Alllooo, Christopher! Thank you so much for your comments. I was worried a lot about the accessibility of the puzzles and the audience this was intended for and did heavy beta testing, but still didn't find enough people who were NOT puzzle enthusiasts (since that's the normal audience I interact with).
At the same time, I didn't want my puzzle people to veer too far off from the task at hand (by being able to leave puzzles) because the adventure game format was foreign to them.
So it was difficult both ways. Ha! Still, it was a fun exercise for me to attempt, and I learned a lot.
(Also, the relationship with Pel is based on my relationship with my wife. And I know that it's a bit much for those around us. So I have to apologize to many people for sharing that to a wider audience. :D )