Ask!

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Re: Ask!

Post by Guest »

Suriko wrote:Also, the brothers thing is a mistake - Jigoro's wife (Mayoi) is Lilly's father's (Hiroyuki) sister.
This had me very confused since it's both mentioned in Shizune's and Lilly's path by different persons (Hideaki & Akira). Thanks for clearing it up.
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Suriko
Lilly Writer, Hanako Co-Writer, Producer
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Re: Ask!

Post by Suriko »

vAnon wrote:Does the 4LS team have an interest in the vidya gaems?
I mean, what are your favorite genres, and if 4LS had unlimited resources, what would be the dream project at this point?
A22 likes fighting games a lot. I like the occasional FPS and RPG, and have a long-held love of flight and mech simulators. A few of my favourites are Hitman Blood Money, IL2-Sturmovik 1946, the Mechwarrior series, and Neverwinter Nights 2. Looking forward to what World of Warplanes and Mechwarrior Online will bring. Melty Blood's fun every once in a while, too.

If 4LS had unlimited resources, I'd probably want to do a visual novel based around a historical setting, with the same direction style as the Mahou Tsukai no Yoru trial.
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Aura
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Re: Ask!

Post by Aura »

Guestwin wrote:With the Shizune path is being discussed here, I remembered two more questions that I haven't seen the answer to yet (although part of the second is probably somewhere in the forums).

1. A few times during the Shizune path it is suggested that Shizune is well aware of Hisao's heart condition even though he never really told here. Then in the Hanako path it is suggested that the student council has information that they cannot share with the rest of the students. Is correct to assume that Shizune as know about Hisao's condition from the start?

2. Since the timing of events is based on the Japanese school system, I can't quite place the periods an time skips that take place. Can you give a rough timing for school events like the start of a school year, summer break and graduation so I can estimate the timing ofthe story a bit better.
1. It's possible.

2. School year starts on April 1st, Hisao's first day in Yamaku is in early June, summer break is from late July to late August and the end of school year is in March.
<Aura> would you squeeze a warm PVC bottle between your thighs and call it "manaka-chan"
<Suriko> I would do it if it wouldn't be so hard to explain to my parents
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Aura
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Re: Ask!

Post by Aura »

Heatth wrote:
Suriko wrote:Also, the brothers thing is a mistake - Jigoro's wife (Mayoi) is Lilly's father's (Hiroyuki) sister.
This begs the question: Are you planning on releasing a patch fixing such script errors? Aside from that line, I've heard Hisao acts as he have never been on Shanghai in Emi's route, even if he had visited the place already with Shizune and Misha in Act 1.
We haven't decided.
<Aura> would you squeeze a warm PVC bottle between your thighs and call it "manaka-chan"
<Suriko> I would do it if it wouldn't be so hard to explain to my parents
Hivemind
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Re: Ask!

Post by Hivemind »

Guest wrote:A question for the writers: did music inspire any of you guys? I'm on the grind on attempting to be a vaguely readable writer myself and I find music gets my thoughts and inspiration going the best, as well as equalizes any mood I might want to keep. Do you guys like listening to music when you write, and if so, what kind of music did you guys like to play while writing KS?
I listened to a lot of Dillinger Four and The Hold Steady. There was a lot of other music in there too, but those two bands were the driving force, so to speak. Hilariously, the music has nearly nothing to do with the tone of the path--although Dillinger Four is the music I tend to work out to, so maybe that has something ot do with it.
Tom
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Re: Ask!

Post by Tom »

If it's not too personnal Aura, I wanted to know if you studied in an art school and used your personnal experience to write Rin's path ? I talked about Rin's artistic struggles with old friends I was in art school with and they were surprised how well you managed to decrypt the personal art struggles that even some of them could not explain so clearly.

Sorry if it's out of the place. :wink:

Edit : omg my english is so bad, sorry, lack of sleep.
geno93n0
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Re: Ask!

Post by geno93n0 »

I noticed that all the major characters in the game, as well as some minor ones, are all sort of "paired" in a complementary way, i.e. serious Shizune and bubbly Misha, outgoing Lilly and shy Hanako, and energetic Emi and laid-back Rin. I even think of plain Mutou contrasting with flamboyant Nomiya, and misogynistic Kenji contrasting with guy-friendly Miki.

My question is, was it the devs' intention to set the characters up in such a way that most, if not all of them have someone who is their polar opposite? Or did it simply turn out that way?
TheHivemind
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Re: Ask!

