Thank you for elaborating on this and sharing your thoughts! (Commenting from my account and not Eevee's now)
"hypnosis depends on rapport and it’s easier to develop that rapport with someone."
This is exactly what I was feeling! I'm just so resistant to connecting in trance states when I don't know what I'm connecting to and don't know how to trust them, and I definitely feel like I would've liked an emotional connection there to a degree with the "someone".
I think everything you're saying makes sense, about this being a game designed to hypnotize, and this bringing up questions of consent and discomfort around that with a jam where it's expected others who may not be into it will be reviewing it and playing. I could definitely see how that would make it harder to lean into the script. I felt that to a degree, wishing for more and wishing it went deeper!
I'm happy to hear about the character-centric presentation thing you're planning with a mod. I find that personally I connect the most with the work when people really go hard into their thing, and I like seeing that. I wish you luck with your future work on this and whatever else you explore!
(edit: Also thank you for the hope regarding our cat! He's doing better overall lately I think.)