What would you have done if you made the game?

[bhtooefr]

In fact, the VN I played tried to deconstruct her apparent perfection. (It didn't do so completely, but still...) Not sure about the one Numb played...

[d2r]

I'd have given Lilly a more flawed character. Hated the whole perfect air around her, made her my least favourite character because of it. Likely would've had her tend to a garden because she likes the smell and texture of flowers. No idea what I could do with that, but it's an idea.

I'm kinda surprised people still consider Lilly flawless or next to flawless. It's like saying that Emi's carefree.

Concur. Lilly refuses to tell Hanako & Hisao the truth about her leaving to Scotland; Akira has to force her hand by telling Hisao behind her back. ProfAllister referred to her "tendency to defer decisions and authority to others, and refusal to take responsibility for the consequences of these choices", which I think is quite insightful - she lives in denial of the truth, and is too weak to refuse her father's summons. Misleading Hisao about her circumstances by omission is actually quite cruel of her, as well. And before anyone jumps on that point, unintentional cruelty is still cruelty.

Of course, this isn't to say she's a terrible person or anything, but she's still far from flawless.

[Oddball]

ProfAllister referred to her "tendency to defer decisions and authority to others, and refusal to take responsibility for the consequences of these choices"

Yeah, but Prof tends to favor Shizune and paint Lilly in a bad light, so I'd take those words with a grain of salt.

[d2r]

ProfAllister referred to her "tendency to defer decisions and authority to others, and refusal to take responsibility for the consequences of these choices"

Yeah, but Prof tends to favor Shizune and paint Lilly in a bad light, so I'd take those words with a grain of salt.

He had a point, though.

[Oddball]

ProfAllister referred to her "tendency to defer decisions and authority to others, and refusal to take responsibility for the consequences of these choices"

Yeah, but Prof tends to favor Shizune and paint Lilly in a bad light, so I'd take those words with a grain of salt.

He had a point, though.

What exactly are you referring to? Her getting her class involved with preparations for the festival or her actually listening to her parents?

If it's the first, she isn't doing anything that Shizune doesn't do herself, and if it's the second listening to your parents is hardly a major character fault.

[d2r]

What exactly are you referring to? Her getting her class involved with preparations for the festival or her actually listening to her parents?

If it's the first, she isn't doing anything that Shizune doesn't do herself, and if it's the second listening to your parents is hardly a major character fault.

I think that's a false dichotomy. Her central failing is the fact she wasn't honest about Hisao (or Hanako) with the fact that she was leaving. That's kind of a big deal, after all, and in a sense she was leading Hisao on by not being honest about the fact that she had to leave & thus their relationship would be cut short. Again: I don't think this means she's a terrible person or anything. It just means she's realistically flawed, ergo not a Mary-Sue, a super girlfriend, or whatever other such terms people tend to bandy about when criticizing her route's writing.

[Potato]

With those in mind...

Except those wouldn't be in mind. KS as-is does not exist at all yet in this scenario.

[KeiichiO]

I'd probably want to write Rin's route, and that's not solely because Rin is my favorite girl. She just seems like the most interesting to write about. Simply her appearance is enough to make you think, "I want to get to know that girl". unfortunately, I can't really think of what I'd do differently, with her route playing in my head as I'm pondering. Her personality would probably be very similar to what it is now, if I was in charge. Maybe she'd be something other than a painter, like a swimmer, or something.

Oh, and there'd definitely be a blowjob or a footjob scene, or both, if I was in the lead. Some may be thankful that I wasn't a 4chaner around the time of Katawa Shoujo's development.

[gekiganwing]

First, I would consider all of my plotbunnies, and try to settle on one premise. I would make sure that my story is not overly complex, pretentious, or long. I would also make sure that I'm passionate about the story's ideas.

Second, I'd commit to start writing on a specific day, set aside specific times to write, and then commit to finish the story by a specific deadline. I learned about this idea from National Novel Writing Month, aka Nanowrimo.

Third, while writing, I would *unplug* my modem. I know that it would be too easy for me to spend time browsing sites and forums, rather than actually accomplishing something.

Fourth... if I decided to start creating my freeware visual novel on May 1 2014 and get it done by June 1 2014... then my premise would be "Girl attends comedy class in Future Chicago, learns that it exists in order to recruit young adults for an elite police unit, and has to fight alongside them to survive." It would be a short, not-very-serious story that riffs on the Sakura Wars franchise.

Finally, I would acknowledge that my writing can't measure up to the standards that 4 Leaf Studios talked about back in 2011. I do not think that my story would hold up well compared to some drabbles and unfinished stories that I've read on fanfiction.net. Nor would it look good when compared with free visual novels which I read back in 2005, such as Black Pencil or When I Rule the World. But hey, I gotta start somewhere, right?

Once that was in place, I think the idea of deconstructing some of the various VN cliches is an excellent one...

There's nothing wrong with deconstructions. Take a fictional idea apart, then write it with more realism. It can be done well, and show how stories can operate when they're played straight, rather than played for comedy or coolness. But I often end up asking "To what end?" What is the author's reason for taking this approach? If the deconstruction only references one or two works of fiction, then wouldn't it be better to write a general story instead? Also, if the writer just creates a story in which everything is unhappy / horrible / pointless, then they have missed the point.

Also, the notions which I consider to be cliche are probably fresh and intriguing to someone else. The opposite is likely true: if you think something is cliche, I might think it's innovative.

I'd probably be more inclined to base the story somewhere other than Japan, since my knowledge of Japanese culture was much more limited before encountering KS. I have this tendency to try and do something nobody else has done, so I might have based it in Sydney or Johannesburg or somewhere else that's underutilized...

One thing I've suggested on the Lemma Soft forum to other writers: consider letting your story occur near where you live (or have lived). I know, I know... maybe you think your hometown is boring. But it might be interesting for someone who lives in another nation, or on another continent. Furthermore, take the time to add relevant details to your setting. Portray it in a clever way. For example, I might not be able to accurately show all the details of Chicago-area neighborhoods. But I could probably create a fictional suburb, or fictionalize part of the city.

[SpunkySix]

footjob scene. Some may be thankful that I wasn't a 4chaner around the time of Katawa Shoujo's development.

Others may be slightly disappointed.

[Potato]

footjob scene. Some may be thankful that I wasn't a 4chaner around the time of Katawa Shoujo's development.

Others may be slightly disappointed.

I'm disappointed that anyone is on 4chan ever because it sucks. But I digress.

My take on not-Rin's route would probably have such a scene as well.

[SpunkySix]

footjob scene. Some may be thankful that I wasn't a 4chaner around the time of Katawa Shoujo's development.

Others may be slightly disappointed.

I'm disappointed that anyone is on 4chan ever because it sucks. But I digress.

My take on not-Rin's route would probably have such a scene as well.

That might have seemed like a joke, but yeah, I was totally serious just to be clear. I'm kind of shocked that it didn't happen.

[Aura]

Hey, even I wrote a footjob scene because it was expected of me to write one. I just never wanted to put it in the actual story.

[Atario]

Hey, even I wrote a footjob scene because it was expected of me to write one. I just never wanted to put it in the actual story.

You mean the other devs? Or just the general public?

Glad you didn't end up brooking that nonsense…

[Munchenhausen]

Hey, even I wrote a footjob scene because it was expected of me to write one. I just never wanted to put it in the actual story.

as much as I find feet strangely un-boner-tastic, I'd read it for shits and giggles.
Do you have it saved somewhere, or was it scrapped?