Random KS Discussion

[Munchenhausen]

Sounds like I have another story idea there.

Nah, I'm pretty sure they'd get a private jet, funded by yakuza drug money

[Rhodri]

Sounds like I have another story idea there.

Nah, I'm pretty sure they'd get a private jet, funded by yakuza drug money

Yakuza drug money is useless if the air traffic controllers go on strike. All they can do then is what I am - zipping through the outskirts of London at 125mph by train in the first class carriage with all the free tea refills that Lilly will ever need.

[flag_hippo]

Is it decent tea though? On a long journey I need proper decent tea and I imagine someone like Lilly would too. In my experience, crappy tea can mean all the difference between a good mood and a bad one. Especially when jet lag comes into play.

[Munchenhausen]

Is it decent tea though? On a long journey I need proper decent tea and I imagine someone like Lilly would too. In my experience, crappy tea can mean all the difference between a good mood and a bad one. Especially when jet lag comes into play.

Only the finest Chai tea leaves, hand picked by poor lepers in the outskirts of the middle-eastern fronteir.

Lilly can't have her tea if it isn't soaked in the blood, sweat and tears of child labourers.

[brythain]

If KS had been made ten years later... [LINK]

[flag_hippo]

Only the finest Chai tea leaves, hand picked by poor lepers in the outskirts of the middle-eastern fronteir.

Lilly can't have her tea if it isn't soaked in the blood, sweat and tears of child labourers.

Chai tastes best when mixed with blood, sweat and tears. That fair trade stuff tastes horrible.

[Munchenhausen]

If KS had been made ten years later... [LINK]

And now, see Hanako in a way you've never seen her before!
in the uncanny fucken valley!

Only the finest Chai tea leaves, hand picked by poor lepers in the outskirts of the middle-eastern fronteir.

Lilly can't have her tea if it isn't soaked in the blood, sweat and tears of child labourers.

Chai tastes best when mixed with blood, sweat and tears. That fair trade stuff tastes horrible.

But of course! Lilly knows this, and refuses to drink anything less.

[brythain]

And now, see Hanako in a way you've never seen her before!
in the uncanny fucken valley!

I love that 'uncanny fucken valley' of hers, really...

[Broomhead]

So, I decided to do a second playthrough of the game. Partially because I had some free time on my hands, partially because KS is one of the few games I actually think is worth replaying. This post, for clarification, is going to be written over the course of Act 1, with comments on various scenes. At the time of posting, I have completed Act 1. Of course, there is a chance of spoilers, so I'll be labeling each scene. HOWEVER, I may reference later or previous scenes in the game, so stay cautious.

• Small Talk - You know, I've realized, I'm the Misha to some of my friends. Most of my schooling career, I choose one person to stick around, and come hell or high water, I stay with them. Sometimes the interest is romantic, sometimes it isn't. Although, I'm not nearly as... Rhino-like.
  
  Pseudo Tea Cozy - It's always interesting thinking about where people eat and rest around school. I always had a knack for finding places few people knew about, and fewer still walked through. So, of course, I'd eat there to get away from all the politics of a school environment. I always like to think about why people choose where they do. Perhaps Hanako likes the tea room because few people visit it, and it seems like it would be well insulated from noise as a small classroom. Conversely, Emi and Rin eat on the roof, a place where you can look out over a landscape and think. (Disclaimer: I am an American, these may have connotations in Japan that I am unaware of.)
  
  Shared Library - Just noticed I've never taken the "HI I'M LOUD AND SCARY!" option in this scene. I suppose I've just always been more likely to apologize than introduce myself. I also don't like telling people my name unless they'd have easy access to it anyways.
  
  The Other Green - This is exactly how I feel when people talk to me about guns, cooking, and sports. Yet, oddly, I can understand exactly what Rin means in this scene. I think I'm starting to understa- *Eaten by Cthulu*
  
  Foot and Mouth - You know, I can see why a lot of people find Emi attractive. Perhaps my perspective has changed as well, but understanding her character has made me more appreciative of her as a character. I suppose I've never been one who bases attractiveness on physical beauty, but before I never really saw the "Emi Charm" that some people were overwhelmed by.
  
  Sip (Part 2) - Interestingly enough, I couldn't bring myself to just defend myself during Cold War, nor could I not go and talk to Hanako during LET. However, I will be railroading myself onto Rin's route with skip mode.
  
  Creative Pain - God, seeing Nomiya again reminded me just how much I wish his heart would explode.
  
