Ask!

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


Priest
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Location: Denmark Ftw!

Re: Ask!

Post by Priest »

Aura wrote:
Priest wrote:Hello

Okay so heres my question if it has bin asked then im sorry

so why did the devs decide you werent gonna make anymore games you guys are really great at it ?
Some are tired, or might want to do something else for a change. If we want to make more games in the future, then we will.
Okay :) well best of luck in the future

best regards from denmark
In case of war hide in the trash can. it allways makes it unscratched somehow
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sporkaganza
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Re: Ask!

Post by sporkaganza »

Just how much material was ultimately discarded?

Also, reposting another question I asked that slipped through the cracks
sporkaganza wrote:Speaking of music, I've always been really interested in soundtracks, so I'd like to ask: What was the process for writing music for Katawa Shoujo? Did you ask the people in charge of the music "We need a track for this character/setting/mood, could you write us something?" Or did they see what you had written and then get inspired from that and write things on their own? Was it both of these? How exactly did you decide which tracks needed to be reworked and which didn't? On a more specific note, how did you end up choosing the Bach piece for the music box in Lilly's route?
Hivemind

Re: Ask!

Post by Hivemind »

zeroyuki92 wrote: For the questions,
I guess the following are intended for writers :
1. In your working days (don't count days with no writing done at all), how many average words (rough estimation, ofc) per day that you guys did for KS? (ex. 1000 words per day,etc)
2. Did you write some other fiction writings before writing scenario for KS? If you did, what are they? (and if you shared it in internet, can you share them here?)
3. Personally, usually what did you do when you meet writing-block?
4. Is there any of you (writers) that had other language than English as mother language?

For general development process :
What was 4LS working flow during development process for KS? Specifically, where do you guys work faster: In the beginning, middle or the end of development stage?
1. Probably three or four hundred words a day when all's said and done. In reality, I tended to write in fits and starts, sometimes churning out two or three scenes in a day if I had the time.
2. I have written fictions before and after my work on KS. Some of it went on the internet, some of it didn't. Unfortunately for y'all, it's also all got my actual name on it, so no, I won't share it here. It's not hard to find out what my normal nom de plume on the internet is, but I live in a fantasy world where people respect my privacy.
3. When I meet writing block I do one of two things: If I'm on a deadline, I've always found tea helps me to concentrate. If I'm not, I generally walk away from whatever it is I'm doing, read, play a game, watch a movie, go for a walk, whatever. It helps an awful lot to clear the mind. Failing that, drink heavily.
4. I didn't, but Aura did.
the_phenom
Posts: 23
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 6:52 am

Re: Ask!

Post by the_phenom »

Guest wrote:
Merlyn_LeRoy wrote:Per the discussion elsewhere in this forum, is there a particular reason that Hanako doesn't have pubic hair? Rin doesn't seem to have pubic hair either, though it could be hidden by Hisao's hand.
This is definitely worth asking.
Shizune doesn't have any either, Lilly seems to be the only one.
Um, because they shave. Obvious why lilly cant do that.
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sporkaganza
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Re: Ask!

Post by sporkaganza »

the_phenom wrote:
Guest wrote:
Merlyn_LeRoy wrote:Per the discussion elsewhere in this forum, is there a particular reason that Hanako doesn't have pubic hair? Rin doesn't seem to have pubic hair either, though it could be hidden by Hisao's hand.
This is definitely worth asking.
Shizune doesn't have any either, Lilly seems to be the only one.
Um, because they shave. Obvious why lilly cant do that.
... Even given how flexible Rin is I'm pretty sure she couldn't possibly do it either
Foba

Re: Ask!

Post by Foba »

Hello, KS devs. Just a quick question, I hope it doesn't bother you any.

I've finished all the routes, I'm at... 94% completion, I believe, and I STILL don't know what Misha's disability is. I know that Yakamu does not discriminate between healthy and disabled students, but I just wanted to know; Is Misha as healthy as she appears, or does she have a disability that I missed or was not revealed?
Guest

Re: Ask!

Post by Guest »

Foba wrote:I've finished all the routes, I'm at... 94% completion, I believe, and I STILL don't know what Misha's disability is. I know that Yakamu does not discriminate between healthy and disabled students, but I just wanted to know; Is Misha as healthy as she appears, or does she have a disability that I missed or was not revealed?
She does not have one, in fact. She's there because she wanted to attend and ended up being a translator of sorts.
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Rivin
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Re: Ask!

Post by Rivin »

Guest wrote:
Foba wrote:I've finished all the routes, I'm at... 94% completion, I believe, and I STILL don't know what Misha's disability is. I know that Yakamu does not discriminate between healthy and disabled students, but I just wanted to know; Is Misha as healthy as she appears, or does she have a disability that I missed or was not revealed?
She does not have one, in fact. She's there because she wanted to attend and ended up being a translator of sorts.
That's not what the dev's said in the old q+a on Fakku I believe... but I could be mistaken or it could have changed since then...
the_phenom
Posts: 23
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 6:52 am

Re: Ask!

Post by the_phenom »

sporkaganza wrote:
the_phenom wrote:
Guest wrote: This is definitely worth asking.
Shizune doesn't have any either, Lilly seems to be the only one.
Um, because they shave. Obvious why lilly cant do that.
... Even given how flexible Rin is I'm pretty sure she couldn't possibly do it either
She had Emi to help her.
Guest

Re: Ask!

Post by Guest »

Rivin wrote:That's not what the dev's said in the old q+a on Fakku I believe... but I could be mistaken or it could have changed since then...
She had a mental disability earlier on but in the final version, she's just someone attending in order to be a sign language teacher.
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Suriko
Lilly Writer, Hanako Co-Writer, Producer
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Re: Ask!

