Setting the Stage

[DWaM]

its too late

your only option now is to perish by the great hand of enth

(which is to say he'll inevitably see it and merge them all)

[Salamence]

o no

enth pls spare me, i beg 4 ur forgivness

[clcman]

I'm not the great Enth, but I do have some thoughts on evidence creation.

Spoiler : Thoughts :

When I create evidence, I don't usually start with the cross-examinations. Rather, I start with the crime/mystery itself and try to think about what happened and what evidence would therefore be left behind. Remember, you are the author, so you know exactly what happened. You also know what arguments the prosecution or witnesses will make, and so you can figure out what will support those arguments and what will not. Probably the most important thing if you case has almost no evidence at this point is to think about things which can be misinterpreted by witnesses, the prosecution and the player. Think of some evidence that makes the defendant look guilty, but in its proper context is reasonable or perhaps even shows that they did not do it. For example, the defendant's fingerprints are on the bullets in the murder weapon, but you are able to show later that the killer stole the bullets from a gun that the defendant owns. Or, for a really good canon example, the leather handprint from 1-5/Rise from the Ashes, which seems to show that a person did something, but because the evidence was modified by the culprit it is actually proof that that person did NOT do that thing. However, it is only in combination with another piece of evidence (a photograph of the scene) that you can show that the handprint does not mean what it seems to mean.

Or, have something that can be used by the player more than once. For example, there might be security cameras that show that no one but the defendant entered the crime scene. The prosecution presents this as evidence of the defendant's guilt. Later, when a witness claims they saw the defendant enter the room, the player presents the security camera tapes to show that, yes, the defendant entered the room at that time, but that the witness couldn't have seen it without appearing on the tapes themselves. The witness is forced to admit that they didn't actually see the defendant and lied because they were off doing something they shouldn't have been. Later, you uncover that the killer entered the scene via a secret passage and show that the killer left some evidence at the scene, proving that they were there. They claim that they didn't use the secret passage (and just walked in the door), but the player can present the camera footage to show that no, they had to have used it, and furthermore, they were the only person besides the victim to know about the secret passage. Etc.

I also have a personal tendency to look over the in-editor or easily obtainable evidence pictures and think of ways to reuse those pictures in interesting ways (my current entry is pretty much built on that), but that's probably just me and probably not that easy for a new trialmaker to do.

[Salamence]

I did a case logo thingy

Spoiler : :

[SuperAj3]

Ooh nice! And just as I make one as well LOL

Spoiler : Case name reveal, woo! :

[DJJ6800]

I can’t draw or do art to save my life but my case title is

...well, I bet you can see it in my signature but it’s Tales of a Turnabout.

[Salamence]

I could throw something together on MS paint for you if you want, for free

[DJJ6800]

Uh...sure, I guess. Much appreciated.

[¿Acid Rain?]

I'm not the great Enth, but I do have some thoughts on evidence creation.

Spoiler : Thoughts :

When I create evidence, I don't usually start with the cross-examinations. Rather, I start with the crime/mystery itself and try to think about what happened and what evidence would therefore be left behind. Remember, you are the author, so you know exactly what happened. You also know what arguments the prosecution or witnesses will make, and so you can figure out what will support those arguments and what will not. Probably the most important thing if you case has almost no evidence at this point is to think about things which can be misinterpreted by witnesses, the prosecution and the player. Think of some evidence that makes the defendant look guilty, but in its proper context is reasonable or perhaps even shows that they did not do it. For example, the defendant's fingerprints are on the bullets in the murder weapon, but you are able to show later that the killer stole the bullets from a gun that the defendant owns. Or, for a really good canon example, the leather handprint from 1-5/Rise from the Ashes, which seems to show that a person did something, but because the evidence was modified by the culprit it is actually proof that that person did NOT do that thing. However, it is only in combination with another piece of evidence (a photograph of the scene) that you can show that the handprint does not mean what it seems to mean.

Or, have something that can be used by the player more than once. For example, there might be security cameras that show that no one but the defendant entered the crime scene. The prosecution presents this as evidence of the defendant's guilt. Later, when a witness claims they saw the defendant enter the room, the player presents the security camera tapes to show that, yes, the defendant entered the room at that time, but that the witness couldn't have seen it without appearing on the tapes themselves. The witness is forced to admit that they didn't actually see the defendant and lied because they were off doing something they shouldn't have been. Later, you uncover that the killer entered the scene via a secret passage and show that the killer left some evidence at the scene, proving that they were there. They claim that they didn't use the secret passage (and just walked in the door), but the player can present the camera footage to show that no, they had to have used it, and furthermore, they were the only person besides the victim to know about the secret passage. Etc.

I also have a personal tendency to look over the in-editor or easily obtainable evidence pictures and think of ways to reuse those pictures in interesting ways (my current entry is pretty much built on that), but that's probably just me and probably not that easy for a new trialmaker to do.

The beauty of evidence lies in the different ways that a single piece can be used and/or interpreted. It's not something that's easy to learn or to implement, and the process requires a great deal of forethought, in my experience. Frankly, clcman's breakdown is pretty succinct. Though, for comparison, here's my (rather lengthy and convoluted) methodology when it comes to creating evidence:

Spoiler : :

I Youtube 10 Hour Ace Attorney ASMR and break out the Ouija board.

[Salamence]

Uh...sure, I guess. Much appreciated.

Ok, can you PM me what you want? Or you can send it here, either way works I'll try and make it

Just a few things you should know, I won't be able to do custom art, but I can get some sprites and background and put those together, and I can also add words

[Doodled]

Since we're in the drip-feeding information mode, allow me to elaborate on what I previously said about the setting:

Spoiler : Setting :

When I said "Shape. Pun. Aliens," I didn't mean them as separate concepts.

I mean every character is a shape-pun alien.

It's just as dumb as it sounds.

[DJJ6800]

Spoiler : :

So does that mean we get characters like Sir Cle or Trap E. Zoid?

[clcman]

Oh, if we're all dropping the title art we did instead of actually working on the case, allow me:

Spoiler : :

I'm just kidding. Spybreak did all the work on that.

[Doodled]

Spoiler : :

So does that mean we get characters like Sir Cle or Trap E. Zoid?

Spoiler : :

Yup. Although maybe slightly more subtle. Like Pete Gonally or Donna Dekim

[DJJ6800]

Spoiler : :

So let’s see...

We have The Enchanted Turnabout by AceJakkidFan, A Courtly Turnabout by Tiagofverla, The Turnabout with No Name by Dannyplayssomegames, The Supreme Turnabout by Salamence, Turnabout Assailant by Superaj3 and
Ann-nna, ??? by DWaM, A Less Baseic Turnabout by clcman and Skybreak001, and Tales of a Turnabout by me. Not to mention the other cases whose titles haven’t been revealed yet. Quite a list of cases. Good luck, bigwins.