Hey, I updated the game with several changes. I shortened several pieces of dialogue as well as made more of the dialogue optional so the pacing should be a bit faster. The pacing does pick up during the second half, it's just the first half that's slow. Let me know what you think.
Hi! Sorry I didn't get back to you right away. I wanted to take the time to sit down with this. All in all, I enjoyed it, and I see a lot of promise with this (and I'll eagerly follow you to see) as you go forward. Ok, that sounds a bit tame. I should say, "By the end, I wanted it to continue on, and I will jump on any new updates you have to see what you come up with next." The puzzles themselves were quite creative and varied, even if some were basic (as they should be in the beginning). I'm glad I didn't have to do the fire/person walking/balance beam one again, but I do wish I had had a second attempt at the rotating room one. I was in a bad corner when it started moving, and I didn't have the time to make it to the bottom. (I might play again to that point and give it a go.)
I played it a second time, as (after the longer speeches of the previous one), it seemed a bit abrupt at first. Then I restarted it multiple times after that when I realized the dialogue had changed. It was nice to see how the dialogue was different on multiple runs. I don't know if it was random or if you actually track what has been said. I'm thinking the latter, since the narrator also mentioned that I had played the ball game before, and it skipped past the bits I had heard before on the second go. All very well done. I can see you have designed in a lot of details.
I like how the dialogue adapts. For example, there were references to how I had done on the first tests. (But leave my father out of it!) It's probably not too hard, but it makes a big difference in immersion, and you did that well. I also started messing up on purpose and, eerily, the game seemed to know. :) I don't even know if I have encountered all the content. I suspect not, which adds to replayability.
I hope I didn't come across too harsh in my first comment. It's good you are responsive, and I can tell you want this to do well. I think you can have a little more dialogue in the beginning, as it does set the context (<sigh> balance). But I'm glad I was able to see more of what you have created. And, as I said, I'm looking forward to what you do next with this.
Nice job. :)
(And don't let those heretics who can't appreciate art get you down.)