Ask!

A forum for general discussion of the game: Open to all punters


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Tempester
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Re: Ask!

Post by Tempester »

I noticed an apparent inconsistency in the FAQ:
Q: I saw this game for sale. Are you selling this now?
A: No. Four Leaf Studios is not charging for Katawa Shoujo, and never will. If you see anyone selling Katawa Shoujo, charging for "official" merchandise, or using game assets in their for-sale items, please report them. Selling fanworks that do not use official content (including the KS logo) and do not pretend to be official is okay.
2. You may not use Katawa Shoujo for any commercial purposes, including making money out of distributing the game or any fanworks.
Can you please clarify this for me? Personally, I hope the first quote is the more accurate, because that's how the ever popular doujin industry exists in Japan.

Also, would it be fine if I were to print official KS artwork, let's say a drawing from Weee for example, and use it as a poster in my room? Would it be permissible to use official artwork for promotion of other things, like in a banner advertising a college's video game club?
Mmm, crispy!

My avatar is from Muv-Luv.
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Suriko
Lilly Writer, Hanako Co-Writer, Producer
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Re: Ask!

Post by Suriko »

Tempester wrote:I noticed an apparent inconsistency in the FAQ:
Q: I saw this game for sale. Are you selling this now?
A: No. Four Leaf Studios is not charging for Katawa Shoujo, and never will. If you see anyone selling Katawa Shoujo, charging for "official" merchandise, or using game assets in their for-sale items, please report them. Selling fanworks that do not use official content (including the KS logo) and do not pretend to be official is okay.
2. You may not use Katawa Shoujo for any commercial purposes, including making money out of distributing the game or any fanworks.
Can you please clarify this for me? Personally, I hope the first quote is the more accurate, because that's how the ever popular doujin industry exists in Japan.

Also, would it be fine if I were to print official KS artwork, let's say a drawing from Weee for example, and use it as a poster in my room? Would it be permissible to use official artwork for promotion of other things, like in a banner advertising a college's video game club?
We waive the official license at any time, at our own discretion, to any extent. The first quote's use is fine and is an example of this. You're fine to make stuff for your own personal use, as well. The latter thing though... eh, we couldn't stop you (we're not going to mobilise an army of lawyers to swoop down), but we wouldn't be too hot on it; fanart would be fine (and up to the permission of the individual artist that made it), but official artwork, not really.
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kahafb
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Re: Ask!

Post by kahafb »

Is there any reason you think people seem to like Shizune's path less than others? Is it just me thinking that?

Also, will there ever be patches to Katawa Shoujo since its version 1.0.0, unless I missed them and am really stupid :oops:
Oh, this reminds me of a puzzle!

Rin=Lilly=Hanako>Emi>Every other character>Kenji>Shizune

Dislike Shizune a lot.
TheHivemind
Path Writer
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Re: Ask!

Post by TheHivemind »

kahafb wrote:Is there any reason you think people seem to like Shizune's path less than others? Is it just me thinking that?

Also, will there ever be patches to Katawa Shoujo since its version 1.0.0, unless I missed them and am really stupid :oops:
Shizune was, probably, the most popular path when the demo released. People's expectations were so high, it was impossible that we'd ever be able to meet them. The path did not play out as many of the players expected it to, and thus, a backlash.
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Brogurt
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Re: Ask!

Post by Brogurt »

Winter Artbook when?
8823
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Re: Ask!

Post by 8823 »

For cpl_crud:
Which part of the story you(cpl_crud) wrote? (or who)
I love the "A Runner’s Afternoon" (Considered as Act 5 or sequel to Hanako route) !! It's so beautiful !!
Hope that this scene can be implemented into the new game version. :D
Your writing skill is great!


One more question..
Do you consider doing Act 5 or maybe a small sequel animation for all of the characters? (1 year later?)
It would be a perfect ending for the game.
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gebyy-terar
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Re: Ask!

Post by gebyy-terar »

McBaggin wrote:If the KS devs were in the game , which one would be the hardest to romance?
Moekki
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Totz the Plaid
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Re: Ask!

Post by Totz the Plaid »

Been a LONG time since I last posted.

Anyway, this question is 100% hypothetical at this point as I don't have video capture/editing software or a computer mic, but say someone was to create a video Let's Play of KS, and they wanted to have people they know do character voices for it... would that be okay?

I know you have no intention or desire to have official voice acting (and it'd be FAR too late to implement it even if you did...), and the videos would make that point clear, probably to the point of a straight-up disclaimer at the beginning and quoting the relevant sections of the F.A.Q. in the description.

