So i was on Kickstarter and found this

[Sam]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/758 ... l?ref=live

In the video he says that Katawa Shoujo inspired him also interesting to note that the last reward tier he will give you his katawa shoujo sweatshirt

[metalangel]

Interesting that it's on Martha's Vineyard, which is a special place in the history of the American Deaf community (for two centuries, Deafness was very common and virtually everyone on the island knew sign language). Does that have any bearing on the story?

[pandaphil]

It could be interesting. But its always hard to tell this early in develoment. KS didn't look like much in its early days either.

[mateh1]

the last reward tier he will give you his katawa shoujo sweatshirt

how did he get that sweatshirt? I didn't know KS have official goods
anyway, I'm looking forward to it.. it seems interesting, and there seems to be a fellow from my country too, and that's rare..
I wonder how it'll be..

[Xanatos]

I didn't know KS have official goods

They don't...So sayeth the FAQ.

[pandaphil]

Yeah, that sounds a little suspicious.

[BlackWaltzTheThird]

Hohoho man, this popped up on the /ksg/ a fair while back and stirred up a bit of controversy, mostly for DAT GUN and howshamelessly it rips off Katawa Shoujo. I wonder how it will go.

[griffon8]

I read through the updates. The offer of clothing was a joke. He had to make that explicit when someone actually pledged $750.

[Loonie]

Even if it was his primary inspiration, why start with a premise that is incredibly much-so like KS? Drawing upon its nostalgia is the only reason I could come up with (seriously - you have all the options in the world for a unique beginning, even within the high school romance setting, and you pick the exact same one almost to a tee?) That plus this being the 'team leaders' attempt to, what in his own words reads to me as, get a foot in the door towards something bigger has me quite worried. Apart from that the VN has been in development for a year up till now and they expect a full-release in early 2014, possibly in January or February with a core team that is half the size of 4LS? Color me skeptical.

Still...it'll be an interesting social experiment to say the least. Hopefully, and in spite of my skepticism, it also turns out to be a good VN at the most.

[Umbra]

Well, I've sort of looked into this, and for me it looks... unprofessional. (which is expectable as the one person who is behind most of the development is a 18 year old guy.)

I've tried the demo, and so far, it does seem a lot like KS, and much more cliched too.

I guess the problem - and what, compared to the project, KS had - is a significant lack of constructive criticism and a lack of maturity.

Addressing the first one - the developer seems to have some talent and a lot of dedication; what he would need is an 'outside perspective', people who would help him look into the project differently, thus make it more interesting.

And the second point - I think that the power of KS comes from the fact that the fable is written by people who have already gotten through their HS (and even college) years and could 'look back' at things with a mature flavour. It is no wonder that they think the 'high school drama' stories are completely drawn out, because, frankly, they are. High school certainly isn't the most interesting part of your life. It is overromanticised by the (usually) lonely and detached people that read VNs. In fact, high school is mostly about hormones and trying to act independent. Our worldview is really narrow at that time.

tl;dr a good project needs lot of criticism and (in case of writing a VN) life experience, both of which Driftwood lacks.

[Oddball]

Even if it was his primary inspiration, why start with a premise that is incredibly much-so like KS? Drawing upon its nostalgia is the only reason I could come up with (seriously - you have all the options in the world for a unique beginning, even within the high school romance setting, and you pick the exact same one almost to a tee?)

He's 18. he doesn't have his own original ideas yet.

The whole thing feels like a pretty shameless copy though.

[Xanatos]

Can't say it's a shameless copy until it actually copies everything but...Eh. No interest.

[metalangel]

And the second point - I think that the power of KS comes from the fact that the fable is written by people who have already gotten through their HS (and even college) years and could 'look back' at things with a mature flavour. It is no wonder that they think the 'high school drama' stories are completely drawn out, because, frankly, they are. High school certainly isn't the most interesting part of your life. It is overromanticised by the (usually) lonely and detached people that read VNs. In fact, high school is mostly about hormones and trying to act independent. Our worldview is really narrow at that time.

I agree. I wonder if Marcus Fuck is going be a colossal Mary Sue.

Even with the benefit of 4LS' hindsight, there were still a few moments where we shouted at the conspicuously blank-slate that was Hisao for being a total dimwit. I worry that a younger and less experienced writer(s) won't have the experience to provide a believable story or sympathetic protagonist.

[Xanatos]

I wonder if Marcus Fuck is going be a colossal Mary Sue.

Probably. Many if not most VN protags are.

[rockin robin]

why this was my first, and highly likely, only vn ill ever like