Thanks for the feedback. We have debated how much handholding to add to the game. Each chapter should take about 30 minutes to an hour to play through. We put some degree of boundaries so you cannot wander too far afield, at least in the beginning. I mean, I believe you cannot go to Teigsey in Chapter 1 even though it is in the files. Once you get to Teigsey, you cannot leave until you finish what needs to happen there. So we tried to eliminate some of that frustration. Or philosophy is more tell them the area where things are happening and then let them explore.
To you actual point, the quest with Iris is more of what could be considered a side quest. But we did want to make it mandatory. We toyed with the idea of having optional interactions. We do it a little in Chapter 3. But we did want to establish Captain Brighton and Lionel as relevant characters to pay attention to. That and Iris as a wooing target. It wouldn't make sense for Harold to direct you to do it. I guess we could have Abigail suggest looking around the docks while she goes to lunch before dance lessons? Neither feels natural, but maybe additional guidance is more important that strictly natural conversations. We will probably be revising the quest tracking and quest guidance after releasing a couple more chapters and getting more feedback.
But you are correct, there is nothing to telegraph needing to explore the town more than you already have. I think we could figure out a way to "mark" quest targets, but I personally find some of that a little unfun. I mean, in games like The Witcher 3, the world is so big you could just get lost without any guidance whatsoever. But in old adventure games like Quest for Glory, the world is much smaller and half the fun is exploring and figuring out what is happening in the world. Hopefully we will find a decent balance.
Thanks for playing and giving feedback.