Ask!

[Oddball]

And if people want to read it ...

http://z8.invisionfree.com/Zettai_Shojo ... wtopic=307

Since Oddball's link leads directly to the 2007 forums, just a quick question - were these the second unofficial forums or the first? I seem to remember something about the first still entertaining the thought of KS just being pron with story, but from a quick glance I see plenty of the early folks kinda against stuff like rape bad ends and such. Or am I remembering wrong here and there only ever was 1 unofficial forum and only then transitioned slowly into this one?

First. There are no other forums than the invision ones and these. The transition was not slow either, one day we just moved out and dumped almost everything that was on the invision forums. That was basically (though not formally) the beginning of 4LS.

Fun fact: spelling the word shoujo seems to be very difficult, as those forums are titled shojou and in the name of the first KS IRC channel, it was shoujou

Odd. The old forum links to a danmaku forum that appears to have only lasted a few months before you switched over to this one. Did that forum just not work out for you all or something?

[Aura]

First. There are no other forums than the invision ones and these. The transition was not slow either, one day we just moved out and dumped almost everything that was on the invision forums. That was basically (though not formally) the beginning of 4LS.

Fun fact: spelling the word shoujo seems to be very difficult, as those forums are titled shojou and in the name of the first KS IRC channel, it was shoujou

Odd. The old forum links to a danmaku forum that appears to have only lasted a few months before you switched over to this one. Did that forum just not work out for you all or something?

Same forum, different URL. Just the hosting changed.

[TheHivemind]

Were these the second unofficial forums or the first? I seem to remember something about the first still entertaining the thought of KS just being pron with story, but from a quick glance I see plenty of the early folks kinda against stuff like rape bad ends and such. Or am I remembering wrong here and there only ever was 1 unofficial forum and only then transitioned slowly into this one?

Most of the pron with story discussion took place in either 1. the original thread on /a/ or 2. in the early IRC channel. Even then, spend enough time on those old forums and you'll see plenty of porn with plot suggestions.

Wow, so Katawa Yandere could almost have been canon. I guess I have a question for all the writers as well and I do apologize if it's been asked before: Which aspect or trait of the girl whose route you wrote did you most enjoy writing?

I enjoyed writing all the mindless banter back and forth between Hisao and Emi. Some might say I enjoyed writing the mindless banter TOO MUCH, as at least one draft wound up reading like a bad sitcom or a terrible imitation of a Joss Whedon script.

Fortunately we reined that in a little.

[Liminaut]

Is there any canon on how Hanako's fire got started? I looked on the forum but couldn't find anything specific.

I'm asking because Hanako is pretty messed up even for someone that lost her family in a fire ...

and then i starting thinking about an 8 year old birthday girl that just wanted some more pretty birthday candles after the party was over, and one of them just wouldn't go out ...

This is pure 100% speculation on my part but ... imagine getting up ever morning, looking in a mirror, and seeing the person that killed your parents, That would pound anybody into the ground.

[Guest Poster]

If you read through Hanako's route again, you'll find out that Hanako's issues aren't merely due to her scarring or loss of her parents, but also very much due to the way she was treated in elementary and middle school afterwards. It's left a much bigger impression on her personality than the former two events.

[YZQ]

It's a vicious cycle. Her looks led to bullying, and her folks aren't there to help her.

Also, as far as I can see, the reason for the fire is never stated.

[Guest Poster]

It did happen while they were all asleep, so it's doubtful she or her parents were responsible for it.

[wazuzu]

They might have forgotten to turn some electric stuff off. And that makes them responsible.

[Gavicimal]

This is a question for any of the Devs. What aspect of finishing KS would you find to be the best? And at that, how has writing KS changed you; what have you picked up or learned from the large period of time you spent with this project?

[cpl_crud]

This is a question for any of the Devs. What aspect of finishing KS would you find to be the best? And at that, How has writing KS changed you, What have you picked up or learned from the large period of time you spent with this project?

I leant to take constructive criticism construcively (albeit late it the piece).

I have learnt a lot about my writing style, and how to write dialogue when one party can only speak three words at a time...

And since it has become public, I have learnt to stop feeling in any way ashamed of my involvement, e.g. not discussing it with "IRL" people (or whatever flesh beings are reffered to these days on the internet).

[YZQ]

For the devs who were not working full-time during the production phase: Has involvement in the project affected (or influenced) your subsequent hunt for a full-time job?

For the devs who were: Would you do another project of this scale again?

[Silentcook]

2) Yes, but I couldn't afford to be as wasteful of effort as we were back then.

[cpl_crud]

For the devs who were: Would you do another project of this scale again?

I would say "probably," however I usually have a number of competing demands on my time. I would think that it would be about 4-5 years before I would be able to join another team-based project and know that I would be able to give it the time and effort that would be expected of a team member...

[TheHivemind]

This is a question for any of the Devs. What aspect of finishing KS would you find to be the best? And at that, How has writing KS changed you, What have you picked up or learned from the large period of time you spent with this project?

1. The best part was getting it out there and having people not completely hate Emi's path. I never quite managed to convince myself that anyone would enjoy it except for me.

2. I learned that I am rubbish at deadlines.

I learned how to write more descriptive things, my dialog got better, and I learned that it is always very important for me to have at least a basic idea of where my narrative is going before I sit down to write (otherwise things get awfully meandering and boring).

It also made me better able to plot out a branching narrative, although that particular skill will probably never see much use (not unless I decide it's time to write a CYOA book or something, anyway).

For the devs who were not working full-time during the production phase: Has involvement in the project affected (or influenced) your subsequent hunt for a full-time job?

For the devs who were: Would you do another project of this scale again?

1. Not really. Writing was always something I wanted people to pay me money for--it just took a while before I was okay with people paying me to write advertising copy and not stories. I don't think the game really had anything to do with that.

2. I would consider it, but my involvement in the project plummeted once I'd found a full time job (fortunately for us, it was pretty late in development by that point). I'm hesitant to commit to a large project again, if only because I don't know if I would be able to give it the time and attention it deserved. Heck, I feel bad about not giving this project more of my time every now and then.

[Charque]

This might not be a question, but, I just wanted to say that this game, or rather, this masterpiece (Not even exagerating) will without a doubt touch the soul of those who get into the story, the same way when you put your finger in the water and rings form around it, that's how it will affect you.

I'm not sure if I made much sense, I might even have sounded like Rin there, but, you spent 5 years of your life creating this treasure, and all I can do is enjoy it... I feel like i'm robbing you guys... So please accept my first gift to you, not a kiss, but, instead, my humble and most honest Thanks.