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Katawa Shoujo |OT| (VN, Free, Waifus, etc)

The Technomancer

card-carrying scientician
So you never ever want stories told or art made portraying disabled people.

Also, why exactly is it a bad thing for somebody to find a disabled person sexually desirable?

I think his point is that its a game written specifically around sexualizing disabled people. Now I haven't played it, but I can certainly see how its presentation and the environment around it could present that impression.
 
Not if it's going to be done this way, no.

It isn't. It is bad, however, to find someone sexually desirable simply because they are disabled. Like fuck, is that my only redeeming feature?

Are you sure you're not just making baseless assumptions about the game?

(I really have no idea, as I haven't played it. For all I know it could be just a stupid disability fetish fantasy, but you kind of come off like you're just jumping to conclusions and looking to be offended.)
 

hamchan

Member
Not if it's going to be done this way, no.

It isn't. It is bad, however, to find someone sexually desirable simply because they are disabled. Like fuck, is that my only redeeming feature?

Well we should all play the game then and find out how fleshed out and deep the characters are before we condemn the game, shouldn't we?
There seems to be a line where the VN is either a H-game with a bit of story or a proper novel with a small focus on H-scenes.
I think this game is supposed to be the latter, but we'll see.
 

Jintor

Member
A) You can't have a selling point without anything to sell.
B) "I'm [insert minority group here] and this game uses [minority group as a selling point in an unknown way because I have not actually consumed the media yet] therefore my point is valid"

The people playing the game do, though!

Nope.
 

Thoraxes

Member
The scenario seems pretty implausible and kinda dumb. Why is it a boarding school specifically for the disabled? What qualifies as being disabled? What is the purpose of such a school, and why does the main character who only has a heart defect need to attend it? Why is a burn victim considered a "disability" in this scenario? Are these questions answered in the game? Or is it just bad writing?

Yes they're answered. For why the girls are there, you need to play the route of each, and why you and everyone else there is explained too.

Essentially it's a boarding school with an emphasis on people who have/sometimes have extreme medical needs (not specifically only disabled people), and need to be closely watched and cared for, so it has a state of the art 24 hour hospital and faculty right on/very close to campus so that the students can go to school without hassle.

How that is for each person varies from student to student, but I suppose an example is that class 3-2 is all blind/severely-visually impaired. Kind of stuff like that. There's not theming for all the classes, but students are all there for different reasons. It's kind of neat how MC is throw in there and needs to learn how to cope.

I like it, anyways.
 

duckroll

Member
Yes they're answered. For why the girls are there, you need to play the route of each, and why you and everyone else there is explained too.

Essentially it's a boarding school with an emphasis on people who have/sometimes have extreme medical needs (not specifically disabled people), and need to be closely watched and cared for, so it has a state of the art 24 hour hospital and faculty right on/very close to campus so that the students can go to school without hassle.

How that is for each person varies from student to student, but I suppose an example is that class 3-2 is all blind/severely-visually impaired. Kind of stuff like that. There's not theming for all the classes, but students are all there for different reasons. It's kind of neat how MC is throw in there and needs to learn how to cope.

I like it, anyways.

Are there hot nurses? This is relevant to my interests...
 

Shouta

Member
The scenario seems pretty implausible and kinda dumb. Why is it a boarding school specifically for the disabled? What qualifies as being disabled? What is the purpose of such a school, and why does the main character who only has a heart defect need to attend it? Why is a burn victim considered a "disability" in this scenario? Are these questions answered in the game? Or is it just bad writing?

Plot Holes!

If you're serious, you'd be right. It might be an issue of wording though. I assumed from reading about it when it got started that it was a boarding school for students with specific needs that schools can't normally handle. On campus medical staff, facilities to help, etc.
 

Jintor

Member
Wait, is this an eroge? Not that interested in those.

It is. The route I chose the eroge scene was rather like a... how would I put it? Like I'm reading a novel about the complexity of relationships, and the sex is part of a scene that is saying something. But yes, if you can't handle boobs, get outta here.

