New Game Name!! :D

[TheDaftStudent]

Hello everyone out there in Internet Land! This is TheDaftStudent ( just call me Daft ;3 ), from Somnova Studios! I'm here to announce a big ol' change to Mentaru Shoujo! Or, rather, I should probably say - a big ol' change to MISSING STARS. That's right boys and girls, we've gone and done it! The name has finally been settled on and now we can get down to the important stuffs! Like the color of the sky and grass... purple and pink, respectively. So, remember: Mentaru Shoujo is now officially called Missing Stars. I've updated the link here for the new IRC channel (here), so you should too!

We'll most likely be looking into getting new forums and everything! New new new!

See ya guys around, and keep on the look out for updates!!

[Waytfm]

I'm glad a name finally got decided on. That's been going on forever. I whole-heartedly approve. It'll be nice to see it separate itself from Katawa Shoujo. I know you guys have gone out of your way to differentiate MS (The acronym still works! I love this name so much more now!) from KS, so it's good to see the name reflect that.

[Zarich]

Oo, nice shiny new name. Sounds good.

[ILY]

What's the meaning/reason behind the name?

[Brasse]

Nice to see that the project has a proper name now. I pray for a titledrop beneath a starry sky at the very end of at least one route.

[TheLastMelody]

What's the meaning/reason behind the name?

What's the meaning/reason behind the universe?

You'll probably get the same answer (NOT)

[MDV]

What's the meaning/reason behind the name?

Very early one, some devs voiced their concerns about the name 'Mentaru Shoujo', many of them didn't like the title. Mentaru Shoujo was just a working title proposed by Somnova's founder. This new name has been decided on by the dev team as a whole.

[Genero6]

What's the meaning/reason behind the name?

Very early one, some devs voiced their concerns about the name 'Mentaru Shoujo', many of them didn't like the title. Mentaru Shoujo was just a working title proposed by Somnova's founder. This new name has been decided on by the dev team as a whole.

Any reason why they decided on this one though? My opinion is on hold, I don't particularly like it but that's because I don't see any meaning behind it. I'm sure the devs didn't pick it randomly though, even the barest promotional material can enough provide context for a title so it's not a problem that would exist for long, it would just be nice to know a bit more.

[kosherbacon]

Well, there IS meaningfulness to "Missing Stars," plus it can still be abbreviated to MS. However, the reasons particular devs supported it as a title vary by person, of course.

We once had a pool of 65 possible titles to select from.

[MDV]

What's the meaning/reason behind the name?

Very early one, some devs voiced their concerns about the name 'Mentaru Shoujo', many of them didn't like the title. Mentaru Shoujo was just a working title proposed by Somnova's founder. This new name has been decided on by the dev team as a whole.

Any reason why they decided on this one though? My opinion is on hold, I don't particularly like it but that's because I don't see any meaning behind it. I'm sure the devs didn't pick it randomly though, even the barest promotional material can enough provide context for a title so it's not a problem that would exist for long, it would just be nice to know a bit more.

We do have our reasons. I can only give you my personal reasons for trashing the working title mentaru shoujo though. This is what I said about the name Mentaru Shoujo on the dev boards when I opened the discussion about the name change a month or two ago:
1. It's too Japanese. There is nothing wrong with Japan, but the language of this novel is English, the story takes place in Europe, and unlike Katawa Shoujo, it's not based on a Japanese doujin. Why should we give it a Japanese/Engrish sounding title? Wouldn't something German or English be more fitting?
2. It sounds too much like Katawa Shoujo. It's pretty much the same title with one word switched. Being considered a Katawa Shoujo ripoff is a sad but likely way this novel will be viewed by the public, and having a similar name would only make that worse.

[Mr Immortal]

I was never much of a fan of the old title. It sounded too much like Katawa Shoujo. Missing Stars just sounds more original; it's nice.

[TheLastMelody]

To me, "Missing Stars" in this case means that this novel is about the girls, the "stars", who's not seen by society as "normal persons" therefore counted as "missing" from "the sky"(the society).

[Genero6]

We do have our reasons. I can only give you my personal reasons for trashing the working title mentaru shoujo though. This is what I said about the name Mentaru Shoujo on the dev boards when I opened the discussion about the name change a month or two ago:
1. It's too Japanese. There is nothing wrong with Japan, but the language of this novel is English, the story takes place in Europe, and unlike Katawa Shoujo, it's not based on a Japanese doujin. Why should we give it a Japanese/Engrish sounding title? Wouldn't something German or English be more fitting?
2. It sounds too much like Katawa Shoujo. It's pretty much the same title with one word switched. Being considered a Katawa Shoujo ripoff is a sad but likely way this novel will be viewed by the public, and having a similar name would only make that worse.

Yeah, I assume most people wouldn't want the name "Mentaru Shoujo" to last. I've seen a lot of people bring up your second reason and fully agree, but the first was closer to my main worry. For this project to work it doesn't just need to take itself seriously, the player needs to take the game seriously, and those who don't have much experience with the medical matters won't have much reason to trust its accuracy when it screws around with language/setting like that.

[ILY]

wordswordswords

Alright, thanks for clearing that up!

[Gloom]

So we can expect the game's logo to include star shaped holes now, can't we?

Awesome name. Can't wait to find out what it actually has to do with the story - I have a feeling it's going to be fantastic.

[encrypted12345]

So we can expect the game's logo to include star shaped holes now, can't we?

That'll be an interesting logo. The name change is also interesting though. I get the feeling that it'll be significant to the story somehow though I'll refrain from speculating until the game is released a few years from now.

It's nice to see this VN developing slowly but surely. I have a habit of not keeping my hopes too high up though, so I'll appreciate Missing Stars for what it is when it comes out. It'll definitely be an interesting tale.

[Merlyn_LeRoy]

There is another vaguely-related reason for the title Missing Stars, but it concerns story information that hasn't been released yet.

[ILY]

There is another vaguely-related reason for the title Missing Stars, but it concerns story information that hasn't been released yet.

Ah! This is the kind of answer I was after.

[Arivien]

Congrats on the name change, I think it's great.
Maybe people will finally stop calling this a KS cash-in, even when it's free.

[Malkav]

Heheheh ^_^ I already have some thoughts regarding the name's wordplay and purpose. I personally find it quite cute and curious.