Higurashi dating sim

[M12]

Oh boy, I had an OTAKU dream last night. Anybody know Rena from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni? I've always found her moe. Anyway, here's the dream I had:

A group of Japanese students were visiting my university. Rena was one of them. Each Japanese student paired up with a uni student. They partnered up to participate in a painting competition. This competition was celebration of their visit. Anyway, I got to be with Rena. We had a great time painting. We just got along great. I don't know if we won the art competition, but it didn't matter.

In the weekend, I took Rena to see the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, etc (I live in Sydney). Hanging out with a moe, it was just a fun time.

But then came a twist - Rena had to return to Japan. I didn't want her to go. She didn't seem to want to leave, either. Unfortunately, that was when I woke up. It was actually getting interesting as a story, but yeah.

Did you like my story ? Maybe, just maybe, we could turn this into a game? But I can't really feature Rena, can I? Since she's a commercial character =O? Hmm...

I just wanted to put it out here, and see what people think. Thanks heaps .

[Hyperguy]

Oh boy, I had an OTAKU dream last night. Anybody know Rena from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni?

Please spare us a Google search by telling us what you know about her.

I've always found her moe. Anyway, here's the dream I had:

A group of Japanese students were visiting my university. Rena was one of them. Each Japanese student paired up with a uni student. They partnered up to participate in a painting competition. This competition was celebration of their visit. Anyway, I got to be with Rena. We had a great time painting. We just got along great. I don't know if we won the art competition, but it didn't matter.

In the weekend, I took Rena to see the Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, etc (I live in Sydney). Hanging out with a moe, it was just a fun time.

But then came a twist - Rena had to return to Japan. I didn't want her to go. She didn't seem to want to leave, either. Unfortunately, that was when I woke up. It was actually getting interesting as a story, but yeah.

OwO

Did you like my story ?

Yes.

Maybe, just maybe, we could turn this into a game?

We can.

But I can't really feature Rena, can I? Since she's a commercial character =O? Hmm...

Use of commercial characters by the doujinshi community is common.

I just wanted to put it out here, and see what people think. Thanks heaps .

I think it's a great idea for a small project provided you could flesh it out with dialogue and narration. It's a rather simple story and shouldn't be too difficult to put into a visual novel format.

Heck, I wouldn't mind putting it together provided you supplied a finished script.

[M12]

Hey Hyperguy. Thanks that's hyper news!

Sure, here is a description:

Rena is a psychopath school girl. Once in a while, she turns into a murderer. But usually, she is a cute and cheerful girl. When she sees cute things she goes, "Hauu~ I wanna take it home!", and she starts acting crazy. "Hau" is her favourite saying. Rena also likes to end sentences with "Ka na? Ka na?". I'm not sure how to translate that. It's roughly like, "Isn't it? Isn't it?". Anybody who can help?

Basically, Rena is girly and very adorable.

Am I allowed to link to pictures of her? If so, I can do that.

Sure, if Hyperguy or anyone else can help program, I will be glad to provide the script. I would appreciate the help very much! I think the story is cute and should be a fun read.

Obviously, if we know the character, the game more fun. So yeah, I want to do some research - do you know Rena? Please reply if you do.

Thanks.

[monele]

"Ka na? Ka na?". I'm not sure how to translate that. It's roughly like, "Isn't it? Isn't it?"

I want to confirm that (not officially, but it feels right)

[Aura]

"I wonder, I wonder" is the most common way to translate Rena's idiosyncrasy, but depending on the context it could be translated differently to fit english sentences better.

[M12]

Thanks for clarifying people. So would people like to read about this? If we are, we can try to come up with something. Anybody who likes Rena?

[Hime]

So would people like to read about this? If we are, we can try to come up with something. Anybody who likes Rena?

I don't like Rena, I love Rena.
I'd definitely check it out! <3

[M12]

Thanks Hime. Yeah, I'm keen on writing, too. But I'm not prepared to do all that programming and drawing (or collecting pictures). If anyone is up for it, let's do it.
Thanks.

[QuackingShoe]

I find the idea the Higurashi was a series of visual/sound novels, recently turned anime, and is now being taken and turned into a dating sim visual novel here.. really amusing.

I'm not really a fan of these fan character dating sims, but I'd probably have to play this one just because I love Higurashi so very much ;) And who can say no to Rena~~

I wanted to say, in case you were considering... "I wonder, I wonder" or "Isn't it, isn't it?" are both fair literal-ish translations of "Ka na, ka na," but I'd recommend against actually using anything like that. It doesn't really hold the spirit of the original text (also she tends to repeat ending words in general, not just that one), especially since it's a pretty soft form in the first place. "ka" makes things a question, and the "na" sortof.. mitigates it, I suppose, making it more reflective, so it comes off as more of an "I wonder" than a real question. It's just very soft compared to the English. The subs I've seen (I haven't observed any dubs) usually don't translate it at all except when it's especially appropriate to. This is in the same way that Rika's use of the masculine personal pronoun "boku" and the overuse of the copula "desu" (both only when she's speaking childishly, as she uses "watashi" and speaks properly otherwise) shouldn't (or really, can't) be translated either. The desire to translate every nuance is one of the first things you have to let go of to get a decent translation, no matter how hard it is to do so... best to leave it as trivia for the particularly obsessed, unfortunately ;)

So.. I'd suggest neglecting that mannerism in any literal terms, except when especially appropriate, and even then not (usually) making her actually repeat the "ka na" (however translated). Repeating things in general just sounds stupid in English in a way it doesn't in Japanese. "I'm leaving, leaving" just doesn't quite match up with "rena wa iku iku." ;) The rest of the time I'd just try to show that she tends to place unusual uncertainty into her statements in just a general way. Again, this would be in the same way that you'd contrast Rika's "boku" and "desu" with her "watashi" and more complex sentence structures by just making her speak more childishly or adult in English, whatever that may actually mean in English, rather than having her tack "is" onto the end of random sentences or actually, uhm, call herself a boy ;). Because the literal way she speaks like a child isn't as important as the simple fact that she speaks like a child, and that's what you want to have cross over.

