Omg thank you soso much for the detailed comments!! Im so glad you enjoyed it, and dw i dont think you're reading too much into it-
SPOILERS ahead while i gush as well!
I Really wanted to convey that, no matter what she did. She was always somewhat trapped in a way? Like even if she got whatever it is that she thought she wanted, It would still be at the risk of losing absolutely everything in her life as a "human".
She'd be backed into a hole regardless- but when looking down the barrel of what awaited her, should she go back- she thought: "screw it, I'll play along- what else do I have to lose??"
I wrote a lot of notes around how Alga was so deeply wishing for a way out of this "human" life, how she just wanted freedom, even at the cost of her cognition- though ultimately, it happened without her realizing that till the very end. I had notes writing down how she wouldn't continue about the sacrifice till she saw what she'd become, and choose to become a mermaid in the end anyway, too.
I'm glad you saw what you did in the old mariner, because that's exactly what I was going for! A guy who had seen the horrors of the past- he knew it would only lead to more chaos. And you're right- the one time Alga made her own decision without the assistance of others, it snowballed into the climax of the game.
I will say, I didn't originally plan for the chase scene at the end- I felt like it ended too abruptly without it, so it was a last minute decision. I did have a somewhat hard time setting up the rocks in a way that would be challenging but not too easy for players, though if anyone looked at the eventing/region stuff I did, they'd be appalled at the structure I went and did just to make it work 😭 so that's on me, I apologize! But I'm glad you made it in the end of course!
It's wild you mention that film, because I have seen it and the parallels are totally unintentional, but that's so cool that it made you think of it- it's incredibly flattering!! The VVitch definitely had that aura of it all, and i wonder if it influenced me in a way I wasn't aware of (since I hadn't seen it in several years, but it def stood out to me!) So thank you!!
To note, no RTP was used in the game, aside from rtp edits made by com-sho, and the rest were purchased assets (rtp meaning the default assets that come with the engine), but I do always worry about not making my own tiles;; I'm just not confident in making my own haha;; maybe one day!
All in all, thank you so much once again for the wonderful comments and the deep dive (lol) into the lore! You've no idea how happy this made me to read, and it only serves to help me grow, moving forward! ❤️