Hi, I’m answering from my point of view as the dev. First, about the voice volume you’re right on that one. Then, yes, it’s true that the mini-games are a bit simple (I’ll explain why further down because I don’t want to spoiler story).
I believe the use of profanity does add something, because in everyday life we use those words. They’re not really strong or offensive curses, but words that someone could naturally say if these things were happening to them. So, to me, it adds realism rather than taking anything away.
As for the jumpscares, they are designed to scare, and looking at 90% of the videos, they did work. Considering how hard it is to actually make someone feel scared when creating a game, I feel like I managed to achieve something decent in a short game with the tools and knowledge I currently have. Hopefully, I’ll keep improving them in future games.
About the notes: I think without them it would be almost impossible for the player to know what to do (without using hud guide). Guiding a player while saying as little as possible (which is what I tried, I didn’t give a lot of instructions, only a few) is very difficult. Also, in the story, the notes are written by the psychopaths themselves, so they are actually guiding you into a trap, it’s not just about helping the player, but also about adding to the narrative.
Now, regarding the mini-games being simple, that was intentional, because I wanted to show that the psychopath’s accomplice, the “dumb one,” the one who makes the jumpscares, enjoys playing very simple games and watching. The game is not only about surviving a little, but also about “playing” to entertain him.
Finally, thank you for saying you think I have the ability. Honestly, I also feel that this was my closest game to achieving something truly scary. I also consider my other games not scary at all the closest one before was Play With Him and now Stay With Him, but the rest aren’t scary at all.
And as a final thought, of course if you put in enough effort you can create something really deep and incredible, but it’s also extremely difficult. In your head you think you can predict what a player will do or what will scare them, but 90% of the time they do the opposite. So it’s hard to pull that off. But again, I appreciate a lot that you told me you believe I have the ability.