While I have no ability to do that now, it's definitely something I'd consider doing should I ever bother to get the equipment necessary... and if you guys approve, of course.

Also, should you folks decide to allow for unofficial translations, what would your opinion be on more odd and esoteric versions? Like, say... Middle English? It might just be because I'm a weirdo, but I kinda want to get full-on Shakespeare on this. Well, maybe not full-on... iambic pentameter is a bitch and a half...

I'm mostly joking with that second question, by the way.

Absolutely love the full version, by the way. I'm at 99% completion. I've gotten all 13 endings, so I just need to find that last pesky scene-variant so I can unlock the bonus CG in the gallery.
"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace. We've got work to do." - The Doctor, Doctor Who
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VIVI
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Re: Ask!

Post by VIVI »

suddenly i wonder:
when is Kenji´s birthday? that no appear in his bio.
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Totz the Plaid
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Re: Ask!

Post by Totz the Plaid »

I’d like to apologize in advance for the length of this post, but I thought of a few more questions, and I was also curious about a number of questions that went unanswered in this thread. I understand you may have deliberately avoided answering some of these, but you may also just have missed or forgotten about them.

I’ve also added my two cents about a couple things.
Mahorfeus wrote:
Aura wrote: She does have a semi-canon surname, but it's not showing on the envelope picture.
In a bound of my delayed curiosity, and because I like trivia, what is Iwanako's semi-canon surname? Unless I am ignoring the implications of an implied question not being answered, of course.
I assume that you guys would rather just not give out that info, but I’m curious as well.
bradpara wrote:Question for Suriko:

Is there any particular reason, why of all the things you could have chosen for Lilly's Western ancestry, that you chose Scottish?
The text of the above quote was edited for grammar.
TheHivemind wrote:had we chosen to jump from girl to girl and force the player to choose Hisao's actions without knowing his motivations (come to think of it that's an interesting idea).
That is a seriously awesome idea. I don’t care if it’s someone from (or an eventual second project for) 4LS, or someone else, but I want to see that approach taken with a new story.
Zoram wrote:Since the removal of Lelouch was mentioned, was the guy who took his place given a name and a disability, like the other classmates?
To the writers: which ending of each path do you like best? I already have my personal preferences, I’m just curious about yours.

Also, how do you feel about the use of your characters as cameos in other works?
Bara wrote:bowls full of M&M's with all blue ones picked out like VN rock stars?
Off-topic, but the reason behind that sort of thing is interesting: rock bands have to have stages and equipment set up in advance by employees of the venues they perform at. Due to the complexity of the equipment and potential dangers of particular stage designs, they mix that sort of thing into their riders to guarantee that things will be set up safely and correctly. There is logic to this: if a band sees that the odd and pedantic stuff buried in the middle of page four or five has been carried out, they can feel far safer regarding the more important instructions. Van Halen started that sort of tradition after a stage nearly collapsed under them during a performance.

Conversely, anyone who makes that sort of demand for a simple signing or appearance without other important requirements is basically just a prima donna.
ivegottogodosomthing wrote:
Mirrormn wrote:Apologies in advance if this question has been asked already or if this is not quite the right thread for such a question. This has been bothering me for a while, and although I've played through Shizune's route 2 and a half times, I still can't figure it out. It seems like I'm missing something really obvious.

In Shizune's bad ending - specifically, in Spiral - as Hisao encounters Kenji on a nighttime stroll, he takes some time to reflect on his troubles with Shizune. He specifically mentions an incident where he "lied through his hands" to Shizune while "carrying on an entirely different conversation with Misha", and then starts wondering whether Shizune can read lips. I can't remember this incident ever taking place. I even re-read back from Tongue-Tied specifically looking for such an incident, but couldn't find it. What incident is Hisao thinking about here? Is it in the game, or is it, like the two fights between Shizune and Misha, only referred to but never experienced? If it is part of the game, what scene is it in?
I actually asked myself the same thing when I finished her bad route. Never found it when looking back, so I just gave up.
Wouldn't that be his rooftop conversation with Misha?
cpl_crud wrote:However, in my lust to create a Grimdark kind of story, I lost the plot a little and made both the "Bad" route and the exit from that route into a "Good" route untenable. Also, it clashed drastically with the rest of the game. I think a lot of my drive came from a short story that I wrote on the old Invision boards, where Hanako uses a broken mirror to kill Rin, Hisao and herself.
Holy fuck! That wasn't part of the scrapped plotline that silentcook mentioned before, was it?
Silentcook wrote:The game's first draft had a bodycount of a minimum of one and a maximum of three dead characters, depending on which and how many wrong turns you took.
Seriously, cpl_crud, that really seems to fit silentcook’s description…

