Katawa Shoujo Act 1 Preview feedback thread

[krabbymcnabby]

Hard to distiguish the difference between Mishi and Shizune, i also found some strange phasing

It should either be 'Maybe we should call someone.' or 'Should we call someone'.
Other than that, superb 10/10

I'm just going to broaden on my last remark. On the characters in specific

Shizune: At first I didn't like Shizune as she was the ' in ccharge' person. It didn't help the fact that she was the last character story i went through. However, when going through her plot my views on her changed alot she still has a child-like side to her with her competitive streak and after going through her story it made me think more of how her disability may have made herbecome student council and become so in charge, maybe feeling ignored as a child because she couldn't speak to them and it would take them a while tonotice something wrong (maybe). This would also feed into her council work and maybe wanting a bit of attention. Howver this probably isn't the case but it's just how i feel. I also like the fued between shizune and lilly, i keep imagining Lilly ignoring Shizune because Lilly could not directly notice her unless walking into her or being introduced, this also leads to my beliefs of Shizune seeking attention.

Misha: Misha is probably my least favourite girl which isn't exactly a bad thing, the only reason is that so far I don't know her diablility only that she is loud and so she hasn't interested me alot. I guess that i'll like her more if we learn more about her but right now all the other girls are much more interesting, even if i'm still guessing misha's disability :/

Lily: Even though i like all the characters pretty evenly, Lilly is probably one of my least favourites, their is nothing really wrong with her, it's just her kind personality is a little too kind for me. It's a little off putting and thats really all i can say. her relationship with Hanako puts her into a mother-like and i think she is a really nice character but not that interesting from what i've seen hopefully, it will share more about how she does things or about her past to spice up her story. I think my main gripe was that it just didn't have any humour

Emi: Emi was the first story i went through. Her fun-loving attitude was really likeable and her story was also very enjoyable, i'm hoping for maybe a little more info on her car crash as i suspect there is something behind he cheeriness. Her pairing up with Rin is great as their too personalities clash rather well. The only fault i had was that, in my opinion, her ending ended rather abruptly. This may feel different in the next game but it ended rather quickly with him getting fried food... Also, most short girls have bigger breasts supposing that all the girls are in the same year

Rin: Rin is the girl i can relate too. Her 'spaced out' attiude make her very interesting, wondering what she is thinking, how she is feeling, like she has a wall-defense from her mind. Her disability also one of the more interesting ones to talk about (as reading the bio has already told me how she lost her arms) learning how her everyday life works never makes her seem boring. She also has my favourite ending, even if i think it's a little on the long side. Thinking that one of the plots for her story is getting her to show her mind makes me exited for the full release

Hanako: Hanako has become my favourite character. Her shy, innocent attitude makes her so cute :3 I also love her look, keeping her hair to cover the scars. Shy girls have always interested me and i feel she has a secret as to why, i dnon't think it's just because of the fire for some reason :/ Her relationship with Lilly is also cute how she's so close to her when walking down the corridor etc. Unfortunatley she has a slight ddisadvantage over the other girls because of my perks.

Kenji: Kenji was very funny his 'feminine domination' is great, however, sometimes his scenes seemed to drag on a little, like in the bathroom. I loved the 'Bad' ending where he actually made sense, however i think it would have been more hilarious if he came on to Hisoa saying stuff like 'Us guys gotta stick together' or 'If you and i work together, we may be able to find a way to make men pregnant'.

I was reading the blog earlier (I can't remember the post) and one of the posters said we'd be doing it wrong if you liked all the characters, however, i think he's wrong. I like all the characters, and one of the reasons is because their so different and interesting in their own way

Once again 10/10

[lookabomba]

Well, I'm new here and it looks like the staff are doing a great job, however, how long must we, the fans, wait for act 2.....how long has it been since Act 1 has been out anyway? well, no matter, I think they can pull through.....unlike game-patch who were making a english patch for Shuffle! (H-game) but then dropped it 4 years ago, unlike them, the staff of Katawa Shoujo (lol) are keeping their end of the deal.

keep up the good work guys we all have faith in you all......well.......i do lol

oh one more thing....I was just wondering, how long did it take the staff of this game to make?

[AnonymousOfNorway]

The game has been in some sort of production since early 2007. I, and probably over a hundred others, took part in the early discussion threads. Then a real development team was put together. You can read the summary of the story so far here:
http://katawashoujo.blogspot.com/2009/0 ... houjo.html

[lookabomba]

well...at least they are trying to put as much effort into this as possible, just hopefully, they can pull through. I mean, come on, this is a good game at least the best that I have have played. just keep up with the good work guys!

