Katawa shoujo featured on Kotaku.

[Notguest]

I also didn't know about the 4chan connection since I found out about it through Tv Tropes, but I've also never played a Visual Novel before, so I don't really know what standards to judge it by.

[raven8]

I also didn't know about the 4chan connection since I found out about it through Tv Tropes, but I've also never played a Visual Novel before, so I don't really know what standards to judge it by.

I've played quite a few. This, so far, is substantially better than any commercial one I've played. Snow Sakura is probably the closest (that I've personally played), and I liked it quite a lot, but Act 1 definitely trumps the beginning of Snow Sakura.

[Tsundere Lightning]

When I tell people about KS, I tell them that it's "a video game about a school for the disabled, set in Japan." And mention how well it portrays life with a disability (I have to take medication daily for interesting reasons, so my friends believe me). I don't mention 4chan at all.

I got my papa to play it, so...

[Guest Poster]

I found KS when someone on another forum mentioned "a VN/dating game made by amateur game developers". No mention of 4chan, not even mention of H-content. I found that out after finishing the demo for the first time. By then, my (positive) opinion was already formed.

[Bara]

Well, it's not like Katawa Shoujo has a real target demographic it can appeal to, although, certainly, some people are visiting 4chan and are into Visula Novels. Wasn't it established that this game is aimed at what the devs want and we are just some lucky parasites along for the ride?

I feel differently; the Devs obviously wanted to target the audience that would appreciate a good, well crafted story.

Some of the issues the characters in KS have to deal with are likely to make some people twitchy no matter HOW you try to catagorize KS. I think it is a fact a certain percentage of the people that might otherwise try it will simply shy away from the subject of disabled characters making them uncomfortable. Another percentage will simply disparage it for association with 4chan, but the reverse will also be true for some folks who'll give KS a try just from linkage in their minds with 4chan. For some the fact it is eroge will make them avoid it while others will avoid it for not enough sexual content. Some won't give KS a shot because it is a OELVN and it isn't "Japanese enough" while (I hope) a lot of people might give this VN a chance because it is an OELVN. For every positive there will be a negative, and I think the Dev's understand the impossibility of pleasing all potential readers and they chose the correct course by deciding to write KS to make themselves proud of the project as opposed to catering to a nebulous target audience.

In the end I don't care what others think about KS. I simply expect to get one damn good story so I count myself as a lucky parasite too.

[raven8]

Some won't give KS a shot because it is a OELVN and it isn't "Japanese enough" while (I hope) a lot of people might give this VN a chance because it is an OELVN.

I consider myself pretty weeaboo, but I quite like KS so far. I guess that might be the difference between liking Japanese stuff that you like, and liking Japanese stuff just because it's Japanese, but I hope there's not too much "eww, KS is just wannabe Japanese!" from people who are, themselves, wannabe Japanese.

In the end I don't care what others think about KS. I simply expect to get one damn good story so I count myself as a lucky parasite too.

Here, here.

[EternalLurker]

Here, here.

Okay, I don't care how off-topic this is; seeing that always drives me crazy. It's "hear, hear", as in "Listen to what this man is saying because I agree with it". "Here, here" makes no sense in context.

[raven8]

Here, here.

Okay, I don't care how off-topic this is; seeing that always drives me crazy. It's "hear, hear", as in "Listen to what this man is saying because I agree with it". "Here, here" makes no sense in context.

Thanks--and I'm not being sarcastic; I hate it when I make mistakes like that. I do it very rarely, but that's not a phrase I use often enough for the immediate "wrong homophone" instinct to kick in. (I actually work in game QA and bug incorrect homophones than I care to admit, so this is embarrassing to me.)

[Bara]

I consider myself pretty weeaboo, but I quite like KS so far. I guess that might be the difference between liking Japanese stuff that you like, and liking Japanese stuff just because it's Japanese, but I hope there's not too much "eww, KS is just wannabe Japanese!" from people who are, themselves, wannabe Japanese.

