Thanks for playing! Yeah, one of my goals is to integrate tutorials into gameplay rather than walking through walls of text. I just tend to implement them at the end of the jam when I'm burnt out.
Originally stealth was going to be the primary mechanic, but once I started doing the play animations and dances, the idea switched from being a challenging stealth-based metroidvania to a chill and playful microvania. The truck in the tutorial was supposed to be for learning how to drop through platforms. You could jump on top of the bed and cab of the truck. I should have just went with a down + jump button, but by the time I really noticed how awkward it was, it was past the point where I make any adjustments to the player controls and chalk it up to being a down-side of being a jam game.
In regards to the pause button assignment, ENTER isn't intuitive to the player as a pause button. If my P wasn't being used as a dance, I would assign pausing to it. It makes more sense than ENTER. Its just a shame that web builds will suffer if ESC is used in any capacity.
The gameplay loop is definitely not challenging and definitely is repetitive, but it stems from the chill direction. Like floaty jumps aren't my favorite either unless there's a specific purpose for it, but floaty feels chill in this case and I went with that.
This game is much different that my previous entries (much more metroidvania like than this) and my intended future entries, but one of my goals for this year, which was year one of focusing on game dev, making 6 games in total. I made #5 a while back and felt like #6 had to be the best game of the year, showing off everything I learned over the year, which made me feel a lot of anxiety and doubt. Just having fun with it and keeping it chill, took that edge off.
As for the references, just MJ and the headbop teachers were actual references. The headbop guys were referencing a recurring Saturday Night Live skit with Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan, where they were obnoxious party guys that get kicked out from clubs, high school proms, nursing homes, etc for their behavior.
I definitely appreciate the detailed feedback. I always keep good feedback in mind when working on future games, so while I wouldn't make the changes suggested for this game specifically, all the criticism/feedback will help me not repeat mistakes like how I implement drop through platforms.
Sorry for the wall of text, I'm still trying to wake up and organize my thoughts before I continue playing entries and providing feedback. Your game is in the queue for today, so you'll hear from me again lol.