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[Aura]

My question is about how set the Devs are about canon.

I recently found a group of people who are restoring the Alpha, giving it updated sprites and music and whatnot so it can be played for those who are curious. I'm asking about Hanako's route, in particular. I kind of noticed that her "True End" from the Alpha actually makes a really good epilogue to her finished route. It shows how Hanako and Hisao's relationship progresses, and how Hanako comes out of her shell and starts making friends. There's even that "one last hurdle" aspect with Hisao taking her to her old house to move past the trauma. I actually really liked it, and not much has to change for it to fit. Treat the part where Hanako confesses to Hisao in the Alpha as the end of the Final Version's kiss (it's the Final's kiss scene, but could easily be where the events of the Alpha pick up from), and switch a couple events from the Alpha to their equivalent in the Final (Lily's welcome home party wasn't because of her operation, it was "welcome back from Scotland", and any references Hanako makes to the boy who chased her and got killed are replaced with a general fear of losing people due to her parent's deaths). There's very few things changed from the Alpha ending to make it a suitable epilogue for the Final version.

I already know there's a whole "don't modify the game or we'll hate you" clause, so I can't make those changes myself and put out an altered version with the epilogue in it. My question is this:

Would the Devs be comfortable with me telling people that you can look at the game that way, go find the Alpha and play it to see an epilogue to the Hanako storyline, or is there a very firm "We changed that ending for a reason, so please leave it at that" stance on this? Also, I'm not asking so I can tell people "don't worry, the devs told me they endorse it as an epilogue." I just want to know if it'd be ok to put the idea out there, or if that's something the writers would disapprove of.

P.S. Sorry if this question was asked before, but there's nearly 200 pages of questions here and a quick search of the FAQ and search for "Canon/continuty" didn't show any answers to this particular question.

Your question is insulting, but to answer: it's not our place to approve or disapprove any kind of discussion. We only want some kind of discussions to not happen in our front yard, which is why I normally would've banned you.

[EpicGamerBot]

I would like to know how the dev team react to people saying how awesome the game is and how it changes there lives?

For me I am a bit depressed right now about life and school work and KS has shaken me up a lot (Hopefully for the better).
This is the same feeling I had when finishing reading Ender's Game the first time, where I walked in a daze for days thinking about the book and just thinking about my life.

Love the VN!

[Aura]

I would like to know how the dev team react to people saying how awesome the game is and how it changes there lives?

For me I am a bit depressed right now about life and school work and KS has shaken me up a lot (Hopefully for the better).
This is the same feeling I had when finishing reading Ender's Game the first time, where I walked in a daze for days thinking about the book and just thinking about my life.

Love the VN!

Mostly confusion. Positive feedback is great of course, but we can't quite comprehend exactly what in KS makes people feel this way about it.

[Silentcook]

Earlier I have given an answer that mostly applies in this case too, you can find it here.

[Loonie]

for me though it is just the melancholy of the title theme that captures what I feel is the sadness of it.

Funny, because for me it captures the warmth of it.

I guess it's best to just say: Whatever KS did, does and will continue to do for good or ill - it was, is and will always be needed.

Now to ask another question of anyone who cares to answer and if you can remember. During the 5 years that this was in development, how often or perhaps when did you get around to thinking about KS? Every time when you sat down at the computer? Or, if you were an artist, whenever you sat down to draw? That kinda question really...less so about did you think about it 1 month per year and moreso - when did your mind wander towards KS during the time you were making it?

[Aura]

for me though it is just the melancholy of the title theme that captures what I feel is the sadness of it.

Funny, because for me it captures the warmth of it.

I guess it's best to just say: Whatever KS did, does and will continue to do for good or ill - it was, is and will always be needed.

Now to ask another question of anyone who cares to answer and if you can remember. During the 5 years that this was in development, how often or perhaps when did you get around to thinking about KS? Every time when you sat down at the computer? Or, if you were an artist, whenever you sat down to draw? That kinda question really...less so about did you think about it 1 month per year and moreso - when did your mind wander towards KS during the time you were making it?

