Katawa Shoujo Act 1 Preview feedback thread

[Darkmoon]

I would totally do that if I was in the position the Dev's are in.

[Bara]

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?

That could be, or maybe your a Dev in disguise? Whoa! This is getting all Matrix-y... too much for my little mind to handle. Pardon me while I go into a corner, curl up into a fetal ball and twitch.

[Aura]

I have yet to see a single post in these 33 pages to use expletives or even be remotely harsh (and a single critique outside of these pages that'd be harsh yet constructive), so the internal feedback is easily tougher than what I see here. Besides, the people giving internal feedback are our fellow devs and peers that we (in theory) respect and listen to, which is an additional factor. We don't scrutinize every word and pixel though, the way it works is that people produce for some time, weeks or months, then there is a round of everyone who cares raining shit on the sorry piece of writing or art, then it's fixed. Repeat until exhaustion. Anarchy has the upside that you don't have to live up to anyone else's standards. It has the downside that the standards we have to live up to are unknown even to us. Thus, KS will be done when it's done (not when it's perfect).

And yeah, a lot of feedback has no practical utility. "Wouldn't it be great if..." suggestions are dime a dozen, but any one of them could hit the jackpot. I personally have been profoundly affected by one such suggestion, and it will be seen in game if I can convince my artist-partner-in-crime to work with me on it. "What I'd do" suggestions are either out of touch with the reality of making visual novels (because the people suggesting never have made one) or have been considered a thousand times already, or are out of line with what we want to do. Anyway they get dismissed the most likely, but are also the most refreshing. "I liked/disliked this, because" are good since there are no qualified visual novel reviewers, so we trust in the force of quantity. If one person says he liked/didn't like something, it doesn't get much attention. If ten separate people do, there is very good reason to believe that the issue needs attention. So, all feedback is valuable.

[nimblesquirrel]

Thanks Aura.

I'm sorry my feedback went on so long, especially for my first post to the forums. I kind got carried away, but I hope it wasn't all bad.

As for the "what I'd do" things in my feedback, I will probably just write a few scenes and post them in the Fan Fiction section.

[<Anon?> XD]

...kinda feel bad posting here..but heres what i felt anyway.. was browsing thru fakku.net for 'stuffs' *cough*.. anyway, came upon this, thought at first this might be a hentai game.. well... clicked it on, played it, at the start, was abit.. well u know, expected hentai but did not get some.. then, just continued to read it..found it.. >wow< the graphics and like.. again.. >wow< ..its like one of those like, nicest VN ever.. the details and stuffs, i didn't know that it was a demo version at first, so was like, oh wow.. and kinda.. oh man..why did it end just like that.. found out its just demo and got my hopes extremely high, love the BGMs.. all in all.. its one hell of a great VN, sorry i thought it was hentai at first X( ...again.. about this VN.. its like.. >WOW<

[Timst]

Ok, since there's no review subforum or nothing, I'm going to post my opinion on Katawa Shoujo here. Feel free to move the topic around if I screwed something. Also, english isn't my mother tongue, so sorry if I mispell something ...

So first, the game is great. No, seriously, it's good, very good, and I had a nice time playing it.

But while playing it, I spotted several small issues that I think should be fixed... of course, this is only my opinion. Here we go :

- First, there is scenes where the player should be allowed to choose a path. I know this is lot of work but hey, at least don't let the player think he'll have to choose, then let the main character decide all alone.
For example : The festival's day, after talking with Kenji, Hisao start wondering if he should go to the festival. Then you think "ok I'm gonna have to choose between staying here or going at the festival". But then, after talking to himself for like 10 panels, he decide to go anyway. What was that ? If you don't want to give a choice, a simple "This guy is insane, I'm going to the festival" will be enough...

- Sometime, the action / situation depicted doesn't match the image. It's pretty ok since the images are often static, but sometime it go plain wrong.
For example : "A cerulean blue totally empty sky ?" Oh yeah ? But in the picture, there's many clouds.
Another example : Hanako is fully concentrated on her book and totally unaware of what's going on around her ? Strange, in the picture she's staring at the main character, not at her book.

