Ask the Devs!

[Ninja]

Hi, folks. Got a question for the devs at Somnova? Ask it here!

Lena Forst's design is particularly interesting to me and I was wondering if we could get some insight into how some of those design decisions were made? Specifically, obviously, the face restraint she is wearing. I feel safe assuming it has something to do with biting, but I'm interested in how something invasive like a face restraint became the response rather than, say, arm and face guards for the staff (which are a given in facilities hosting potentially aggressive populations) or a one-on-one resident; not only on pragmatically, but metaphorically as well.

Why make her stand out so obviously? Why make stigmatizing her as (presumably) aggressive and possibly violent so readily visible? It seems a little FORST if you ask me dohohohohoho oh god I'm sorry

[WolfHunner]

We can read the VN to find out.

[MDV]

We can read the VN to find out.

Reading the VN isn't going to teach you how we designed Lena. But yeah, don't expect us to explain all this until Missing Stars is out.

[ILY]

But yeah, don't expect us to explain all this until Missing Stars is out.

I suspect that this thread is going to see that answer a lot

[alabaster]

It seems a little FORST if you ask me

I knew I liked you.

But you'll always be Defective to me.

[kosherbacon]

Why make her stand out so obviously?

Lena's flat chest was decided upon after much discussion and at least one round of advisory voting within the dev team. After hearing the opinions of the others, and considering both the body types of the other love interests and cannibal-tan's own personality, I concluded that it was most appropriate for her to be an ironing board.

[Exbo]

Defective? Is that you?
Anyway, good thread, but we won't see many answers until then. Unless the devs are willing and generous enough...
Better to be surprise.

[ILY]

[01:16] <Ninja> How long has this thing been going on, by the way?

[Ninja]

The phrases "mental disorder" and "mental disability" show up quite frequently in posts here, even though said phrases are considerably outdated (i.e., ambiguous and potentially offensive) and refer to distinct sets of conditions.

- Emotional disturbance
- Personality disorder
- Intellectual disability

These are the terms used in standard language among modern psychologists and medical professionals (i.e., NIH and APA policy) and I was wondering if the devs would chime in on the vocabulary, and maybe shed some light on the parameters of the stories they'd be telling?

I think a lot of the immediate outrage people sometimes exhibit upon hearing the premise of this project could be succinctly addressed with responses to this particular question!

[imperial.standard]

Don't forget learning disability. :3

Long story short, we do understand we are not correcting a lot of the public misconception about how we are treating this game and the impediments associated with the character within - but then again we do not want to spend our energy debunking or debating what have not yet been done.

We will let our work speak for itself.

[WolfHunner]

Okay

[kosherbacon]

[01:16] <Ninja> How long has this thing been going on, by the way?

If I remember right, the proposal thread on the ks boards goes back to early-mid January.

Also, on the topic of mental disability versus personality disorder/behavioral disorder/etc, we have and will continue to strive for medical accuracy and informed portrayals. The conditions that the characters have will be treated seriously, but that doesn't necessarily mean being politically correct. What I'm saying is, don't be surprised if you see the "r-word" show up in the story.

[Worthington]

The phrases "mental disorder" and "mental disability" show up quite frequently in posts here, even though said phrases are considerably outdated (i.e., ambiguous and potentially offensive) and refer to distinct sets of conditions.

- Emotional disturbance
- Personality disorder
- Intellectual disability

These are the terms used in standard language among modern psychologists and medical professionals (i.e., NIH and APA policy) and I was wondering if the devs would chime in on the vocabulary, and maybe shed some light on the parameters of the stories they'd be telling?

I think a lot of the immediate outrage people sometimes exhibit upon hearing the premise of this project could be succinctly addressed with responses to this particular question!

Mental disorder is technically and politically correct, but broad, whereas emotional, personality,meta. Refer to specific families of disorders. We're using mental disorder/disability to not reveal anything about the characters beyond what has been previously been shown, as well as to cover all possible categories of disorders.

[TheLastMelody]

This thread is on my blacklist!!
I don't care much for means, only results matter ^_^

[Ninja]

Long story short, we do understand we are not correcting a lot of the public misconception about how we are treating this game and the impediments associated with the character within - but then again we do not want to spend our energy debunking or debating what have not yet been done.

We will let our work speak for itself.

That sounds fair enough. Looking forward to it.

So, there's list of those officially involved with the project on the FAQ, but I was wondering if any of those folks would like to introduce themselves? Talk about their role(s) in Missing Stars, what kind of core concepts they personally strive for during development, or any other fun facts about them/their involvement with the project?

Maybe even talk about their personal opinions about the project as a whole so far? An obvious cause is to tell some stories, but what else other things do they think are driving this project? Care to share any behind-the-scenes stuff?

[kosherbacon]

We plan on more or less abusing the blog for just that, actually.

[Waytfm]

Well, if I might be so bold, I whole-heartedly encourage such blog related abuse at the soonest possible time. I love reading commentary.

[Worthington]

Well, if I might be so bold, I whole-heartedly encourage such blog related abuse at the soonest possible time. I love reading commentary.

We have a schedule - one post every two weeks. Expect one on the 28th.

[Waytfm]

I can live with that. I look forward to it.

[WolfHunner]

Same here.