I think this game has some potential! The art is cute, I appreciate your efforts to be representative and diverse (although it may be easier to follow if you specified the characters' info in their bios instead of having flags that not all players will know/know how to look up), and the concept is interesting and pretty unique.
I have some constructive criticism about the game, which I'll go into below, but I want to say that everything is said out of a desire to help and provide genuine, in-depth feedback. Anyone, please feel free to ask any questions/dispute any points I make/etc (civilly, of course)! I'm sorry in advance for the long comment ^^;
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Writing
Speaking as an editor, the primary concern I have regarding Repurpose is its writing quality. I feel that the script and its style are a bit clunky and unrefined. There are a LOT of grammatical errors and typos, the way the plot and characters behave feels unrealistic to me, and I found the cast rather unlikeable.
Some elements/instances that particularly stuck out to me are as follows:
- This may just be a stylistic preference, but I don't think the use of slang works. For example: Kalei saying "bruh"/"cuz" once or twice didn't seem to mesh with the way he normally spoke, the narration using the slang "lowkey" made the writing feel dated and unrefined, and the DJ saying "lol"/Ramón saying "kthanxbye" aloud felt less like a character quirk and more like the writer perhaps forgot that it was supposed to be a verbal exchange?
- There are a few instances in which the characters seem to be used as mouthpieces for the writer's beliefs. Despite agreeing with these views, I feel the dialogue included is too intense and glaringly out of place. There's nothing wrong with including politics in games, of course, but I felt it was really heavy-handed and didn't feel like a natural, compelling way to discuss these issues (especially since it was the demon who seems rather pro-torture who was getting so passionate about it).
- Often, it felt like things were happening because the script said so, and not because it makes sense for the characters' professed personalities.
- The way Ramon and Kalei are so cavalier about airing these people's personal death information in front of a crowd of strangers seems a bit strange, as does the fact that most everyone is so calm about the situation. Isn't Kalei supposed to be kind and straight-laced? Why would he choose to do this in such a chaotic and potentially upsetting manner?
- Everyone seems to blindly accept that they're actually in the afterlife and not in some kind of cult or dream or experiment or anything more rational. It doesn't feel believable that nobody tries to leave, asks for proof, faints, has a breakdown, etc. and doesn't make any kind of noise at all until the named cast gets through their intros. Every unnamed character is completely silent and unmentioned to the point I forgot there ever was a crowd. And it's not just the ensemble cast -- Michelle's main concern after all this is "find scrap," of all things. The way people behave in this game really tests my suspension of disbelief.
- This brings me to my final writing point: this is a very dialogue-heavy script. This isn't always bad, of course, but I think Repurpose could benefit from some more explanations, descriptions, introduction on the setting/PC, etc. before jumping into introducing a whole cast of characters and whatnot. It feels like the plot just really wants to get going without building any expositional foundation first.
Character Designs/Depictions
Overall, I think the character art for Repurpose is good! It's clean, with a mostly-consistent visual style and mood. However, there are also a couple of character designs that, when combined with the way the characters are written, strike me as potentially a bit...sensitive.
- I feel that the exaggerated, stereotypical accent/speech pattern that the character Kalei is written with makes his dialogue both confusing and a bit uncomfortable to read, and his outfit (stereotypical Hawaiian flower crown + tattoos), when combined with the exaggerated written accent, just feels like a bit...much. A bit too stereotypical.
- The same goes for Rosita, in my opinion. The combination of her waitress' outfit, her exaggerated hourglass body type, her low-income background, and her "airheadedness" just feels a bit off to me. Edging too close to stereotypes about Latinas for my personal comfort.
Lastly, and this is a much smaller thing than anything else I've brought up, but I just wanted to let you know that the interface is not accessible to some disabled players. The yellow-on-yellow text/background combo for choices and the font the game is in can make the text difficult to read and process for those with dyslexia, visual impairments, processing disorders, etc..
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Overall, I wish you the best of luck with development! I think you have an interesting idea as well as some lovely art here, and with some refinement and maybe a beta-reader/editor for the writing side of development, you could have a good, fun game in the making!
I hope that my feedback is helpful in some way and doesn't come across as harsh or mean in any way; I genuinely have warm feelings towards this project and I want to hear the story you want to tell.
Have a lovely rest of your weekend, and happy writing/coding/etc!