No Place like AAO for the Holidays

Join in with competitions to make the best trials... with a twist!

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clcman
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Re: No Place like AAO for the Holidays

Post by clcman »

Posting here just to say that the.armenator and I WILL definitely be submitting an entry, though it may be on the later side of the day.
What do REAL, NON-BRIBED people have to say about HTB!?
"This really changed the way I thought about Phoenix as a character. ...Wow." - Reecer6
"HTB! contains truths that might be hard to stomach, but had to be unveiled nonetheless." - Blackrune
"This deserves a best plot twist award." - Evo
"It changed my life, and it can change yours too. For the better, I mean." - Calvinball
"I will never look at Phoenix Wright the same way again" - PhoenixRises123
"omg best thing on aao" - AceAttorneyMaster111
DISCOVER THE TRUTH YOU NEVER KNEW YOU DIDN'T KNOW IN HTB! PROLOGUE AND PART 1, AVAILABLE NOW!!


"Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." -Isaac Asimov
"For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong." -H. L. Mencken
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DJJ6800
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Re: No Place like AAO for the Holidays

Post by DJJ6800 »

I can confirm to have received both entries for this comp and will begin reviewing them shortly. Let's see how this goes.
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DJJ6800
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Re: No Place like AAO for the Holidays

Post by DJJ6800 »

Okay. First up is trialdude with A Turnabout for Christmas. (submitted twelve minutes before the other entry, btw)

Review:
Spoiler : :
Synopsis: In this case, Apollo gets roped by Trucy into defending the one and only Santa Claus! ...actually, it's just Larry, working a job as a mall Santa but still. (I'm surprised he never got that job in the canon series.) That setup alone is pretty intriguing. So how did trialdude do in his first completed case? Well here's my analysis on each topic.

Story: Simple premise of defending a mall Santa but still, it definitely capitalizes on this concept by giving us a few twists in the execution. I was honestly afraid that the killer to be obvious from the get go but nope, the mystery is actually really well done. I was really guessing who the killer could be by the end of it.

Writing: The writing is definitely the strongest point in this case's favor. Plenty of chuckles at the banter between the characters, especially Apollo and Trucy. The custom characters this case introduces are somewhat interesting. We have an airhead woman working at the mall with a VERY unusual love interest and a security guard who has way too much fun telling allegories and fairy tales. While I feel that more could've been done with these characters, they still managed to entertain and provide some decent laughs.

Presentation: This case felt kind of unpolished when it came to the presentation. The artwork glitched at times, the backgrounds unexpectedly changed and the sprites didn't show up at times but I'm not sure if that's the fault of the creator or with the engine. I will say that the custom music really surprised me. The intro is a minor key version of Silent Night and the testimony theme was from the Nutcracker. Nice touch. Really puts you in the Christmas mood. (Even though it's January now.)

Theme Relevance: Kinda self explanatory, given the title but this case doesn't just stop with the Santa murder to put this in the Christmas mood. Plenty of Christmas jokes and wordplay. Like I said before, I really appreciated the usage of Christmas music in the case. Oh, and I absolutely LOVED the end credits song. Seriously, I need an MP3 of that. It's just too good.

Overall: While I remained a tad skeptical of the case due to the presentation issues, I was pleasantly surprised with the case's quality in writing, storytelling and Christmas spirit. The only thing holding this case back is the presentation issues, but that's all fixable in the editor. Fix the issues with the presentation, and it's definitely worth a play. Really good job, dude.
I will publish the review of the other case in due time.
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DJJ6800
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Re: No Place like AAO for the Holidays

Post by DJJ6800 »

And now for the other case, The Curse of Turnabouts' Time by clcman and the.armenator.
Spoiler : :
Synopsis: Athena and Trucy are asked by Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth to defend a teenage girl with strong pagan beliefs, accused of killing a woman while setting her house on fire. To make things more confusing, not only is the girl tight lipped about what really happened, but there are quite a few connections to the holiday she worships, Beltane, a mysterious curse surrounding the victim's family, and a similar case thirty years back.

