Hiya friends ːvintysmileː.

As you may have seen, things have not been great here in Australia. Our bushfires have slaughtered millions of wildlife. Countless families have lost their homes, and some unfortunately did not make it at all.

The air here has also been awful on many days, including in the cities where most of us work at our day jobs. We have been advised to put on masks when we are out and about. The smoke is at times so thick it feels like we are in Silent Hill.

Well, time to take action. This week, all profits made from my portfolio (from Unhack to Clea) will be donated to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery:

https://www.redcross.org.au/campaigns/disaster-relief-and-recovery-donate

To mark the occasion, please hop onto Clea's main menu screen to download this "Wish for Rain" costume:

From early December to this day, we have seen only small amounts of rain. Instead, we have regular strong winds, which as you can imagine, is no help to say the least when it comes to fires. Fortunately, we have some heavy rains forecasted for next week. Everyone now wishes this will indeed come true.

Of course, it is probably more direct to just donate, so please feel free to do that. To those who are interested in my portfolio, you can find it here:

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/2684/InvertMouse_Bundle/

Thank you ːcleanormː!

Hi everyone :sasa:. Clea has just been released on Steam! No pre-scripted scares—your skills alone determine Clea's fate as she escapes from the Whitlock Mansion.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/981020/Clea/

With multiple endings, secret chapters, as well as unlockable costumes and gallery images, I hope you will enjoy your time with Clea. Perhaps you might challenge and conquer Chaos Mode, which unlocks after your first run :neonya:?

Please remember to pick up that launch week costume via the in-game menu, by the way! Feel free to check out the demo version, which contains 1 of the 2 bonus dresses :vintydelusional:.

Also, in case you missed it, you can rep Without Within in-game with this Vinty mod!

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1792024943

Thank you so much for your support :yoyo:.

Hi friends! Hope you are enjoying the Steam summer sale. I am about to burn my wallet when I get home from work tonight :vintywhy:.

Hey, I would like to take this chance to introduce you to Clea, my upcoming 2D survival horror with no jump scares:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/981020/Clea/

Clea will be released on July 10th! Sometime next week, I will drop a Vinty color alt costume mod for the game, too. I very much hope you can consider wishlisting Clea, then show your boy some support on release day.

Thank you so much :excelia:!

My mum loves Chinese Opera. If you have no idea what that is, I would not blame you. After all, their events do not always fill out stadiums. Not anymore, at least.

During a Singapore trip with the fam, I had begun to plan out WOWI 3. Meanwhile, there was a Chinese Opera show going on, and we made sure Mum would get to attend.

That afternoon, I met up with a couple of online friends to hang out. Afterward, I joined my mum for some Chinese Opera. I arrived, and there the actors were, exactly as they typically appeared on those VHS tapes Mum used to watch. These actors must have rehearsed vigorously to prep for this show. Let’s hope lots of people rock up!

Oh, just Mum, my brother, me, plus 3 to 4 others in attendance.

Well, the show must go on, and we made sure to stay for the whole thing. That night, I jotted a reminder for myself. During those Kiki VS Excelia calligraphy battles, make sure to mention the majority of people do not care in the slightest. Vinty, at least for now, has opted to continue her niche calligraphy pursuits. For that, she has my respect.

Whenever I want to let go of that gas pedal, I would remember those Chinese Opera actors from Singapore. They have no idea, but they have become an unlikely source of motivation.

Because above all else, they love what they came on this earth to do.

Recently, a reader asked about the possibility of a Without Within 1 and 2 remaster. Makes sense, since I would do a far better job now compared to 3-4 years ago.

That is, assuming I have the required budget, and unfortunately, in this saturated market (one that is niche to start with), I lack the sales numbers to justify such an endeavor :vintydread:.

First, I want to say thank you to everyone who sends me these messages. I still get emails telling me Without Within, especially the first one, has inspired people to pursue their dreams. If money were a non-issue, that would be enough fuel for me to continue.

And now, back to the topic at hand. If Vinty's adventures were to continue, some major changes must be in order. Here are a few ideas:

Light novels:

Before Steam Greenlight became a thing, I had spent 10-12 years writing away, hoping to one day complete a novel of publishable standard. If I continued the WOWI series in novel, or at least novella format, that could allow me to fulfil that dream. Light novels, after all, would be far cheaper to produce.

