Digital: A love story & its sequels

So I was browsing around the forums learning what people thought were the best indie games they ever played. Going on an indie gaming spree I managed to try this game out. Its completely free and you can download it from here. What is it exactly? Well its a visual novel of some sort made by some writer called Christine Love. Who dropped out of school being supported financially by the proceeds of her latest project.

So we can assume this game is pretty good right? Well to be honest. It surprised me a lot, it was pretty good. The writing was good but the best part of it was the interface. Having to type in numbers in your modem and hearing the screeching sound of death and then logging/hacking your way into a BBS board then sorting through the trolls and the useful information to solve a mystery.

There really is not much choice in the story you just keep following it. Some parts you have to read posts and emails and think but you can honestly finish it in a couple of hours.

The spiritual sequel to that game is don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story. This was created in a span of a month for a contest. This game you play as a literature teacher in a school set in the future. The students all have handheld computers they can send messages, post stuff, and start topics for. You as the teacher have the ability to read anything they post at any time. The entirety of the game revolves around you invading their privacy and reading everything.

What I find annoying, but at the same time brilliant is the use of slang and internet speak. Bro, lol, and others are used very commonly and while it grates on your nerves it is sort of believable as students barely talk to each other and spend most of their time talking through the computer instead. Their essays which you mark are barely literate and you have to constantly raise the marks so that everyone can pass. It is mandatory that they pass. Its filled with drama, homosexuality, bullying, invasion of privacy, suicide, and other stuff. Even the  "bullies" you have a chance to yell at, you can't help feeling sympathetic for. They are human after all. Everyone of them feels like they could be real people.

The current latest sequel is Analogue: A hate story. The only one that isn't free. Like the other two, it has a lot to do with technology. Set many years into the future on a generation spaceship called the "Mugunghwa" that mysteriously disappeared. It has now reappeared and you are an investigator on the ship looking through the logs and sorting out what happened. The writing in this game is much better than the previous two. For example this is just one of many letters exchanged by the crew.

Oh So-jin

When I first saw you, bringing my husband home in the late hours of the night, I was jealous. All I could think of was my daughter, and the first courtesan he'd had an affair with, nine years ago.

With every brief glimpse of you that I saw as you passed through our home, my heart burned a little, as if you embodied every single fault of my farce of a marriage.

I will never send this letter, because I know how ridiculous it sounds: for weeks, I, a noble wife, could be jealous of a poor courtesan? But you are young and beautiful, full of energy and grace; I am none of these things.

Only after you have been entertaining him for months did I start to realize what I was feeling: true, I was jealous, but not of you, for having my husband. I was jealous of my husband, for having the affections of a girl so pretty as you!

These are such ridiculous thoughts for a woman to have, I know, and even more ridiculous still is the way they have overwhelmed me. I used to dread my husband bringing his courtesans home with him; now I look forward to your nights together.

How could I not, when it means that I am treated to the sight of your bashful face in the morning? When we exchange glances, you hide behind your long hair, with so much cuteness and grace, my eyes can't help but wander, to admire the way it rests on your breasts. to see your clothes draped loosely over your hips; I cannot help myself from admiring your body as you try to hide from me.

It is ridiculous, to be so preoccupied with such thoughts, and perhaps I was better off having not ever realized them. Nevertheless, even though I may be as much of a woman as you are, I find myself longing for the same affections you shower my husband with. There is more to it than that: I would like to truly get to know you better. I like to imagine that we have much in common, aside from the obvious.

When I see you hiding in the corridor on those mornings, I imagine wrapping my own arms around those lovely hips, sharing long conversations about our tribulations in life, discovering just how much alike we are. And perhaps... I like to imagine we could share more than that.

I have been married for ten years to a man who has never paid any attention for nine of them. Perhaps my old age has made me bold, but I want more.

The next time I see you, I promise I will say something. For in all my twenty-six years, I have never felt a longing for anything this intensely. I don't care how wrong it is, as a wife and as a woman; I want you, Hana

And the reply


Hana

To my lovely So-jin,

You made it so easy, you know that?

