 Mike Moode and TheMeatly breathed a sigh of relief. They'd completed their most ambitious project to date. Bendy and the Ink Machine Chapter 2 had been released, along with a patch that enhanced the original installment of their unbelievably popular game. Surely now, they could relax, right? And yet, as the pair began watching YouTube reaction videos and reading tweets, one question kept being presented to them more than any other. When was Chapter 3 going to be released? Mike and TheMeatly each took a deep breath. It was already time to go back to work. They had a lot to do to complete their accidental masterpiece. This time, the journey would take even more work. In addition to building a brand new chapter of Bendy and the Ink Machine, the duo's little indie studio would need to grow into a fully fledged entertainment empire, dealing not only with the video game, but also merchandise production for the toys and clothing that fans were clamouring for. It was time to finally make the change from hobbyist game developers to legitimate professionals. This is the story of how Bendy and the Ink Machine Chapter 3 changed the lives of its creators forever. If there was one big thing that Mike Mood wanted to achieve with Bendy Chapter 3, it was the creation of a streamlined process for game development. The first two chapters of this game had been thrown together in a very haphazard fashion, without any real thought to the bigger picture. Now that Mike and TheMeatly had managed to complete Chapter 2, Mike was eager to make sure that they didn't face the same crunch again. Instead of committing to a short six-week deadline for game creation as they had with Chapter 2, the pair were now looking to build a process to help smooth out all the wrinkles they had been waylaid by in the past. As much as they were trying to avoid a crunch, it seemed like the pair didn't really know any other way to work. Despite no longer having to work to an ambitious deadline, Mike and TheMeatly were still working long hours every day to get everything done. It turned out that two people building a game of this scope together was simply unfeasible. It didn't help things that TheMeatly was sick with bronchitis. He'd been suffering with this illness through much of his work on Bendy Chapter 2, but now that he was working on the follow-up chapter, if anything, he was feeling worse. Long hours working on the game, in addition to his day job, were taking their toll on him. He began to have fever dreams, imagining himself in a cartoon world and spotting texture errors within his own bedroom. It was clear that Mike and TheMeatly couldn't do this by themselves. They would need a lot of help. This meant expanding the team. TheMeatly games had already grown to include a few new creators, including art director Pascal Klecholo and sound designer Ray Gould. But now, these team members went from contractors to full employees. Several other new teammates also joined the fray, dealing with the growing scope of the games as well as social media and merchandising needs for the fledgling company. The team also needed to rope in a bunch of new voice actors. While initially, TheMeatly had done a little of the vocal work for his game himself, a growing cast of characters meant that the game needed professional voice artists. Most notable among these was Lauren Singer, who provided the singing voice for a character named Alice. TheMeatly and Mike had big plans for Alice, so they were eager to get her role in the game just right. Even with all the extra staff, it was clear that TheMeatly and Mike couldn't keep juggling their day jobs and their work on this game. Mike was under contract with a games company named Carmen Interactive, so he couldn't completely give up and leave his work at the moment. TheMeatly on the other hand was still working a frustrating job in advertising and was desperate to escape. So, taking a bold step, TheMeatly decided to finally quit his job. His boss didn't exactly understand the situation. TheMeatly explained that he was working on a new video game and that he needed more time to build the game, but even so, the popularity of Bendy seemed a bit far-fetched. Trying his best to be friendly and helpful, TheMeatly's boss insisted that there was always a place for him should he wished to return. He knew who to call when he eventually ended up working at Burger King. The moment TheMeatly left his old work, Mike noticed an immediate improvement in his general demeanor. Instead of feeling beaten down and frustrated, TheMeatly was more excited than ever to work on Bendy. It was as if an enormous weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he was ready to throw all of his energy into their game. Of course, TheMeatly couldn't exactly take things easy. If anything, he now had more work to get done. TheMeatly was responsible for writing the script, designing the characters, and creating the levels, while other members of the team handled the job of turning his initial ideas into a concrete world with visual effects, 3D character