UPDATE ... SORT OF?
hi! it's been a while. i actually never stopped working on the game, but i never really got anywhere either.
in hindsight, i think it might've been a mistake to base this game off things i already knew how to do. it made the first few steps really easy (my sprite walks! hey, dialogue, i remember how to do that!), but it also resulted in every new addition breaking the wonky custom template i was so proud of. initially it was kind of fun to pick everything apart and rebuild it all over again (except better this time, optimized), buuuut... well, by the third time it was mostly just frustrating.
i'm not sure why i never thought of switching engines until just now - i've always wanted to give Adventure Game Studio a try, and this would've been perfect.
right now i'm kind of on the fence when it comes to submitting what i do have - it's better than nothing, but i kind of hate it in it's current state, and i'm not sure if that's the best way to end this! maybe i'll just upload the game in the state of the gif above - walk around, stand on the dock, The Good Stuff. not really a game, but maybe what i'm most comfortable with?
regardless of whether or not i end up submitting anything, i don't feel like this was a waste at all - just wish i'd gone about things differently. i look forward to checking out everyone else's games!