Shelter In Place
Social distancing is harder when you all have to fit onto one screen.
As we write this, the world is shut down, with most of the population hiding in their homes from the alien invaders or whatever it is (I don’t keep up with current events). The good news is that this is a great time to play and make Ace Attorney stuff. The bad news is that weeks of isolation can cause anxiety, loneliness and murderous impulses.
Perfect!
For this competition, we want you to make a case that invokes isolation in a single location. This has two components. One, the case should take place in a single location. This does not have to be one unchanging background (though kudos to you if you can pull that off), but should be something like a single building, small island (wink wink) or a property limited in size. Two, the characters should be unable or unwilling to leave the location, leading to a feeling of being isolated, trapped or stuck. Having the entire case take place in a courthouse because it’s an all-trial case would not be enough, but having characters stuck inside the courthouse and be unable to leave for a period of time (and holding an inpromtu trial in the meantime) would be.
The possible reasons for the isolation are endless. There could be a terrible storm, an inaccessible island, a malfunctioning pocket dimension, a zombie army, a prison cell, a haunted small town that it is easier to enter than leave, a medical quarantine, a spaceship, a warehouse full of deathtraps or even just a character who is very, very lost. Something where the main character could theoretically leave but doesn’t really have that choice (looking for a lost family member, needing the antidote to a poison, a stalker threatening to kill them if they leave) can also work, as long as it gives the feeling of inescapability.
What your plot is once the characters are trapped is up to you. Is this a puzzle case about survival and escape? A character study of the effects of isolation? Or, more likely, a chance to solve a crime under less-than-ideal conditions? Finding a murderer without the aid of the police and forensics resources is bad enough, but what if the killer you are trapped with isn’t planing to stop at one victim?
Judging
Story: Stories are nice. Good mysteries are fun. A solid justification for the scenario's isolation would be wise.
Presentation: Looking and sounding great has never hurt a case. Well, except for that one time.
Gameplay: Fun, clever, stimulating, non-frustrating puzzles, please!
Theme Relevance: The case is primarily in one location and has a tone of entrapment or isolation. (The "primarily" is to give you a little leeway to have an opening scene or something at a different location before the meat of the case begins, but don't push it, please. Unusual non-physical location changes like dreams or hallucinations are permitted as long as they enhance the isolation theme instead of evading it.)
Rules
The entry must have been created between April 19, 2020 and July 20, 2020.
The entry must not be showcased until after the deadline, but may be showcased before the judging period ends.
The entry may be a trial, investigation, comedy or miscellaneous.
The entry may contain spoilers from the first four Ace Attorney games, both Investigations games and Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney, but may not have any from Dual Destinies, Spirit of Justice or either Dai Gyakuten Saiban. Music spoilers and non-plot elements of those games are fine (so, for example, you could have Athena Cykes and her mood matrix, but not talk directly about events or villains from Dual Destinies).
The entry must focus on a single, isolating location.
The entry may be incomplete.
Deadline
The entry must be submitted to clcman and AwesomeYears by July 20, 2020 at 11:59 PM EST (with a few hours of wiggle room), with a walkthrough.
Entrants
DJJ6800
risefromtheashes (formerly the.armenator) AKA Ash
Super legenda
DannyPlaysSomeGames
IsaOfTheWorlds
Mirage Xel
Minas
nahu0093
Tiagofvarela
fanfreak247 and mariofan
PatBrownGames
GeneralWrights
Awsome2464
AbsurdAttorney