I don't think it will be too prevalent of an attitude myself. I was just selecting some polar opposite reasons for producing the same results. I've met some very open minded people from groups that my stereotypes would lead me to think would be closed to non-canon thought, and the reverse from some people my expectations lead me think would be open minded or free thinking. I've learned that my stereotypes are often wrong when compared to individuals. You can say, "Rules of thumb are meant to be broken."

[lurk moar]

I'm going to claim without providing proof that there are very many people anticipating the final release of KS who have never played a VN and thus have no standard to judge KS by other than what they usually judge a game/book by. I've heard it compared to F/SN but most people don't even know what that is.

Actually, with Act1 being released, people will probably judge the final release to Act1.

Furthermore, it's very rare that a significant portion of anonymous actually LIKES anything. Yes, the original reason to check it out might have been "let's see how bad this really is!" but if it really was bad, then there would be no reason to anticipate the final release. If anything, I would say that the opposite is true: if you've managed to make anonymous (who is blunt and judgmental) like something, then you win a prize. Just like most people have an immediate reaction to "4chan," those same 4channers have an immediate and usually negative reaction to everything.

tl;dr: 4chan is a large reason for why people play or do not play KS, but it is not the reason the game is liked or disliked.

[Smoku]

I've heard it compared to F/SN but most people don't even know what that is.

I compared by playing both. I'll make a real judgment of my own if the full KS comes out. F/SN is a god amongst VNs but KS is making me expect to be at least a half-god famous hero, totally better then any other else.

there is not one bad opinion about KS coming from people actually trying it out. At least none I'm aware of.

[Spindrift]

I'm going to claim without providing proof that there are very many people anticipating the final release of KS who have never played a VN and thus have no standard to judge KS by other than what they usually judge a game/book by. I've heard it compared to F/SN but most people don't even know what that is.

Allow me to substantiate your claim, then. KS is the first (and thus far, only) VN I have ever played; all I've had to compare it to are a lot of secondhand stories about the genre, and satirical references like that one episode of Excel Saga with the running dating sim gag. So, I had a good idea of what to expect, but no practical experience. And now, here I am, eagerly awaiting the full release, posting on a KS forum, and cruising the interweb with the Lilly Firefox persona, so I guess I really liked what I saw.

I'm one of those people who heard about KS through the Kotaku article. As a former 4channer myself, I knew exactly what the author was talking about with her numerous references to 4chan- but rather than repulsed, I was intrigued. Here was something positive and constructive that had emerged from a crude but often creative subculture, a game that was being spoken of in glowing terms by people who were much more familiar with the genre than I. My thoughts weren't "Let's see how bad it is!" but "Oh man, this is gonna be awesome." And sure enough, it was.

[BongoBob]

As an avid Kotaku browser, when I saw the title of the article I was extremely intrigued, more in a "What the hell?" way then a "Wow, how interesting..." way. Now, I'd always had a rather close-minded view of h-games, going solely off my own ideas and various banner ads I've come across, and that article (as well as the article on The Escapist about Kana: Little Sister that's linked in the Kotaku article) really opened my eyes and showed me I was simply being a close-minded fool. I immediately downloaded Act 1, and after making sure no-one else was around (I still wasn't exactly sold >.> <.<), at about 2:00AM I started it up and started playing. Three hours later, having achieved Hanako's ending, I sat in absolute amazement of the world and characters that I had just been immersed in, and immediately started another playthrough to try for a different ending. I've since shown the articles to 4 of my friends, each one sharing the same initial views I had, and each one of us now nearing or already obtaining 100% completion of Act 1, and less than patiently awaiting the full release.

While the 4chan references in the Kotaku article were way more than was needed and seemingly are only there to pull readers in, I'm extremely glad they ran it. Although to be honest I wish they had put the article up after the full game came out, because the wait is killing me. It's like reading the first 200 pages of a good book, turning the page, and discovering that the next 600 pages are blank, it's just not right

[Sajomir]

I have to echo that even if everyone isn't thrilled with how the kotaku article was written, I wouldn't have even heard about the game had I not found that article. I got linked to the article by the newsletter I get daily from the Electronic Consumers Association.