A cold case, a suicide, and a murder intersect. The man at the apex of it all takes on an impossible defence.
Spoilers for AA4.
Part One
Part Two (complete)
Part Three (in progress: 85% complete)
Spoiler : Content Warnings (contains spoilers) :
As the case description implies, a past suicide is extremely important to the story (on a similar level of Farewell my Turnabout). Please refrain from playing if this will be upsetting for you, as the suicide is relevant as early as the case's intro.
Additionally, this case covers gaslighting and emotional manipulation. Homophobia/heteronormativity is a theme in one character's backstory, but ultimately not dwelled upon.
I'm very intrigued at what I'm seeing so far! The setup is interesting, the characters seem in-line for an AA-style case, and that ending is absolutely raising a lot of questions. Definitely can't wait to see what comes next!
Wow. That was very cool.
At first, I was only mostly hooked because of Hart and Ashton's dynamic (really love how you handled their interactions, by the way), and somewhat because of the general premise of three cases intersecting, but as I went on, and with Faye's suicide revealed (plus Alice and Deanna having VERY good scenes in response to that), I'm fully immersed now.
And Edgeworth dragging Hart into the courtroom by force to accuse her of being an impostor is one of the coolest things I have seen in an AA fan case. That was effing AWESOME, and it set my immersion meter to an 11.
I think what you've done really well is set up a mystery with just a few crumbs of extra knowledge to hook the player while not making the full truth obvious. You've also done a VERY effective job of handling the relationships between the various characters - I found everyone's interactions to be very believable, even Hart and Ashton's with their sepia tint of snippy crime show banter.
Spoiler : Theories (also spoilers, duh) :
Hmm...
Well, Ashton was up to something in his office at the end of day 1. He was calling some other person and talking about "our little guest"... I definitely feel like Ashton's going to turn out to be something of an unreliable narrator. Maybe he and "Hart" (who I do think is actually an impostor, given that coming from Edgeworth and Ashton's suspicious behavior - maybe she's Teresa Pass?) took the real Delilah Hart captive or something?
It's also interesting to me how presenting Oliver Keane's profile to "Hart" got a "..." reaction that seemed to indicate that she knew him (which tracks with the evidence, but if she's an impostor, then Teresa Pass suddenly becomes suspect number one again).
Side note about Teresa Pass: "Terry" mentioned in the dramatic intro must be them.
...INSANE alternative theory: "Hart" is Ema Skye in disguise. (Not actually going any further with this one, but if it turns out to be true, you owe me $20.)
Ashton and Keane were probably boyfriends.
Dea might actually be guilty (which SUCKS to say after how sweet her scene with Ashton was, but it really is difficult to pinpoint another suspect), and Ashton could be planning to throw her case. (Hmm... I wonder if a certain other AAO case inspired you here? *wink*)
Side note about Dea: If her name is a pun on "deathbringer", that's DEPRESSING. Or scary. Probably both.
Blackmail letter... I'm not so sure Alice sent that (I liked how you had Dea be so hesitant about accusing her - that was good). Could've been Newman.
Also, the spider prank leading to suicide is... extreme. With a phobia, I suppose it's plausible, but my thought is that either there was something else at play (like existing abuse against her) that Faye was suffering enough over that the spider was the straw that broke the camel's back, or that it wasn't actually just a fake spider in pudding.
Well, this was very fun! Right up my alley. Also, happy early birthday! Funny that our birthdays are a day apart, I'm the 18th.
Awsome2464 wrote: ↑Thu Jul 14, 2022 3:31 pm
I'm very intrigued at what I'm seeing so far! The setup is interesting, the characters seem in-line for an AA-style case, and that ending is absolutely raising a lot of questions. Definitely can't wait to see what comes next!
Thank you! I know my characterization can be on the subdued side in comparison to AA's antics, so it's good to hear that they're landing.
Grounder wrote: ↑Thu Jul 14, 2022 3:39 pm
Hm, it seems solid enough so far. Were you hoping for feedback regarding anything in particular?
Feedback regarding the characters and the mystery as presented are helpful (for example, Ashley's theories are already making the wheels spin in my head). Plus if you catch presentation errors, I'd appreciate knowing about those. Thank you for taking interest!
Well, this was very fun! Right up my alley. Also, happy early birthday! Funny that our birthdays are a day apart, I'm the 18th.
That's awesome, and happy early birthday to you too! I can't address all of your points for obvious reasons, but I've taken note of everything.
Spoiler : :
In my opinion, the characters are going to be what makes or breaks this case, so hearing that you're immersed in their relationships and the mystery is good.
<"Hart" is Ema in disguise> I will de-confirm this one right away, but thank you for making me laugh.
<Inspiration from another AAO case> I... don't actually know what case you're referring to. That's still possible though.
<Spider prank concerns> Very slight adjustment made to Part One to reflect this. Hopefully the rest of the case will have a satisfactory answer for you.
<Spider prank concerns> Very slight adjustment made to Part One to reflect this. Hopefully the rest of the case will have a satisfactory answer for you.
-- snip --
Spoiler : Response to that one point :
OH I thought that was deliberate lol I wasn't trying to complain about it. I was thinking "huh, that's odd, I feel like Alice and/or Dea are omitting something", not "oh that's too far ikuzonos needs to change this". But either way, I suppose that means that's less likely what you were going for, so good on you for making that change assuming it was needed.
Oh, and, the other AAO case I was referring to was
Spoiler : :
The Secret Turnabout. (I know from the forum thread that you've played it and have similar theories so nested spoiler as to why I was making that reference.)
Spoiler : The Secret Turnabout spoilers :
Because Ashton is very suspicious and seeming to be something of an unreliable narrator, and he may be potentially throwing his client's case on purpose if he thinks they're involved in the crime/s.
OH I thought that was deliberate lol I wasn't trying to complain about it. I was thinking "huh, that's odd, I feel like Alice and/or Dea are omitting something", not "oh that's too far ikuzonos needs to change this". But either way, I suppose that means that's less likely what you were going for, so good on you for making that change assuming it was needed.
Oh, and, the other AAO case I was referring to was The Secret Turnabout. (I know from the forum thread that you've played it and have similar theories so nested spoiler as to why I was making that reference.)
Spoiler : The Secret Turnabout spoilers :
Because Ashton is very suspicious and seeming to be something of an unreliable narrator, and he may be potentially throwing his client's case on purpose if he thinks they're involved in the crime/s.
Don't worry, I didn't take it as a complaint! More of a "Oh right, part of that doesn't come up until later" and made an edit as a result. As for The Secret Turnabout, any similarities/vibes are a coincidence; I started framing LCfT a few weeks before it was showcased.
ikuzonos wrote: ↑Thu Jul 14, 2022 11:17 pm
Feedback regarding the characters and the mystery as presented are helpful (for example, Ashley's theories are already making the wheels spin in my head). Plus if you catch presentation errors, I'd appreciate knowing about those. Thank you for taking interest!
Spoiler : :
Well, I definitely believe that Ashton and Delilah have long-standing beef with each other. I imagine neither of them remembers exactly how all their petty squabbles even began. Meanwhile, I'm not entirely sure if Faye and Alice are meant to have had a positive relationship with each other or not. Alice says one thing, meanwhile Faye never bringing her up while she was still alive indicates another. If the dissonance was intentional, well done. If not, I think it might be a good idea to clarify in part 2.