Katawa Shoujo Forums

http://kotaku.com/5461619/romance-with- ... came-to-be

Just figured that you guys might want to know.

I like it how they emphasize 4chan, and not Four Leaf Studios. Also, every dev for this is, by Kotaku, an anti-social internet-addict shut-in. Woo.

I honestly had to stop reading after a few paragraphs. The person who wrote the article apparently did little to no research into either the development of KS or into 4chan itself. I'm no journalist, but I just typed "Katawa Shoujo History" into google, and the first link was the dev blog, and the second was the "A Long History of Katawa Shoujo" blog post. I get the feeling the author just used the wikipedia entry to write the article.

As much as I love 4chan, the article seemed to be much more about 4chan than about FLS and KS.

I just finished reading the article on Kotaku, but I thought that Leigh Alexander, the author, did a pretty fair assessment of the game.
She was, however, more interested in the Chan and it's influence than the game itself. but still... positive article generally, with (of course)
tons of ignorant rants and average crap writing.

Yeah, if anybody, I would've hoped that Leigh Alexander wrote the piece. With her background (she used to review Eroge) and open-mindedness on sexuality in video games, it's nice to hear her take on it. A little too much fluff and padding compared to her better pieces, but still a decent read.

She really didn't hit on what I thought needed to be mentioned. People tend to hit the "roots on 4chan" thing, and all of a sudden it's the be-all-end-all. It was more a commentary on 4channers than on the developers, as it should have been.

Still, it's nice to see some more publicity. I want more people behind the project. Maybe now that more people can know about KS, they can make up their own minds about it.

Sleet wrote:Maybe now that more people can know about KS, they can make up their own minds about it.

UNLIKELY.

yeah, the article itself was good, and it also brought up something I saw a lot of here on the boards (same thing I thought), that people hear that 4LS originated at 4chan and have really, really wrong expectations about the game. but it did go into the story, and how it's about the characters, not "lol cripple porn." the comments down below, though... some were really good, really praising the game. some made it clear that they think nothing good can come from 4chan. idjits.

I'm not a kotaku reader, so I don't know much about their standards, but it appears that the author did some research on the subject. But what bothers me to no end is that it focuses on 4chan a lot, although somewhat understandable when taking into account 4chan is considered a cauldron of boiling feces by many, the fact that they go so far as to directly quote W.T. Snacks, someone who; from my knowledge, doesn't have anything to do with the devs nor any say in the project, makes me question the direction and depth the author took when making her research.

It would be a lot to expect from someone to know enough about the VN community to understand that what is pushing this thing is an authentic interest in telling the story instead of saddened bastards that repeat "I'm a freak in front of a screen with a heart" when seeing themselves on a mirror. It gave me the strong impression that the author tried to pimp the article by way of its roots and not by what is it made of.

So far, I think that Fakku has done a better job of representing the game with that interview of sorts with one of the devs (link) than Kotaku's Leigh Alexander. But hey, if the readers have some brain, then they'll do their own research and fall on the right track and probably learn a thing or two.

In conclusion, it isn't pathetically biased, although I'd love to call it that way, but weak at representing the game as a game instead of a phenomenon.

Whew, I never realized that 4chan made KS. Who are these people at 4LS trying to claim 4chans well deserved glory. *sarcasm off*
Not that there was anything I recognized as factually incorrect in my quick read of the article, but was the writer trying to kiss 4chans collective ass by focusing only on 4chan, 4chan, 4chan and ignoring the Devs, past and present, that actually stuck around with the project, formed 4LS and ground out the real work? It very well could be only my interpretation of it. Hell, I'm no fan of the large majority of 4chans population so maybe it is just me being overly sensitive. But thinking back on the article I don't remember one mention of 4LS? Hmmm, oh well, the fact is that 4chan is much more widely known and recognized than 4LS and it is the medium in which the idea for KS germinated. I'd equate it to giving all the credit for a beautiful rose garden to the manure pile used to fertilize the roses and totally ignoring the gardeners who till, plant, weed and tend the flowers day in and day out; but that is just my personal bias against 4chan showing; isn't it.

*edit*
Eh, well I stand corrected. There is mention of 4LS in the article; in a small paragraph, buried at almost the end of the article. Out of the entire article this is all the writer could find to say about 4LS??

"The amateur collective developing Katawa Shoujo now calls itself 4LS, or Four-Leaf Studios. The developers aim to identify themselves as an entity not dependent on 4chan nor associated with it by necessity. Still, the studio name remains a nod to its 4chan heritage and the culture that inspired the game's creation."

If this gets more people to try the game, then they will see for themselves what the game is actually like. Even when I first heard about the game I thought it would be a fetish fuel mess, spewed from the rectum of the internet. But after playing the game my perspective was shattered. I don't think anyone could play this game and come out thinking it has anything to do with 4chan. And they might find their way here, where they can learn more of the actual history of the game. In short, let the game speak for itself. No matter how correct or incorrect one may be in their assumptions and preconcieved notions about the game, once they play it they will understand KS, and its vision just a bit clearer.

For those saying the article focused too much on 4Chan I personally would say they are deluded.

The majority of the fans and all the devs are all obvious Channers. It shows in your behaviour and the way you all develop unwarranted self importance as soon as you start being a tripfag. This game is a part of 4Chan just as you are and it will always show.

Big fat anon wrote:For those saying the article focused too much on 4Chan I personally would say they are deluded.

The majority of the fans and all the devs are all obvious Channers. It shows in your behaviour and the way you all develop unwarranted self importance as soon as you start being a tripfag. This game is a part of 4Chan just as you are and it will always show.

haha, well don't you think there's too much 4 chan in there and too less 4LS? I do. ofc, we're all part of 4chan, the world will end in 2012 and teachers at yer schools and your bosses at work are all aliens.
They use 4chan. so? those this make them sick and crazy? you played the game?
the game is marvelous, brilliant, moving and doesn't have a label "made by 4 chan". If a communist made a video game and the article about the game wasn't like 75% about how communism is evil, alltough the game is good, you'd still not play it?

Scratch blindness, burn scars or having no lower legs. The "disability" people nowadays have most trouble looking past has to be "used to visit a 4chan board".

Of course, when writing articles, it tends to catch a lot more eyes when saying 4chan made this game than saying it was made by people who used to frequent a 4chan board. Despite this slightly shaky focus, it's a respectful article that emphasises KS is more than mere fetish fuel. And for me, it was cool to read the finer details of the Nurse-kun story, which I only heard about before in very abbreviated form.

Big fat anon wrote: The majority of the fans and all the devs are all obvious Channers. It shows in your behaviour and the way you all develop unwarranted self importance as soon as you start being a tripfag. This game is a part of 4Chan just as you are and it will always show.

The only one showing unwarranted self-importance here is you. I don't identify as a channer and that should be enough for you, Mr. Legion. I've been caustic and mean since before 4chan even existed.

That said, I think the article focuses too much on 4chan, but if the 4chan angle wouldn't have been there it wouldn't have been written in the first place. So I guess it's okay, at least they (unlike Sankaku) acknowledge that the connection is not rock solid.