05-03-2009, 03:05 AM | #1 |
我が名は勇者王!
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Katawa Shoujo
Let me begin with a holy fuck.
Yes, that was cursing! But well worth it because no other words can express my surprise that Katawa Shoujo actually came to life. What is it? A visual novel. What is it about? A high school for young girls with disabilities, seen from the perspective of a new male patient. Ok, sounds like a typical H-game scenario. Why the big deal? It's made by Westerners! Specifically a collection of Anonymous from Yotsuba's /a/ (formerly 'old' /a/, when the project got started) who have worked for two years to bring this to life. And holy fuck, it looks amazing. I remember the EXACT TOPIC where Katawa Shoujo was first spawned - there was a sticky and everything - and people were really eager to try and work their hands with this project. Myself included! This was back in 2006. Nothing much happened, interest was lost, the forums died and the project seemed dead. In 2007, the group that formed "Four Leaf Studios" came together from that rubble and pooled their resources to present this humble little demo. if /a/ didn't suck so badly, what with the content split that made visual novels non-kosher, this would be the equivalent of a nuclear bomb going off in an age where people don't believe bombs exist or explode anymore. It is amazing and you lot should try it out soon/today! http://katawashoujo.blogspot.com/
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05-03-2009, 11:28 AM | #2 |
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Aww. That's such a sad title!
I would like to play this game but I am anxious about something. On the one hand, this game could just be a vehicle for the creators to express their love of extremely /d/eviant fetishes like amputated women, one-eyed women with the archetypal Japanese eyepatch, or mentally retarded women. That sort of thing -- an expression of love specifically for mentally or physically-mutilated women, if made obvious, could repulse a lot of potential supporters. On the other hand, if the game instead focuses on a toned-down representation of disabilities, and showcases for example paraplegic girls, girls who are blind because of their brains and not because of their eyes, and girls with terminal illnesses like aggressive leukemia or ALS, then this could be a godsend for the world community. It'd be a very noble gesture (whether that's the creators' intention or not) to produce a game which shows that disabled girls are awesome, too, and have big hearts and big dreams. That includes amputees, women with hollow eye sockets, women with acid burns all over their faces, etc., by the way. But I'm just saying that if the game is all about the extreme cases of physical and mental disabilities that it'll probably be too much too soon and only appeal to a very niche audience. Reminds me of a picture I saw last month of a beautiful girl. She was physically gorgeous, like a supermodel, and her personality was bubbling, happy, intelligent, and strong. She had a pilot's license to fly airplanes on her own. She had a college degree. And she had no arms. None: since infancy, she learned to use her legs as both legs and arms. She could fly a plane, apply mascara, you name it. Gorgeous -- but armless. "But" being the tragic keyword there. It's really too bad that we're so judgmental, myself included. And on that note, I'll say that while I normally never go for the token disabled girl in eroge, I'm definitely going to check out Katawa Shoujo. Sounds like it could be an amazing experience if it's done right. Thanks!!
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05-03-2009, 11:42 AM | #3 |
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Sorry for the double-post , but I just found their website and I have to say that I'm surprising even myself: I think the first girl I'd love to go after is Hanako.
Characters There is one problem for me that I just noticed, though: all of the girls are on the loli-er side of the spectrum. I understand that this is a high school eroge, but none of the girls seems all that developed. It might have been cool if, like Narcissu before it, the game was set in a medical institute and therefore had access to women of a wide range of ages and builds. That could have been pretty maturely handled, too, if they went about it by making the main character 18 to 19 years old -- young enough to date a 15-year old, old enough to date a young women in her mid-20s. Instead of complaining, though, I suppose I'll have to get to work on a fangame of my own. This team is definitely giving me inspiration that it can be done!
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05-04-2009, 10:14 PM | #4 |
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I don't think the scenarios have been written yet, but I hope they're tragic. D: I got some good tragedy ideas percolating in my head.
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05-06-2009, 02:39 AM | #5 |
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It would appear that Katawa Shoujo is not only set in modern Japan, but also in an alternate reality...that of Code Geass!
Lelouch himself is in Hisao's class, and when Muto is giving a lecture he pulls down a "historical" map of the world it illustrates the territories owned by the Holy Britannian Empire. Given that Lelouch is in a handicapped school but hasn't been recognized, I'd say the series is set somewhere around 10-25 years after R2. Awesome!
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05-06-2009, 05:14 AM | #6 |
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Wouldn't that be impossible? Lelouch was a late teen in R2, so wouldn't that make him a 20-something or 30-something adult by then?
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05-08-2010, 01:34 PM | #7 |
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I am still waiting for this game to come out. I don't want them to rush it, but I also don't want to see it die in Development Hell.
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05-08-2010, 02:27 PM | #8 |
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I haven't kept in touch with how it's going, but I do know Emiri was redesigned at one point, apparently because the artists felt that she was a "Tsukihime character in Fate/stay night" as far as style is concerned.
