I'm dead. I can't believe you played this game more than twice because I remember thinking "I would be so lucky if someone played both branches" like WOW THANK YOU
I really appreciate the feedback because I've always imagined LIONKILLER as a game for people to chew slowly! I was surprised that some people found the pacing to be fast, since I like to think that the text is quite dense (Which I credit to my bilingualism. You know written Chinese is efficient and conveys many layers of meaning!). I think most games underestimate how much player time is typically spent "waiting for something dynamic to happen" so I'm glad that you didn't feel like I was wasting your time.
I didn't want to make an "authentically" Chinese game. First of all, I didn't grow up in the mainland. Second of all, "authentic" Chinese historiography trends very male and conservative. I was interested in neither of those things. I think, from my personal experience only, the original Ballad of Mulan is not very empowering. Sacrifice is not empowering (especially for marginalized people), and I tried to provide choices in the game that did not necessitate virtuous sacrifice.
Ultimately, LIONKILLER is a game about valuing women's dreams. Which is why I actually think it's not actually as niche as it looks, lol. I made this game for anyone who was told to put their dream last. I made this game for anyone whose history has been touched by the British Empire (which is most of the world). I made this game for anyone whose lives have been harmed by Confucianism (also a large segment of the world). It is neither pro-Chinese nor pro-British. It is pro-Mulan.
Thank you for playing!