[templar]

There will no be 'act 2' release as far as I recall from blog and forum posts by the dev team. The next release is going to be the full game.

[Commissar Mecha Milk]

Hey guys, another first-time VN-er who signed up just to say their piece!

I love this game, first path RIn (best path IMHO), and quite frankly, I found the whole thing pretty much polished so well I could count the individual hairs on my neckbeard (hey, might as well be honest, right? ) That said, I do have some questions/complaints.

First off, Act 1 seemed a little... rushed. Yes, I know it's a demo, and of only 20% of the game at most, but it felt like it could still be expanded more. Some of the answer choices, for example, seemed to go all 'Mass Effect' on me, in that they said one thing, and I ended up saying another. Maybe you guys wanted to showcase each of the girl with minimum fuss (in which case,I approve ), but they did kinda jump out at me. Maybe a little more writing/chocies to clarify a few things?

Which leads me to my second question- will Act I be expanded in the full game? I don't mind the Act as it is now, but it definitely wouldn't miss a little expansion.

All that said though, I want to reiterate that I loved the demo, and am currently replaying it even though I've just broken 100%. Good job, you lot !

[El Jay]

Hi there forums, long time listener, first time caller.

Er..

Anyways. Act 1 was awesome. All the paths are pretty enjoyable, all the characters are fun, (with the exception of Kenji after a good 5 run-through's. My paranoia levels STILL are a bit high for my tastes.) the music is pretty damned good, drew me in quickly. It was fun to go through and see how everything went throughout the days with Hisao and the girls, and how some paths cross each other at times. First time I've ever played a game like this, at that, and I contribute that to the fact that it was damned interesting, the premise of everything and how the characters came out.

Hell, I got so drawn in, I thought I'd see how much I could do in a day using only my feet. Internet is not one of the easy ones, I'll tell you what. Now I'm going to have to keep myself busy while I wait for the full version to come out. I have a feeling I'm going to wind up memorizing the first act for the most part. Keep up the good work, guys, this may well be the best thing to ever have happened with it's roots having touched 4chan, and that, in and of itself, is amazing.

[Darkmoon]

- LELOUCH WHY ARE YOU IN MY CLASS

yes i thought that was a nice little maybe cameo appearance.

I also had a small question , I know you guys don't like to talk much about a Misha root but i was just wondering,.Being in a Disabled School, what is her Disability? just a small thing I wondered about the game., Sorry I feel so Uneducated about this Im sorry.

[Bara]

- LELOUCH WHY ARE YOU IN MY CLASS

yes i thought that was a nice little maybe cameo appearance.

I also had a small question , I know you guys don't like to talk much about a Misha root but i was just wondering,.Being in a Disabled School, what is her Disability? just a small thing I wondered about the game., Sorry I feel so Uneducated about this Im sorry.

Doh! Misha disablilty mentioned.... Dev Detonation in 3... 2... 1... FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!

All my bad jokes aside there are threads speculating on Misha; her disability, weight, lack of a path, undergarments...
Some of them make good reading too.

[AnonymousOfNorway]

I also had a small question , I know you guys don't like to talk much about a Misha root but i was just wondering,.Being in a Disabled School, what is her Disability?

She's a three-dimensional girl in a two-dimensional world.

Ahem. Here's one of the speculation threads: http://ks.renai.us/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1386

[Darkmoon]

Thanks Anon of Norway ^.^

[nimblesquirrel]

First of all, congratulations. Act 1 is a fine beginning to Katawa Shoujo. I downloaded Act 1 this weekend (I wonder if it is a more recent build), and spent most of the weekend playing it and exploring all the story paths. I thought it was well written/produced/executed. Kudos to you all.


This is a feedback thread, so here is my feedback:

There are a couple of background scenery hiccups. Such as the third and second floor hallways getting mixed up at the end of Quiet when Hisao leaves the Library, when he enters it at the beginning of Nc5xb3, and between the library and tea room during Nc5xb3. Also, the Throwing Balls scene probably shouldn't be class 3-2's noodle stand - but I guess that is more an issue with finding source images than a mistake.

Also, Hanako mentions her tile game, but it is clear from the background that ther are no tiles in the hallway – just lino.

In the scenes with Lilly holding her cane, the strap looks like it could be around her wrist. The strap is only used to hold the folding cane together when it is folded, not a wrist strap. Her cane also is a bit short (a folding cane should at least be chest level). For a really good guide on canes (written/drawn by someone who is blind), take a look at:
http://razzek.deviantart.com/gallery/#Blindness-Related
Personally, I think that Lilly would be the type to use a long white (non-folding cane) instead of a folding one, but that is just my impression.