Post by TheHivemind »

vAnon wrote:Does the 4LS team have an interest in the vidya gaems?
I mean, what are your favorite genres, and if 4LS had unlimited resources, what would be the dream project at this point?
Some of us do, some of us don't. I actually write about games as a hobby, though I've thus far declined to say where (and will continue to do so until such time as I feel like I need promotion). I'm a sucker for CRPGS--your Baldur's Gates and Fallouts and Dragon Ages and Mass Effects and whatnot--but I've also got a weakness for the artsy stuff that doesn't really even qualify as a game (see: anything Tale of Tales has ever released).

Given unlimited resources I would probably make a pretty shitty game! I played around with the idea of doing some IF a couple years ago, and I always mean to revisit it, but I think when it comes down to it I would probably just wind up with a book that has interactive bits scattered around. The concept of bringing a narrative's characters into the real world has always intrigued me (i.e. ARGs and whatnot), so I'd probably fuck around with something like that.

In fact I am fucking around with something like that, but it'll be like ten fuckin' years before I have anything to show for it, probably.
Renaissance_Man
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Re: Ask!

Post by Renaissance_Man »

Many thanks, Suriko, for replying to my earlier question. The old forums provide much insight into the project's early stages.

If I may ask the developers another question, how were character concepts for minor characters (Kenji, Mutou, Nurse, Akira, Yuuko, etc.) created? Were the characters created before work on each girl's story began, or did they arise as elements of a girl's story? Furthermore, who oversaw their dialogue across all of the paths?
DaBeijingKing

Re: Ask!

Post by DaBeijingKing »

Suriko wrote: 9. But giving KyoAni KS would mean less chance of another series of Nichijou or Full Metal Panic being made...
I think a KS anime would be much better than those anyways
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Suriko
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Re: Ask!

Post by Suriko »

Renaissance_Man wrote:Many thanks, Suriko, for replying to my earlier question. The old forums provide much insight into the project's early stages.

If I may ask the developers another question, how were character concepts for minor characters (Kenji, Mutou, Nurse, Akira, Yuuko, etc.) created? Were the characters created before work on each girl's story began, or did they arise as elements of a girl's story? Furthermore, who oversaw their dialogue across all of the paths?
It was a mix. Yuuko, Kenji, Mutou, Nomiya, Misha, and the nurse are the oldest side characters, and were devised before the first drafts really began being made. The others arose during writing, and they were the creation of the path writer (though with extensive feedback from the other developers, as adding a side character was always a Big Thing). Their visual designs were usually the result of a writer asking for something in basic terms, and making a scene or two where they show up to give their personality, with the artists working from that (with extensive discussion). These were exceptions though; Hideaki's design for example was basically Moekki's idea.

The 'common' side characters generally weren't overseen by any particular dev, but rather, we just tried to keep them consistent and talked between each other about them. Kenji was overseen by A22, and the path-specific side characters were overseen by their respective writers (so Akira and Miki by me, Sae and Nomiya by Aura, Jigoro and Hideaki by A22, Meiko by Hivemind, etc).
McBaggin
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Re: Ask!

Post by McBaggin »

Do you guys feel like all of your KS work is finished or that you are okay with what you have released ?
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Rivin
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Re: Ask!

Post by Rivin »

Aura wrote:
Rivin wrote:This might've been asked before, but still..

What advice would you guys give to a team making a VN?

A team and I are currently creating a Mecha/War VN right now and although we are making some very good progress, we would kill for some tips/advice from a team as talented as 4LS. Please, please, impart your wisdom upon us!
There are no real tricks that I could explain in a couple of words, plus it's not like I know whether you are complete beginners or what. One thing that's a pretty common problem is that inexperienced creators don't have their goal clearly defined. If you don't know what you actually are doing, or what you want to do, makes it really hard to focus your efforts. There's no such thing as overplanning (there is, but only certain kinds of people ever do it). If you have a goal and a realistic perspective on your own capabilities and work, the path is already laid out before you. After that it's just up to being persistent enough to follow it.
I appreciate your honesty and advice Aura.
What do you think the hardest stage/part of making a VN is?
It feels like that organizing and getting everyone to compromise their ideas to get on a basic path we all could agree upon was more difficult than the writing, art design, and coding we've completed thus far. Do you guys feel the same way looking back?
McBaggin
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Re: Ask!

Post by McBaggin »

Hey Suriko !
I noticed there was a few scenes of wine drinking in Lily's route. are you a big wine drinker yourself and if so; what is your favorite brand ?
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Re: Ask!

Post by Guest »

McBaggin wrote:Hey Suriko !
I noticed there was a few scenes of wine drinking in Lily's route. are you a big wine drinker yourself and if so; what is your favorite brand ?
It's because Lily is a classy lady and wine is a classy drink.

Every Australian knows that.

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