Format shifts:

Alternately, WOWI could remain in visual novel form. It will, however, need to go through drastic format changes. Have you played Narcissu? It would be more along those lines. Less images, and the text takes center stage. To many players, this will be seen as a downgrade.

Translations:

Here comes another hurdle—translation costs. Without Within 1 and 2 featured Chinese translations, but not the third instalment. As a script expands, translation costs also balloon. Visual novels contain more text than traditional games, which restricts localization possibilities.

Full circle:

The first game I published on Steam was Unhack, which attempted to combine storytelling and gameplay. By the way, did you know I program for my day job? In fact, I have loved to code since around 8-9 years old.

With that said, I would like to come full circle and once again put those skills to use. And so, for the foreseeable future, I am going back to traditional games.

Clea:

I would like to introduce you to Clea, a horror title I have been working on:

There is currently a prototype available, with a limited time to submit feedback and have your name listed under special thanks:

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/games/981020/announcements/detail/1708449632692798961
Official webpage (with prototype links):

http://clea.invertmouse.com

Closing thoughts:

In summary, the Without Within series cannot continue in its current format. Still, I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas. I hope you can share them with me in the comments below.

Thank you so much! Vinty and I thank you :vintysmile:.

Hi everyone! Thank you to those who have picked up Without Within 3 so far. Remember, once you complete the game, please consider leaving a Steam review to help other players out :excelia:.

I delete mercilessly during the editing phase. Words, sentences, and even entire scenes will be removed if I decide they are merely padding. That said, have you ever loved a character so much you want to know everything about him/her? I want to offer something extra for those who want just a little more.

And so, here is a deleted segment from Without Within 3. This scene takes place early in the story when Vinty is waiting for her flight to Singapore. Enjoy :vintysmile:!

* * *

I stroll to my gate and wait for the plane to arrive. As I sit alongside my fellow passengers, their voices drown out, and my mind once again drifts.

A part of me wishes I'd received a ticket back to Melbourne instead. Adults should pursue new experiences, but I often get stuck in the past. How should I put it? It's like having that sudden urge to catch up with old friends.

I flip through my photos once in a while, but nothing beats being there in person. That dark and cold walk to my hotel felt like a nightmare, yet now I can reflect and smile at my foolishness.

Then there are the people. People like Grace, that lady who runs the restaurant near my hotel. I wonder if Grace will remember me next time. Probably not, but I hope she'll continue to laugh with her customers, sometimes letting a naughty word slip.

I pull out my wallet to see the Myki card tucked inside. Melbourne will always be the stage of my first adventure, but I told myself I'd only return as a calligraphy star, and I intend to keep that vow.

* * *

Thank you everyone! I want to share with you my future plans with visual novels, so I hope to be in touch again fairly soon :vintypretty:.

Thank you to everyone who has purchased the game so far! I hope you will enjoy your time in Singapore and Malaysia this weekend :excelia:.

Again, I sorry to the Chinese-speaking gamers who have been looking forward to this release. Remember how short the first Without Within was? That was the reason I could afford to pay for translations. After that, truth be told, Without Within 2 was already a struggle, and now, since Without Within 3 is double the length of the second game, I am trapped in a tough spot for this series. Perhaps Excelia will need to be in some sexy commercials to make these games sell better, but you know the drill; sorry to disappoint :vintydelusional:.

For now, I want to give my heartfelt thanks to Molchunya, who has taken matters into his/her own hands:

https://gtm.steamproxy.vip/id/molchunya/recommended/676130/

Molchunya has provided Chinese translations for the demo version. A link can be found in the above review. As for the full game, since it is fairly long, I am already grateful for where we are at now. If I catch any updates, I will make sure to pass the message along.

Thank you so much Molchunya :vintysmile:!

P.S. Thank you also to the Chinese players who have been such good sports about this. This series is already niche, so if there are any negative bombs, Vinty's adventures may be forever ruined.

Hey everyone :vintysmile:. Without Within 3 has just been released!

The previous game is also on sale until the end of the week, so if you want to catch up, this weekend may be a great time to do so.

Also, as always, if you could drop a review afterward, that would be much appreciated, as it will help other gamers out a lot.

Thank you for your support! See you in Singapore and Malaysia :excelia:.

Friends, Without Within 3 will be released in three days :excelia:! To prep for that, we have a sale going on:

https://store.steampowered.com/search/?developer=InvertMouse

Thank you! Let's hang out with VInty this Friday :vintydelusional:.