Katawa Shoujo Act 1 Preview feedback thread

[pibby]

So replayed the game again after about a year. I like how everything in general was massively improved (most if not all the ingame problems various people pointed out were fixed), especially when it came to what Shizune was saying from Misha's mouth. However, I'm not sure if the current download for act 1 is the latest one as far as what the developers have. I'm still replaying the game but I saw this when Misha and Shizune were scolding Rin about sleeping in the art room.

"Misha actually giggles at that, but Shizune doesn't, even after after translation."
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Another situation was when you meet Rin for the first time. Must have over looked it assuming things but I'm not sure if this is on purpose or not. They are exchange names and I think it's Hisao and not Rin saying this phrase shortly after.

"I won't shake hands with you, but at least we know who we are now."

Because Rin says this right after as if in response to the previous statement.

"That's very nice."
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Hisao is having a conversation with Lily and Akira and Akira says this sentence with wrong sintax or something. It just doesn't read right and because of that made me stop and look at it.

Woah so cold. Weren't you just cooking for yourself anyways? I only ever got leftovers.

I'll edit my post later if I see anymore obvious mistakes that may or may not have been fixed in the final version of act 1 because I remember a while back that it was mentioned that act 1 in general went final revisions and was most likely not to be revisited for editing thereafter.

[AnonymousOfNorway]

I think you misunderstood. Act 1 WILL be revised, hence the existence of this thread, but there will be no more public pre-releases until the full game is released.

At the same time, there will be no major rewrites of the whole game now - as in, no new scenes, no new characters etc. if I understand correctly.

[Aura]

Replayed after a year what? We didn't release even half a year ago.

But pretty much, we don't redo Act 1, but we tweak it for the final release.

[cpl_crud]

Probably thinking of LOL Grid 1.

Fun Fact: Before AIDS was AIDS is was GRID.

This was not known to me when I named Grid 1 "Grid 1".

[Aura]

In that case it's pretty silly to compare.

[pibby]

Replayed after a year what? We didn't release even half a year ago.

But pretty much, we don't redo Act 1, but we tweak it for the final release.

I should have said last school year my bad.

Quick question, how come irc is not working for java on my computer? Do I need the latest java or something?

[cpl_crud]

https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/16

Or

http://www.mirc.com

Also please keep technical questions in the "Support" forum:
http://ks.renai.us/viewforum.php?f=45

[AnonymousOfNorway]

I just noticed

"Lilly and Hanako quickly go about the business of making lunch."

English is not my first language, but I wouldn't call opening bento boxes "making" lunch.

[HeMeido]

Not directly related to Act 1, but since it came up in the latest blog post, I have to say I'm 100% behind giving Hisao a personality and letting him stand on his own as a character. A bland protagonist works for VNs where the premise begins and ends with "This is an eroge", but because of Hisao's illness is so important to the plot, brushing it off wouldn't really work. Besides, I look forward to seeing how Hisao changes depending on which girl he interacts with and how they react to his condition when Hisao is upgraded from "New Guy with a Disability" to "Boyfriend with a Life-Threatening Condition".

[Mercutio]

Not directly related to Act 1, but since it came up in the latest blog post, I have to say I'm 100% behind giving Hisao a personality and letting him stand on his own as a character. A bland protagonist works for VNs where the premise begins and ends with "This is an eroge", but because of Hisao's illness is so important to the plot, brushing it off wouldn't really work. Besides, I look forward to seeing how Hisao changes depending on which girl he interacts with and how they react to his condition when Hisao is upgraded from "New Guy with a Disability" to "Boyfriend with a Life-Threatening Condition".

exactly, man. I'm playing through the demo again right now (okay, not right now, but you get the idea) and I'm really noticing how Hisao changes based on if he goes for one girl or another. that's part of what makes the game good, and it makes it feel more real, 'cause people change because of who they hang out with and stuff like that. if Hisao's main lines were "..." and "whatever," then I wouldn't care what happens to him, and I wouldn't like the game as much. I think making Hisao a real character is part of what makes this a visual novel, not just another spank game.

gonna have more feedback when I finish playing through everyone's path again. but I gotta say, even on a second playthrough, this is still a damn fine piece of work, and all the devs should be proud of themselves.

[Mr. Shine]

Having played through once, and let it simmer for a few days, I think I'm ready to post my initial thoughts. Go go wall of text!

Overall- I was very impressed by the project as a whole. If I hadn't known that it was being independently developed before playing I really would have thought it was professionally done. There are a few things, but that's just picking nits and I truly think that the creators are amazing for having done this well. I tip my hat to you, sirs!

I agree with the above posters about the stuff brought up in the blog relating to Hisao's personality. One of my major dislikes when it comes to...pretty much anything, really is when the protagonist, the person you're supposed to identify with, is a totally bland marionette. I think that in this case Hisao's growth and dealing with his condition are just as important as his relationships with the girls.

