Oh no! I do like Burdoc very much, I promise! He seems like a very sweet boy, I just didn't like him as a romantic option? I use this term quite loosely, as I did before, though I'm at a loss since that how they're usually described. But, seeing the three of them together, looking past my issues with how they get there, they do fit together very perfectly. I don't think he was a poorly made character at all!
I'm not uncomfortable with the poly option at all (I'm a little poly myself actually, haha), though I can understand why you'd think that. I actually really like what you were going for! Poly couples get a bad rep far too often, especially non het poly couples, and I think the idea here was really really nice. And, once I worked out what kind of story it was, it felt very natural and sweet for all of them to end up together. It's more like, due to the way the game flowed, it felt like a penalization for not going that way no matter what (despite the few things I pointed out about how it doesn't exactly feel honest in the moment to do so), and a bit unfair toward the player/protagonist for just the idea of him liking one differently than the other, or just not wanting to entangle with both without full understanding. But! Once I realized why that would be (they ALL like eachother!) it made more sense, but until the realization of what I was supposed to do to get a Good ending, it felt quite awkward that they'd respond that way (to the player/protag liking one differently), and still awkward to try and ""romance"" (again, for lack of a better term in the genre) them both.
This is all a lot of words on my part, haha, but I do want to say that actually taking into consideration how much (or little) time you had to work on this does change my perspective. I can see why things like I'd previously mentioned would be non-thoughts with such a small time period! And I should have thought of that to mention in my points, in all fairness. I also should have taken care to better explain that the linear idea of the game was good! Sometimes people have set stories/variations in mind and want to tell them, and I lied that! Honestly, my only discomfort with the linear quality is due to the lack of being able to say 'no' while still spending time with friends in other routes, and the lack of honesty if you choose to say yes to both! Without those things coloring the playthroughs around them, I really wouldn't have a problem with there being a 'set' ending or idea of what the character should do. Quite the opposite- I would have really liked that the 'true'st feeling ending is the one where they're all together!
I was already really looking forward to your other projects, but I feel EXTRA good about it, reading your response. It really did clear things up! I'll definitely go back and get the rest of the endings now, since I feel a bit better about the game after this. :) Thank you!