wow, thank you for such a detailed comment. i’ll try to answer properly too
first, small separate thing: i really liked how you read the mid-missions texts on stream. it felt very theatrical in a good way and was honestly fun to watch
about the project itself, for me it was mostly a jam slice, tech concept and experiment. in my regular work i mostly focus on game design in a more traditional production pipeline, so here i wanted to test a different workflow too, including AI-assisted production, inside a small scope, and honestly, this is why i like jams. they are a good format for experiments, weird ideas and more personal projects. you can try things, take risks, hear what people think, understand what feels interesting, see what works and what does not, and learn from the result
about the beige palette, yeah, that was a conscious choice. i wanted to show space not only through darkness, black and deep blue, but as something more faded, dry and melancholic, like an old washed-out signal with small toxic color accents breaking through it. maybe it needs more contrast in some places, but i still like this direction
about the rhythm-shooter and direct control thing, the semi-idle feeling was partly intentional. i wanted the player to manage the card and merge layer and mission pressure more than directly aim every shot. but i agree that the threat system should push the player to adapt more, and right now it is not fully developed yet, both mechanically and balance-wise
about the merge system, totally agree, it needs better explanation. i tried to keep the UI minimal and let the player learn by doing, but the system is probably too important to stay that vague
about the game feeling hollow to you, i get what you mean. my intention with the art and music was more about mood direction than direct explanation: lonely space, distance from home, self decay, whatever, but yeah, this is a tricky line. what feels atmospheric to one player can feel hollow or detached to another, so this is useful feedback
and about pulling the camera in, yeah, fair note haha. i’ll think about it 🙂
thanks again. this is very useful feedback, and i really appreciate the time you put into it