Katawa Shoujo Act 1 Preview feedback thread

[Okage]

First off let me mention that this is my first VN ever playing (even though it isn't finished yet). All I can say it from the day I downloaded it I was hooked on it. I stopped just about every game I was doing to play this one and got the 100% completion for the first act. My reactions are as follows:

Simply amazing. Easily one of the best stories I have ever seen in a video game ever. The idea of touching on the idea of disabilities and the people with them is simply a great idea. Not only from a drama/storyline point of view, but also a social aspect as well. I can't wait to see where the storyline heads for this VN.

The characters all feel unique and like real people in their personalities and actions. Each character feels well defined and has their draws which make them likeable characters. I found it hard to choose who is my favorite seeing as they are all so well done. Even the minor characters have life to them, which I find important as many games push them off into generic minor character roles. One of my favorites especially is the Head Nurse. I feel there is a good story there and am excited to learn about it. Like I mentioned before, the story is well done. I liked the aspect of starting off at what would be an ending for some games and totally shaking the main character's life apart starting the real story.

Art wise this game looks beautiful and makes me jealous of such skill. Like with the story, each character is given a unique appearance which are extremely well done. The use of color is there in both the environment and character design. So far excellent direction with the art overall.

Music is always something I make a big deal of in games more than others. I feel its a big part of the puzzle, as important as the look and story of a game. This game's music blew me away from the very beginning. Each score fits well with the scene at hand and each character has their sort of theme. Overall the music does its job amazingly well when tied with the story and the art.

The only downside is the full game is not available yet. Yet I would much rather have you guys take your time and release the rest of the game with the same quality as this first act of the game. I look forward to not only playing the game but becoming more involved in this forum community as this game progresses.

[darrin]

The choices can be a bit confusing at time though. Since it's not completely obvious what that choice will make happen. This is true on some of the stupid choices like the one when your walking home with Lily and Rin, which will lead to you a manly picnic if you choose to say "I'm fine". If it should imply that he would lose him temper to make it more obvious that he's about the mess things up. Another option that sticks out is the choice you get if you go running with Emi and then Misha asks where you were. If you choose "I was having fun" he will flip out and get Kenji. For this it should be more obvious that this is a dumb choice. It would stink to get Bad End on your first play through.

I saw that sort of issue mentioned a couple of times in this thread, and it seems to have been addressed by others (like I said I am very new here); but I hope I can be allowed to throw in my two cents on this as well.

I think it's pretty clear that one of the main themes, at least regarding Hisao and his character development during the first week, is denial. He's quite resentful of his fate, makes frequent remarks (at least to himself, internally) of being the only "normal" guy at this disabled school, etc. (Even as late as Friday, on I believe the Emi route, while reading Alice in Wonderland he thinks of himself as being the normal guy having fallen into "this Cripple Wonderland"... he mildly chastises himself for this thought, but it's pretty clear that he still considers it a natural thought to have.)

So for the choice you refer to on Friday night (coming back from town with Lilly and Rin), it seems straightforward (at least in retrospect ) that the choice is between, on the one hand, continuing to cling to this self-denial, and indeed expand that to denial directed at others; and on the other, continuing to work at reaching out toward others (the way he blurted out the truth of his condition to Rin when he first met her; I think it's significant Rin is present here "overhearing" this decision which is nominally about Hisao responding directly to Lilly), and at forcing himself to realize that, outward appearances aside, he isn't "normal", that he does belong here, and is going to need just as much help in his life (in different ways) as someone missing their sight or limbs or whathaveyou.

Similarly, for the Misha choice Friday, it's tempting to hope that clearing the air with a "joke" is the better way to go (and isn't saying "I don't want to talk about it" in some sense "pushing the girls away", a no-no in a VN?) But looking hard at the situation (at the "big picture" maybe), it's again pretty clear that Hisao isn't in a joking mood, that his sarcastic response is not likely to be a joking or kidding sarcasm, but (again) more grounded in anger stemming from the denial he's dealing with. "I don't want to talk about it now" is at least honest in a way that the sarcasm isn't.