Story: The story here is setting up a new holiday so things might not be as simple as the last entry. Still, the case does a good job of explaining what Beltane is, why people would celebrate it, and how it could be connected with the past. Speaking of the past, I loved the idea of a curse that spans back generations that could be connected to the victim's death.

Writing: Definitely a strong point in this case's favor. The interactions between Athena and the others are fun to read and play through. I especially love the interactions with the defendant, the devout pagan teenager. In addition, the other custom characters are fun to interact with too, with the gruff, no-nonsense investigator and the defendant's loving but confused father.

Presentation: I felt this case was really well polished in terms of its presentation. No new backgrounds were used though that's probably because the case isn't finished yet. The custom sprites were good choices too. (Though I can't help but wonder if the defendant should've hired a certain skeleton to be her defense attorney.)

Theme Relevance: Choosing a holiday like Beltane was an...interesting choice for this comp (especially considering the other holiday used here) but I definitely applaud the pair of writers for this bold choice and going through with an entertaining story. I don't think many people would know what exactly Beltane is (I know I didn't) but again, the case explains more about Beltane and incorporates it into the mystery fairly well.

Overall: While incomplete, The Curse of Turnabouts' Time is a well-polished, very unique case based around an unusual holiday choice. The characters are interesting, the writing is clever and I'd definitely love to see the completed case (if it's ever completed, knowing clcman's reputation).
I shall announce the winner tonight.

Also, I know I'm triple posting. Come at me, Enthalpy.
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clcman
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Re: No Place like AAO for the Holidays

Post by clcman »

DJJ6800 wrote:Also, I know I'm triple posting. Come at me, Enthalpy.
Well, I should probably step in here and save your from quadruple posting.

I'm glad that trialdude's case turned out well. Sometimes, the thing to do really is a short but clever regular trial (he said, despite having never done one of those ever).

I'm happy that you liked what we had of the case! It's arguably the most ambitious single-game AAO project I've worked on, and so armenator and I spent a really long time planning everything out (because it is all very interconnected) and didn't end up with all that much scripted. But we polished it to a shine!

For the holiday in question, this all started out with an old idea I had about having to solve a mystery that was actually several mysteries split over 10-year intervals, so having it be connected to a holiday actually made a lot of sense. I suppose we could have done the same basic case on Halloween, but I think it works better without the baggage of being a holiday regular people know about and have traditions about. And Beltane happens to be way easier to spell than Plan A, Walpurgisnacht!

EDIT:
DJJ6800 wrote:The characters are interesting, the writing is clever and I'd definitely love to see the completed case (if it's ever completed, knowing clcman's reputation).
Well, that's up to armenator to keep me on track, I guess!
Last edited by clcman on Fri Jan 10, 2020 4:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
What do REAL, NON-BRIBED people have to say about HTB!?
"This really changed the way I thought about Phoenix as a character. ...Wow." - Reecer6
"HTB! contains truths that might be hard to stomach, but had to be unveiled nonetheless." - Blackrune
"This deserves a best plot twist award." - Evo
"It changed my life, and it can change yours too. For the better, I mean." - Calvinball
"I will never look at Phoenix Wright the same way again" - PhoenixRises123
"omg best thing on aao" - AceAttorneyMaster111
DISCOVER THE TRUTH YOU NEVER KNEW YOU DIDN'T KNOW IN HTB! PROLOGUE AND PART 1, AVAILABLE NOW!!


"Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." -Isaac Asimov
"For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong." -H. L. Mencken
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DJJ6800
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Re: No Place like AAO for the Holidays

Post by DJJ6800 »

Well, the wait is over. Now, I originally planned a big awards ceremony with cameos and smaller awards. However, due to the fact that we ended up with only two entrants, I decided that it wasn't worth it in the end.

Image

"BUT I HAD AN AMAZING ROLE TO PLAY IN THE CERE-"

Shut up, Papyrus.

