Ooh I do remember you! And I see that you've posted the demo of your project (will definitely be checking that out later, expect to see me in the comments lol). Congrats on finishing the demo! As for your questions, yes you can definitely include my name as an inspiration if you wish (and I feel honored, thank you so much).
To have the mc's sprite on the side of the screen, you can add "side" in the beginning of the file names! You don't have to add the "side" in the script, just adding it in the file names are enough. Ren'py will automatically place it on the bottom left side of the screen. I've attached the example below (how I named the files, how I defined the images, and how I use it), I hope it helps!