Post by Suriko »

sporkaganza wrote:Just how much material was ultimately discarded?

Also, reposting another question I asked that slipped through the cracks
sporkaganza wrote:Speaking of music, I've always been really interested in soundtracks, so I'd like to ask: What was the process for writing music for Katawa Shoujo? Did you ask the people in charge of the music "We need a track for this character/setting/mood, could you write us something?" Or did they see what you had written and then get inspired from that and write things on their own? Was it both of these? How exactly did you decide which tracks needed to be reworked and which didn't? On a more specific note, how did you end up choosing the Bach piece for the music box in Lilly's route?
A tremendous amount of stuff was discarded, but it's impossible to give a real measure. At least twice the final game's worth of content, but that's extremely rough.

Lilly's music box piece actually has a bit of history. At the beginning of the project, she originally played the cello as her primary hobby. We poked around for a music piece to use for her that was both public domain, and not woefully overused. In the end, Sarabande was chosen as filling both criteria, and having a nice tone that wasn't too happy, nor too melancholic. After Grid1+, the old prototype of Act 1, we decided to cut Lilly's cello hobby. Despite this, the Sarabande music recording remained in the game just floating around unused.

Writing continued, and eventually the subject of a birthday came up. Originally, Hanako's in-game birthday event was actually Lilly's birthday (those with good memories for pointless detail might have caught when we updated the website years ago to account for this). If memory serves me correctly, this is when the music box first appeared; it was Hisao's birthday present for Lilly. It served both as an excellent present, being audible and fitting for her, and was a way to reuse the Sarabande piece. Nicol changed the music to a music box tone rather than a full recording, and the Sarabande music box was born.

Later, during further writing of the first draft, Crud and I decided to switch the birthdays. This was to give the - at the time, somewhat anemic - early Hanako path a special event (which would be picked up on later in Hanako path's writing as a larger element of the overarching plot). Not wanting to waste the music box, it was kept as a special 'side present' that Hisao gave Lilly despite it not being her own birthday.

Finally, the hospital scene. Initially, the music box wasn't present in this - it was only added in the second draft. It was written in as a returning plot element and a way to communicate the moment audibly as well as visually and textually, and as luck would have it, the tone of Bach's Saraband was perfect for the moment.

And that's the history of the music box and its music piece.

Edit: As for the other part of that question: It was a mix of both. Sometimes we'd ask for a specific piece for a specific mood or scene (a good example of this is Red Velvet, where we asked Nicol for some jazzy bar/nightclub music and linked a few Youtube samples to show what we meant, then we did his thing and came back with a really cool piece of music), and other times, he'd make a piece or two and we'd integrate that into the game.
Merlyn_LeRoy wrote:Per the discussion elsewhere in this forum, is there a particular reason that Hanako doesn't have pubic hair? Rin doesn't seem to have pubic hair either, though it could be hidden by Hisao's hand.
Textually they all had pubic hair (except Shizune, I think, who just didn't have it mentioned). The artists just hated drawing it, so the references to it in the text were later edited out for most of the paths.
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Otakumon
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Location: 3rd rock from the sun

Re: Ask!

Post by Otakumon »

:cry: Cries because his question on page 22 was deemed unworthy of an answer. Blames self for adding comment about Hisao being able to hear the shower at the end of the hall while sitting in his room. Promises not to point out any more bloopers and hopes next questions will be answered. :cry:

Does Misha have a disability?

If yes, what is it?

If no, why does she get dizzy on stairs?
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Rivin
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Jan 05, 2012 3:43 am

Re: Ask!

Post by Rivin »

Otakumon wrote::cry: Cries because his question on page 22 was deemed unworthy of an answer. Blames self for adding comment about Hisao being able to hear the shower at the end of the hall while sitting in his room. Promises not to point out any more bloopers and hopes next questions will be answered. :cry:

Does Misha have a disability?

If yes, what is it?

If no, why does she get dizzy on stairs?
Very true.. She could have Meniere's like myself (I can't climb stairs without vertigo), which would also explain why she wanted to learn sign language! lol just a guess but a plausible one. :mrgreen: I'm interested in the dizziness aspect as well haha..
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Merlyn_LeRoy
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Re: Ask!

Post by Merlyn_LeRoy »

Suriko wrote:
Merlyn_LeRoy wrote:Per the discussion elsewhere in this forum, is there a particular reason that Hanako doesn't have pubic hair? Rin doesn't seem to have pubic hair either, though it could be hidden by Hisao's hand.
Textually they all had pubic hair (except Shizune, I think, who just didn't have it mentioned). The artists just hated drawing it, so the references to it in the text were later edited out for most of the paths.
I just find that really baffling . . . "Nipples? OK. Vulvas? OK -- but I draw the line at pubic hair! Actually, that's where I stop drawing lines!" . . . tsk, tsk, young people today . . .
the_phenom
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Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2012 6:52 am

Re: Ask!

Post by the_phenom »

Merlyn_LeRoy wrote:
Suriko wrote:
Merlyn_LeRoy wrote:Per the discussion elsewhere in this forum, is there a particular reason that Hanako doesn't have pubic hair? Rin doesn't seem to have pubic hair either, though it could be hidden by Hisao's hand.
Textually they all had pubic hair (except Shizune, I think, who just didn't have it mentioned). The artists just hated drawing it, so the references to it in the text were later edited out for most of the paths.
I just find that really baffling . . . "Nipples? OK. Vulvas? OK -- but I draw the line at pubic hair! Actually, that's where I stop drawing lines!" . . . tsk, tsk, young people today . . .
They don't like dicks either.

We never get to see how big Hisao's penis is. Is he big enough to drive the thoughts Emi has of her first love out of her mind?

So, my next question is: how big is Hisao's penis? By length and girth.
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