Thank you so much for leaving such a kind, thoughtful comment on my game!! I try my best to leave a fair amount of thoughts on each game I play, but WOW, you are much more in-depth and organized than I am. It genuinely makes me want to try harder when I write comments; this level of detail and dedication really means a lot to people because it shows that you genuinely care about their success. First off, I just want you to know how much I appreciate it!
I am very pleased to see that you picked up on the primary motivator for many things about this project (beyond the elements of necessity, which played a part in the minimalistic art style). My mind immediately went to many of the same ideas that I see in the submissions today - slipperiness and cool guys doing cool tricks. Competing head-to-head with all the talented people pursuing these themes would have been a tall task, especially as a solo developer. However, I thought that maybe, if I went "blue ocean" and zigged where everyone else zagged, I might stand a chance. It was definitely a risk, but it's one that I would be glad I took even if the reception had not been so positive, as this sort of game is much more suited to my tastes than the "infinitely replayable" style you often see in jams.
On the topic of positive reception: thanks for all the praise regarding the various aspects of the game! I was partially inspired by development advice I've heard for commercially released games - rather than creating a rough implementation of the whole game to validate the idea, make a really polished 10 to 30-minute "demo" that really sells what you're going for. Mine ended up much shorter due to time constraints, but I believe the same spirit is still there.
Much of the time went into getting the physics to feel both fun and "realistic" in regard to how it fits into the world. Sound design was a major part of this as well; I wanted to make really sure I could sell the idea of an alien creature in an even more alien world. While I think the fun aspects of the game and the mechanics could definitely use some improvement, I'm proud to say that the way everything feels (minus the bugs) is pretty much spot on to what I was imagining when I conceptualized the idea.
I also really appreciate the positive feedback on the writing; creating stories/worlds is my favorite part of making games, and while I didn't have time to make an actual narrative like I would have liked, I hoped that the character writing would provide a splash of color (ironic, considering the setting) and make the world feel more fleshed out than it truly was. I only had time for a single pass, so I'm glad to hear it turned out alright in the end!
I have been so honored and humbled to see all the people asking to see more of the world I'm creating, and I definitely plan to continue iterating on this idea. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this project since I first conceptualized it, and I'm very excited to see where it could go.
On the topic of your personal note: this is something I struggle with in real life as well (shocker, right?). In fact, it's taking everything in my power not to apologize for apologizing right now, haha. I typically have a much better handle on it, but I guess subconsciously I was just so worried I'd chosen the wrong path and somehow "cheated" my players out of a better game that I thought I needed to make up for it in some way. Thank you for your advice; I'm going to take it to heart.