Katawa Shoujo - "Disabled girls? Noooo...wait, really?" - Games

Lilly's path is really god-tier, though after some thinking I did eventually come up with two, somewhat related, small grains of criticism regarding her story: KS does a wonderful job in avoiding the most obvious/annoying romance clichés, [sp]yet Lilly's arc arguably does it the least successfully in my opinion. While this in no way reduces the amount of feels to be had, many of the romance-oriented scenes ranked pretty highly on my familiarity-scale. I'm sure that all of you have seen more than one love story that involves a typical romantic dinner, a confession in sun-bathed fields and the protagonist chasing down the love interest in a last desperate effort to produce a happy ending. I can't say the story was predictable or that it didn't surprise me at times, I just got the "This is a dance I've danced before"-feeling more than in other arcs. It serves to create a very fairytale-like story, which is by no standards wrong, but it does contrast a fair bit with the occasional pitch-black stories of the other arcs. For just as much good as bad, I suppose. The second criticism is, and now I'm probably really grasping at straws, is that the inevitable "conflict" (her summon back to Scotland) felt a bit unfitting and/or unwarranted. Most of the other arc conflicts are directly related to a disability, a piece of the characters' history or an event caused by Hisao. Lilly's conflict seems to be unrelated to all of those. For instance, when the game bites you in the ass for, say, sleeping with Misha, white-knighting Hanako or investigating Emi's reluctance to emotional bonding you clearly sense that you had this shit coming and that you deserve the bad feels you get from going through it (even though its a natural part of the character development and story progression). Lilly's actions on the other hand feels somewhat undeserved, and the summon from her family feels a bit like a sadness-flavored 'deus ex machina' (a tear-squeezing technique which KS otherwise seems to have carefully avoided). Given how little time is spent dwelling on explaining Lilly's family relations it's not that easy to draw a reasonable explanation to this sudden "conflict", and I didn't really recognize Hisao's late-night deductions of her reasons for leaving Yamaku to be particularly solid. If the game dropped any hints of her being unpleased enough with her current situation to warrant moving abroad, I didn't pick them up.[/sp] But then again, this is really the epitome of nit-picking here. There's of course no rule that dictates how a character arc should implement their respective "conflicts" nor how these play out. It's just a few things I managed to pick out of my train of thought as it spent all day chugging on back and forth through the memories and feels attained from playing this excellent arc. [editline]30th January 2012[/editline] fuck this post became long fast

[QUOTE=Tinter;34462085]Aww yeaaah.[/QUOTE] Oh my god [img]http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l545/WhatTheNovar/Untitled-5.png[/img] I am so hot right now

[QUOTE=RoflKawpter;34466823]Seriously? Where do you get that from? Although sad, it does have some resolution to it unlike the (in my mind) unrealistic theory Crimson brought up.[/QUOTE] oh he is just messing with ya, we call him BloodFox 'plot-wrecker' 1222 around these parts :v: [editline]30th January 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Novangel;34467190]Oh my god [img]http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l545/WhatTheNovar/Untitled-5.png[/img] I am so hot right now[/QUOTE] That was fucking hilarious; scenes like that made me like Shizunes arc a bit :v:

[QUOTE=Im Crimson;34467196]oh he is just messing with ya, we call him BloodFox 'plot-wrecker' 1222 around these parts :v:[/QUOTE] When did this happen, I thought i was known as the guy who posts disturbing images in the steam chat.

[QUOTE=Im Crimson;34467154][sp]The second criticism is, and now I'm probably really grasping at straws, is that the inevitable "conflict" (her summon back to Scotland) felt a bit unfitting and/or unwarranted. Most of the other arc conflicts are directly related to a disability, a piece of the characters' history or an event caused by Hisao. Lilly's conflict seems to be unrelated to all of those. For instance, when the game bites you in the ass for, say, sleeping with Misha, white-knighting Hanako or investigating Emi's reluctance to emotional bonding you clearly sense that you had this shit coming and that you deserve the bad feels you get from going through it (even though its a natural part of the character development and story progression). Lilly's actions on the other hand feels somewhat undeserved, and the summon from her family feels a bit like a sadness-flavored 'deus ex machina' (a tear-squeezing technique which KS otherwise seems to have carefully avoided). Given how little time is spent dwelling on explaining Lilly's family relations it's not that easy to draw a reasonable explanation to this sudden "conflict", and I didn't really recognize Hisao's late-night deductions of her reasons for leaving Yamaku to be particularly solid. If the game dropped any hints of her being unpleased enough with her current situation to warrant moving abroad, I didn't pick them up.[/sp] But then again, this is really the epitome of nit-picking here. There's of course no rule that dictates how a character arc should implement their respective "conflicts" nor how these play out. It's just a few things I managed to pick out of my train of thought as it spent all day chugging on back and forth through the memories and feels attained from playing this excellent arc. [editline]30th January 2012[/editline] fuck this post became long fast[/QUOTE] I don't see how it's nitpicking TBH[sp]why would you leave 2 people behind and one of which you think desperately needs you and leave behind your new boyfriend to go to a family you have barely spoken to. It's really fucking stupid if you ask me.[/sp]