I’m also curious about the one unavoidable death that he mentioned, but I know I’m not likely to get that info, so I’m not going to press it.
TheHivemind wrote:another veiled Doctor Who reference
As a fellow Doctor Who fan, I’m curious as to how many references you stuck in there. I didn’t catch any, honestly, but now that I know they’re there, and am aware that they might be as obtuse as Mutou being a little similar to the 10th Doctor, and the Nurse being nameless…

Of course, if you could list some more of the references, I’d really appreciate it.
Otakumon wrote:I don't know what all meds are typically prescribed for Hisao's condition but it's mentioned often that he has several different ones he takes. Since many medications don't react well with alcohol I was expecting something to happen with a possible reaction given all the drinking in Lilly's arc but it never did. Was the various meds typical for his condition researched and shown not to have any adverse reactions with alcohol or did the thought never occur that there could be any potential problems with the drinking and his meds?
I also edited that quote for spelling/grammar.

This is just a silly one, but I am curious: in the “Word of God” blog post/thread you mentioned that there were conflicting statements made that Yamaku’s principal was either female or a Luchador. Did you ever reach a consensus? Maybe the principal’s female and the assistant principal’s a Luchador or vice versa? …or a combination of the two where the principal’s a Luchadora?

This final question is for my fellow fans: seeing as there’s no canon path, and all the storylines lead in very different directions… even if they wanted to, how the hell could 4LS create a sequel? There are TWELVE* endings that would have to be built off of, and each of those would need multiple path endings as well… that’s an INSANE amount of work. Not impossible, but it’s in no way reasonable to expect that sort of thing.

*Obviously the Kenji ending in Act 1 would be ignored seeing as Hisao dies in it...
"There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace. We've got work to do." - The Doctor, Doctor Who
Mumei

Re: Ask!

Post by Mumei »

I was wondering if the devs took any inspiration from the Japanese runner Maya Nakanishi in researching Emi's disability and running habits. While their life stories are quite different (Ms. Nakanishi only lost one leg in a work-related accident), I found some of their motivations similar (being stubborn about continuing their athletics, for one). One recent TV profile also mentioned specifically the toll that all the running takes on the part of her leg in the sheath -- if she doesn't take care of it, it can get infected, and... well, we see what happens with that in Emi's route.

At any rate, while there were obvious differences, I thought the similarities were uncanny enough that it was perhaps more than a coincidence.
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Paul Atreides
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Re: Ask!

Post by Paul Atreides »

Sorry if this has been asked somewhere, but I wanted to know if any of the people who worked on this are currently working as programmers, ilustrators, composers...on the industry or if most of you when you started KS project didn't have any experience/only a bit in this business.
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cpl_crud
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Re: Ask!

Post by cpl_crud »

The scene I described in my post earlier was a fan work; it was a bit of an inspiration for my oriinal path but it wasn't included. Nor did the past really descend into murder.

As for industry experience, I had practically none before working on KS. I had done a couple of magainze articles and a few screenplays for the fun of it, but that was about it.
My Novel - Now available The Zemlya Conspiracy
Blog: http://cplcrud.WordPress.com

------
<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
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Aura
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Re: Ask!

Post by Aura »

Totz the Plaid wrote:Been a LONG time since I last posted.

Anyway, this question is 100% hypothetical at this point as I don't have video capture/editing software or a computer mic, but say someone was to create a video Let's Play of KS, and they wanted to have people they know do character voices for it... would that be okay?
I don't see why not. The two things we dislike are presenting unofficial stuff as official, which mostly involves manipulating the game itself, and making profit off KS. This is neither.
Totz the Plaid wrote:Also, should you folks decide to allow for unofficial translations, what would your opinion be on more odd and esoteric versions? Like, say... Middle English? It might just be because I'm a weirdo, but I kinda want to get full-on Shakespeare on this. Well, maybe not full-on... iambic pentameter is a bitch and a half...
The moment we approve any unofficial translations they become official translations, no?
<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
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Aura
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Re: Ask!

Post by Aura »

VIVI wrote:suddenly i wonder:
when is Kenji´s birthday? that no appear in his bio.
Don't think anyone ever gave him one.
<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
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