Strengths:
- I think grounding it in near-future Florida, with a setting that's realistic and a signposted map to navigate to Tallahassee, is a good idea narrative wise. The real-world location will allow for a greater level of specificity in the ecologies and hazards you'll show, which will feel more impactful; the current depth of your wider reading gives me confidence here. I think your chosen topic will give you interesting opportunities to reflect not just on the ecological impact, but also on how ecological impacts then have sociological ramifications that aren't always visible to those not looking (something my studio is exploring in our game, where something as seemingly positive as a wind farm site causes knock on effect including mass fish death from beach drilling and increases in murder rates due to companies' use of private police connected to drug gangs to keep farmers off the building sites).
- As implied above, I think your game very clearly takes the theme of the jam to heart, addressing it directly and with consideration, and will do well on the narrative category at the end. Another thing to consider is that ecologies collapsing create new ecologies; I read a book recently about a rare type of mushroom that grew surprisingly well in what the author called "post-capitalist" environs—specifically, ecosystems destroyed by plantations that are abandoned when plantation farming destroys the nutrients in the soil.
- The description you provide in your overview is great; it really sets the tone for the game, and already wouldn't need much tweaking to be the short description on Steam, etc. Equally, your "what it provokes" statement is a good tagline. Along with the small logo on this submission, I think you've done well already giving your game an identity.
Things to think about:
- Your project timeline seems generally well considered. I agree that writing isn't a time-concern (though you'll have to decide how many decision branches there are), and actually think adding one voice acted scene wouldn't take long either (do you know who you'd want to VA? I can pass your script onto some actors if not). The main potential risks I see are (a) if art assets take longer than expected to create - the knock on effect of this will vary depending on what your team structure is; (b) if you can't decide upon minigames or struggle to create them. I think (b) is the greater risk, and since the only glimpse into what these minigames might be is the kayak tipping bar in the image, it'd be worth ironing out exactly what minigames you want asap.
- Do you have an idea of what you want as a minimum viable product (mvp) by the prototype submission? It's good to focus on this idea of mvp in order to prioritise your task and make sure you're resisting the urge to increase scope. I'd say you'll be in a great place if we see a single well-considered minigame that fits the theme, implemented alongside an example or two of a branching dialogue (whether this dialogue is good or just placeholder, or if the art is quite finished/polished yet, or how long the protoype is are all things that matter a lot less for now than whether the core mechanics are on track)