I sortof spun off there. I just rather don't want to see "I wonder, I wonder" after every sentence XD But maybe you find it endearing, which I couldn't blame you for!

Anyway, I'd look forward to it no matter what. And I can offer to help proof read or whatever. Also, if you need to know more nerdtastic information about Rena like what's above, I can possibly help...

[M12]

Thanks for the detailed post QuackingShoe. Yeah, a story about Rena would be cute and neat. Again, if we have a programmer and artist, we can get started. This should be cool !

[Hime]

Thanks for the detailed post QuackingShoe. Yeah, a story about Rena would be cute and neat. Again, if we have a programmer and artist, we can get started. This should be cool !

Hmm.. I'm a quite busy person so I usually wouldn't even consider being in a non-Lux project, but since it's for my dear Rena... How much art would you need and is there a time limit? I might be able to do it depending on how quick I must be. It takes me like from 4 to 6 hours in total to create a basic quality sprite and from 3 to more than 10 hours with a CG depending on the difficulty (if it's like, a difficult pose in a difficult lighting and a complicated background, it might take a lot of time). And the free time that I could spend on drawing is very varying depending on my RL situation, from a couple of hours on the worst exam rushes to like 40 hours that I might be able to work on a holiday. So basically, I am not capable of creating you a thousand sprites and a hundred CGs in a week, but if this is going to be a fairly light project with a long time frame... You can find samples in my blog. And with a basic quality sprite, I mean quality like this. And I warn you, I'm bad at men and terrible with backgrounds, though I can do those if you need and can accept the low quality. I'd be actually glad to have some practice...

Oh and, in case you wish me to do the art, I want you to be hundred percent sure that this project will be completed one day before you make me draw anything besides concept art (concept art? in a doujin game? whatever), because with such a slow but busy person like me, I really can't afford making anything time-consuming in vain.
(I won't promise you anything yet, though.)

[M12]

Thanks for offering, Hime. I would do the art myself, but I am currently developing a short manga for Bermuda, so I cannot.

I checked out your artworks. They are amazing =O.

Don't worry, I planned for this project to be light to start with. Backgrounds, I think we can use photos? I don't know where people get the photos from, but I see it being done often.

Oh, there'll be very little sprite used in this game. We can just have an image of Rena standing, and perhaps give her a couple of facial expressions. Then, perhaps one more CG for the ending. That's it . Just two sprites.

She could wear her uniform, but I like her white dress. The hat makes her look cute .

If you do provide the CG, I will definitely complete the game. Can I start writing the script? Is anyone able to do the programming for this fairly short game?

Thanks.

[Hime]

Thanks for offering, Hime. I would do the art myself, but I am currently developing a short manga for Bermuda, so I cannot.

I checked out your artworks. They are amazing =O.

Don't worry, I planned for this project to be light to start with. Backgrounds, I think we can use photos? I don't know where people get the photos from, but I see it being done often.

Oh, there'll be very little sprite used in this game. We can just have an image of Rena standing, and perhaps give her a couple of facial expressions. Then, perhaps one more CG for the ending. That's it . Just two sprites.

She could wear her uniform, but I like her white dress. The hat makes her look cute .

If you do provide the CG, I will definitely complete the game. Can I start writing the script? Is anyone able to do the programming for this fairly short game?

Thanks.

My pleasure.
Whaa... Two, that definitely isn't a lot. I'd be prepared to do a bit more actually if we aren't in a hurry, so I could, for example, make both an uniform and a white dress sprite. How does that sound? ^^ In case you want, I can also do a couple more CGs, or poses for the sprite... To make it more memorable, or something~. If you just happen to find any suitable scenes.

And the backgrounds... Photographs are reasonable. But when/if you find some, I can also try to make drawn versions of them, since they might fit together with the sprites and CGs a bit more. But this is just a suggestion, so if you feel uncomfortable with the idea, just tell me. ^^; And if they came out too bad, we wouldn't have to use them...

I want to see the script already~ Rena~!

[M12]

Sounds great. After uni today, I'll find a nice place to sit down, and start writing the script. Once the script is done, I think we'll be able to find the suitable scenes you spoke of =D.

Yeah, we meet Rena on more than one occasion. Maybe she can wear the dress in the second meeting.

For the photographs, would you (or anyone else) be able to find some? I have no idea where to look. We don't want to just get them from anywhere, do we? After all, we have to worry about copyright issues etc.?

Sure, you can draw the backgrounds if you like =). Wouldn't that take a long time, though? Drawing backgrounds are so difficult @_@.

I'll probably write in a food court for hours this afternoon. Hopefully I'll have something ready very soon. Rena moe =D.

[M12]

Just have some more quick points to make:

- I wonder, I wonder (^_^;) what we can do with the music? Pacdv has some, for starters.
- Hime, your character style is very unique. I wonder if you could mimic the way Rena looks in the anime?

Thanks.