- A little thingie also : Rin's dialogue (well her name on the speech panel) is pink, but her hair is reddish. Emi's name on the speech panel is red, but her hair is pinkish. Considering it's two 3-letters name, and that it's somewhat easy to confuse between the both, it'll be wiser to swap colours.

Well, that's almost all I have to say. The game is great and all, but these little "problems" troubled me while I was playing.

[Oh the write]

...kinda feel bad posting here..but heres what i felt anyway.. was browsing thru fakku.net for 'stuffs' *cough*.. anyway, came upon this, thought at first this might be a hentai game.. well... clicked it on, played it, at the start, was abit.. well u know, expected hentai but did not get some.. then, just continued to read it..found it.. >wow< the graphics and like.. again.. >wow< ..its like one of those like, nicest VN ever.. the details and stuffs, i didn't know that it was a demo version at first, so was like, oh wow.. and kinda.. oh man..why did it end just like that.. found out its just demo and got my hopes extremely high, love the BGMs.. all in all.. its one hell of a great VN, sorry i thought it was hentai at first X( ...again.. about this VN.. its like.. >WOW<

A+ troll would rage again

[AnonymousOfNorway]

nimblesquirrel: There will be some more characters to meet. 'nuff said.

- First, there is scenes where the player should be allowed to choose a path. I know this is lot of work but hey, at least don't let the player think he'll have to choose, then let the main character decide all alone.

This sounds a bit odd to me. Do you mean like it sounds like Hisao is doubtful about doing something, so you think you will get to choose for him?

I think what some people have mentioned, and which I agree with, is that one or two the choices were a bit frustrating because what Hisao says when you make a particular choice might not agree with what you wanted him to say. The way I deal with this is that I look at the first couple of lines and go back to the savegame if it doesn't feel right - I don't think this is cheating.

For example : The festival's day, after talking with Kenji, Hisao start wondering if he should go to the festival. Then you think "ok I'm gonna have to choose between staying here or going at the festival". But then, after talking to himself for like 10 panels, he decide to go anyway. What was that ? If you don't want to give a choice, a simple "This guy is insane, I'm going to the festival" will be enough...

What's happening here is that choices you made earlier in the game are being played out. If you get stuck with Kenji in this scene, for example, you have failed to get connected to one of the heroines.

A+ troll would rage again

This might be real feedback.

[Sleepycat]

Hi everyone.
I'm not a native english speaker, sorry if my english sounds scholastic or pompous, or maybe terribly wrong, it's not intentional.
I discovered KS a couple of days ago and i've been playing it for some time, reaching Emi's, Hanako's and Lilly's endings, i'll get the other soon. I've tried some doujin, non-H sim dating games before, but this is the first visual novel i've ever played. I'm just the average anime lover, or weeabo if you like.
That said, what a great game. I totally love the art. The soundtrack is always nice with some songs surpassing background music and even main themes of many pro-games and some anime. Good plot, the subject was the reason that made me decide to play; i've got some experience of wonderful characters coupled whith poor scripting and i found the unusual setting fascinating. Obviously, i expect the story to deepen as chapters go by, even though many crucial aspects have yet been touched. I most appreciated the attention given to details, they add a nice "book feling".

Now for something i didn't really like... Every now and then i got the impression that some apparently irrelevant choices hugely affected the outcome of the whole story. Maybe it was intentional or that's just how real life works sometimes, but i would like to be more in control of "my" actions. On the other hand, people who like impredictability and "realism" will probably love this. Sadly, that's not my case; after taking a quick look at the walkthrough here on the forum i noticed how some innocent choices influence future gamplay, seemingly whithout a reason. For example, i can't think of Shizune telling Hanako you asked something about the library.
I thought this would be fine as long as you are granted a clear possibility to socialise with every girl in later acts, but i'm starting to think that won't be the case, at least from what i read in some devs' answers in other threads. I'm left wondering, but i'll spare you annoying questions that wouldn't probably get any answer, along with some perplexity i share with several anon about Rin's path.
I read something a few pages back on some endings being seen as "cut" o generally unsatisfying. I'd surely love to see my favourite characters more often, but i think every ending matches the girl perfectly so far, like Emi's: a light one for someone who seems to be a childish, light-headed girl. In an adorably positive way.

