(I am now in a rush to test as many games as possible to help, so please do not mind the cursory reviewing style.)
"You play as a detective trying to solve a murder. Talk to the bar patrons and see what kind of leads you can pick up." -> reminds me of the beginning of "Indigo Prophecy"
"After you've gathered all the information you can, enter your guesses into your journal about who you think did it, why they did it, and how!" -> Reminds me of "Return of the Obra Dinn", and "Unusual Investigator" from this very game jam!
Controls are QWERTY-only instead of layout-independent (I have an AZERTY keyboard), BUT arrow keys are enabled.
bug speaking with black-eyed bartender: after choice, shows my face, and mine again for the answer. Actually, trying again, I realize the portraits are inverted throughout!
the cat is cute and having him as someone you can interrogate is tripping XD
Not spoiling, but the form suggestions for solving the case are sometimes a bit of a giveaway. Of course, a "Return of the Obra Dinn" system for answering would have probably been way too complex. XD
I thought I had nailed the case, but apparently not… ._.
Only now do I realize you can jump with Space, although this does not seem really useful. X)
Aaaaah, speaking to some character AFTER having some information can change the dialogue!!! :O I had thought so way earlier, in my first run, but seeing in the second run that the redhead client was still asked about the gun, I thought incorrectly that everything was static! Spoiler: realizing while talking to the bartender after the woman.
BUT the flow of information is not always coherent! Spoiler: I can ask the bartender about what the cook supposedly told me, but I did not speak to the cook.
I have tried several possibilities that seemed to match my information, but the case remains unsolved!!! ._. Is there a bug, or did I really mess up?? X)
Takeaway: I like the Cluedo approach! And how you wanted the player to focus (this is still true through the timer! Even though you could not make the dialogue trigger only one time), and have him play again for information; this idea is rather close to "Outer Wilds", actually. There are some bugs and interface problems, but nothing too serious, I got how to play quickly! :) I wonder if I messed up or if there is a problem for the winning condition, but anyway, I thought the dialogue and clues were subtle enough.
Very interesting concept and prototype, do enhance it! :) (And tell me the solution! :o XD)