In case any of the above sounds condescending, it wasn't meant that way. Note I said "in retrospect" above; I've been on my fair share of manly picnics. I got burned in particular on the Rin route believe it or not... "Art club? What art club? I never heard nothin about no art club, I don't want to join an art club... oh hey that must be the bad answer, wouldn't want to lie to her after all... I'm just kidding when I say I'm stuck with her, she's got a sense of humor, she'll know it's a joke, right? Right!" But of course, as in the Misha scene Friday, Hisao isn't in a joking mood, he's still confused and in denial and so forth; also those occasional "Why am I wasting time with this girl?" thoughts he has scattered throughout the Rin route (even on the day of the festival!) are warning flags that he's still harboring some subconscious resentment about being here, about having to "work" to understand all these "strange people" (when he's a perfectly "normal" person with no issues whatsoever, ha ha). And on the good side of that decision, he has been paying a lot of attention to what Rin's been saying, even if he doesn't "get" what she's saying; so he has begun wondering about issues like what art is and why people do it and so forth, so joining the art club actually does make sense for him at this point. Well, again, in retrospect, heh.

[DuaneMoody]

She stands on tiptoes

Not unless she's telekinetic. I have flat feet and hyperdeveloped calves as a result, so this has been nagging me for some time. I finally looked up why.

http://www.exrx.net/Articulations/Ankle ... chor701244

Standing on tiptoes or pressing the gas/brake is called powered plantar flexion (the passive form of this which occurs under compression of the foot is called controlled plantar flexion).

Controlled plantar flexion is possible in prosthetic feet by designing compressibility inside the foot (a hinge of sorts created by an empty space), and advances in this design over the past 2 decades have made improvements in walking for prosthesis wearers who don't wear running "spring" prostheses.

However, the powered plantar flexion necessary to stand on tiptoe happens because of the combined activity of several lower leg muscles and ligaments which run all the way from the knee to the toes.

Lower extremity prostheses are passive "cup->balljoint->shock absorber" machines. Walking or running, her prostheses don't require synthetic ligaments to work (and in fact, she's got an advantage running in that she has fewer ligaments to potentially damage through impact or torsion).

Google "prosthetic plantar flexion" and you'll get tons of links describing controlled plantar flexion. But Google "prosthetic "powered plantar"" and you'll only find patent applications for electromechanical legs and a journal article (PDF) describing how one could work. No catalog items, no links to existing products, no articles about these being put into production. And if Aimee Mullins isn't bothering with them, I doubt Emi would either.

I realize what effect the writer's reaching for here by having Emi do something cute and vulnerable, but IMO if a guy with feet could notice this problem...

If anyone who wears these kind of prosthetics cares to correct me, I'll STFU.

[arrhythmia_one]

She stands on tiptoes

...

If anyone who wears these kind of prosthetics cares to correct me, I'll STFU.

OK My cousin uses them, and says that there are certain designs that are modeled to act more like real feet, thought at the end of the day, they don't have toes still. Basically there are the sports kind (which Emi's should be), and the utility kind which are closer to real legs and feet. Those should allow you to tiptoe, but they're expensive. Very much so (I think).

[DuaneMoody]

Update: in the interest of not clogging this forum up with theoretical arguments, I've emailed the three prosthetics firms linked from Aimee Mullins' website to ask them whether this is possible (and no, I didn't mention KS by name, I told them "a colleague has written a story draft where a transtibial amputee with prosthetic legs is described as standing on tiptoes"). I realize that the writers already have a medical resource for fact-checking, but this one might have slipped through the cracks.

[Kaoku]

It's the best Ever!!! ^_^ ....First one I've played but still the best ever!! The music makes me happy and the characters are really unique, (and cool) and the text keeps me actually reading it =o not skipping over.

[Eternal _eyes]

Well, what can I say, Katawa Shoujo act 1 is already a fantastic vn/game, I thought at first that it might be a bit quirky due to the fact that most non-professionally made (/fanmade) games tend to be a bit lacking, but after the first playthrough Ijust went WOW! in awestruck wonder.

