Thanks for playing!
That's not quite how it works. When you attack something you get hit simultaneously, but the shield skill can proc and completely prevent taking damage.
No, I don't, to be honest.
I really like how it turned out, but this game was designed entirely for this jam in terms of theme and scope.
If you're interested in a larger game with a (loosely) similar concept, you can try Idle Loops, which is the game that I was playing when the theme of the jam was announced.