Choice and Consequence

[Trivun]

I'm going to start this topic off with a question, and it may sound a little broad: How did the choices you made in Katawa Shoujo affect you on an emotional level?

Yes, it does sound an odd question, but let me explain. I'm also part of the forums of The Escapist Magazine, a gaming community, and some of its members not so long ago started their own bi-monthly online gaming magazine called Haywire. I requested to be part of the writing team, and I've pitched an article for their third issue, due in January, which has the theme of choice. One of the things I noticed about Katawa Shoujo when playing through each arc was the difference in choices in the game. Everyone here knows what I mean - Shizune's arc, for example, is very simple, with only one (deviously worded ) choice, while Rin's, for instance, is very complicated with plenty of paths giving the same results through wholly different means and conversations. But that wasn't what struck me. Something else I noticed, more so when I joined this community, was the effect it seemed to have on people. Different readers of visual novels seem to want different levels of complexity in their stories and choices available, and so I want to explore and investigate whether the choices in the game had any effect on the people playing.

I'll start us all off - as should be clear from both my avatar and my fanfiction, Hanako is my favourite character. So, when I played through her route for the first time I was determined to get her good ending, and succeeded in that with no problem. But I was curious to find out what the results would be if I was to intentionally act like a white knight and choose her 'less happy' paths. By simply making a different choice and moving down a different rabbit hole into Hanako's own Wonderland, as it were, I realised afterwards just how much I cared about Hanako, when it really hurt me on an emotional level to see her react to Hisao's intervention in the way she does. A single different choice - for want of a nail - and I was left reeling from the results.

So, what about you guys? I'd love to have as many opinions and ideas as possible for me to use in my article, provided you're all happy for me to use your opinions and thoughts. How were you affected emotionally by the choices you made, and why?

[Heartless Wanderer]

I like that the visual novel presented a lot of choices that changed up your story paths in pretty obvious ways during Act 1, with a lot of different scenes and stuff that you could go through on your way to one of the five paths. I also like that there are so many main story paths to begin with.

If I had to pick one thing to complain about it would be that the choices cease mattering so much after Act 1. It feels thus like all of the actual "game" in this game is concentrated solely in Act 1, with the rest being railroaded storyline with only a token level of interactivity to be found. I like games that present you with choice and I like games that present you with a fixed path, but what I don't so much like are games that present you with the promise of choices and then fail to deliver consistently throughout the experience.

That said, what choices we did have were usually very good.

[ProfAllister]

The choices are simply another element of the narrative. Each arc uses choices differently.

In Lilly's Route, you can fail a mere six scenes in, but the failure doesn't manifest until the end. There are three significant choices, and you need to get all three "correct" for the good ending.

In Emi's Route, things fall on the other end of the spectrum. You need to choose two "wrong" answers to fail. The "second chance" also presents a significant enough shift in narrative that some people claim Emi has two "good" endings.

In Hanako's Route, you have one "wrong" answer and one "not right" answer, resulting in three actual endings.

In Rin's Route, you have an overwhelming number of choices to make, and many have a subtle influence on the final outcome.

In Shizune's route, you have a single choice, and one that was (intended to be) obvious at that.

The choices reflect the themes.

Lilly's route is about becoming an adult and standing for yourself. If you remain childish, your wants and desires are minimized, because you're just a child.

Emi's route is about learning to rely on others. You fail only if you refuse the help offered from all sides.

Hanako's route is about paying attention to details. If you look at what's actually going on, the "right" choices are easy. If you only see what you expect to see, you can be tripped up quite easily.

Rin's route reflects the confusion in her head. There are so many options, and they all seem like good ideas, and they often have more relevance than you'd expect.

