Unique Witness elements and what to do about them - ZIL-Collaborations/Witness-the-Prequel GitHub Wiki
ANALYZE - should not be implemented. Monica does not have access to the Duffy and the crime lab. A unique default response will suffice.
ACCUSE and ARREST - should not be implemented as they were in Witness, as Monica is not a cop. (Although... an "ACCUSE LINDER" that dishes out some still-upset-about-mom story wouldn't go amiss...)
SEARCH - Meh? Monica is not a detective and should be basically familiar with the contents of the house, so that we don't need the mechanics of doing a general vs. specific search. Unless we have a puzzle that specifically requires her to find something (something which has been accidentally misplaced? Perhaps the clock key?) I think a unique default is fine, although the urgency of having to find a misplaced item like the clock key could add a little something to the game.
EXAMINE CAREFULLY - Doesn't need to be implemented, unless we want to tie it to a specific puzzle. (like, that the wiring on the butler button needs repair and Monica has to fix it? Meh?)
The credit scroll - Rather than include the text of the original credit scroll (which would feel weird) or changing it to reflect the details of this game (which also seems a little off), how about a different and shorter description, along the lines of "Only guests and rubes look at that thing." ? That way it sidesteps the reality of the credit scroll...
HIDE (as in >HIDE BEHIND COUCH) - Not sure? It could be used constructively. It depends how much difficulty we want this game to have.
HIDE (as in >HIDE HANDGUN IN CLOCK) - Essential to the plot, but maybe it just works as a synonym for PUT?
Drinking and smoking - Should be implemented, just with Monica-specific responses.
Phong's keys and locked doors - Since the ownership of keys is a crucial element to the Witness plot (the clock key is mentioned as the thing that helps convict Monica) I think we should keep this--perhaps not in a way where Phong's keys are truly essential to winning, but where you can explore more of the house, and also get a bad outcome if Phong doesn't get the keys back before the Detective arrives because there's a ruckus about the keys' location and it raises the Detective's suspicions prematurely?
Phong automated movement and butler button (and probably Linder movement?) - Yes, some approximation of this should be kept. There should be some interaction giving Phong the gun to be planted, or something similar, which could either involve tracking him down while he's walking around or pushing the button to summon him.
Reading the grandfather clock to tell time - Yes, please keep this. (Hopefully more-or-less a copy-paste from the Witness code?)
Grandfather clock chimes - Very definitely. (found in original events.zil) I'd want to include a flavor bit where the chimes startle Monica the first time she's in the office to hear them.
Weather - Was a fun (and plot-relevant) part of the atmosphere in the original! And if we do implement the different timed modes (normal/super-challenging/super-sandbox) then we would want to pair that (perhaps supported by at least as much research as can be found in the original events.zil suggesting someone looked up old newspapers to get the timing right!).