(Spoiler-filled feedback for the author)
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Great updates, especially the changes to 25-AT-1 fixes multiple issues!
Now that you have addressed my main complaint that made the game too hard (locating Katherine's scene) I want to suggest some additional tweaks to improve things that imho made the game too easy. :)
It's regarding the narrator's commentary about sounds he hears on the recordings. Primarily when characters die; the way he explains when someone collapses/falls over. I think it's a mistake to spell this out so clearly. Apart from feeling unrealistic that it would be possible for the narrator to hear exactly what happens, it makes it too obvious to the reader what is going on.
It's usually pretty clear when someone dies, but by leaving out the narrator's explanations it would make what is going on a bit more ambiguous. I think it would make a great little puzzle if the player doesn't realise someone died and has to deduce that by noticing that the person is never being referenced again after a certain time.
It would be much better to change the death scenes to either not mention any sounds at all (like my favourite 09-ED-6-10), or just have some reactionary sound, like the dishes shattering on the floor when the butler dies. (07-KI-11)
Here's a list of death scenes where I think the narrator's commentary could be changed:
- "the sound of a body falling to the floor" (01-ST-12)
- "someone collapses to the floor" (12-BI-1-2-3-4-5-7-8-9)
- "the sound of someone collapsing" (18-VI-2-7)
- "the sound of someone falling over" (20-LI-2-5)
- "the sound of someone falling to the floor" (21-LI-1-2-4)
- "the sound of someone falling over" (22-CH-2-3)
Apart from the deaths, there are other detailed explanations for things that wouldn't make any identifiable sound. Like "Person 4 sounds like he's searching for something in his pockets" (09-TO-4-9), "sounds like things are being moved and pockets searched" (19-DI-4-6), "The rest of the room is searched" (12-TO-6).
Please know that these suggestions come from my enjoyment of your game. I'm simply excited about the potential to make something I already love even better. I hope they are received in the spirit of enthusiasm and support in which they're offered. :)