[sp]Maybe she thought it was a way to piece together her shattered family relationship? Hanako was getting pretty independant to be fair, but I have no idea about Hisao[/sp]

[QUOTE=Novangel;34467190]Oh my god [img]http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l545/WhatTheNovar/Untitled-5.png[/img] I am so hot right now[/QUOTE] I can't quite say what it is, but Shizune looks really fucking stupid. The other faces she makes in the first act irritated me as well. I just felt like punching her when she did that.. Cat face, I guess?

[QUOTE=BloodFox1222;34467252]When did this happen, I thought i was known as the guy who posts disturbing images in the steam chat.[/QUOTE] ihavenoideawhatimdoing.jpg :v:

[QUOTE=Muntu;34467311]I can't quite say what it is, but Shizune looks really fucking stupid. The other faces she makes in the first act irritated me as well. I just felt like punching her when she did that.. Cat face, I guess?[/QUOTE] It's so ^_^ tho! [editline]31st January 2012[/editline] Meanwhile in chat [img]http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l545/WhatTheNovar/cad9f5202b9dd4f289200005e0db64fe.png[/img] [img]http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/yy159/Sphenic/Glee/MMHMM.gif[/img] Fight music: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9assyPp68Jo[/media]

[QUOTE=Muntu;34467311]I can't quite say what it is, but Shizune looks really fucking stupid. The other faces she makes in the first act irritated me as well. I just felt like punching her when she did that.. Cat face, I guess?[/QUOTE] I thought it looked more like a seal, I think Emi does that face too sometimes.

ITT: steam chat baddies

Yeah right here: [t]http://r-a-dio.com/ks/sprites/emi/emi_excited_joy.png[/t] [t]http://r-a-dio.com/ks/sprites/shizu/shizu_basic_happy.png[/t] Please don't ninja me.

dont call me a baddie u baddie qq

OH MY GOD MEGA PORN Almost all of the sex scenes here! Spoilers! H0T kaw@11 anim3 desu~~!!! girls. [url]http://imgur.com/a/hEar2/#0[/url]

[QUOTE=LifeIsGood;34468026]OH MY GOD MEGA PORN Almost all of the sex scenes here! Spoilers! H0T kaw@11 anim3 desu~~!!! girls. [url]http://imgur.com/a/hEar2/#0[/url][/QUOTE] [img]http://i.imgur.com/00WYX.png[/img] I came buckets.

i find it funny how i laughed at KS for a little while during release, having actually been involved in the early discussions and ideas that were thrown around before development even started, i trolled a bit and laughed at people. I've played a tonne of VN's before, usually with difficulty due to having terrible sight problems for the past few years, and having got some free time, decided I'd actually (despite still being a dick about the cripple idea, even though I didn't actually believe or mean any of the "hurrr i am so retard oh god look at me" shit that I threw about) go through KS. Played for about 9 hours on my stormy plan-free saturday, immediately taking interest in Rin for ~oh man so magical and emotional real life reasons~ but ended up on Emi's path, never the less I really really enjoyed it, and unlike previous VN's and stories, didn't end up feeling like shit, or sad, or desperate for more information and story when I had finished her route. Not long after the whole reconciling over how much I enjoyed the route, I went for Rin's route. All touchy-feely me crying afterwards (which isn't a surprise at all considering how I cry at the end of books I finish) I've got to say that KS has been a better experience than any other book, short story, flic or movie that I've sat through. I've had the good ending for both Emi and Rin, apparently having not actually made a single mistake across their paths. But fucking Rin man. I felt angry from time to time, I've been raised around people with disabilities and felt pretty shitty with all the remarks about how things are weird (not that exact wording, but yeah.) But in the end, I got [sp]really attached to Rin and actually cried for a while as soon as the credits started rolling. It's the first time I've ever really hoped that Four Leaf Studios (or any designer of anything for that matter) was planning to continue the story. Still feel depressed sorta-now, which is really weird for how happy I thought it all was, in the end. Looking past the obvious difficulties that have a chance of popping up as my head tries to fill in the future of Rin and Hisao.[/sp] Spoilered for sobbery etc. Also avodiing spoilers is really fucking difficult but I've managed so far. [i]Fucking Rin man[/i]. [sp]I probably wouldn't be so attached if it weren't for real life experiences/events and all that. It's also pretty sad knowing I have nothing to hug due to temporary lonelyness. none of that waifu crap here, either.[/sp] why do i feel sad :(

