Thank you for playing and for the great feedback! I was wondering when I'd run into a fellow Murakami fan. Yes, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle (as it is called at least in my country) is one of my favorite Murakami short stories (and later novels). It was partial inspiration for this. And I especially want to incorporate a find the cat, Noboro Watanabe, as a side quest when I do the full game. The main inspiration was The Last Lawn of the Afternoon, one of Murakami's other popular short stories. Unfortunately for me, I am out of Murakami material to read, having read every short story and novel he has written (fiction and non-fiction) that has been translated to English. But, this is an opportunity to explore my love for writing in another form. And for me to work on my own writing skills (something I feel the AI just doesn't do well, at least for me).
For me, mowing lawns takes me back to my youth since that was my chore growing up. And, what you did was not unrealistic. When handling a push mower it is typical to use wheelies to go back and forth on rows, and sometimes to go back and forth to go over areas again. I used to handle some sections of our lawn going back and forth. There is actual a sort of simple pleasure in approaching mowing a particular lawn as an "efficiency puzzle" which I think gives the game a simple sort of mental pleasure. The other part of it is the "Zen" of simple doing something. Appreciate your feedback. I know I need an extra hint in the first level that when you hit a wall to remind the player that they can do a wheelie for quick turns. I plan to add that eventually.