Hey there!
Thanks for playing and for taking the time to leave such thoughtful feedback!
Consistency with the interactions was something I struggled with definitely. I responded previously on the forum here that I thought it might be related, at least somewhat, to the current scale of the game? If it was even smaller than it is now, maybe just a single room, I could have afforded to have every object reacting to the mouse, the game would then become about finding the right object or the right order? On the other hand, if the game was a bit longer it would perhaps have allowed more time to build up a "language" of interactions, starting with more straightforward ones and slowly developing them as the player became familiar with how the game works. As it is at the moment it maybe falls somewhere in between and, as you say, becomes about luck, just waving the mouse around to try and progress, some things respond, some don't and there isn't much to let players know either way.
I specifically didn't want the player to feel like they were playing as the woman! :D The idea was for the player to act as a driving force for the narrative and a kind of helping hand/guiding spirit for the character, I wanted the "cursor" to exist within the game world. The problem was maintaining that separation consistently while still coming up with enjoyable/interesting interactions that simultaneously connected the character, the environment and the little story I was trying to tell. The close-up interactions, as they are, blur the line too much; could the woman see you moving the objects? Were you actually moving her hands to perform the actions? With more time and a more nuanced performance from the character I think some of those issues could be addressed; as an example I could have had her start the job of unscrewing the laptop only to struggle with seeing the tiny screws, she could get distracted and the player could help out, unscrew, peel the label off and then she could return to the job and finish it off herself? There is an awful lot more work in conveying all of that succinctly to the player though!
The aim isn't to expand this particular game really, but to make a series of similar small stories set in the same world. Hopefully with the next one though I'll be able to address some of the issues that popped up with the first!
Thanks again!
Nick
(I really enjoy Florian's work! There's so much conveyed in the seemingly simple interactions of Lieve Oma!)