Shizune's route is about learning to stand on your own. A man's true character shines through when no one's watching. Shizune's route only has the one choice, not bothering with any cosmetic choices, and the choice comes deep in the route. And it thus shows its brilliance. The choice is obvious, with a "right" answer and a "wrong" answer. But you've gone so far without a choice that you want to make an actual choice. So you justify the "wrong" choice. You swallow the euphemism whole. You justify yourself on the fact that Misha's obviously depressed, or that Hisao's been somewhat attracted to her through the entire route. You know it's the "wrong" answer, but you want it to be "right."

[Xanatos]

I like that the visual novel presented a lot of choices that changed up your story paths in pretty obvious ways during Act 1, with a lot of different scenes and stuff that you could go through on your way to one of the five paths. I also like that there are so many main story paths to begin with.

If I had to pick one thing to complain about it would be that the choices cease mattering so much after Act 1. It feels thus like all of the actual "game" in this game is concentrated solely in Act 1, with the rest being railroaded storyline with only a token level of interactivity to be found. I like games that present you with choice and I like games that present you with a fixed path, but what I don't so much like are games that present you with the promise of choices and then fail to deliver consistently throughout the experience.

That said, what choices we did have were usually very good.

Welcome to visual novels. Most do that.

[Dawnstorm]

Rin's route reflects the confusion in her head. There are so many options, and they all seem like good ideas, and they often have more relevance than you'd expect.

Actually, most of the options seemed like terrible ideas to me. I was staring at the screen most of the time, seething with frustration. If I don't make any choices, the game won't continue, but those choices? Can I have a new character, please? Hisao is an idiot, Rinwise (and the "neutral ending" is the most plausible one, IMO).

[FoxtrotZero]

I've played both Lilly's and Hanako's storylines.

When I went for my first playthrough, I was determined to respond as realistically as possible to the choices. I had a moment of "why the hell not" on the track with Emi, and I broke my promise not to do any save-reverts because, at that point, I'd locked in Emi and had set my heart on Lilly. And all throughout her storyline, I just stayed open with her. I mean, it seemed like the natural choice, and I was always a bit upset at Hisao's unwillingness to tell anyone about his condition (though I can understand it, it just doesn't seem natural to me).

I got Lilly's "good" ending without any aid, and many, many mantears were shed during that playthrough. But for those familiar with the end, the scene at the airport left me wondering "did I make the right choices"? I was gratified to know that I did, in the end, but my habit of predicting storylines and plot devices ("I have to catch her, otherwise why would this show up at the last minute? She has to have stayed, why else would I wake up in the hospital?") was actually balanced out by the fact that I'd never experienced a VN before, and when it's supposed to hit you on an emotional level, you don't know what lengths to take that to.

I likewise got Hanako's good ending without aid, and a few of her choices weighed more heavily on me. In the end I decided to trust Lilly's advice, and I also figured that nothing productive could come from another day sitting around. That sort of behaviour isn't going to bring out the person she's locked inside of her. People who have played Hanako's storyline probably know what two choices I just alluded to. It was a completely different experience because my choices had less to do with me, and more how to act around someone who I cared about, but who was almost a complete enigma to me.

Choice is a big deal in games. It's why, aside from the Halo series (which was my introduction both to gaming and science fiction, and so holds a special place in my heart), pretty much every game I play and love to date is some form of an RPG. Even though, as a VN, Katawa Shoujo is a lot more like a "choose your own adventure" book (and I absolutely hate those things) than an RPG, it was written that it hits you on a dear and emotional level. Hisao and I weren't seperate, and I referred to him in the first person. And that's what it's about. When you've sunk your heart and soul into a captivating and immersive world, and the decisions you have to make, no matter how few and far between, have a resounding impact, truly we've reached a higher art form than ever before.

Damn. That ended up a whole monologue.

[Trivun]

Well, the article is written, but I want to get some feedback before I send it to my editor for consideration. It's only a first draft so will probably be changed and edited quite a bit before it gets published, assuming the editor likes it enough to consider it, but I would really appreciate some further comments at this early stage (the deadline is still over a fortnight away, after all). If anyone is thus interested in reading the draft first, then please get in touch and let me know details to send it via email. Hopefully it'll be worth the read