Thank you for such a thoughtful and elaborate comment!
I agree with you about the visuals. I really struggled with those. And it didn't feel right to call it a visual novel so I called it “interactive fiction” instead (and then explained how it's supplemented with photos and music as a feature). Though there are some backgrounds which I thought worked pretty well: for example, the empty stadium in “The starting line”, along with the music, creates some atmosphere of loneliness and nostalgia, it's as we see things from Sam's eyes as she's sitting there and reminiscing. I also agree the concept art was promising. And I'm considering editing it and using it to make the game more illustrative in a future update.
And yes, I used royalty-free stock music. And it took a surprising amount of time to find the right tracks and edit the music to better fit my vision. So I'm glad you like it.
I meant the story to be more about toxic relationships in general, especially when it comes to people that are dear to you. But you have an interesting interpretation. Could you explain in what you see the internalisation of ableism? Other than that, yes, I did intend that Vanessa is the type of person to prey on the weak. As for Sam, while the idea is that she genuinely wishes happiness for Millie and even wants Millie to find a girlfriend, there is indeed a certain possessiveness to her, especially in “The losers”. She is putting a lot of effort to help Millie but she chooses to be the sole carer. And I had this idea that this is paradoxically her own way of being selfish.
I have also considered incorporating the “bonus scenes” in the main story. But they seemed to clash with what I was going for in the main game. For example, what happens at the end of “The losers” is meant to come as a bit of a surprise which is then elaborated in “The goal”. And I also liked the idea of additional fragmentation and the extra scenes as some reward for finishing the game. I thought it makes the game more distinct.