Here's my best try at being constructive. I read the FAQ and i'm not requesting changes in paths, but i'll leave here this idea, in spoiler for obvious reasons. If you like the current all-or-nothing decision making system, just skip to next point after spoiler, otherwise...
talking about the dreaded "go for it" option in Emi's path, what about adding a 2-3 closely subsequent decision points, just to make perfectly clear what is going to happen? It can be done with minimal scripting pain. I'll try an example.
a) keep running
b) take it easy

if b) then goes how it is now, if a) you get a brief description, something like "i keep running but she speeds up, seemingly not impressed at all by my improvement since yesterday" here pops up a second option:
a) stop here
b) go for it

if a) then "even if i tried my best, she isn't much impressed as i leave", and this links to standard "take it easy" with maybe a minor change in a line or two
if b) then standard "go for it"

The same could be applied somewhere else. I'm aware this probably feels redundant, but it's all i can think of now.
About westernisation of japanese culture: in "detour ahead" one of the girls, Misha if i remember well, orders a "green tea with milk and honey". No tea connoisseur, which in my twisted mind every japanese and chinese is, would ever put honey in a cup of green, let alone milk. It is... disagreeable, euphemistically speaking. Also, it's a matter of culture and national taste. This is not a tea thread, so i stop here, but just be aware that the choice makes the girl's tastes look weird; if that's what you were looking for, well it's a big success. If you wanted to give a "regular order" impression, i suggest to switch to "natural" green tea or sweetened black with milk, the latter being the less common choice for an asian drinker.
If you want to give a "somewhat strange" feeling to her order, maybe strengthening Misha's quirky/playful/childish look, you could opt for a "bubble tea" or "boba tea", even though i'm not sure it can be found in small towns.

Well, this may be a delicacy, but i noticed a sound close to a cricket chirping in some evening open-air sequences, while i was expecting the more japanese cicada shrill, like the one you always hear in every anime, the famous "higurashi". Cicadas are supposed to "cry" early in the morning or late in the evening, while the sequence was around 22.00, i guess, thus making crickets appropriate. Anyway, neither i am an entomologist, nor i like insects. I can't bear them. Someone who actually went to Japan is probably needed, or just forget about my weeaboness and stick with the awesome stereo-crickets. What a pretty elaborate sound effect.

Even with the minor gameplay flaw i initially mentioned, i keep considering this a great game, or at least a game with a lot of potential. I'll be sure to play the full release, keep up the good work.
Sorry for writing such a huge post.

[GarrettSchwing]

I've planned to take a passive approach to completing this game/visual novel. I've also planned to take a passive approach on this forum. This is the first time in my 18 years of age that I've actually want to involve myself in a forum community. So, I'm a newbie to forums as well as this kind of "experience." I have one friend to thank for showing me this game and he might even be on this website somewhere who knows? lol. It's a good feeling knowing I can partake in this awesomeness.

Oh! Back to the main point...

As I finished my first playthough I found Hisao interested in Emi. Which... I was very interested in looking after my own health in-game, and the Emi character was naturally polite/fun. (Which I seemed to sucker into nicely) So, I don't think it was possible for me to go any other way. Or maybe I'm just unobservant about my other choices? lol.

I was actually interested in directing the main character to Lilly. But, it seems my mindset of let Hanako "do her own thing" backfired on me. Haha! Oh well, the attitude of the Emi character fits nicely with how I'm playing it anway.