I've always wanted to be seduced. The more I learned about it, the better I got at it, the more I thought about how lucky men are, that they'll get to be on the receiving end of it. It's always seemed like it would be so much fun.

But that wasn't why I dropped my guard in front of you, by the way. I was actually really wary the whole time you were serving my breakfast; do you know what I first thought? I thought maybe you were trying to poison me!

I mean, not seriously, of course. But it crossed my mind.

So no, I was guarded, until you started talking. You know what it was that got me? "Do tell me, how hard is it, studying to be a courtesan?" I answered modestly, "Oh you know, there's nothing to learn, you just have it or you don't"; the answer that any man would expect. But you?

You wouldn't have any of that. You said, "Please, don't lie. I actually want to know. It takes years, does it not? That must be intense for a girl of your age."

Then you leaned in, I started to blab about how it kind of is pretty intense, and I only realized an hour later that I was staring into your eyes, telling you - proudly, no less - about my whole life story. Our faces were barely a foot apart by the time I noticed what you'd done.

And that was how you caught me totally off guard. I had no idea what to do! Should I touch you? What's the right body language in that situation? Was I interpreting you right, or was it all in my head? Not even the slightest clue! You had me good.

And you played it so well! You know just the right moment to pull back, and tell me to go on my way, but in a way that left me wondering.

So-jin, you made it so easy. Returning home, my heart was so a fluttered, my feelings so confused, and all I could think about was you. You, the bored old wife of my patron, actually managed to seduce me, just like that.

I'd always wanted to know that feeling, and you know? It was everything I dreamed it'd be.


Its a story about two families, the Smith's, and the Kim's. These are the two noble families fighting to put their own family ahead and gain recognition from the Ryu family, the emperor and captain of the ship. However that has changed since many generations on the ship and society has regressed. They have no idea why they are even in space or care. Women are treated as if they don't exist. Their names doesn't matter and they are only referred to as the husband's wife. Some doesn't even have names like "the pale bride." They are raised to serve men, have their own women's quarters where they live and are married off like property at the age of 16. Like the other games and the letter exchanged above, it also have themes of homosexuality. However unlike the other two the story of this one is dark. Its based on the Korean Joseon dynasty which is one of the most brutally opressive ears for women in Korean history. Expect to read about patriarchy, sexual abuse, incest, rape, and more.

Its a fucked up place on the ship and the only thing you have to remember is:


Namjon yeobi.
Men are honoured, women are abased.


The writing is extremely well done and the interface is fun to play with. Typing in commands trying to find passwords and logging into admin and typing decrypt block3 to open new things in the game. Be warned though you might want to throw up from reading this but you will keep reading on because its interesting enough.

Katawa Shoujo - What is a Visual Novel?

What is Katawa Shoujo you ask? Well it basically means Disability Girl or something of that sort. Its what people call a Visual Novel. Now what in the fuck is that you ask? Well, its like reading a book, but with stupid pictures moving around. Don't get me wrong, I love to read. But why is this categorized into a game? Seems like theres not much difference than those pick your own adventure books you read as a kid in the library, with assholes writing down the answers at the side or having to keep your finger on like 5 different sections in case you miss something or need to do backtrack and its a huge pain in the ass. Then eventually you go fuck this and skip to the end since losers already written down the page where you go for the ending read it and close it and go finally. But really, its nothing like that.

I first found this game, story, novel, whatever the shit you wanna call it while reading about Fortune Summoners and Carpe Fulgur. I have mentioned them before, they brought over games like Recettear and Chantelise by Easy Game Station for the western market. Now they are translating their latest game, Fortune Summoners by Lizsoft. But this isn't about that so we'll skip to the end. There were some mention about a game called Katawa Shoujo on the discussion about Fortune Summoners while I was looking for information about that game. Links were passed around and it was highly recommended. I checked it out downloaded and forgotten about it. Its a completely free game and you can download however you want. What interested me though was that it was made by a group of 20-22 individuals from all walks of life working on a visual novel on their free time. Some were adults, some were married, some were as young as 14. The only thing is common was that they went to the same forums and hung out around there. I love these stories, it was the reason I even paid attention to Carpe Fulgur as they were nothing but two individuals who couldn't find jobs and decide to make one for themselves.