Most days. Creative work easily floats to the surface of the mind when it has nothing else to do, like in shower, or working out. Also, when deciding on how to spend my free time, there was always the choice of working on KS.

[Guest Poster]

Has Lilly's mother ever been given an official name? I noticed some art on the Shimmie calling her "Karla", but I'm not sure how official that was. Karla's not even an English/Scottish name...it's of German origin and used there and in Scandinavia (and occasionally the Netherlands as well) but doesn't seem at all common in the UK. I recall something about Lilly's mom once having been from a different country which may explain the name. Any light to be shed on this?

[Silentcook]

Now to ask another question of anyone who cares to answer and if you can remember...

I'm not entirely sure about the thrust of your question, but it was a minimum of three hours a day, every day. I understand this may not be the case for everyone, but how could I NOT think about unfinished business which I could actually affect by chipping at it?

[FortuneSnowman]

Music question, I know the animations were made first with the music added in (presumably to sync up with it) afterwards, but I'm wondering about how the rest of the music came about.

That's kinda vague, so to explain, I mean another chicken or the egg question. Was it a case of "Okay, we need you to make this many depressing ones, this many spritely ones, and this many ambiance ones", which were then adopted and edited based on if they fit, or was there more knowledge to it going in? Same deal with the character themes, was it a case of "You know, this music really fits this character, let's use it as a theme" or was each one created with that character in mind?

[Nicol Armarfi]

Music question, I know the animations were made first with the music added in (presumably to sync up with it) afterwards, but I'm wondering about how the rest of the music came about.

That's kinda vague, so to explain, I mean another chicken or the egg question. Was it a case of "Okay, we need you to make this many depressing ones, this many spritely ones, and this many ambiance ones", which were then adopted and edited based on if they fit, or was there more knowledge to it going in? Same deal with the character themes, was it a case of "You know, this music really fits this character, let's use it as a theme" or was each one created with that character in mind?

The character themes were the first things I wrote, I was given a list of the main heroines and their personalities so the tracks were based off of that. I'd say at least half of the soundtrack, though, was just a bunch of music I wrote and thought "I think these might work in a visual novel", so I gave those to the rest of the staff and they figured out what to do with it.

[TheHivemind]

for me though it is just the melancholy of the title theme that captures what I feel is the sadness of it.

Funny, because for me it captures the warmth of it.

I guess it's best to just say: Whatever KS did, does and will continue to do for good or ill - it was, is and will always be needed.

Now to ask another question of anyone who cares to answer and if you can remember. During the 5 years that this was in development, how often or perhaps when did you get around to thinking about KS? Every time when you sat down at the computer? Or, if you were an artist, whenever you sat down to draw? That kinda question really...less so about did you think about it 1 month per year and moreso - when did your mind wander towards KS during the time you were making it?

Pretty much every time I sat down to write, which was at least once a day for a good long while, I was thinking about the game.

Really whenever I had downtime I at least thought about it a little.

[OtakuNinja]

I'm a little curious about how old you guys were when you joined the crew?

[TheHivemind]

I'm a little curious about how old you guys were when you joined the crew?

21, I think. Maybe 22?

[hectoramrit]

Did any of the artists or musicians get to read KS as it was written or at all during its development?
If so, did KS affect you or how you lived in any significant way?

There are quite a few life lessons and much advice I've found in this work. Advice that I've tried to follow, wish I could have learned in my formative years, and even have passed on to others. I appreciate that. Were the advice and lessons the characters learned things that you, as the writers, learned in your own lives?

Nicol, your music is excellent. It greatly increases my enjoyment of KS, and I'd say I enjoy the pieces as much as many of Uematsu's pieces. Please don't stop composing music.

[Nicol Armarfi]

Did any of the artists or musicians get to read KS as it was written or at all during its development?
If so, did KS affect you or how you lived in any significant way?

We all had access to KS as it was written, as well as the artwork as it was being made and the gamescript as it was being directed (eg with sprites and musical cues still being put in). Personally though I just used basic descriptions from some of the writers to come up with music pieces they needed, and I have yet to actually read the whole thing.