Sure, there may be some h-scenes in the finished version, but even without that sort of thing this vn is just exceptionally amazing, I hardly know where to start lavishing praise upon it. The music, the character design, the compelling storyline, beautiful scenery and attention to detail are individually enough to make jaws drop, but together... words simply fail.

I cannot help but wonder what new locations, new characters,new music and who knows what else await at the final release.

[Gilboron]

To be honest, I've never played a visual novel before, but Act 1 gave an excellent first impression for me. Uh... I should probably write a bit more than that. The characters are also well-thought out: distinctive, interesting, recognisable, yet not caricatured (except maybe Kenji) but realistically shaded. The music is good enough - you can hardly expect an orchestral symphony. The story is also well-written as far as I've played. I can't really say anything about the gameplay, since this is my first visual novel (and, now I'm thinking about it, gameplay in visual novels seems to consist mostly of clicking).

[Drifter]

This is also my first VN, and it looks to be a perfect choice based on Act 1. I remember reading about KS long ago somewhere or other, and it was by pure luck that I even found it again when the demo came out. Truthfully, I didn't expect much from KS, but it proved me wrong.

Other than some small issues spelling errors here and there, there's little I can say needs fixing. It has powerful storytelling that keeps me craving more, the characters are interesting, it mixes humor and drama well, and the BGM was well done.

It never crashed or stuttered, so the tech aspects of KS are fine as well.

Good job so far, and good luck on finishing the rest of this project. I'll definitely be waiting for its full release like a kid waiting for a toy store to open.

[piratalalo]

As some have said, this is also my first time playing a visual novel, but this is also the first game i have played in the recent years that has really captivated me. I truly enjoy the story behind the game, it is by far one of the best i have seen in games. The music is exceptional, simply amazing, another thing is that i didn't have any problems with it lagging or crashing which is even better. I hope you can finish soon, and even if you don't i will wait as long as it takes to obtain this game

[DuaneMoody]

One of the manufacturers told me that their product was not capable of achieving powered planiflexion but that the leading-edge product from their competitor Ossur's might. The same day, I got an email from Ossur:

HI Duane,
Thank you for your email. You are essentially correct in your assumption. We (Ossur) make a foot that provides powered plantar flexion and dorsi flexion, however this only happens in the swing phase of walking. It can’t power the user when the foot is in contact with the ground. There are however, other prototypes that have powered plantar flexion during stance phase of gait. You are correct in the description of how plantar flexion occurs with able-bodied people, however you don’t necessarily need intact gastroc muscles to achieve this. A powerful enough motor in the ankle of the prosthesis could achieve the same result. So as to date, there are no feet on the market that will allow a user to extend onto there “tip toes” from a neutral position, but I think this type of function may be possible in the somewhat near future. I hope this helps!

tl;dr: without calves, tendons and a voluntary nervous system to control them (or a mechanical leg not yet invented), Emi can walk, dance, climb stairs, run, drive a car, kick Hisao's ass, but the one thing she can't do is extend her feet and stand on tiptoes.

Now that I've probably pissed off silentcook and thehivemind, let me suggest:
"She tries to fish around the shelf with a discarded scrap of wood to feel for what's up there, but it's too high." It's even more moe than the original, without being pathetically so.

[carbonartistmonked]

one word
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
very good~
waiting for full release

[SirMax]

one word
very good~
waiting for full release

that is by no possible definition one word.

[Drewski]

I'll admit it, I was introduced to Katawa Shoujo by 4chan's /v/. For the longest time it was just "that cripple game they won't stop talking about." Eventually my curiosity got the better of me and I asked for someone to direct me to a download link.

I booted KS up, not sure what to expect.

I loved it. I've not gone back to get 100% on Act 1 yet, but I am anxiously awaiting the full game.

[Unami Araragi]

I have played a game a little like KS, but a bit more downgraded. *brassrestorationcough* Still, my expections for KS were pretty mid, but I surprisingly find out that this game was 10x more than what I had expected it to be. I loved it, every single moment in that game. *exceptthekenjipathcough* I was pretty addicted to this game, and I could have been sticking with this game a lot longer but unfortunatly it was pretty short. This game also inspired me to draw them, which I am enjoying. I'm very looking forward to when this game comes out, I can't wait!