models, and cutscenes. It was an exhausting process and TheMeatly found himself getting by on just a couple of hours sleeper night, going to bed at 5am and waking up again at 7am to continue. Meanwhile, questions about merchandise were coming in and it was hard to ignore them. Big companies had realised just how profitable this game's characters could be and Mike and TheMeatly were being offered a lot of money for their newly created brand and all the sweet merch that could be produced. As tempting as the idea of instant wealth might have been and as much as the pair might have liked to spend their time cruising around in giant yachts, they ultimately turned these big companies down. They weren't in this for the money and were more interested in making something that they could be proud of as independent developers without too much outside interference. This wasn't to say that some merchandise wasn't produced. Mike and TheMeatly wanted to please their fans. They just weren't that interested in keeping the cash for themselves. Revenue that came into the company first and foremost went to paying the employees and contractors that were working with TheMeatly Games. Many of these creators were being paid more than Mike and TheMeatly for their services because this seemed like the most important priority. Even then, the pair at the head of the company didn't take much of the remainder for themselves. They began contributing to Girlforce, a charity that supports young women to develop games. This felt like a much better place for the money to go. Even with the expanded team and all the time that they were pouring into the game, it was clear that finishing Chapter 3 in a prompt manner was going to be a stretch. Because they were constantly updating previous chapters of the game, there was a temptation to leave things out of the initial build of Chapter 3 because everyone involved knew that they were going to return to it later. They even floated the idea of postponing the inclusion of one of the chapter's key characters entirely. For a little while, Mike and TheMeatly considered leaving the projectionist and his terrifying maze for a future update or chapter before ultimately deciding to power through and include him in spite of the extra workload that he represented. What mattered was that they built a game that they were pleased with, and if that meant putting in extra work to get everything done, then so be it. The entire team at TheMeatlyGames did everything they could to complete the third chapter of Bendy and the Ink Machine to a high standard. Finally, after months of work, they debuted their game to the world, along with extensive patches for the first two chapters of the game. Their response was... mixed. On the one hand, a lot of fans of the game absolutely loved the work. There was no doubt that people really connected with the new chapter of the game, and most people definitely appreciated the work that had gone into fixing up and revamping the first two chapters of Bendy as well. The problem was the bugs. The MeatlyGames didn't have its own dedicated quality assurance team. Instead, Bendy's creators had to try their best to find bugs themselves, and they simply couldn't imagine every different way that people might play the game, or all the different hardware issues that might crop up between various diverse computer setups. So, exhausted as they were from all their work, the moment Chapter 3 of the game was released, the team, led by Mike, began building a comprehensive patch for the game. This not only fixed bugs, but also tweaked the game's AI characters and how the player interacted with them in order to create a more enjoyable experience. Finally, after a lot of work, and the biggest challenge they'd faced up to this point, Mike and the Meatly felt that they could put Chapter 3 to one side for a little while. They had Chapter 4 to work on now. This should be a piece of cake, right? The moral of the story is that hard work pays off. It's not always fun to put your nose to the grindstone and push yourself to do your best. It can be exhausting trying to achieve your goals when you're ambitious about how much you want to accomplish. Mike Mood and the Meatly have never taken the easy way out, whether it meant instant wealth, or simply making a slightly simpler video game. As difficult as it is to keep pushing forward, they do so because they care about what they're making, and they want to be proud of their finished piece. Feel free to pace yourself. Don't necessarily work yourself to the point of exhaustion, as the Meatly and Mike have done. It's pretty clear that, all said, at times they've gone too far in their perfectionism, and doing so all the time definitely isn't healthy. Just remember that when you're trying to achieve a goal, whether it means learning a new skill, or making something creative, or even simply trying to pass a difficult exam, it pays to put in the hours that your project deserves. Eventually, if you're really committed to making something happen, you'll be satisfied with your results.