The game took five years to make. Yes, five years. However they have said that the development took longer than that, more to a decade before finally starting it five years ago. They released the game free to download on their 5th anniversary just recently. Its a sorta westernized Visual Novel that takes place in Japan. Yes I know you're going, "well fuck that sounds retarded as shit! I hate anime! I hate Anime that take place in the west because they don't know shit and always fuck it up so horrifyingly because its a Japanized west." Exactly my thoughts. I hate anime but I used to watch it as a kid. It was fine back then when we were immature as shit. I ask my friends for recommendations and I get retarded shit like some dumb fuck loser guy with a harem of girls. Everything in anime has their own type of characters which pissed me off immensely. You get the dumb people who talk like they're lifeless, super cheerful airheads, super shy retarded assholes and the worst of all, tsundere. Holy fuck do I wanna choke anyone who mentions anything tsundere. I know you're reading this Cent and I know you're going to open your MSN and bitch at me but fuck you and read on first.

At first I thought it was going to be like that but I was strangely surprised. Its not my first Visual Novel, I've read/played/whatevered Tsukihime, Fate/Stay Night, and Utawarerumono(fucking mouthful) all on recommendation by Cent. Sure its wasn't bad but it taught me a few things. I understand Utawarerumono is played like a tactics game, but why the fuck are the other two considered games? And why the fuck is it all high school bullshit like anime? Fate/Stay Night could have been adults going around blasting people with servants like a real game but instead its just dumb kids running around being all whiny and annoying. And if Tsukihime taught me anything is save before a choice because vampire girls will kill you out of love, and if you piss her off she'll kill you out of anger. Its a lose-lose situation. Thankfully Katawa Shoujo doesn't have vampire girls killing you. But it does have "bad endings." I like to think of Visual Novels as, writers that are too good for games, but not good enough for actual novels so they're stuck in some kind of limbo writing this shit. Of course thats not true because after reading this it changed my mind but I still like to consider these Visual Novels as a story other than a game.

I've been talking a lot and none of it has been about this game/novel. So after reading about this and leaving it somewhere at the back of my mind I found it again sitting on my desktop waiting to be installed. I was bored as shit so I gave it a go. I installed it and started playing. I gotta say the music and the art were kinda nice but what I enjoyed most was the writing. Its very well written, something you wouldn't expect from people on a forum known for their immaturity and trolling. The story focuses on a kid named Hisao who had an attack of arrhythmia when being confessed to by a girl he liked. Afterwards he was hospitalized and then had to enroll in a school for the disabled. There he meets the five main characters and how the story unfolds is up to the path you take. Each main character is written by a different writer. The novel itself is split into one main act where it can split into five different acts. Each act focuses on one character by one writer and that character has three acts of their own which equals to four acts per character. Its fairly long and I know I'm a fast reader. It still took me awhile to finish a character. Maybe because I didn't want it to end so fast. Maybe I was dreading it as I made it closer to the end and subconsciously slowed down.

The characters are as follows.

Emi - She's the always cheerful girl with amputated legs below the knee. She loves to run and will continue to run dispite her disability. She is considered the first path to take because its almost impossible to not be guided towards her path.

Hanako - Shes a disfigured girl who is suffering from extreme anxiety and shyness. She has almost no friends and has problems talking to anyone so she is ignored by everyone.

Lilly - Shes a blind Scottish girl. Shes sophisticated, calm and very friendly. She is the only one who talks to Hanako.

Rin - Shes a girl born with no arms. She is eccentric and talks in circles or asks very weird questions from time to time. Other than that shes an artist and is best friends with Emi

Shizune - She is a deaf and mute girl. Shes the class representitive and also head of the student council. She's strong and determined.

