I think the reason chapter 1 of Enigma Heart works so well narratively is because it is on rails. You're guided through a linear story.
Wanting to take the rails off and let the player do things in any order from chapter 2 on is really at odds with me wanting to tell a story, especially since all of Zalia's friends are in Lydaea, and Zalia is on the move halfway across the continent.
(cont'd)
I really don't think, once people enter the valley, that they're gonna go back to Lydaea for updates now that they can just explore at will.
Zalia being solo really makes telling a story about relationships hard. Like, in a party-based RPG, your "hometown" (as it were) travels with you, so you have a built-in narrative device.
And I think Zalia and Esme writing letters back and forth is going to get old fast.
I really do think I've designed myself into a corner.
@ClarusPlusPlus imo I think you should avoid overthinking this and just make it how you think it should work and then, if you can, playtest various ways to push the player into triggering story beats.
It'd be kinda unrealistic to figure out the perfect way to do this in your head and get it right the first time, so don't aim for that.
Clarissa | making Enigma Heart
Meg