  Clouds in my Head - I love Aria de L'Etoile. I asked my French teacher what it meant, and she said it means, roughly, Song of the Stars. Whenever i hear it however, I'm either playing KS or extremely sad. One often leads to the other, however. - Rin Summed up my opinions of so many people in my age group in one fell line. "... looking at them makes me kinda sad, I think. It's like they want you to look at them so bad so they are loud and bright, but when someone looks, they are already gone. it's like they're not even real." Coincidentally, I think this sums up Rin's opinion about a lot of people as well. Especially those such as Shizune and Misha. Rin seems to be much more aware of the world than she lets on, which is why she's prone to such outbursts like this. Of course, this could be fusion of character and reader.

[Megumeru]

If KS had been made ten years later... [LINK]

I always thought how different every VN would be if they all decide to go VR like .hack or something similar.


Imagine how difficult it would be to interract with Shizune, or to really tire yourself out in Emi's path, to feel the fear when Kenji push you off roof, and how kinky it would be with Lilly.

...I'd actually cork up my wallet for that. Would be interesting experience to take off the VR with tears rolling down and being overwhelmed with feels

[brythain]

So, I decided to do a second playthrough of the game.

Excellent. Should have a thread of its own.

[Broomhead]

If KS had been made ten years later... [LINK]

I always thought how different every VN would be if they all decide to go VR like .hack or something similar.

...I'd actually cork up my wallet for that. Would be interesting experience to take off the VR with tears rolling down and being overwhelmed with feels.

You know, I'm actually thinking about ways to implement this.

First of all, we already have the technology to provide haptic feedback electronically, and visual and auditory has been around for a while. The next would be olfactory. We have limited experience in this sector of augment reality, sadly. Aside from a few commercial endeavors which flopped fairly quickly and were never rebuilt, or were isolated to a single area, little progress has been made at the commercial level. However, prototypes for the technology are produced once every couple of years.

I'm not a programmer for any of these fields, but if we were able to get 3D scans of the university that Yamaku is based on, and either some human models for each girl who we could CG over or simply create full models from scratch and loose wires, we could get the basics of the game out of the way. Programming olfactory systems to release scents would be like programming for soundtracks to occur during the right time. The haptic feedback would be... interesting. The lower-tech solution would be a rumble suit that just had set times in-game to go off. Alternately, we could go for acoustic radiators that would trigger on similar grounds as the rumble suit, but would be more realistic since you wouldn't be wearing a Ironman-like set of vibrators (giggles).

TL;DR: It's possible, just needs someone to re-master the game.

The question then becomes, would it be the same? Sure, while everything (ideally) would be more realistic allowing more players to immerse themselves within the game, I'm sure more people would be uncomfortable with some of the content in the game. Should we include H-Scenes, for example? And, furthermore, how would we handle choice? Certainly we could have a pop-up similar to that in the base game, but that would remove some of the value of VR. Perhaps prompts or keywords/phrases a la Everquest could serve in their place. This would also allow, in some cases, "Skipping" a choice. For example, during the end of Act 1, walking away from whomever and helping Rin. Of course, very few choices would be able to handle like this, and it would force the game to hold each scene in an area. Perhaps when walking with Lilly, you are restricted to an area around her, but when choose where to go for lunch during act 1, you may choose wherever.

On a less serious note, whenever someone mentions VR, I always imagine SAO. So, I'm going to be off in my own realm of crossover for a while.

Edit to avoid doublepost: This video by Geek&Sundry has three dudes who've played through the first part of the game talking about it. It's interesting to me to see other opinions about the game from a reviewer standpoint. (The first episode is a kind of "First Impressions" bit.)

[brythain]

Another look at the 'Comfort Misha' choice: [LINK]

[Munchenhausen]

You know, if you pretend the unnamed protagonist is Takashi and 'Captain Farrow' is actually 'Captain Taro', Whiskey In The Jar becomes quite a fun little tale of an overly violent love triangle.

For some reason, I imagine it being portrayed in the form of a school play.

[Charmant]

You know, if you pretend the unnamed protagonist is Takashi and 'Captain Farrow' is actually 'Captain Taro', Whiskey In The Jar becomes quite a fun little tale of an overly violent love triangle.

For some reason, I imagine it being portrayed in the form of a school play.

Which Shizune insists on running, rewriting lines and directions a thousand times five minutes before curtain like Tommy Wiseau with tits.