Sorry I haven't replied yet!
To Neo-Kevinci: I actually do enjoy the sort of nostalgia for the PS1-era graphics and I was inspired by the Haunted PS1 collection(s) of games. Though I am realizing that I probably don't have to make it a first-person game, especially with the sort of story I'm thinking (though maybe in the future?). Which brings me to...
My reply to anothercastle: I actually did decide to go the route of turning the game into a VN. Much easier to handle as my first project! And maybe in any future projects, I can incorporate more into the gameplay as I learn.
Thank y'all for the words of encouragement and advice! They mean a lot!