Most of the nursing staff are male, duckroll :T
 

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
This game is going to have a ridiculous amount of fan art. It already has a decent number already.
 

LiK

Member
It is. The route I chose the eroge scene was rather like a... how would I put it? Like I'm reading a novel about the complexity of relationships, and the sex is part of a scene that is saying something. But yes, if you can't handle boobs, get outta here.

Most of the nursing staff are male, duckroll :T

what is this madness?
 

cj_iwakura

Member
I'm pretty sure it's not; otherwise the OP would have noted it as such.:p
unless it's a trap.. mmm
.

In keeping with the expectations surrounding a project with a deliberately prurient premise, KS is an eroge with adult content ("H scenes" involving sex with the heroines) although user preferences can be set to skip these scenes.

It is.
 

GrizzNKev

Banned
Those are generally badly written though. The foundation of a good ADV is having a grounded general setting that is believable and can be related to, even if the scenario itself contains fantastical elements or silly stuff. If the premise is contrived for the sack of the cast-assembled-for-fetish to begin with, that's a bad start.

The school isn't exactly specific to disabilities. It's meant as a sort of ultra-safe learning environment where the students can be under constant watch by a nursing staff when there's a situation where the parents aren't totally equipped to be around for their children who might need a bit of extra help or encouragement. That includes insuring exercise, medication, etc.

Edit: beaten

God damn this is a bad excuse. It doesn't change the fact that the game uses disabled girls as a selling point. The sad thing is that it's working, as evidenced by this thread. And that really only proves my point.

And I really don't need to play it to be saying the things I'm saying. I am disabled and this is the way the game's concept makes me feel. That is enough.

One of my best friends also suffers from a severe heart condition. One very similar to that of the main character. He loves the game not for how the goal is to supposedly "sex the disabled girls" but how accurately it captured his experiences in discovering and learning to live with his condition.
 

Jintor

Member
Not especially. I'm not a huge fan of the sprite art, and that's all the nursing staff get, unfortunately.
 
Are there hot nurses? This is relevant to my interests...

q1Xg8.png


I guess it depends on your definition of "Hot Nurse"
 

Zane

Member
There seems to be a line where the VN is either a H-game with a bit of story or a proper novel with a small focus on H-scenes.
I think this game is supposed to be the latter, but we'll see.

I'd still condemn it even if it was the latter.

A) You can't have a selling point without anything to sell.
B) "I'm [insert minority group here] and this game uses [minority group as a selling point in an unknown way because I have not actually consumed the media yet] therefore my point is valid"
Nope.

It uses the minority group as a selling point PERIOD. Fuck! How can I get you people to understand that when you use disability as some defining feature in your game, it sends a message to disable people that they are abnormal? Think we want to be reminded of that? We get enough of that shit every day.
 

duckroll

Member
I guess it depends on your definition of "Hot Nurse"

Not too keen on the face or the hair color tbh. I think the design would look a lot better if he were older and had a bit of facial hair. Maybe sharper features around the face. And a cigarette.... hmmm....
 

Tempy

don't ask me for codes
This game is going to have a ridiculous amount of fan art. It already has a decent number already.

That's because it was already a thing on 4chan 5 years ago when it was conceived. I remember the initial ...reactions.
 

Brazil

Living in the shadow of Amaz
I've just started playing, and... Wow, the music is awesome.

And the FMVs are really well made.
 

jman2050

Member
Frankly I'm shocked the game actually still exists and was finished. It's so weird when projects born of this nature actually work out.
 
I'd still condemn it even if it was the latter.



It uses the minority group as a selling point PERIOD. Fuck! How can I get you people to understand that when you use disability as some defining feature in your game, it sends a message to disable people that they are abnormal? Think we want to be reminded of that? We get enough of that shit every day.

So what.

No stories staring disabled people? No stories attempting to explore what a portion of humanity experiences? No treating them like human beings with normal desires?
 

Zane

Member
One of my best friends also suffers from a severe heart condition. One very similar to that of the main character. He loves the game not for how the goal is to supposedly "sex the disabled girls" but how accurately it captured his experiences in discovering and learning to live with his condition.