Anyway, it was tough deciding between these two very skilled entries but in the end, only one can be the winner. And for the second place entry, don't worry. You were still fun to play, but I liked the other entry just a bit more. And hey, at least you end up taking second place.

So without further ado, the winner of the "No Place like AAO for the Holidays" comp is...*drumroll*
Spoiler : :
trialdude with A Turnabout for Christmas!!
Congratulations to all the entrants and thank you to all those who signed up at any point. This was a fun comp to host and I hope to see much more great comps in the future.
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clcman
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Re: No Place like AAO for the Holidays

Post by clcman »

So, what you're telling me is
Spoiler : :
a very-theme-focused complete case beats out an incomplete a third of its length?

What a rip-off.
What do REAL, NON-BRIBED people have to say about HTB!?
"This really changed the way I thought about Phoenix as a character. ...Wow." - Reecer6
"HTB! contains truths that might be hard to stomach, but had to be unveiled nonetheless." - Blackrune
"This deserves a best plot twist award." - Evo
"It changed my life, and it can change yours too. For the better, I mean." - Calvinball
"I will never look at Phoenix Wright the same way again" - PhoenixRises123
"omg best thing on aao" - AceAttorneyMaster111
DISCOVER THE TRUTH YOU NEVER KNEW YOU DIDN'T KNOW IN HTB! PROLOGUE AND PART 1, AVAILABLE NOW!!


"Those people who think they know everything are a great annoyance to those of us who do." -Isaac Asimov
"For every complex problem, there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong." -H. L. Mencken
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Tiagofvarela
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Re: No Place like AAO for the Holidays

Post by Tiagofvarela »

clcman wrote:So, what you're telling me is
Spoiler : :
a very-theme-focused complete case beats out an incomplete a third of its length?

What a rip-off.
Outrageous!


That aside, congratulations to the winner!
If I can, I will almost definitely partake in the next competition, since it's caught me at a good time.
A Laggy Turnabout ★
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Upcoming: A Worldly Turnabout, A Courtly Turnabout, A Clumsy Turnabout, A Needy Turnabout
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Re: No Place like AAO for the Holidays

Post by trialdude »

Spoiler : :
Well. Didn't expect this. Kinda shell shocked right now.
Funny thing is, I actually already had a theme for the next comp all planned out, you know, in the completely outlandish possibility that I actually won this.
Guess I'll go work on that thread now. Wowzers.
I have the stupidest username in all of AAO. Nowhere else will you find one more stupid.
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DJJ6800
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Re: No Place like AAO for the Holidays

Post by DJJ6800 »

trialdude wrote:
Spoiler : :
Well. Didn't expect this. Kinda shell shocked right now.
Funny thing is, I actually already had a theme for the next comp all planned out, you know, in the completely outlandish possibility that I actually won this.
Guess I'll go work on that thread now. Wowzers.
Spoiler : :
That's pretty much the reaction I had when I won the Lawpocalypse comp.
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Re: No Place like AAO for the Holidays

Post by risefromtheashes »

Well! Considering that this was the first ever case comp that I officially took part in (without dropping out in a month's time with nothing done), I'm proud that clcman's and my got such a good review! (We were *prooooooooooooooooooooooooooooobably* too ambitious taking on literally four cases in one, but whatever, we got like, 10% of it submitted.

I'm very proud of clcman for doing a great job as our case's organizer! I think we did quite well!

I look forward to the next comp!
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Re: No Place like AAO for the Holidays

Post by SuperAj3 »

Congrats trialdude! :pearlhappy:
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Re: No Place like AAO for the Holidays

Post by trialdude »

Oops, should probably mention here that the new comp's up.
I have the stupidest username in all of AAO. Nowhere else will you find one more stupid.
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Re: No Place like AAO for the Holidays

Post by Enthalpy »

Congratulations to trialdude. Time to lock this up!
[D]isordered speech is not so much injury to the lips that give it forth, as to the disproportion and incoherence of things in themselves, so negligently expressed. ~ Ben Jonson
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