Year: 2026

hello,

Im still here, still making progress. Thanks for waiting and sorry it’s taking so long. I’ve been very productive on this project lately even though I am busy with many things. Working on Haunted Chocolatier is what I’m most eager and driven to do, out of everything.

I don’t stress too much about how long it’s taking because, well, that’s just how it is, given my pace and all of my other commitments. I won’t compromise on the quality of the game by rushing it or releasing it too early. Then all my time would be wasted, anyway.

But almost everyone is supportive, so I have nothing much to complain about. I do appreciate how understanding you guys are.

My goal is to make a game that i am proud of and personally enjoy. And I am certain, at this point, that I will enjoy the game when it is finished. In fact, I already enjoy playing it in its unfinished state, especially after some recent additions i made… I hope others will like it too when it’s ready.

anyway just thought i should check in since I haven’t in a while. I feel a little embarrassed writing any of this because you guys probably just want the game at this point, not to hear me yapping about it. I get that. It can be hard to “keep the faith” when you are waiting a long time. I really cherish those who do keep the faith, though, and i wish you,your family and your pets, peace and prosperity through all seasons.

thanks for reading amd visitng this website. Have a great day

-Ape

Yep. I’m still working on the game. Feels kinda dumb posting this same thing over and over, but that’s the reality.

I know it’s taking a long time. A big part of that is that I am being very thoughtful about every aspect of the game. The things in the game which the player will be interacting with or using very often need to be “perfect”. They need to be seamless, clear, intuitive, satisfying, aesthetic.

Lately, I’ve been revisiting the recipe book for making chocolates. As with many things in the game, I’ve iterated on this many times, each time bringing it closer to its final form. To me, it’s not a simple task, as I torture myself over every last detail. This is a UI you will be using fairly often, so it has to be perfect. You need to be able to accomplish your goal with the minimal number of clicks. There needs to be just the right amount of data presented to the player: not so much as to be overwhelming, but not so little as to be trivial or mundane. And the way that this data is laid out on the page is crucial… If the data is all clustered together, it will be disgusting to look at. The data needs to be grouped into compelling, intuitive and easy to read/understand groupings. It needs to look appealing and intriguing. And this is just the bare minimum, that players will likely take for granted. If all of that is accomplished then the player is now comfortable while perusing the recipe book. But I want more than just comfort. I want to delight the player. All of this typically requires me to iterate on something several times before I’m satisfied with it.

And it’s a big game. So there are many things for me to fuss over.

But, this is what it will take to make a game I’m satisfied with.

Side note… please excuse me, but I don’t like to share too many screenshots, or even talk about the systems in too much detail, while the game is in development. Partly, it feels like I’m serving a half-baked bread. I would rather serve a fully baked bread. Also, I know that many parts of the game will likely evolve and change before release, so if I reveal them early, I risk disappointing players if the final product does not match their expectation. Fortunately, I’m in a position where I don’t need to market the game, so I can take my preferred approach.

As always, I really appreciate your patience.

-Ape

Hey everyone, good news: I’ve been very productive lately on Haunted Chocolatier.

Yep, it’s taking a while to finish the game. That’s oaky

I know, I know, I shouldn’t have announced the game so early. But I had my reasons.

To debunk a few myths and false assumptions I’ve seen:

“Haunted Chocolatier will be abandoned and the content will be added to Stardew Valley instead”
No. First, I am not going to abandon Haunted Chocolatier. But even if I did, I am not going to add it to Stardew Valley. Stardew Valley and Haunted Chocolatier are separate games. It doesn’t even make sense from a technical perspective, as Haunted Chocolatier is written from scratch, it’s not the same “engine” as Stardew Valley. You can’t just copy and paste Haunted Chocolatier into Stardew Valley.

“The Stardew Valley updates are being used to test out ideas for Haunted Chocolatier”

Nope. When working on Stardew Valley, I’m not thinking about Haunted Chocolatier, and vice versa. I wouldn’t “test something out” in Stardew Valley because that would be unfair to Stardew Valley, and also I don’t want to spoil ideas for Haunted Chocolatier by adding them first to Stardew Valley. Also, Stardew Valley is a different game, so you can’t really “test something” for Haunted Chocolatier in it in an accurate way.

“ConcernedApe is working on a new Stardew Valley update because he’s burnt out on Haunted Chocolatier”

No, I’m working on a new Stardew update because it’s a very popular game with a large, ever-growing playerbase, and I still have additional ideas for how to improve it.

“ConcernedApe said it’s not coming out until 2030″

I didn’t say that. I was asked in 2025 if it would come out within the next five years, and I said “I hope so”. This is very different than saying “it’s coming out in 2030”. The bottom line is, I don’t want to give a release date. The game will come out when it’s done.

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Anyway, the only thing that really matters is that I keep making progress on the game and release it. So I’m gonna get back to doing that now.

Thank you

-Ape

TLDR: I’m alive, the game is still in development, and it will come out when it’s ready. Thank you for your patience.