The top left is the village, complete with villagers. The top right has the four magic stones surrounding the boulder that imprisons you, represented by the barrel.
The stars are your Energy, which is how you exert influence on villagers.
The bottom left is the forest, and the bottom right is the river.
Right now, Energy resource management seems to be key. You only have so much to start with, but as you influence villagers, they start to worship you and give you more Energy, which means you can influence them more with greater effects.
For instance, you might be able to Cause Fear at first, which is enough to get someone to believe you exist, but too much fear can backfire in that no one will want to go anywhere near you, which limits your abilities.
Later, when you have a lot of Energy, you might be able to Compel a villager to go somewhere specific.
So, this game seems to require a lot of AI and content, which is what I was worried about. Villagers have to go about their own business, which means they need things to do besides walking around.
On the other hand, if I abstract away a lot of the behaviors, maybe it can simplify things, but I worry I will lose what makes this game exciting for me.