I'm not worried - it's just that the creative complex that brought together the people who made the demo (Yotsuba /a/) has collapsed, so what goes on in dev isn't as transparent as what the blog would have had people believe.
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07-01-2010, 07:04 PM | #9 |
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It looks like the team is still active but that Act 1 remains their only release. They have yet to finish this game, from the look of things. Whether it's really delayed (e.g. they don't have the plot details figured out yet), delayed (e.g. they don't have all the dialogue written yet), or only partially delayed (e.g. they haven't coded it yet but it's otherwise done), I have no clue. But it would be nice to see a finished product. It's been almost one full year with no developments as far as we non-project team members can tell. One year ago, you were free to sample Act 1. One year later, you're still free to sample Act 1.
Oh well. I'm happy to see blog updates pertinent to the game and less than one week old.
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07-01-2010, 09:21 PM | #10 |
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Considering there was a three year gap between nothing, then suddenly ACT 1, I'll not worried the project is in any danger. It's partially supported (and staffed) by key members of the VN Wiki, so I doubt things will go under. Something similar happened with the UBW/HF project, and when it was released we were treated to a voice patch along with it.
Screenshots were featured in some JP magazine for crying out loud, they couldn't be more proud. Last I heard they were working on a complete graphic overhaul, to improve what was already awesome to begin with. It seems like an issue of misplaced priorities, but if they can do it they might as well.
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11-14-2010, 04:32 PM | #11 | |
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Still no developments as far as a non-team member can tell. The blog was last updated a few weeks ago, and most of the updates between now and August are only loosely related to the project. This isn't always the case, however:
Quote:
================================ I thought to check in to the project's status again because of a story I just read by one of the many, many H-artists whose work I follow. It's the second chapter in his latest tankoubon, Sarashi-Ai. The story is about two classmates, a boy named Daisuke and a girl named Tsukino. Daisuke is something of a quiet loner with not many friends, but Tsukino, who lived nearby, would always cheerily say "Good morning!" to him and would wait for him to get dressed before running up the hill to school. Then one day, Tsukino doesn't come to school anymore. Daisuke doesn't know all the details, but he learns that Tsukino has a blood disorder which has robbed her the use of her legs and will cause her physical pain for the rest of her life. The cheery girl he once knew, now bound to a wheelchair, is still her cheery self: and she asks Daisuke one day to help wheel her up the hill to school so she can say good-bye to everybody before starting her new school life at a school which is more handicap-accessible. The story goes from there. If you're interested, be sure to check it out. Warnings about content in the spoiler box which follows. Spoiler: show I dunno. I thought the story was very cute (and of course very erotic), and I really liked the ending. If you want to know how the story ends and you're not planning to check it out for yourself anyway, go ahead and click the spoiler box below. Spoiler: show That look of surprise on her face in the second cel on Page 53 is just priceless. lol "W-what just happened? " is written all over it. hahaha
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03-06-2011, 11:12 PM | #12 |
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03-06-2011, 11:44 PM | #13 |
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Hanako path for the win! Can't wait.
I wish these guys the very best. I've been waiting to play this game since you first told me about it several years ago. I had checked in on the site (and seen some interesting updates) a few months back, but nothing to warrant a post-bump in the thread. However, seeing that they've conclusively finished certain girls' arcs (like Lilly and Hanako) is good news indeed. It means, hopefully, that they're very close to finishing other girls' arcs as well and that all we have to wait for at this point is for the artists to draw up the HCGs which correspond with the newest scenes. (For example, if Hanako's ending has a new twist now, the artist will have to draw that CG again.)
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03-07-2011, 12:10 AM | #14 |
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The more progress they make, the worse I feel about not trying to stick with the project. There was no way I could have meaningfully contributed back in 2006, but after playing all these VNs in short succession, I've grown more than attatched to the style and want to try and write one. If I ever do, it'll likely merge with the mahjong applet/client I want to design with Morg - a mahjong VN would be something pretty novel indeed!
Since KS is divided into paths, I can't help but wonder if we'll ever see partial releases. It's hardly the norm for TL's (indeed, amaterasu was unusual in doing it for ML) but something aking to another demo would be most welcome. Also Talon, check out the art on vndb's KS page. Do you have a larger version of this, by any chance? I've been scouring the seven seas for one but haven't found it yet.
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03-07-2011, 07:57 PM | #15 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
What do you mean? Katawa Shoujo is being made by English-speaking people so it's not really similar to your Muv-Luv situation. And already they made it pretty clear that it's a three-act game but that they didn't want to release Acts 2 and 3 separately from Act 1. Finally, you already know that they did do a partial release by releasing Act 1 all by itself four separate times (hence Act 1 version 4 being the newest release), sooooo ... I'm kind of confused as to what you're asking here or why you'd be asking it.
