"Now I want to talk about what WON'T be included... the box.
You know, when I released the first game over a year ago, I was amazed at how quickly everyone found every bit of lore and story. Then the same happened with part 2, fans and youtubers dug in and found everything. Game Theory did an incredible video on part 2; getting almost everything right. Then part 3 came out, and once again the story was uncovered by the community. It seemed that there was nothing I could hide!
But then I released part 4, and somehow.... no one, not a single person, found the pieces. The story remains completely hidden. I guess most people assumed that I filled the game with random easter eggs this time. I didn't. What's in the box? It's the pieces put together. But the bigger question is- would the community accept it that way? The fact that the pieces have remained elusive this time strikes me as incredible, and special, a fitting conclusion in some ways, and because of that, I've decided that maybe some things are best left forgotten, forever."
You know, when I released the first game over a year ago, I was amazed at how quickly everyone found every bit of lore and story. Then the same happened with part 2, fans and youtubers dug in and found everything. Game Theory did an incredible video on part 2; getting almost everything right. Then part 3 came out, and once again the story was uncovered by the community. It seemed that there was nothing I could hide!
But then I released part 4, and somehow.... no one, not a single person, found the pieces. The story remains completely hidden. I guess most people assumed that I filled the game with random easter eggs this time. I didn't. What's in the box? It's the pieces put together. But the bigger question is- would the community accept it that way? The fact that the pieces have remained elusive this time strikes me as incredible, and special, a fitting conclusion in some ways, and because of that, I've decided that maybe some things are best left forgotten, forever."
(Full post)
This post was most famously used by MatPat in his original Dream Theory video:
"To me, the key phrase here is 'Would the community accept it that way'.
He knows that a 'it's all a dream' explanation would fail to live up to our astronomical expectations.
It's underwhelming. [...]
It's this 'Would the community accept it' quote that makes me think Scott intended the dream theory to be official, but also understands that ever revealing it would be a huge mistake.
Hence, him keeping it locked in the box."
...and, in his FFPS video about the box:
"So, clearly, in the month after releasing the game, disappointed that the mysteries were staying hidden, Scott had already changed his mind about what he wanted to do with the box."
This is the interpretation which seems to have dominated the fandom's collective perception of what the post was trying to say. Scott was upset that we hadn't figured out FNaF4, and he was afraid we would find the story unsatisfying, so he decided to keep it hidden.
I think this interpretation really misses the point. It picks out the "Would the community accept it" line, and ignores the rest. In doing so, it misunderstands what Scott was actually worried about the community accepting.
"The fact that the pieces have remained elusive this time strikes me as incredible, and special, a fitting conclusion"
Scott was happy with the story. Specifically, he was happy to leave it mysterious.
FNaF is a mystery series. But for the first 3 games, all the secrets were immediately figured out. "It seemed that there was nothing I could hide!" That's why Scott was so surprised when FNaF4 remained completely unsolved. He had originally intended to open the box for us, but this made him change his mind. To him, ending the series with this final, ultimate mystery was a fitting conclusion. Opening the box would spoil the mystery. Scott loves the way the community comes together to try and solve his games, it's "special" to him, and he doesn't want to ruin that by giving away the answer.
The "would the community accept it" line is right after "the pieces put together", so I understand why people interpret it the way they do. But considering the larger context of the post, a rumination on whether the community would be satisfied with the pieces is sort of a non sequitur. Remember that his ultimate point is that he's happy leaving the box closed. A natural question is, how would the community feel about this?
This is what Scott was worried about. Would the community accept his decision to keep the story hidden, to not open the box.