Haha thanks for the kind words. Beyond functioning as a sort of ‘score’ they really didn’t have a purpose to be honest. I had ideas for how I wanted them to serve more mechanical purpose, like a kind of fuel allowing you to become a ghost instead of the machines, but by the time I developed that Idea, I didn’t have the time to implement it in a way I was happy with and that felt balanced. It’s definitely my biggest regret in terms of self assessment of the project.
As for the large space, it’s all just a benefit of a tilemap and large brushes, made creating rooms a lot quicker than having to place each tile individually.
Glad you enjoyed the game :)