Reminiscing on our talk, I think I have something to add, hope it will be helpful for anyone reading this thread, including future me.
I would advise authors from over investing on characters, story and worldbulding. While passion can be beneficial, you should be wary how it impacts player and story. For example, you really love this character you’ve made and you are absolutely sure that audience will love them too. So, you make MC feel the same way you do, and make them spend more time together, or choose in their favor, or just blatantly cover said character with plot armour. But people are different, and they can feel indifferent or even hate your favorite, and it’s normal. How to deal with it? Add an option to drift away from them, even if it’s MC childhood friend, add variety to spend more time with other characters. Try to not drag one single character into the limelight. Express emotions from author regarding certain characters or groups or countries in their lore can be hurtful for players experience.
The second thing authors should, imo, be very carefu aboutl, is balance between what MC knows and what player knows. While this could be a powerful tool, the disbalance can scare the player from walkthrough. Always ask yourself is there enough info for player to feel in some way, and avoid to tell too much or too little unless you are absolutely sure.