[dropcap size=big]T[/dropcap]he title above pretty much says it all. AJ Tilley is back on Kickstarter with yet another visual novel project that’s seeking funding. According to the backer only updates in his previous campaigns My Highschool Crossdressing Romance is pretty much self funded (where oh where did he get the money I wonder) but this one is to let potential backers in on the fun. Or something. The text of the updates had me seeing red so my judgment was clouded when I was reading them.

myhighschoolcrossdressingromancelogo3

 

My biggest problem with this isn’t so much that he’s returning for more money or that it’s just one more in an endless string of projects while several others are still in development. While those are some pretty major issues that I have with My Highschool Crossdressing Romance they’re not the worst part. In fact, if it were pretty much anybody else I wouldn’t even consider those much of an issue at all.

For starters, both in the updates and the “Risks and Challenges” section of the Kickstarter itself he’s claimed to have several published visual novels. But, where are they? The only ones that I know of that have been released to some degree or another are Sword of Asumi and part of Beach Bounce. The latter being a complete joke and insult to the VN community. And MHCR wasn’t even the “winner” of the poll of three potential stories. In fact, I believe that it came in dead last.

My Highschool Crossdressing Romance

Even if you don’t take into account AJ Tilley’s track record to date the subject matter is most certainly a sensitive one. The title pretty much states it all. A guy goes to an all-girl school for whatever reason and in order to “fit in” he has to pretend to be a girl. It’s not a new concept, and I enjoyed watching an anime with the same premise called Otoboku, but at least that one (and most other “gender bender” anime and games) treat being transgender with at least a small modicum of respect.

My Highschool Crossdressing Romance

 

The pitch makes it sound like they’re going with a full on farce with My Highschool Crossdressing Romance. I mean, with something like “silliness and compromising situations that can arise from such a situation” it doesn’t exactly scream tolerance or at least a tasteful look at the culture. I could be wrong, but with nothing to show for it beyond a few embarrassing concept sketches of a couple of the girls and some background mock-ups there’s almost nothing there. We don’t even have a preliminary look at the male protagonist yet.

My Highschool Crossdressing Romance

Here’s the thing. My Highschool Crossdressing Romance has already surpassed its £500 funding goal, and that happened in less than a day.   The sad thing is that under different circumstances I might have been tempted to back this one. Because I do like a good tale that delves into the trans culture. Even if it’s a comedy. Unfortunately, between what we know about AJ Tilley and the subject matter this is one that I’m going to have to pass on. For all the reasons above.

About the Author

Serena Nelson

Serena has been a gamer since an early age and was brought up with the classic adventure games by Sierra On-Line, LucasArts, and Infocom. She's been an active member on Kickstarter since early 2012 and has backed a large number of crowdfunded games, mostly adventures. You can also find her writing for Kickstart Ventures and evn.moe.

View All Articles