Can the staff get anything out of this?

[Bara]

I don't get the impression that any of the Devs are looking to go pro and would be wanting to use KS as a stepping stone on a career. From what little I have heard most industry writers and artists don't exactly get buckets of money thrown at them. There are a very few that do get buckets of cash, but they are getting it from merchandising not the original work. I think one of the Devs (Crud maybe?) said something like if you want a KS t-shirt get a plain white shirt, grab a Sharpie and start drawing.

[Smoku]

if you want a KS t-shirt get a plain white shirt, grab a Sharpie and start drawing.

or print a graphic and go to a shop where they print on a t-shirt any image you wish. Which I think I might go for.

[Csihar]

if you want a KS t-shirt get a plain white shirt, grab a Sharpie and start drawing.

or print a graphic and go to a shop where they print on a t-shirt any image you wish. Which I think I might go for.

Is it sad that there are probably more Katawa Shoujo hump/hug-pillows in existence right now than t-shirts?

[Member22]

I know I may sound a little... unrealistic, but I think the sheer appreciation and fanbase all over the internet is at least somewhat rewarding. Not just that... by completing KS, you might have well raised the status of disabled people in society in the long term as this will help many fans look at disabled people in a better way than they used to (i.e clear up misconceptions, stereotypes and know that disabled people are pretty much as equal as a person with no disabilities... or even better). IMO, I'd prefer to be a cause of this social change than have fame and wealth... people remember you better and relate very good things to you.

In terms of jobs etc, there are some people who were infamously known for their crimes/deeds, but landed great jobs, the only example I can think up now is like Frank Abagnale Jr ("Catch me if you can" movie ending). I know these are one-off cases, but you never know... there may be some people that may consider KS a crime/threat/insult but there may just be some CEO/executive/someone with useful skills or lots of money etc sitting at their desk who might like this stuff and see potential in it... thats my opinion.

[Smoku]

Hmm... that is a bit unrealistic, but hey. Even if all of the staff dies from old age in a distant future, they will be remembered. If I have a kid and he hits an age when sex won't be a total secret for him, I'll say "Kiddo, after you finish that F/SN, have this Katawa Shoujo visual novel. Fine chaps made the game, mind you!". And the kid will have fun if he likes them novels, like I do.
And After he has his own kid, when I'll be rotting and old and useless, I'll say "grandson, look at what yer grandpa played when he was younger, in the old days <gives an old battered cd with shaky old hands>. This is Katawa Shoujo. Play it and see how awesome it was to be me when the game came out. Oh, and the staff was really cool".
Like Homer when he wrote "odyssey" or "Iliad". or like Shakespeare when he wrote "Romeo and Juliet".
Interwebz just might become (if it isn't now) a source of things considered true art.

ok, enough of babbling.
But it is fun to be at least partially in any way remembered after death.

[Merlyn_LeRoy]

For your own T-shirts, anyone can set up a temporary cafepress store and make shirts, mugs, etc with anything on them (not public, not for sale). For that matter, 4LS could set one up and sell stuff with no markup so there's no money needed to change hands ever and keeps everything zero cost. Hint, hint.

For 4LS to evolve into a legitimately profitable studio, that might be tricky. Loosely organized groups working on a volunteer basis for no pay can't always survive money entering the picture.

[Member22]

Merlyn_LeRoy, I just realized it... you are pretty much right.

But still, if I had the privilege of being a KS dev/writer/member of staff, I would have most likely joined, and would be working towards, being remembered for what I have done i.e KS... it may be criticized/hated now, but after playing, people would appreciate it (not only from this generation, but maybe 2, 3 or more generations into the future), just like Smoku said.

So I think the KS devs/writers should be proud of where they are now... once you guys finish the game, you would secure yourselves a great place in VN/internet history... so don't give up on us!

[Karisu]

I'd happily pay in the area of $120 for KS. Even more for merchandise! (Hanako figurine would be so sweet...)

I'm also crazy, but still, said crazy would benefit 4LS!

