"...I already said yes. 'You in a hurry or something?"

Hello, ladies and gentlemen -- welcome! Have a seat, kick up your feet, and let's dive into it.

First short story.

As I've stated in a previous post, the last artwork I uploaded before 4.1 would signal which character the next update would focus on. For those of you who haven't seen it, that would mean Chloe! The upcoming short story will be all about The Protagonist and Chloe's first (actual) date.

B-but Capella -- an entire update for just one Chloe???

Yes, my friend! Worry not; your favorite characters will be brought into the limelight soon enough. Yes, they'll get entire short stories for them, too.

I wish I'd posted more of my artwork after that last one, but I got too focused on the actual story and development... which is good, right? RIGHT?

I'm also really proud of some of the renders I did for Chapter 4.1 (not an official chapter number). Some of them are the most expressive I've been able to make, and the hot ones... well, they're some of the hottest so far. The average Chloe enjoyer will have a field day with this one.

Still, as always, things are slow. I've been getting better and better, but my computer isn't getting any faster and faster.

Also, this might sound obvious but it's still worth mentioning: You have to be following Chloe's romantic storyline for this short story to be unlocked.

Short stories in Mad World will consist of linear, unlockable stories that may change depending on your character's actions in the main game. Some will require you to meet certain criteria for them to be unlocked, like in this case, having a romantic relationship with Chloe. Some of them will unlock gradually as you progress through the chapters. They'll be accessible through the "Extras" section in the main menu or playable right after you finish a chapter if you so choose. You can also skip them entirely.

Chapter 5.

The script for Chapter 5 is POPPING! It gets better and better every time I look at it. To read my own writing is to be constantly between "Damn! I wrote that?!" and "Damn... uh... did I really write that?".

I'm always my worst critic. Still, I'll happily pat myself on the back for this one. It's looking really good. Let's hope it's smooth sailing from here on.

I'll be focusing on Chapter 5 once 4.1 and its Steam build are done.

Remakes, additions, and fixes.

I don't remember mentioning this, but all my early animations are being reworked for 4.1.0 (yes, 4.1.0. I've erroneously referred to this update as "4.0.1" before for some reason). I'm also giving a fresh coat of paint on every end of the game ahead of the Steam release and Gallery System™ implementation. There's some cool unlockable art for finished chapters, too (I'm really excited about those)!

Hud is going through some long-due improvements; the script and dialogue are being polished (thanks to everybody who's helped me with proofreading); the code will be compiled differently with hopes of fixing crashes and performance issues; several scenes are being reworked and improved.

While all that cooks, I'm also training a new guy to work with me. Hopefully, I'll be able to split the workload between two people in the near future and bridge the gaps between updates. While that doesn't happen, please be patient! I'm excited too, but these things (unfortunately) take a lot of time. There's little I can do to speed things up without recycling poses and animations. The only pose I recycle -- viciously, I might add -- is the standing pose; everything else is unique from scene to scene, and chapter to chapter. I feel like this whole paragraph serves to pacify me more than anyone else. Have I mentioned I'm excited? Last update was six months ago. Time flies.

What do you think of short stories? Are you as excited about this one as I am? Any character you want to see next? Let me know! It's always a joy to know what you guys think.