Really enjoyed the concept. I just beat the brain scrambler, but I'm confused on how to continue. I just end up on page 66 again where I can either go back to the pseudopede or return to the entrance. I'm probably missing something really obvious here and I'll take another look at it later.
- The "go to page X" prompts at the bottom really need to describe the physical action that they entail similar to the other options like "Enter the side path (Go to page X)" or "Leap of faith (Go to page X)" imo. I always assumed they were equivalent to "go forwards/backwards" but there are some instances where that doesn't seem to be the case (going to page 66 after beating the brain scrambler doesn't give the option to go back)
- Maybe some pages could be updated dynamically after the player completes certain tasks? Like after defeating an enemy, the player should have the option to backtrack from its encounter page since it's already dead. After inputting the "authorize" password, the page should be updated to the player doesn't have to enter it again if they go back a page.
- Combat was interesting, but I think a lot of players will get filtered by the presentation. The combat instructions shown before the first fight should saved somewhere and be readable at any time, even in the middle of combat. The guide itself should incorporate more visuals instead of describing it in words only.
- Simple notifications for when the player attempts to perform an invalid action, highlighting valid locations a player can drag a card when they are holding it, etc, could go a long way in helping players figure things out
- The password system seems potentially cool, but kinda superfluous in what I've played so far. I don't see any benefit in having the text input option over having a set list of options to choose from and I don't know how to design such a use case that doesn't just turn the game into a pseudo-text-based-adventure.
- Dynamic elements like the elevator, card envelope rewards, missing pages, spinny bits etc were very cool and I'd love to see more things like that
- The writing was good enough that I read it.
Really liked what I played so far. Don't know how you'll develop it further mechanically, but just having the world/story be fleshed out more would be cool by itself