i really enjoyed reading your thoughts on narrative and the player choice in context of a game about a college student. i personally can relate to a lot of the situations written here already so i think you have a great premise to start with. some of your thoughts reminded me that i honestly really love messing around with twine because it always feels like experimenting and figuring things out--it's honestly less daunting than writing in a word document. i'm really glad you're focusing on making the game for yourself and enjoying the process. i enjoy playing games that i know people poured a lot of thought and care into or see themselves in. i'm in love with your devlog and discussion process in relation to this game but also game development in general. i think a lot of people when starting out have this notion that they need to create games that have been done before rather than thinking about what they personally want out of games or want to explore with development.
there's a gamasutra article i refer people to when they start talking or thinking about game design + narrative and how to evoke emotion: https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BobbyLockhart/20161004/282611/Emotion_in_SingleP...
what it mainly comes down to is this: certain emotions are tied to decision-making, namely things like pride, shame, accomplishment, guilt. these are what games often act best on over movies or books because the player often experiences the consequences of their decisions. i think what games also uniquely offer over media is the potential to be very intimate or confrontational, especially in games where you're reading narrative or dialogue especially. if you haven't already, i think it'd be interesting to hear your thoughts on including interactions or dialogue with other characters--or, conversely (and this would be also good as a conscious decision), deciding not to include any literal dialogue (potentially to make the player feel more isolated?). anyway, this got rambly but hopefully this offers more jumping-off points for your game's design process. great work so far and i'm looking forward to more!