I suposse it varies opinions, always interesting to see the opinions of each author when it's possible.
Holy shit, someone reads my blog.
The post here is more about the fact that because we included sex, it is a little harder to bring up the topic in normal conversation.
Since that post I have mentioned KS to other board members and colleagues. No one has disowned me as yet, so my fears and regrets were unfounded - as they usually are.
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<Suriko> Crud would be patting Hanako's head
<Suriko> In a non-creepy fatherly way
<NicolArmarfi> crud is trying to dress hanako up like miku and attempting to get her to pose for him in headphones and he burns money
I've always felt it to be a great gift to the 'fandom' here that the devs (at this time, the most recent being cpl_crud) drop in and entertain our questions and ideas and stuff. While Aura is the main respondent, I am always happy to see engagement, even if it is brusque or contrary. It makes me even happier to be part of this community. But one question I'd like to ask now is (if you wish to answer it): how have you devs changed in life direction and status since you finished KS? We've just had a brief outline of cpl_crud's life changes (from his blog and his latest replies).
Post-Yamaku, what happens? After The Dream is a mosaic that follows everyone to the (sometimes) bitter end. Main Index (Complete)—Shizune/Lilly/Emi/Hanako/Rin/Misha + Miki + Natsume
Secondary Arcs: Rika/Mutou/Akira • Hideaki | Others (WIP): Straw—A Dream of Suzu • Sakura—The Kenji Saga. "Much has been lost, and there is much left to lose." — Tim Powers, The Drawing of the Dark (1979)
brythain wrote:I've always felt it to be a great gift to the 'fandom' here that the devs (at this time, the most recent being cpl_crud) drop in and entertain our questions and ideas and stuff. While Aura is the main respondent, I am always happy to see engagement, even if it is brusque or contrary. It makes me even happier to be part of this community. But one question I'd like to ask now is (if you wish to answer it): how have you devs changed in life direction and status since you finished KS? We've just had a brief outline of cpl_crud's life changes (from his blog and his latest replies).
I got a Master's degree, lived in New York for a while, spent several awful months unemployed and desperate, and ended up writing for a tech company in its marketing department in Chicago. I also started a podcast...thing with my brother and will probably wind up starting another soon, because why not.
So I went from being a poor student to having an actual income and job that only sometimes makes me want to burn down the office, which is a good change.
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<Suriko> Crud would be patting Hanako's head
<Suriko> In a non-creepy fatherly way
<NicolArmarfi> crud is trying to dress hanako up like miku and attempting to get her to pose for him in headphones and he burns money
Most likely of the order of hundreds of thousands.
<Aura> would you squeeze a warm PVC bottle between your thighs and call it "manaka-chan"
<Suriko> I would do it if it wouldn't be so hard to explain to my parents
<Aura> would you squeeze a warm PVC bottle between your thighs and call it "manaka-chan"
<Suriko> I would do it if it wouldn't be so hard to explain to my parents
First off, I wanted to say that I just recently finished Rin's route and it's contending with Lilly's and Hanako's as my favorite path in the game. I know people thank you all the time for writing it, but Rin seriously is an incredible character--thank you for the years of dedication poured into crafting such a fascinating character and moving story.
My question is about the cigarette smoking scene in the atelier. I believe you said earlier on in this thread that a lot of the situations in the story are pure fabrication--such as the street walking scene that takes place afterward--and not based on any personal experience of yours. But the smoking scene seemed so true-to-life that I'm now wondering: do you or did you used to smoke? If not, did you light up a few for the sake of doing research for that scene? It's probably a silly question, and I apologize if you're tired of getting questions relating Katawa Shoujo to your real life.
"I wonder what is it about the rain?"
"Everything."
I'm not a smoker, or ever have been. Maybe once a year or not even that often I smoke in a social context, but the scene doesn't draw from personal experience.
While we're on the topic of personal experience and writing about it: Everything anyone writes will always draw on personal experience. Imagination is just remixing and extrapolating on experience. What I mean when I say Rin or her story don't relate to my experience is that the events themselves or the characters don't have direct parallels in my life. But of course I know what it's like to smoke a cigarette, or be intimately with someone you have a crush on or whatever. These general experiences (that by themselves are very unremarkable) are what are on the background of a creative process. Sometimes of course something so juicy can happen to you in real life that it transfers to fiction as is. That's why I do write notes about random thoughts I have, good sentences from books I read, or stuff I hear during my everyday life, and sometimes some of that becomes building blocks for my writing.
<Aura> would you squeeze a warm PVC bottle between your thighs and call it "manaka-chan"
<Suriko> I would do it if it wouldn't be so hard to explain to my parents
Thanks for the quick response! I figured you had smoked once or twice or were at least a casual smoker, since in the scene Hisao talks about how unhealthy it is, yet your description of what those first four or five cigarettes are like is very true to life. I didn't mean to ask whether or not you had a similar experience of blowing smoke up at the ceiling with a girlfriend or anything.
Speaking of writing, are you writing anything at the moment that you'd be willing to talk about? It seems you answer a lot of questions about 4LS on the Aura Mart blog, but never say much about what you're up to. Just wondering if you have anything like cpl_crud's "Generic Writing Archive" where people can other read other stuff written by you. Or maybe you haven't written much since KS, in which case...er, ignore this question. Thanks!
"I wonder what is it about the rain?"
"Everything."
Even though I've read 4LS will not produce any more content under said company name or as the same team, do any of the seperated writers have other projects in the same vein (done or ongoing)? Do any of the writers even wish to proceed making another product like Katawa Shoujo even for money?
EDIT: (Mainly asking since a ton of the creators seem to resent ever having done this project, even though it has touched many people's hearts across the globe.)