.
As a teenager, I became a bailiff / projectionist in my local multiplex. All of the “customer facing” areas were flashy, glowing, neon, and impressive. However, if you go behind the scenes like I did, then you witness the disgusting belly that the teenage work staff live in. Working in dirty concession stands, cleaning bathrooms, storing cans of soda syrup in chain link storage pens, hydraulically compacting piles of cardboard and trash bags, and sweeping up piles of oily popcorn behind the movie screens on busy weekends are some of the best real world experiences I could have had to prepare for this project.
Reference Image – The Tacoma, Washington Pizza and Pipes burned down in 1999.
Reference Arcade Maintenance – Photo courtesy of the Ruckus Room – Bellingham, WA
Insider knowledge: the importance of carpet
My brother, Collin, owns an arcade called Ruckus Room in Bellingham, Wa. Throughout the development of the game, he has been a great source of insider information about true family fun centers (especially as all amusement centers were closed during Covid). He told us all about the importance of decorative carpet tiles! Apparently, new rug designs are one of the hottest items at Family Fun Center conventions. Based on this knowledge, we knew that the Mega Pizzaplex had to have the best squares of carpet in the world. So, if you look closely, each thematic area has several custom Fazbear rug designs in different colors and images that reflect the theme of the area.
Carpet tile design reference example – photo courtesy of Ruckus Hall – Bellingham, WA.
There is certainly more to the building design to be discussed than what we can cover in a single blog post. You are going to have to experience the Mega Pizzaplex yourself to really understand the scale of the building.
