Hey folks. In an attempt to be more active and engage more with the community, I thought I'd start doing semi-regular progress updates.

The fact of the matter is I haven't gotten as much as I wanted done since the end of my hiatus in from January to April of 2024. My personal life has had some pretty major upheavals. The silver lining to that all is that it's caused me to really reflect on what I want out of life and what goals I want to prioritize during this time. So I've been working on making more and more time for PANOPTICON and my other creative projects while looking for a job. Things are looking up!

So far, chapter two has about just under 7,000 words of new content! There's also a total of 91 new passages so far. I can't say for certain because I'm only 1/7th of the way done with the actual new writing, but it looks like it's going to be a pretty hefty update. I'm pushing really, really hard for a specific release date but I am not saying what that is since I don't know if I'll make it or not.

Beyond new content, I'm working hard to make PANOPTICON more accessible and visually appealing. With the help of the folks in the Interactive-IF discord server I've been able to implement a toggle for the typing effect-- a huge deal! I'm also planning on overhauling the UI for a more unique look and implementing a custom main menu screen.

Finally, I'm working on cleaning up and polishing some of the older sections of the games. I feel like every time I replay it I find a new bug or issue of some kind, but that's a good thing, because it means I'm actually catching them. Feel free to reach out anywhere you can get a hold of me if you notice something out of place-- I'd be happy to fix it.

To everyone who's played PANOPTICON so far, words can't express how grateful I am. My analytics shows me a staggering amount of people have already played the game in the current form. The thought that my writing would ever reach a few hundred people is mind boggling to me. I'm deeply grateful for everyone current and ongoing support!

(This was cross-posted to my tumblr.)