Katawa Shoujo Forums

What was the hardest thing to write for the game?

TacticalBacon wrote:What was the hardest thing to write for the game?

For me it was either the sexy bits, because it is (and was probably even more so three years ago or however long it's been) almost impossible to write sex without it seeming awkward or cliche or just plain Bad, or the really emotional bits.

Which is why all of the sexy bits in Emi's path are brief and, when possible, take conversational digressions to discuss clouds, who blushed and when, and whether or not socks in bed are like, a thing you should ever allow. It is also why the scene in the track shed is so... unique.

It is also why all the emotional bits are equally brief and rely heavily on the soundtrack and art and all the work Delta did to make the sprites move around and shit.

Everything else was, if not easier, at least less stressful.

TheHivemind wrote:It is also why the scene in the track shed is so... unique.

I remember reading somewhere that the track shed scene (specifically the "anal") was something the writers did something like drawing straws, and you got the short stick.
May I ask: How awkward was it to write that scene? Also, I'm curious: What was your response to finding out you were the one writing that scene?

Steinherz wrote:

TheHivemind wrote:It is also why the scene in the track shed is so... unique.

I remember reading somewhere that the track shed scene (specifically the "anal") was something the writers did something like drawing straws, and you got the short stick.
May I ask: How awkward was it to write that scene? Also, I'm curious: What was your response to finding out you were the one writing that scene?

It wasn't drawing straws. That'd be crazy and stupid. We basically tried to dare/egg either Hive or 22 for months to include a sexual experimentation scene in their routes (theirs were the only routes where that was viable). Hivemind finally caved in.

Aura wrote:

Steinherz wrote:

TheHivemind wrote:It is also why the scene in the track shed is so... unique.

I remember reading somewhere that the track shed scene (specifically the "anal") was something the writers did something like drawing straws, and you got the short stick.
May I ask: How awkward was it to write that scene? Also, I'm curious: What was your response to finding out you were the one writing that scene?

It wasn't drawing straws. That'd be crazy and stupid. We basically tried to dare/egg either Hive or 22 for months to include a sexual experimentation scene in their routes (theirs were the only routes where that was viable). Hivemind finally caved in.

Yeah as I recall there were like a solid two months of getting dared to do it before I said "fine, fuck it, I'll write it." This was not too far after one of my sudden, unexplained disappearances (of which there were... three, I think) from the project for a while, so I was a little more willing to take one for the team, as it were, in lieu of actually apologizing for being a dickhead.

I wouldn't say it was "awkward" to write the scene, if only because it didn't take me too long to decide that the best way to go about it would be to make it the sort of messy, embarrassing, confused mess that generally comes from new sexual experiences rather than going the usual route of having everyone fuck like a porn star. Not just because I briefly attempted a more traditional take on it and couldn't stop laughing, but also because I viewed it as a challenge to write something that would cause a different reaction than either "oh god that's terrible" or "I'MA WHIP OUT MY COCK AND BEAT IT LIKE IT OWES ME MONEY."

Were any of the side characters designed with the intention of being anything other than supporting roles? For instance, having their own routes despite not being on the original RAITA sketch?

Thanatos02 wrote:Were any of the side characters designed with the intention of being anything other than supporting roles? For instance, having their own routes despite not being on the original RAITA sketch?

Not really. Misha came closest to having a path of her own, but whoops, turns out she's gay.

More accurate reply: any specific details of Misha or any other character didn't matter at all. What mattered the most were 1) RAITA's sketch and especially 2) the game was already going to be huge and we barely had the resources to get that done. Any attempts at suggesting to expand KS's scope beyond certain limit were promptly buried under an avalanche of "no way in hell".

The five-route scope was very fundamental to the design of KS, actually pre-dating 4LS itself. More than one or two developers for sure mused about stuff like "wouldn't it be cool if we had route X, or thing Y", but when you got to the bottom of it, the answer always was "yeah maybe, but that's not what we're about". This is by the way also why whenever someone asks me for advice on making a visual novel, one of the first things I say is to really know what you want to do and what your thing is about. Even if we did a ton of stuff totally ass-backwards, this is like the one thing that we did right from the get-go (probably by accident).

