This is pretty interesting so far. I played through to the end - here are a couple thoughts.
A Couple Thoughts
Let me start by saying the grammatical correctness here is really good. I’ve been reading a bunch of WIPs lately, and yours is one of the cleanest and best put-together.
The opening is very strong, with a couple of character-building decisions followed by several tense situations to get the action going right away. In general, all the activities in this story are compelling and interesting, from the tournament to the underground exploration.
I only have one complaint: It feels like I’m missing a lot of details.
I don’t know what kind of world the MC is coming from, if it matters. I assumed it was a fantasy-type world until I saw a reference to food trucks and later, a flashlight.
I don’t really know what the MC is capable of. Being asked to participate in a martial arts tournament really threw me for a loop! I was playing a dedicated scholar. I picked all the “are you sure I have to fight?” options and still got signed up.
(Of course, once I was in, there was no way I was going to surrender for any reason. Yes, I broke several bones, but my honor would permit nothing less.)
I don’t know much about the school! What’s the age range here? Why is MC attending? Why are people trying to get out? Why is MC given the option to try and get out after choosing to attend?
It would make sense if they discovered a terrible truth about the school, but that hasn’t happened yet. It’s just rumblings and hearsay. In fact, since there might be necromancers in the woods, that’s a great reason to want to stay inside!
It feels like everything progresses very quickly. That has its pros and cons: there’s always something interesting going on, but some details are glossed over.
Here’s how my own playthrough went, if you’re curious.
I picked all the Alchemy and Sneaky options and played an earnest, well-meaning student.
Saving Abyss by stealing potion supplies was a tough call since I wanted to be a model student, but that’s what I went with. But then, even after that, Abyss started threatening me. That put them on my shit list permanently, and I started hanging out with Hawthorne as much as possible to antagonize them.
Early on, I was hoping I could use my Alchemy strengths to do wacky potion tricks.
For a while, I was disappointed that didn’t happen. Later on, though, I got my wish multiple times over! Grabbing flasks off my belt and slamming them together to make quick potions during Capture the Flag is exactly what I wanted to see from a Battle Alchemist. The glue trick when stealing the battery was really good, too. I guess it makes sense to save that stuff for later on in the story, after a few lessons.
It did feel like a lot of the choices were options between the three main fields of study, so I picked Alchemy every time. That didn’t really bother me since that’s the character I wanted, but it makes me wonder whether that takes out a lot of the decision-making. What’s the point of the other options if I’ve already picked a field to specialize in?
You might consider forcing tough decisions by including situations in which one field doesn’t work as well, or can’t work at all.
Joining the Time Travel Committee is pretty appealing, but again, I’m missing some details. What’s the necessity of protecting the timeways if I don’t know anything about the outside world that might need protecting? Are we talking maintaining status quo, or prevention of manmade disaster, or full reality obliteration?
Plus, when trying to break up the duel, I’m given the option to claim I have a “duty” toward the school. Even though I was picking anti-Abyss options, I couldn’t bring myself to choose that option since I felt no sense of duty.
To sum up, the MC and their abilities are great and the rapid and varied action is great, but it could use a little more detail in a few areas to deepen the connection between the MC, the school, the characters, and the outside world.
You probably know the “magic school” setting is pretty popular for Choice games. It feels like yours has plenty going for it that sets it apart, but it might be worth checking out some other takes on the setting to see what they’ve done. I liked the WIP The One Chosen quite a bit.
Great start so far. Good luck to you!