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[Evvinartopski]

Did any of the writers go out of their way to subvert expectations? Not to troll, but to give a non-clichéd experience?

As a sort of reverse copy of this question, paired with the... excentric nature of some writers: have any of you ever resorted to writing over-the-top Broujo-esque sidestories to alleviate stress and writer's blocks in the hard moments of development, without the intent of putting it to serious use?

By the way, thanks for answering my previous question. I hope this one's not worded too ridiculous.

[Guest]

(The actual question) As someone who has a disease very similar to cardiac arrhythmia, I'm also on a bunch of medications. Were you aware that one of the most common medications for heart conditions like arrhythmia is actually Viagra?

Yeah. We have a registered nurse on the development team (Silentcook), who's helped us a lot with getting our medical facts straight. That isn't to say the lines aren't slightly blurred though as narrative requires.

Well, props to Silentcook then. I was pleasantly surprised how medically accurate the game was over all.

[Talifan9]

Both the music and artwork in this game is some of the most beautiful I have ever experienced. How did the creators get the inspiration to make them? It is easy to see that a lot of effort was put into the entire game, and I want to thank you again

[Guest]

Was the imagery in Hanako's ending CG intentional, i.e hiding her scars, show her intiating the kiss in public with a smile while people are watching?
A way of saying that she's finally happy?

Also, is a wallpaper version of that CG and the Lilly field confessional scene available?

[Guest]

Hanako's path was a deliberate deconstruction of paths that usually surround characters like her, including the white knight trap. Lilly's path was more or less played straight, aside from the fake bad end.

Hah, this is exactly what I came into this topic to comment on. This really stood out to me. Characters like her really trigger maternal instincts for me, and after the whole floor game scene from the demo and just getting a feel for her character in general, I decided I had to do her route last. Somewhat hypocritically, I was worried that her route might become the patronizing sort of route that crud obviously wanted to avoid, and not only did I feel played like a fiddle once I clued into what the route was trying to do after I was done spamming all my friends about the Hanako moe driving me crazy (in a good way), I was very grateful for being played so. Though I wanted to see a little more of an epilogue because I loved the ending scene so much, I just want to say I was particularly very impressed at the obviously high amount of care that went into portraying a character like her, and the other girls as well.

That said, I enjoyed it a lot, and as someone who has been following this since the tcdohl old forum days, finally playing it after all these years was a joyous experience in itself. Thanks bros.

[Aura]

Did any of the writers go out of their way to subvert expectations? Not to troll, but to give a non-clichéd experience?

As a sort of reverse copy of this question, paired with the... excentric nature of some writers: have any of you ever resorted to writing over-the-top Broujo-esque sidestories to alleviate stress and writer's blocks in the hard moments of development, without the intent of putting it to serious use?

By the way, thanks for answering my previous question. I hope this one's not worded too ridiculous.

Well I don't know what you expect, but you can find some offbeat writings of the staff on the fanfic forum.

[Suriko]

I noticed a few "alice in wonderland" or "through the looking glass" references. Are any of the writers fans of the works? Just plain curiosity

We all have our own favourite literary works.

Relevant: http://katawa-shoujo.com/influencechart.jpg

[Evvinartopski]

I somehow managed to get every characters route completed, but I'm at 99% because I'm missing something between "Home Field Advantage" and "No Recovery." If anyone could post the choices I need to make to get this one, it would be helpful because I'm not even sure which route this spot falls under. All I know is that it is some spot in Act 1.

I'll help out a little with this one. I figured this one out earlier this evening, and it's only a factual question so I'm pretty sure it's not misinforming.

I've explained it in several steps, feel free to unspoil as far as you need.
The scene you're looking for is called Slow Recovery
The description is "Recovering from his heart flutter, Hisao eventually makes it to class.
If you're still trying to guess, you can get it by siding with Shizune as much as possible then racing Emi.

[Deltamon]

2) Our army of teenage girl artists couldn't draw penises without fits of giggling. Does that count?

Is that the reason you don't see any in KS?

You do see Hisao's manhood in Hanako's path at least.. ;o

[Mirage_GSM]

In reference to the artbooks mentioned, when can we look forward to those (not a specific date of course but like a generalization would be great) and what will they contain?

I guess linking to the answer to this question is okay...
Last Christmas

[Suriko]

I would first like to thank the KS development team for their interaction with us fans. I truly appreciate the chance to ask questions directly to the developers. My question is directed primarily towards Suriko, as it specifically regards Lilly's path, though I'm sure those involved with path direction may also hold answers.

How did Lilly's character develop from the limited description Raita provided on the original sketch into the one present in the full release? I would be fascinated to learn what ideas and sources, literary or otherwise, inspired the development of Lilly's character, her actions throughout the story, and her relationship with Hisao. The blog post from last February mentioned that early written concepts formed the basis of her reserved, motherly personality, but I am highly interested in what thought processes crafted her characterization between the early drafts and the final release.

I'd suggest poking around a bit on the old forums, located here: http://z8.invisionfree.com/Zettai_Shojo ... howforum=9

They were the very genesis of the project following the sticky, and a number of the oldest ideas that got included in the final game originate from there.

Lilly's motherly personality was something I thought of the moment I saw her character design on the original omake page. I'm still not really sure why I got so attached to that personality idea so quickly, but regardless, it stuck. She draws off a fair few influences, from books, movies, anime, and various aspects of real people I knew.

It should also be noted that every path was a big team effort - every path was subject to a massive amount of quite harsh criticism by other developers, and that has heavily shaped every piece of writing in the game.

[PasterOfMuppets]

Was Hisao's sweatervest based on any one in particular? One that I could... perhaps... buy somewhere?

It's a pretty common pattern for a sweatervest.
Depending on how much you're willing to pay for one, there are a variety of stores.

[Byne]

Do all of the path writers feel like they've finished the stories of their characters?

I for one would love to read even just a short story or something for each of the girls set a few years after graduation to see what has happened with them.

[Deltamon]

How do i fix depression caused by this game?

I really don't know. We absolutely did not expect such an emotional response.

It's not really unheard of for people to get really emotionally attached to characters in games like this.. Since quite often people find them much more perfect than real life encounters, mainly because it's easier for people to "spend time with them" over a game.. And after the story is over, there inevidably follows the feeling of losing someone that you care for and never being able see that character anymore.

However, the good thing is that usually this kind of attachment only lasts for at max week or two.. Usually even less, so while I'm sure lot of people will not forget these characters for a long time, especially their own favorites.. Also it's quite hard to keep up being attached to something that doesn't ever respond back, just like it would be in real life.. So basically those kind of feelings do pass eventually.

As for the 4LS, really great job obviously on character creation considering how well they are made and how easy it actually is to become attached to them.

[mildwonkey]

A couple of questions:

1) I'm going on a limb, and assume that some devs were in attendance at Comiket.

After reading some of the press, post-release, I'm kind of curious about your table at C81. It seems there's been a very strong, and sometimes mixed, emotion emanating from the Japanese, overall, in their opinions of KS. Were there any notable reactions 'live-and-in-person' to the game, in particular the name, or public praise/scolding given over the content? Was the table active, or did attendees go out of their way to avoid it?

2) As devs, I assume that you are planning to, or already, have professions in the field of computer programming, etc. Is KS something that you plan to include on your personal resumes moving forward through your careers given is does have legit dev/coding merit, or is this something you will simply keep on your personal trophy shelf (perhaps on account of its content)?

Thanks for all of the hard work! Loving the game so far (Finished Emi and Shizune... scared to approach the Rin path...only so many tears in a day).