So uhh
I don’t exactly know where to begin. So I’ll start by saying I have nothing but love and respect for FNAF and the series creator Scott Cawthon.
Nothing I say here is intended as an attack on the franchise or the people involved. If anything the opposite and I look forward to upcoming FNAF projects like the DBD Collab and the Secret of the Mimic game.
Our story takes place in the summer of 2016. FNAF World had recently been announced and Scott was very openly talking to his fanbase on the forums for FNAF 4. Most of it about FNAF World, the then upcoming RPG.
Now one interesting side tangent is that the first FNAF game and Undertale came out and met critical and financial success at the same time.
This is relevant because early on there were rumors discussed by fans of both that FNAF World was going to have a shout out to Undertale. This was discussed to DEATH on the FNAF 4 forums. So much so that Scott vehemently denied not only the rumors but any connection the two would have.
Me being literally autistic did not take this to mean “Hey stop talking about Undertale.” But instead “Go off on a tangent about similarities between the two. This would be a good idea.”
So I did and received a permanent ban from the FNAF 4 Steam Forums. Everytime I go there, I see a big red banner that reads “Since you won’t drop it. I don’t have a choice.”
The sad thing is, I did drop it and would twice more briefly have the chance to speak with Scott Cawthon on the boards for FNAF World (Where I made a post of encouragement he responded positively) to in which I made clear my refusal to refund the game. And FNAF Sister Location (Where he had a light response to me sarcastically asking where the sister was located. Something along the lines of “You’ll find out when you play the game.” It was a long time ago
Both times we got on fine and he seemed to appreciate my support for his works, yet only after that did I ever think to ask about an unban for FNAF 4.
It’s not that FNAF 4 is such a happening board or anything. It’s even my least favorite fnaf game (Sorry Scott the audio cues still do not work worth a darn) but I’ve always seen that ban, as of my writing this the only steam forum ban I have on record to my knowledge, at least the only that wasn’t eventually overturned… as a dark mark on my record, a stain from when I was a younger person in her early 20s who let her hype and excitement run ahead of her logic
Fast forward to today. 9 years later. I’ve asked a friend who is friends with the fnaf mod team about removing the ban only for them to say they would but FNAF 4 was not a board they had jurisdiction over. at least that’s how I understood it. I wasn’t actually involved in that conversation…
She suggested I talk to Scott about it and I tried to but sadly that isn’t as easy to do as it was in 2016. Scott is big time now and most of his emails are clogged with branding deals, business conversations, and fan mail… I’ve sent multiple emails about the situation and received nothing back in reply.
So this is where I’m left. Does anybody have an ideas? Think I can talk to valve about it? Should I try to make a public post on a fnaf board explaining the situation?
It’s been 9 years, countless more FNAF games, and three US presidents later but the ban and the embarrassment it represents still lingers.
And I would appreciate any advice anyone has concerning the situation. Thank you.
https://www.valvesoftware.com/en/contact?contact-person=Gabe+Newell
As long as you’re respectful in you’re message I doubt something worse will happen lol.
You could also try customer service but I’m not sure they have jurisdiction over matters like this.
I tried Valve’s Customer Service but they informed me that Developer Bans cannot be overwritten by Valve staff
I’m not sure how to word the message
“9 years ago, I accidentally pissed off the creator of this franchise, so he banned me, but then we had pleasant conversations later and I just never thought to ask for an unban until after he got so rich and famous that I couldn’t speak to him anymore.”
Is already wordy and weird
I would not do this. The more you think about the ban and try to do something about it, the more it will be in the front of your mind. These kinds of problems only have as much power over you as you give them. I speak from experience here - this kind of spiral only makes your life harder, without giving you anything in return.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to laugh it off and recognize that it’s just a silly misunderstanding, and that you’ve learned from it.
Ya know something, you’re right, all I’ve been doing is thinking about it and now I’m in a personal hell
Hey! I really get it. I’m also autistic and have been through similar situations before. You’re not alone with this kind of situation. I don’t know if it helps you to hear this, but these kinds of experiences are something many of us go through (not your specific one of course, but eerily similar). I actually initially responded because I saw so much of myself in what you wrote.
When I was going through similar periods, I kinda kept insulting myself in my head for all the mistakes I’ve made, and I feel like I’m seeing something similar in your comments. I always felt like, if I could just get this one person to absolve me of everything, the spiral would stop and I’d feel good again. But this never worked. Even when I did get them to say what I thought I needed, I kept thinking about all the ways that things still could go wrong - was I being too annoying? Too intense? Did they just say what I wanted to get me off their back?
That’s why I wrote my initial comment (not in this comment threat, the other one). Other people won’t be able to get you to stop this spiral, because you’re the one putting yourself through it. That sounds bad, but the great thing is: this also means you have the ability to put an end to it! It’s not easy, I know, but you’ll be able to do it, believe me. It might feel like everything is terrible and everyone thinks terrible things about you, but I can assure you that’s just something your head tells yourself.
I don’t know if this is helpful to you, but if you’d like I can share a bit more about my experiences as well as some techniques that help me in DMs. Please just know: you’re not a bad person, other people don’t think terrible things about you, and this will pass. One day you’ll be able to look back at this and see the situation for what it is: a normal mistake, and a person that keeps beating themselves up over something that they really shouldn’t.
All the best, and stay strong! You’ll get through this, as so many of us have done before, no matter how hopeless it might feel right now.