I'll only answer questions related to this game. Means only question 6.
I used this game as examples because I wanted to achieve a similar animation effect. But I never expected it to turn out this similar. Also the artist underestimated my skill. But that “OMG, it actually looks professional” moment by the artist was totally worth for me. It was suuuper fun.
So this is definitely 100% my fault due to my lack of communication.