Katawa Shoujo
| Katawa Shoujo | |
|---|---|
| File:Katawa Shoujo.png | |
| Developer(s) | Four Leaf |
| Publisher(s) | Four Leaf |
| Engine | Ren'Py |
| Platform(s) | Windows/Mac OS X/Linux |
| Release | April 29, 2009 (Act 1) |
| Genre(s) | Visual novel |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Katawa Shoujo (かたわ少女 ([Katawa Shoujo] Error: {{nihongo}}: text has italic markup (help), lit. "Disability Girls" or "Cripple Girls") is a bishoujo-style visual novel by Four Leaf Studios which tells a story of a young man and five other girls who have suffered different disabilities. This game uses a traditional text and sprite-based visual novel model with an ADV-style text box. Katawa Shoujo contains adult content, and is created using the Ren'Py visual novel engine. While the demo contains no such content, the full version will contain an option to skip all scenes containing sexual content.[1] As of now, only the demo has been released. The release of the full version has yet to be announced,[2] The demo is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND[3], and the same is planned for the full game.
Creation
Katawa Shoujo is the creation of Four Leaf Studios, a collaboration consisting of members of the 4chan imageboard. The game originated in a sketch created by Japanese doujin artist Raita, in January 2007. On April 29, 2009, the team released an "Act One" preview. [4]
Background
Set in the fictional Yamaku High School for disabled children, located somewhere in modern Japan. Hisao Nakai, a normal boy living a normal life, has his life turned upside down when a congenital heart defect forces him to move to a new school after a long hospitalization. Despite his difficulties, Hisao is able to find friends—and perhaps love, if he plays his cards right.
The gameplay of Katawa Shoujo is choice-based, with the player reading through text and occasionally making decisions that impact events or dialogue within the story. The goal of the game is to make certain right choices that will advance a relationship with one or more of the heroines and enable the viewing of erotic scenes.
Reception
The game's name has attracted some criticism, as "Katawa Shoujo" becomes "Cripple Girl" when translated into English.
The reception to the act 1 demo was mixed. While the game's premise was called "perverse and contemptible", the game itself was described as "well-produced". [4]
Although many people pinpoint the creation of Katawa Shoujo directly to 4chan, it's relatively factual that, although Four Leaf Studios originally came from the website, they are only loosely affiliated with it.
Core Development Team
- cpl_crud: Project producer, Hanako path writer
- Aura: Head of Writing, Game designer, Rin path writer
- delta: Head programmer, UI designer
- TheHivemind: Emi path writer
- Anonymous22: Shizune path writer
- Suriko: Lilly path writer
- Ismuth: Editor
- Kagami: Editor
- Losstarot: Editor
- Silentcook: Editor
- Ambi07: Artist (Emi Ibarazaki)
- moekki: Artist (Shizune Hakamichi)
- raemz: Artist (Hanako Ikezawa)
- gebyy-terar: Artist
- Kamifish: Artist (Tezuka Rin, Shiina "Misha" Mikado)
- Raide: Artist (Lilly Satou)
- yujovi: Background photographer
References
- ^ "All ages version?". Retrieved 2009-05-07.
- ^ "There is currently no release date for the full game set". Retrieved 2009-04-30.
- ^ Katawa Shoujo Act 1 Manual. Four Leaf Studios. April 29, 2009. p. 10.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b "4chan Group Releases Eroge Demo". Retrieved 2009-04-30.