Some stuff by individual route-

Emi: I liked Emi, but to be honest she was my least favorite girl. Why? She's...really normal. I don't mean "she doesn't have crippling psychological problems relating to her injury" (I rather liked the fact that she's so comfortable with herself that the fact that she is missing her legs isn't even an issue), but personality wise she's the most average and stereotypical of all of them. I'm sure in the full version and with access to her whole route I'll feel differently, but right now I think the others are more interesting. Her scenes also seemed rather short, but I also played her route first and so may have just been so new to the game that I missed stuff. Umm...the scene where she is jumping to get the stuff on the top shelf and gets flustered when Hisao has to do it for her seemed out of place. There are no hints that she has any complexes regarding her disability except for that scene, so I'm guessing that it might lead into stuff in the full story. Just speculation at this point, though. She's just so adorable, though I think she comes across as kinda young. Is she a third-year like the rest of the main cast? She also seems like the least disabled cast member, including Hisao. It probably has to do with the fact that you can't see her legs most of the time. Not saying that's good or bad; just my impression.

Hanako & Lilly: Their routes are like, 90% the same at this point so I'll talk about them together. I felt that this was the most 'natural' feeling of the routes so far. I'm not sure how to explain...just that this is how I expect to make friends- meet by chance, find something in common, spend time together, etc. Don't really have a whole lot to say, since I felt that they were pretty good as-is. I will mention that I was pleasantly surprised that Hanako got included in Lilly's ending. One thing with Visual Novels is that when one (or more) girls has some sort of issue that you help them get over, I always feel kinda guilty when playing through a different route (since you don't help them then). Lilly is probably my favorite girl so far, though it's really a toss-up all around. That's definitely a good thing!

Rin: Haha, Rin. I think her character comes across the best when she's being serious, but doing so in her own way. A pitfall for "quirky" characters is that they just do random things that have no meaning, which makes them amusing but also tends to make them seem kinda...dumb. Rin's character is very well written in that, in my opinion, she comes across as strange and different but still pretty smart. Some of her sly comments which sound random but really are jokes really made me laugh. Her ending was the oddest, but I thought it fit her quite well. One thing that I'm wondering about is that Hisao decides to join the art club at the end; that's a very different track than the other routes. Just how much difference will there be in the storylines? I can see them leading to totally different place, which isn't that bad of an idea. Rin definitely was the girl who made me laugh the most. I'm looking forward to how her character progresses in the full game, and seeing how it matches up with my impressions from the demo.

Shizune: My impressions of Shizune's route compared to the others was that this was the 'main' one, with the rest as equally secondary. I think it's largely from the fact that she's the only one who actively pursues Hisao, while the others are met rather randomly. The ending also seemed a lot more "serious" than the others. I'm going to play all the routes anyway, so it doesn't matter that much. I really liked the moments when Hisao and Shizune are alone, without Misha there. The whole "spot who's really talking" game tends to make the two girls blend together, and getting her on her own is very nice. (even if you can't talk to her yet) Poor Shizune, it's like she doesn't get along with anyone except Misha and Hisao. I don't think there's a single girl she doesn't yell at, except maybe Hanako (I'm not sure whether it was Shizune or Misha teasing her in their one scene together). Wait, no, I just remembered when Hisao suggests Hanako study with them and Misha says Shizune wouldn't get along with her. Dang.

In terms of technical problems, the only issue I saw was a few frames in Shizune's route where her and/or Misha's character model would go slightly out of focus. I'll write down the exact places when I play through it again, but it was definitely in the final few days.

Not really anything else to say, except that I'm really impressed and I can't wait for the final product. Keep up the fantastic work!

[Notguest]

"I won't shake hands with you, but at least we know who we are now."

"That's very nice."
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Woah so cold. Weren't you just cooking for yourself anyways? I only ever got leftovers.

I don't see anything wrong. Where's the mistake?

[Mr. Shine]

"I won't shake hands with you, but at least we know who we are now."

"That's very nice."
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Woah so cold. Weren't you just cooking for yourself anyways? I only ever got leftovers.

I don't see anything wrong. Where's the mistake?

Perhaps he means that it should be "I only ever get leftovers." I.E., changing the past tense "got" to the present tense "get." I'm not sure if that's right though; no clue on the first one.

[EternalLurker]

No, both of those are perfectly fine. The first one is Rin speaking, obviously; Hisao wouldn't make a joke about her lack of arms when he's still not convinced of how easy it is to converse with Rin, and the second one is in reference to Akira's memories of the past.

[Guest]

exactly, man. I'm playing through the demo again right now (okay, not right now, but you get the idea) and I'm really noticing how Hisao changes based on if he goes for one girl or another. that's part of what makes the game good, and it makes it feel more real, 'cause people change because of who they hang out with and stuff like that. if Hisao's main lines were "..." and "whatever," then I wouldn't care what happens to him, and I wouldn't like the game as much. I think making Hisao a real character is part of what makes this a visual novel, not just another spank game.

Seconded. A silent faceless protagonist works sometimes, but in KS's case, I doubt it'd work out well and in addition to making the girls grow as the story goes along, including the protagonist in this growth process is a cool touch as well.

Now that I think about it...is it safe to say Hisao will actually be "participating" in the H-scenes? I know there's quite a few eroge games where, while doing the deed, the main character is either completely invisible, transparent, his upper body is out of frame or his hair is covering his face in a way even Hanako would frown upon. In the Act 1 demo, the few times that the protagonist WAS actually shown, he wasn't displayed in a different way than the other characters on the screen were. I presume the H-scenes will follow this trend?