~ Black Pencil ~

[musical74]

I think, given how well snowshine did with Black Pencil, that mikey would love to have his other games formed into manga as well =) River Trap as a manga, eh?

[mikey]

Mikey, how about your other games? May I draw them?

Of course you can.

About which game... I think it's best to let snowshine decide if she wants to. I am so happy when a game can inspire other people, so it doesn't matter to me if it's RT, MS, etc... As long as snowshine will be happy drawing it, it's all that matters.

Next set of translated responses...

3. It's great, the plot is close to embarrasingly simple, but it doesn't have to be your fault, superb - a cool read.
[I wasn't absolutely sure what was meant by that response though, it's a bit confusing, but generally positive]

4. Really good, I like the story, especially when you realize how short the manga is. The drawing style is also good, very appropriate.
[This is from manga.sk's most respected artist]

On a side note, the manga page is slightly redesigned.

[PyTom]

On a side note, the manga page is slightly redesigned.

Suggestion:

Right now, there's a black border surrounding each page at:

http://atp.manga.sk/projects/bpm/bpmread.htm

Black is a color that's used in many of the pages in the manga. I can find cases of black being used as a panel separator, and some pages even bleed black all the way out to the border.

As a result, black is a bad color to use for the border surrounding the pages. Everytime I see a black line, I have to decide if it's a panel end or a page end, which is a little confusing. Changing that black color to something else (like gray?) could make it easier to read.

[mikey]

'kay I'll make a couple of experiments

[alicelights]

I've just started investigating the "English Language RenAi" world recently. However, the best work I've found thus far would be 'Black Pencil'.

It has a great atmosphere and leaves me feeling huanted. The graphics create a feeling of inpending doom right through. However, what I love the most is how realistic it 'seems'. Yuki is not overdone or annoying and the 'important events' are small yet meaningfull. Somehow, it's the quirky little details that stop short of overbaring sentimentality... not that I really mind it.

Oh and.... older people - real human seeming people - Thank you. Theres only so much I can take of the teenage personalities.

Only problem I have is the compulsary fullscreen with 'Transfer Teacher'. I'd like to be able to play and minimize the screen when tech support are about...oh well XD.

Now I am looking forward to playing more games.

[mikey]

Thanks a lot, I'm glad you liked it. A long time has passed since we did Black Pencil, so it's very nice to see that there is interest.

Oh and.... older people - real human seeming people - Thank you. Theres only so much I can take of the teenage personalities.

You know, I was quite worried just before we released BP, how people would react to a schoolgirl-free story. So I'm happy that the ATP games have been accepted for what they are, and I'm the more happy for the people for whom they work in the age aspect as well. I guess only Milk Swim is different.

Only problem I have is the compulsary fullscreen with 'Transfer Teacher'. I'd like to be able to play and minimize the screen when tech support are about...oh well XD.

Sorry about that, TT was the last game to use our old "engine", so fullscreen is kind of a given thing. We used Ren'Py for Gakuen Redux and Secretary Of Death, so those will be much more comfortable to play.

[Guest]

Great game this is....in a funny way it kinda reminded me of The Lake House.

[mikey]

Great game this is....in a funny way it kinda reminded me of The Lake House.

I've yet to see this one though. But I don't want to spoil it for myself, so I'm not reading reviews. And thanks a lot for playing and taking the time to comment.

[teankun]

Okay here is a much delayed review since I first played game nearly a year ago. This was actually one of the first ren'ai games I played.

I really enjoyed this game. I particularly liked how Mikey uses adults; it was much easier to relate to the characters (especially since I myself work in the lab). It also very well expressed Kiyoshi's angst; he originally just attempts to help a fellow human being not falling in love, so he is reluctant since he knows the closer he gets to her, the more it will hurt if he fails.

The art was really nice too. Magic_D character art is exceptional. Even with just three poses, Yuki's emotion comes across well. The background art is also good. BTW, I loved how visually (without text) the windscreen gradually fogged up; that was engenius.

As for the manga, I did not like it as much. Maybe just because it differed on too many aspects of the game I liked (such as not having Yuki as a more mature meganeko). So, I am trying to look at it by itself. Snowshines's art is pretty good.

In closing, still one of my favorites.

BTW, I recalled in your encyclopedia about a cancelled sequal. Was that actually going to be a continuation of Kiyoshi and Yuki's relaqtionship or simular premise?

[mikey]

In closing, still one of my favorites.

Thanks, I'm happy you liked it - though I say this everytime, I'm really happy each time. If people can have positive memories about the game, what more could one want.

Magic_D, it's actually been a while, I've tried to contact him several times, but after that one response where I received the images I haven't heard from him.

As for the adult setting, I've probably written about it before, but I didn't have any idea how this would be received - and I was twice as glad that people weren't put off by it. Even though I didn't make the setting adult just for the sake of being different, I just felt that this was the right environment for it. Though the contemporary timeframe, that I knew from the start that I want to have.

BTW, I recalled in your encyclopedia about a cancelled sequal. Was that actually going to be a continuation of Kiyoshi and Yuki's relaqtionship or simular premise?

That sequel would be an entirely different story though, not a continuation of Yuki and Kiyoshi's story. Parts of that project were used in KAORI later on, which makes a few references to Black Pencil.

Again, thanks for playing and leaving your comments.

[teankun]

Thanks, I'm happy you liked it - though I say this everytime, I'm really happy each time. If people can have positive memories about the game, what more could one want.

Prosím; Nie je za c^o

BTW, I recalled in your encyclopedia about a cancelled sequal. Was that actually going to be a continuation of Kiyoshi and Yuki's relaqtionship or simular premise?

That sequel would be an entirely different story though, not a continuation of Yuki and Kiyoshi's story. Parts of that project were used in KAORI later on, which makes a few references to Black Pencil.

Again, thanks for playing and leaving your comments.

I recall that reference. So, KAORI is unofficially "Black Pencil 2"?

[mikey]

Prosím; Nie je za c^o

Hey, that's great! Where did you learn that? ^_^

I recall that reference. So, KAORI is unofficially "Black Pencil 2"?

There were two Black Pencil projects, and more or less this is one of them. There was Black Pencil 2, and Black Pencil: Ghostwriter Theory (more or less the current Kaori).

[Enerccio]

Thanks, I'm happy you liked it - though I say this everytime, I'm really happy each time. If people can have positive memories about the game, what more could one want.

Prosím; Nie je za c^o

LOL Thats great i am asking too, where did you learned that?

[teankun]

Thanks, I'm happy you liked it - though I say this everytime, I'm really happy each time. If people can have positive memories about the game, what more could one want.

Prosím; Nie je za c^o

LOL Thats great i am asking too, where did you learned that?

http://www.travlang.com/languages/

[Ivlivs]

Wow, not a peep out of the computer as I played this.

I was actually surprised to see a non-Ren'py work, but it was good nonetheless. The black-and-white color scheme definitely set the mood.

After getting Yuki killed (Ending 1)

I read the manga. Really like that one, too. (And nearly all of the scenery was in Vietnamese!)

Music would have been nice, but you probably wanted to keep the file size down. Still, the way you led me through was quite nice.