The first time I read through it I accidentally landed in Emi's route. I was going "Oh god not those super cheerful annoying cliches in anime." It wasn't as bad as I expected. One thing I noticed is Hisao changed between each route probably because of different writers. The reasoning for that was because if one person were to leave the team (common) then they wouldn't need to scrap the whole thing just scrap the route they worked on. Emi is cheerful and she's friendly with everyone but she has a secret. You first meet her because the nurse orders you to get exercise for your heart. If you wanna slowly kill yourself you don't do it but if you do you are locked onto her route. She runs with you every morning and you slowly see her more than just a friend. She's stubborn as hell and she refuses any help. I particularly like the banter between the two, its very realistic and cute. However as you get to know her more and more she pushes herself away further. The story focuses on your health and your relationship with Emi. You fight, you get together, you fight again, and you get back together again. She is stubborn, but so are you and you keep pushing forward when she pushes you back until you realize she has PTSD from her accident and cannot get close to people for fear of losing them. Even the bad endings are realistic, it brings back memories. Two people talking together normally, having fun dreading the inevitability that is coming. Then at the end, neither can look at each other in the eye and said goodbye for the last time. Just like that. Painless but painful all at once.

Its an emotional roller coaster from when she tells you to "Get the fuck out" of her house to the confession scene where she tells you every tiny little thing about her before breaking down. I like to point out that not every problem is solvable. Unlike Bioware writers, these people don't write stories where everyone has emotional baggage that gets magically fixed by a penis or someone with a penis. They have problems and you cannot solve them, but you can stand by them as they work through it. The endings are just the beginning of a story for our protagonists. Its bittersweet and I like it that way. Its even more evident in Hanako's route where you are protecting her and trying to fix her. If you do that then you fail and get the bad ending. I did the first time, I fell into the trap and I tried to help her but instead I failed to realize that she herself is strong and doesn't need you to help her. Shes quiet, and she avoids people because because her scars have traumatized her. She enjoys games like pool and chess, she enjoys reading in the library and she doesn't need you to watch her everywhere she goes. Hanako's route is written by a far superior writer in my opinion.

In Hanako's route it focuses more about the disabilities. Your weaknesses and your disabilities and also Hanako's. If you stop being her protector and worry about your own future, your own life, Hanako starts approaching you more and more. You share your disabilities, your hardships and then you make love. I like to point out it was probably one of the most disturbing scenes for obvious reasons you find out at the end of the route. She made love to you because she wanted you to see her as more than an object to be protected. She doesn't want a knight in shining armor, she wanted a friend, a lover who would see her as an equal. Thats why she liked to play chess with you, because when the two of you are playing you are equal. Even the title for the act, Castling, is a move in chess where the king (one to be protected) and the rook (a powerful piece in chess) moves so they stand beside each other. Its symbolism for Hisao and Hanako moving together standing side by side and Hisao becoming even more protective. At the climax you realized everything and stop being her knight. The route ends there but the story is just beginning. You sit there tears streaming down your cheeks with a pile of tissue paper on your desk as the credits slowly roll. You then realize, "fuck this shit is good."

In high school, I had a few perverted friends who would talk about Japanese porn games where you click buttons endlessly though stories for porn to appear. They go "its so boring you just click click click then you jack off." Yeah, maybe thats what made me want to avoid this like a plague. But I was wrong. Its not porn. If anyone can masturbate to it they should chop off their dicks.

I haven't read the other stories but I finished two of the five and I can say its good already. Just don't finish it all at once like a sad drama. Its a love-hate thing for me. I love watching sad dramas and reading sad stories but I also hate it because once its over and I see the bittersweet ending, you know your week is ruined. You'll lie in bed thinking about it, it'll ruin your day as your in class. It'll fuck you over but you're glad you watched it. Thats what this visual novel is. I know its not a game, and I know I'm not bitching about how terrible a game is but I'm just talking about mostly what a Visual Novel is. It shouldn't be labeled as a game as theres no game play, yet it shouldn't be overlooked because its not a real novel. Give it a chance it might change your mind. It sure changed mine.