I can appreciate that but doesn't your friend feel exploited? Doesn't he feel weird being reminded that people with his condition are seen as fetish targets? Or that they can be added to a game in order to drum up hype that otherwise wouldn't be there if the characters were "normal"?
 
I can appreciate that but doesn't your friend feel exploited? Doesn't he feel weird being reminded that people with his condition are seen as fetish targets? Or that they can be added to a game in order to drum up hype that otherwise wouldn't be there if the characters were "normal"?

Is there anything in this world that isn't the target for someone's fetish?
 

Tempy

don't ask me for codes
Not too keen on the face or the hair color tbh. I think the design would look a lot better if he were older and had a bit of facial hair. Maybe sharper features around the face. And a cigarette.... hmmm....

Not exactly what you were looking for, but how about this? :p

00103w12


ho ho ho
 
Damn so it is only physically-disabled girls? they need to make a game like this about mentally disabled girls instead.:(

I'm pretty sure there are ones with mental disabilities in the school. They just aren't the main girls. I remember reading one was implied to have ADHD and OCD, but it's never outright stated or something.
 

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
There's two different kind of Eroge.

The first which I generally call Bishoujo games (Pretty Girl games) or Bishounen games (Pretty Boy games) are focused on the story and character developtment. Sexual content comes secondary and usually is very sparse. Most often when your characters have fallen in love and have consensual sex. This is after like 20+ hours of game play on one route.

The other is Nukige. These are the sex romp games. Generally very short compared to the former. Sexual content is the main theme here.

Katawa Shoujo is the former.
 

mollipen

Member
It uses the minority group as a selling point PERIOD. Fuck! How can I get you people to understand that when you use disability as some defining feature in your game, it sends a message to disable people that they are abnormal? Think we want to be reminded of that? We get enough of that shit every day.

It's a shame that this game is fetishizing people who are disabled... as opposed to other ero games which fetishize every other type of person on the planet depending on the game.

Wait, I mean it's good, not a shame. Having disabled characters in an ero game shows them as being potential means of sexaul arousal, instead of keeping them as some sort of "taboo" segment of the population who are too weird to find sexy.
 

Papercuts

fired zero bullets in the orphanage.
I actually liked this a lot when I played the act 1 beta....like, 2 years ago now? Glad it's finally released.
 

Shouta

Member
Is there anything in this world that isn't the target for someone's fetish?

I believe we call it Rule 34.

That aside, it seems this is a VN (as opposed to Eroge), where it focuses on the story of the characters more than anything. The fact they included an option to forego any of the sexual content is kind of nice. Though, they could've probably left it out all together if they really wanted to (and maybe should have).

Nukige/Bishoujo is also another way of putting it like Troj points out.
 

Jintor

Member
It uses the minority group as a selling point PERIOD. Fuck! How can I get you people to understand that when you use disability as some defining feature in your game, it sends a message to disable people that they are abnormal? Think we want to be reminded of that? We get enough of that shit every day.

Or it sends a message that you're just like everybody else in the world? That you're human beings with hopes, and personalities, and dreams, and problems, and difficulties, and challenges, and triumphs? You have an idea in your mind that this is kind of exploitative masturbation aid, and you refuse to let it go. That is not what this game is. It's not a market-matched machine targeted at some imaginary audience to sell gangbusters. It's a story, or a set of stories, about people.
 

Zane

Member
Is there anything in this world that isn't the target for someone's fetish?

oh well then it's ok

So what.

No stories staring disabled people? No stories attempting to explore what a portion of humanity experiences? No treating them like human beings with normal desires?

You say "so what" to my main point and then try to turn my argument into something it isn't. I feel exploited. Are you ever going to say something about that? How about you treat me like a human being with normal desires instead of basically saying I'm wrong for feeling offended?

I -- and other disabled people, at least the ones I've talked too -- just want to be treated like anyone else. We don't really want to feel special or different. Some people want to stand out. I feel like most disabled folks want to blend in more than anything.

Can you see how a game like this isn't exactly conducive towards that?
 
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