AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

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Bad Player
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Re: AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

Post by Bad Player »

Well, this is a guide for writing a trial, not a novel ^^'

But really, it's because of the intricate plot good cases require. If you were writing a mystery novel, improvising probably wouldn't be a good idea, either :P
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Re: AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

Post by Holhol »

Bad Player wrote:Well, this is a guide for writing a trial, not a novel ^^'

But really, it's because of the intricate plot good cases require. If you were writing a mystery novel, improvising probably wouldn't be a good idea, either :P
I know. I'm saying it makes it sound it's a bad idea in general. It should specify for trials.
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Re: AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

Post by Meph »

Some improvisation is fine, though. Improvising the specific dialogue doesn't cause any problems as long as you know generally what they're going to say.

But it's never a good idea to improvise the overall story. That's why I've never finished Turnabout Chill or Turnabout of the Wild West.
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Re: AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

Post by E.D.Revolution »

^Exactly.

This is the reason it's taking a long time to finish Turnabout! Cus what I had put in Part 2... NEEDS to be implemented in the rest of the parts to leave "no stone left unturned."
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Re: AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

Post by Akamia »

Out of curiosity, why are cases involving lots of custom content usually discouraged? What if the story you're doing pretty much requires a lot of custom content? (e.g. an Alternate Universe with some connections to a fanon from another series/franchise)

Given the fact that I don't exactly plan on getting a Featured case, I kinda want to enjoy making a case with custom stuff, especially since I don't know how to use case makers like PWLib or PyWright. AAO feels like it will work best, and it will enable me to share my work better, too. I don't know how I'd get a PyWright or PWLib case on the web for others to download, even if I did know how to build cases for them.
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Re: AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

Post by E.D.Revolution »

The first lines of the guide say "you are not obligated to take our advice."

Now the only reason we discourage custom content is because we've seen time and time again (for newbie authors) that when an idea/case requires too much custom content, the project never really takes hold. There are exceptions, but this is the trend we see most often. We emphasize mastery of the Editor and presenting a perfectly presentable case before doing any more experimentation.

Again, we can't stop you from using custom content. We'd rather see mastery of the basics over flair.
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Re: AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

Post by Akamia »

Ah. I overlooked that line. My mistake. ^_^'

As for other things, I agree it's a good idea to start off basic. Mastery of the basics is the foundation of a good case. Everything else can come through experience, or one can stick to the basics.

I also misunderstood the purpose of this thread. My apologies. But at the same time, I'm also a target of this thread; I joined quite a long time ago, but I was out of it for a good long while, not even completing a case. I came back to finish what I started, and to keep making cases. This guide is what I need.
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Re: AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

Post by Phantom »

Glad to see this is helping you out Akamia, it's always good knowing a guide is created whose intentions is to help new guys like you :)

Although I do wish we could get more feedback from actual new trial authors to address any concerns they might have so we can implement it in the guide more.
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Re: AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

Post by E.D.Revolution »

We really do need newbie authors to comment on this guide so we can improve it.

UPDATE:
New entries for "Writing" updated on the main post.
  • Spoiler : :
    [*]No matter who your protagonist is, just remember the golden rule of writing an AA case: we have to play as him/her. So make sure that the main protagonist is memorable and likeable. The case will be boring if we have to play as a boring character. On the same token, if your character is a jerk, the audience will feel disgusted playing as that character.
    [*]Most writers don't have a problem with the characterization of the protagonist, the co-council, the rival, the judge, the main witnesses, and the killer. Many writers forget to fortify their minor witnesses and the defendants. Nothing is worse than forgetting why we are defending him in the first place.
    [*]Try to write the story in a way that keeps the player engaged. In any trial or story, there is some "downtime" or parts of the story that will be boring. The trick to making a case successful is to make sure the story keeps the player wanting to finish the case.
    [*]For a first case, make sure the storyline is logical and everything makes sense. Don't slap in situations without explaining them. And don't slap in characters without introducing them in a way that makes them relevant to the case. It's better to have a slow introduction and a slow transition that explains everything than to have a sudden transition that makes no sense.
    [*]Try to balance the length of the story with the amount of content in them. The problem with many trial authors is not always the fact that the story is too short, but sometimes that the story is dragging on for too long without doing anything for the story.
    [*]When you are selecting music, custom or not, make sure they sound good and harmonious with eachother. In other words, make sure they sound good together. Music will set the mood, and if the transitions or the music choices are bad, you will ruin the experience for the audience.
    • This is an example of a discordant set of music: AA music for regular court music, Street Fighter Alpha 3 for Cross Examinations, Bon Jovi for Objection!, Soul Calibur IV for Cornered. This will not sound good at all.
    • This is an example of a harmonious set of music: AA for lobby/court, GT for cross examinations, AA for Objection, Castlevania DS for Cornered. If you choose the right soundtracks from those series, they will sound harmonious, and it'll be a pleasure to listen to.
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Re: AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

Post by Phantom »

Bon Jovi as objection music, LOL
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Re: AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

Post by Zombie »

So what exactly is a QA/QA Review?

and I don't think having a likeable character is a golden rule in playable characters. I think a better term would be an interesting character, because sometimes, I rather play as the devious villain. Some of the most favorite characters are people who are generally really unlikable people but people love them because they're interesting. (aka Cartman and Sheldon Cooper)
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Re: AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

Post by E.D.Revolution »

I will probably have to update the guide to accommodate for the new QA rules. You can find them here for now.

Now as far as likable characters go... I probably should also update teh definition. But for now, few (if any) trials at the moment star a magnificent bastard villain as the main character you play as. But what I mean by likeable is the kind of character you can learn to like immediately or, with enough exposition, learn to eventually like/sympathize.

The kind of character that never goes well as a main character is the kind that are obnoxiously arrogant and a jerk without a very good explanation. And this is very important in the first case (if for a series), for it's giving the audience a first impression of the character. Remember, first impressions are hard to change. If the character turns off a lot of people, the case and series is doomed from the start. If you want to have a rather unlikeable character as a main character, then it'll take a stronger exposition to hook the players than if the character was likeable from the start.

Interesting note on your opinion on really unlikable people. To each their own... This guide plays on the observations to the majority.

Interesting character, yes perhaps. That might go in a separate definition altogether.
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Re: AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

Post by E.D.Revolution »

Alright, I've revamped the guide and added a lot of new tips for newbie authors. It's now much easier to read and I've separated each phase into subsections. I am still seeking veteran authors to help improve this guide.
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Re: AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

Post by Phantom »

WOW. You revamped it quite a bit with those sections.

I think that's a welcome addition, keep it up ;)


Edit: though, I just noticed for the area regarding looking for resources, you should really just insert a link to the respective threads in that particular section (where you say go to the request threads and all that). We should assume that a newbie doesn't know all the various sections/places on the forums (due to being new to the forum experience)
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Re: AAO's Comprehensive Guide for New Trial Authors

Post by E.D.Revolution »

And done. ;)

Also, I've added several tips all over the place and revised some of the content.

Still recruiting veteran authors to help with this guide.
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