It would be interesting to see the main character have "second chances" with every other girl in the storyline and then be a huge player and have his entire scheme backfire on him in the end! Ah! I would do that for pure enjoyment if that was possible.

[Timst]

AnonymousOfNorway : Ah yes, I get it. Well, it's a bit a harsh way to saw you missed something, but it do the trick I guess.

Much spoiler coming. I'll hide the stronger one, but be careful if you haven't been through Shizune's, Hanako's or Kenji's endings.

Like almost everyone said, I'll like to point out that the effects of choice are way, way too "powerful" (or maybe Hisao is overreacting about what seems to be ok choice... I'm especially thinking about... when you say "I'm fine" to lilly, instantaneously leading to the bad ending. What the hell ?)

Oh, and yep, the ending are unbalanced. I played Shizune's ending just after Hanako's and... what. Not only Shizune's is like 2 or 3 times longer, but also it's way more eventful (thought about his disease, about love, stronger commitment with her, and of course, the fact that he realize he's in love with her... ending on the roof, under the moon and fireworks, side by side, whereas Hanako's route end in the middle of the afternoon after a simple game of chess. Ok, ok, considering how she react at the end, that's a pretty big progress, but I would like to know what happened during the evening and at the firework. And how come he never thought about her the way he thought about Sizune ? Well, I'll stop here. IIRC, Emi's ending is pretty weak also, Hisao ending the evening in his room. But I may have got an alternative ending, I don't know, it's seems really low compared to other.

Oh, and another thing : Hisao doesn't appear enough on-screen. Apart from the opening (in the snow), he show up like 3 or 4 time in the whole game, and in a typical game you won't see him more than 2 time, so it's really surprising when you suddenly see a dude around one of the girls, and it take a few eye blinks to realize it's Hisao.

[ZystraL]

MIlk Tea + Honey is <3. Especially that lovely Yorkshire variety. It's the only milk tea I can stand.

Green Tea and Honey has been done, and yes, it does taste horrible but this IS Misha we're talking about.

[Vector_Matt]

So far the game seems pretty good, but there are some issues. When you are taking Hanako to search for Lily there are some lines that don't seem to fit at all. Hisao thinks "God, she's being so awkward." and "It's like I need double layered silk gloves with padding to even begin interacting with her." These lines seem to be the harshest lines in the game, and they seem to come out of nowhere, as moments before then he was pleased that Hanako seemed to trust him a bit. Also just after climbing the stairs the "while I rue her inability to socialize at all." line is inaccurate, obviously Hankako isn't "completely" unable to socialize, after all she and Lilly are friends, and Hanako does speak to Hisao, not much, admittedly, but certainly to some extent. You may have already changed these lines, I don't know. But they definitely need some tweaking at the least.

Other than that though everything seems to be quite good.

Edit: Finally got all the endings. Also, I'm biased towards Hanako, so the other routes probably got significantly less attention from me. They were all enjoyable though (except Kenji's, that was just weird).

[Sleepycat]

I'm not sure of what milk tea is, but i assume Yorkshire variety to be based on black tea. Talking about black, i find even chai masala enjoyable.
Anyway, you're probably right. Green tea + honey & milk tastes... impressive. Quite appropriate for Misha ^^

I got the endings i was missing and i noticed a couple of technical issues.
During the fireworks, text appears in chunks of 5-8 letters a time, not fluidly like the usual. I play on a 3 GHz pentium4, 1.50 Gb RAM.
Most importantly, the game crashed on Kenji ending:
when Hisao starts falling you first see Kenji's face surrounded by darkness, gradually shrinking. Afterwards, there are some phrases while you see a slowly rotating dark sky. First time i played i was probably too slow, and at some point it just closed without errors, instead of showing the sky turning red. I played it again faster and it went fine, it played a creepy sound and the sky reddened.

[AfroPanda]

I absolutely loved the game so far. The stories actually have to be earned by carefully choosing what to say to each character. I just finished getting all the gallery and story and I can’t wait for the full game.