As pointed out by others, prosthetic legs are not capable of letting people stand on tiptoes to gain height. It may be possible for them to balance forward on their prosthetic 'toes', but it certainly will not gain any height advantage. As there is no active ankle movement in 'cosmetic' prosthetics (ie. prosthetics designed to look like legs as opposed to running blades) it would be very difficult (if not impossible) for a bilateral amputee like Emi to jump.

If you ever go to in institute for the disabled, you will see a fairly high percentage of wheelchair users. That none have been seen so far in KS is very odd. Is this a specific decision, or is it simply because wheelchairs aren't easy to draw?

I do find that Shizune doesn't seem right: her entire communication is completely reliant on Misha. Deaf people aren't really like that – not to that extreme. Deaf people I have met can lip read and can speak (granted it is not articulate speech, but it is communication nontheless). Having Misha there for communication is a benefit, but communication with Shizune shouldn't be impossible without Misha there. Through her whole path, I was hoping for a decent moment alone where she would attempt to communicate with Hisao by herself. Indeed there was a moment where they were alone, but (asside from two notes) there wasn't any real attempted communication between the two.

The Nurse suggesting Hisao taking up jogging is unlikely. It seems to just be a plot device used to bring Emi and Hisao together. A high impact workout like jogging is a bad thing for someone recovering from cardiac problems. Aqua jogging may be more likely, especially as they have a pool, and it would be a nice plot device for Hisao to meet others. I wonder if swimsuit scenes are planned in the full version?


There are also some things that I do hope to see in the future release:

I'd like to see more story choices. There were a few times where I felt I was just a passenger when potentially important choices were made by Hisao's script not me. It would be nice to see a greater number of choices in the decision tree (I know that is far easier said than done). Wildcard events that occur randomly at different parts of the story may be nice too (even if they are done in such a way as to have little or no effect on the overall story). Wildcard events would mean the game could still be fresh and different even after playing multiple times.

It would be nice to see more characters added as the story progresses. Maybe another transfer student that catches Hisao's attention. Someone in wheelchair perhaps? Perhaps someone new to their disability as well? Perhaps they could be potentially new love interests.

This may seem morbid, but it would be intersting for one of the girls go to hospital for some reason. Some people with disabilities often have revisit a hospital for ongoing treatment: amputees sometimes have to have revision surgery or surgery to remove bone spurs, and young burn victims often have surgery to reshape scar tissue as they grow (as it does not grow the way normal skin does). The support Hisao could offer would be an interesting part of character relationship development. There is also the potential for flashback memories of Hisao's hospital stay. His time in the hospial was a little glossed over – he would have had some bad times especially early in his stay.

Iwanako should make some kind of 'guest' appearance, offering the (false) hope of going back to the way things were or letting Hisao choose to stay where he is and fully accept his condition. Until now, those choices have been made for him. But once he is comfortable, it would be interesting (character-wise) to make that choice for himself and fully accept his disability.

I'd like to see Hisao learn elements of sign language, so he slowly starts to see more from Shizune than “...”, even if it is just the occasional word that he picks up. It would also be nice to see this even if the Shizune path isn't taken.

Another male character would be good. Kenji has some interesting lines, but he is over the top in most instances. Another male character (and I believe there are more rooms in his level of the dorm - a hint perhaps?) would be interesting as a friend, a competitor for someone's affections, or even (for those that really want it) a potential love interest.

Sorry if this is all dense reading, but really did get into KS. I do hope that this feedback is helpful (if one of the devs does happen to see it). I do wish I could have been more involved if I had known about this project earlier. I'm guessing it is probably too late in the development process for feedback like this to change anything, but I look forward to the final product anyway. I don't suppose the devs are looking for beta testers?

[Darkmoon]

wow, and i thought I was harsh at time noticing the small things. no dis-respect that's just my opinion.

[Bara]

wow, and i thought I was harsh at time noticing the small things. no dis-respect that's just my opinion.

From what the Devs have said in the past the team itself is probably even more perfectionist and critical than posts here.
I figure if someone posts 12 observations in the feeback thread probably 10 or more will be things they have already hashed over a million times with nothing new; if they are lucky the others are just stupid or silly enough to give them a chuckle so their time wasn't wasted reading the previous 10; maybe, if luck is good for them, they might find one observation or comment that puts a new spin on an established idea or character, or a new perspective on parts of KS itself.
That is one small part of the reason for the forums. The other is so the Devs can troll us for grins and giggles.

[Deimos]

From what the Devs have said in the past the team itself is probably even more perfectionist and critical than posts here.

The other is so the Devs can troll us for grins and giggles.

Maybe they trolled you with what they told you about them being perfectionist?