[QUOTE=DeeCeeTeeBee;34468136]why do i feel sad :([/QUOTE] Weren't you shit talking KS before [editline]30th January 2012[/editline] Like a lot

[QUOTE=Jund;34468209]Weren't you shit talking KS before [editline]30th January 2012[/editline] Like a lot[/QUOTE] Read the first part of the post [editline]30th January 2012[/editline] wait fuck it's the second part

oneofus, etc etc

I don't know, you came off as one of those guys who would abhorrently hate it despite never playing it Glad you changed your mind though

[QUOTE=Jund;34468263]I don't know, you came off as one of those guys who would abhorrently hate it despite never playing it Glad you changed your mind though[/QUOTE] It wasn't that I hated it, I really liked the idea from the initial discussions a few years back on 4chan. But I got really fucking bored with nothing else to do than shit up threads and act like a retard. (That's what practically all of my time spent on Facepunch is, shitting through boredom like a dick.) Contemplating whether I should continue with the other routes, but considering that Emi's took me ten hours, and Rin's took me almost 13, even after skipping a good chunk of act 1, I don't know if I'll be able to squeeze it in. Usually I'm planned-out, but due to horrendous weather and shit happening at University, I've not had to attend work. Shit weather fucked up my social calender too. Rin. Edit: I've never understood the people who genuinely dislike the idea of people with disabilities, real or portrayed, not being able to be as socially "accepted" or social at all, when it comes to different subjects. I've been raised knowing that being disabled is fine, but I've understood why people, in some cases, jump to conclusions regarding your own abilities. But there seem to be people who genuinely believe that disabilities are things which should be hidden from view, never spoken about or expressed. Pretty weird if you ask me, but then again I'm definitely bias.

[QUOTE=Muntu;34467311]I just felt like punching her when she did that.. Cat face, I guess?[/QUOTE] Thiiiiiis one? [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/eKFge.png[/IMG]

:3 <--- ball face [editline]30th January 2012[/editline] TAGGART KILLED CHUCK [IMG]http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/4408/screenshot2012013018591.png[/IMG]

[QUOTE=Tinter;34468109][img]http://i.imgur.com/00WYX.png[/img] I came buckets.[/QUOTE] Woops. Might as well leave it in, it's as good as sex.

[QUOTE=DeeCeeTeeBee;34468324] I've never understood the people who genuinely dislike the idea of people with disabilities, real or portrayed, not being able to be as socially "accepted" or social at all, when it comes to different subjects. I've been raised knowing that being disabled is fine, but I've understood why people, in some cases, jump to conclusions regarding your own abilities. But there seem to be people who genuinely believe that disabilities are things which should be hidden from view, never spoken about or expressed. Pretty weird if you ask me, but then again I'm definitely bias.[/QUOTE] Well yeah, I supposed you answered your own inquiry there. Plenty of things that break "the norm" are considered socially unacceptable sometimes, disabilities definitely fit that profile. Personally I haven't been around people with disabilities much and I instantly identified with Hisaos vexed state of mind upon being faced with it in his first couple of days around Yamaku. I'm not sure what sort of person that makes me, but I like to think that this game has improved my mindset somewhat.

I made a VN: [url]http://www.mediafire.com/?x6u86ielibiz922[/url] I'll probably add onto it, I don't know. I've worked on it all day and don't really feel like doing anything more. If anybody wants it for Mac or linux, message me

[QUOTE=Spearman;34469128]I made a VN: [url]http://www.mediafire.com/?x6u86ielibiz922[/url] I'll probably add onto it, I don't know. I've worked on it all day and don't really feel like doing anything more. If anybody wants it for Mac or linux, message me[/QUOTE] GOTY right here folks.

[QUOTE=Dippeggs;34469277]GOTY right here folks.[/QUOTE] Yep, it took me 10 hours to make it. That's 9 hours longer than it took Activision to make MW3.

Rins act 1 ending had me dawwwwing.

Alright, all that's left for me now is Lilly's arc. I don't see why Emi isn't so poplar here, her arc was petty good, and it had more humour than the other arcs.