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09-25-2011, 07:39 PM | #16 |
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The team's issued some blog updates in the past few weeks. No new information about a release date, but it's still good to see that they're updating and giving us hope that they're making progress on this.
In the meantime, have some Misha fanart. It's kind of amusing how Misha, being a pathless girl with a huge fan following, has turned into this game's Sayuri (Kanon). Beautiful, beautiful girl. But no path. I don't even know why she's in the institute though. Does she even have a handicap? Maybe it'll be revealed in the game that she has a psychiatric handicap. And that's why she looks perfectly normal yet goes to this private academy.
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09-25-2011, 11:23 PM | #17 |
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Maybe she's at risk for Huntington's Disease.
I think a big part of her attraction is she's normal. I know when I looked at the demo, I desperately wanted her over many of the other girls except Emi and Rin. Emi and Rin are the ultimate fetish fuel. I hope their H scenes are funny, because man, I don't see how they can't be hot!
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09-25-2011, 11:41 PM | #18 |
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Nah, I still have eyes only for Hanako. I'll play the other paths, of course, but I'm pretty much getting this game for Hanako's path alone. It'll be interesting to see if one can successfully dock onto Hanako's path on a first play-through or not though. I wonder if you have to get Emi first: in which case, I wonder if shooting for Hanako so ardently is going to net me a Bad End on my very first playthrough?
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09-26-2011, 12:00 AM | #19 |
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How did, "I'd love to play Hanako's path first" transform into "I really only want Hanako and will play the other paths for completion's sake" I looked at Hanako's measurements, so aside from the long hair and her timid complexion complex, I don't see what gets your gears going in the numbers.
Lily is more in line with your preferred specimen physically. Under normal circumstances I'm a Shizune man, but Emi and Rin's personalities have been shaped by their handicaps, so I have a burning interest into how deep and complex FLS can go with them. Not to say I don't expect the same from Shizune, but definitely less. And even less from Lily. Yeah, I think Hanako might actually be the girl I have the least interest in, but then, I'm just thinking of the H scenes at this point. >_>
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09-26-2011, 12:53 AM | #20 | |
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Quote:
I actually don't much care for Lily based on looks. Too tall, not a fan of blonde+blue eyes. (Post continues. Spoiler tagging it to condense it.) Spoiler: show
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09-26-2011, 01:22 AM | #21 | ||
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Quote:
I see what you mean, but Hanako is definitely more in line with Hinata rather than Yakumo, Nanaka or Tsugumi. It would be neat if she transformed from a Hinata into a Tsugumi. Quote:
I've forgotten so much about Shinobu I can't really look for a pattern between your distinction between her and Hinata, but Hinata was abused as a child, so that kind of "tragic" past might be something that works for you (I think of Sakura, too). From my consideration, I think Hanako's H-scene would be pretty boring unless she has some kind of strong personality that leaks through. A girl VERY SIMILAR to Nanaka who I don't think you would have liked much is Haru from G-Senjou, and during her H-scene her personality shone through for about 2 minutes before depreciating into a generic bang. But the other girls fit pretty snugly into Sengoku Rance style kinky, so I'm imagining all sorts of hilarious reads for those scenes. They've got the personalities to match...well, at least Emi and Rin do.
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10-27-2011, 01:54 AM | #22 |
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Talon be pleased, Rin's route be finished. With this, Katawa Shoujo might come out as soon as Christmas 2011!
Man, now I'm getting a tad obsessive. o_o Put Emi's such a pure soul, and Rin so fun to hang around, I feel positively wicked for wanting to see their H scenes. I actually prefer RAITA's design to the current incarnation of Rin. Rin here looks chubbier compared to RAITA's design, and the original has a much more athletic, or at least formed body. But I've heard part of that is illusory, as less technically accomplished anime artists try to draw clothes as "skin", making it look tight on a character. But I can't deny it's much, much more attractive.
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12-15-2011, 09:57 PM | #23 |
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As Doppel mentioned in an earlier post today, the Katawa Shoujo dev team updated their blog and announced that the game is confirmed for release on January 4, 2012. The bad news is, Katawa Shoujo didn't make it out before 2011 ended. ^^; The good news is, close enough and SO SOON to where we are now! Just three weeks until magic time. Can't wait to play this. And the best things of all? 100% legal and in our native language. Should be a blast. Hanako Route, here I come!
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12-15-2011, 10:10 PM | #24 |
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Only because the girls are 18+!
I will find a way to pirate this game. I shall overturn fate...!
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12-15-2011, 10:12 PM | #25 |
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No, I meant ... the game is for free. It's not for sale. It "will be released free of charge under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND License." So "piracy" doesn't even apply here. Or ... are you saying you're going to "find a way," as it were, to pirate this game? As something of a personal challenge? XD I don't think it's possible to pirate something which was free to start with, is it?
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