Aura wrote:More accurate reply: any specific details of Misha or any other character didn't matter at all. What mattered the most were 1) RAITA's sketch and especially 2) the game was already going to be huge and we barely had the resources to get that done. Any attempts at suggesting to expand KS's scope beyond certain limit were promptly buried under an avalanche of "no way in hell".

The five-route scope was very fundamental to the design of KS, actually pre-dating 4LS itself. More than one or two developers for sure mused about stuff like "wouldn't it be cool if we had route X, or thing Y", but when you got to the bottom of it, the answer always was "yeah maybe, but that's not what we're about". This is by the way also why whenever someone asks me for advice on making a visual novel, one of the first things I say is to really know what you want to do and what your thing is about. Even if we did a ton of stuff totally ass-backwards, this is like the one thing that we did right from the get-go (probably by accident).

Oh sure, if you want a REAL answer instead of a flippant one, this is it.

I'm a tad curious on the VN dev process, but mostly editing as the other jobs seem self-evident when compared to writing or film making. Whether in terms of FLS's experience or in general VN production (as far as you guys are aware), is editorship any different from other media, specifically its closest counterpart, literature? In other words: are more qualifications or different skills altogether required of a VN editor? Is the editing process any different --- are editors expected to edit code or just prose as-usual?

I am the main target of your question, but I have to admit that I have no particular experience or formal training in editing outside of KS ; therefore, take anything I say with the usual grain of salt.

Most of the work I did fell under "standard" editorship: that is, I proofread, fixed grammar and spelling mistakes, rearranged or reworked sections of writing to make them flow better, cut text ranging from single words to whole scenes, pointed out plot, characterization and consistency issues to the writers, helped in planning, ghostwrote a little bit, and sometimes provided "this doesn't work, rethink it" feedback.

That said, the differences in media make for some different challenges. I'm sure no book editor had to worry about textbox overflow or choice of background music, for example.

Altering text sometimes meant altering direction - usually by doing no more than moving a sprite or background change line up or down a little, but that was not always the case. Any changes any developer made went up on our database and were available for review by everyone, and when I made alterations which I felt could step on someone else's toes, I specifically pointed them out. Most of the time this resulted in delta saying "you're doing it wrong" and overhauling things.

So to sum things up yes, there was some overlap between coding and editing. I did no "hardcore" stuff and wouldn't have been able to even if asked, but a modicum of knowledge of the game engine was required.

Silentcook wrote: That said, the differences in media make for some different challenges. I'm sure no book editor had to worry about textbox overflow or choice of background music, for example.

That made me wonder. I liked the music that was composed, as i'm sure many others do as well. But the true strenght in those tracks was in the combination with those specific scenes. So who matched/allocated the songs? Or were the composers asked to produce something that would 'fit' a certain scene?

Merloficus wrote:

Silentcook wrote: That said, the differences in media make for some different challenges. I'm sure no book editor had to worry about textbox overflow or choice of background music, for example.

That made me wonder. I liked the music that was composed, as i'm sure many others do as well. But the true strenght in those tracks was in the combination with those specific scenes. So who matched/allocated the songs? Or were the composers asked to produce something that would 'fit' a certain scene?

The directors did the music cueing based on a bunch of pre-determined guidelines. For some reason the music direction was considered a very mechanical, even boring task. It certainly required less finesse and had less opportunities for flair than visuals direction, but it wasn't all mindless grunt work.

Most of the tracks were composed with a general type of scene or mood in mind, some with no clear target, and a couple for specific individual scenes (such as the track that plays in the scene after the opening movie).

Not sure if this is the right place, if it isn't, sorry.

What is the difference between Shizune's bad and good ending? Because from what I know she never discovers that you f*cked Misha. In the bad ending she suddenly wants to break up with you. And I'm even more confused because you got to cheer Misha up with the scene Parfait even in the bad ending.

EDIT: Also, Shizune's route takes place much further than Lilly's, but near the end of her bad route, you talk to Lilly. Does that mean that she didn't go to Scotland at all?

thankz plz.

What is Hisao's birthday. It's something that's been weirdly bugging me.