[Sajomir]

Assuming, of course, that any of the devs would even still want anything to do with VNs or whatever by the time that happens.

Of course that's the kicker, ain't it. I'm sure as fans we all would like to imagine KS becoming wildly popular and the devs making another VN, but if the devs have already decided that this will be their one and only...

[Aura]

We haven't "decided" anything. We haven't even talked about life after KS. But we know ourselves. It just seems unlikely that an idea behind which we all could rally would pop up from somewhere.

[Member22]

Assuming, of course, that any of the devs would even still want anything to do with VNs or whatever by the time that happens.

Of course that's the kicker, ain't it. I'm sure as fans we all would like to imagine KS becoming wildly popular and the devs making another VN, but if the devs have already decided that this will be their one and only...

It may sound nice to speculate.... but why don't we wait for KS to be completed for now?

Besides, the adventure the devs experience in making KS now may inspire them to produce titles later... i.e any sudden inspirations, fan-fics or drafts etc.

[Sajomir]

We haven't "decided" anything. We haven't even talked about life after KS. But we know ourselves. It just seems unlikely that an idea behind which we all could rally would pop up from somewhere.

My bad, meant to imply that if the devs did decide they were done, that the fan's wishes weren't gonna change anything.

[Extremist_Line]

It is a shame that the devs most likely won't get the recognition they deserve. But, if I'm not mistaken, I heard somewhere that they consider just making the game to be a reward in itself? (don't quote me on that) It really reminds me of my reviews that I do in my Facebook notes. I have anywhere from one to three people read each review, but I just enjoy writing them, but I still feel kinda empty not having many people read them. That said, going into something bigger, like writing reviews for GameFAQs or a similar site, or jumping ship to video reviews feels kinda....I dunno, I just feel nervous about doing it. I think the situation with the devs is kinda the same way.

Also, it is a shame that if the devs did get a lot of attention, a lot of people might still label them as...strange. "Hey, you're one of the guys who made that cripple porn game!". It's such a sad time when things like this can be looked down on by people. Hell, Romeo and Juliet had teen suicide and what amounts to a gang war, yet people call it a masterpiece. On the other hand, I'm sure people will just label Katawa Shoujo as a cripple porno, nothing more, nothing less, even though KS is probably has the most engaging storyline I've seen since....well a long time. It's depressing, really. I can't even play KS on my desktop computer because I'm sure my parents would think it's weird. They even took down a Megatokyo poster in my room because it looked "strange".

Hanako figurine would be so sweet...

Seconded, if any kind of merchandise came out, I'd happily buy it. I'd love to have figurines of all the main characters and/or a poster or two.

[vermithrx]

But, if I'm not mistaken, I heard somewhere that they consider just making the game to be a reward in itself? (don't quote me on that) It really reminds me of my reviews that I do in my Facebook notes. I have anywhere from one to three people read each review, but I just enjoy writing them, but I still feel kinda empty not having many people read them. That said, going into something bigger, like writing reviews for GameFAQs or a similar site, or jumping ship to video reviews feels kinda....I dunno, I just feel nervous about doing it. I think the situation with the devs is kinda the same way.

Dude! Go for it! If you enjoy writing reviews don't let a little fear hold you back, and to those who tell you it is impossible (and there will be many, including yourself), the proper response is always, "Watch me!" and then doing it anyway. Heck, you can even go all the way with it and create your own site if you want to (and are willing to work really hard at it, but that's true of everything in life so don't be discouraged by it).

[PinkMagus]

Wait wait, you could totally put this on a resume, stuff like this makes people in the creative industry completely nuts (in a good way). If this is considered porn, then the entire romance genre of literature would just be erotica (which it isn't). Having sex in a artistic medium doesn't make it inherently pornographic. It goes back to the original intention of the work; is it primarily intended as a fap or forget? Or is is meant to be a story of romantic oddity? I'd say it would be the later.

And anyways, even if you do consider it erotica, that is still viable for a resume. A lot of people like people who are gutsy, and if you thought it'd get labeled as cripple porn but still put it on the resume because you were proud of it, that would definitely show guts.