Contradictions in the Law

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drvonkitty
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Re: Contradictions in the Law

Post by drvonkitty »

Semiramis Turnabout: Sleeping Dogs by Khepri

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wow, much doge, very judge
Spoiler : Synopsis :
In the year 1839, in the High Court of the fictional country of Semiramis, public defender Ernest Aquinas is assigned to a 16 year old case.
Spoiler : The Contradiction :
Hard to say due to the incomplete nature of the case, but possibly something to do with the statute of limitations?
Spoiler : Review :
Story: There isn't much to go off of here, but I will say the setting was intriguing. Having a case occur in both a different time period & a fictional setting (one that seems to be inspired by the italian merchant republics, no less!), is unique and refreshing in terms of AAO cases. That's about it, though. The dialogue captures the essence of the setting, but otherwise it's fairly stale. I wasn't particularly hooked by the set-up of the mystery, but maybe it'll get more interesting with time.

Characters: We don't spend much time with them, but all the characters are pretty much just boring. Since they all use canon sprites (despite being OCs), you fall into the typical trap of making the OCs have identical personalities to the characters whose sprites they use. Aquinas is just Apollo, Blank is just Edgeworth, etc.

Presentation: For someone new to the editor, you did a good job, though there are quite a few issues throughout, like the protagonist talking during thought bubbles. Given the setting, it's a little strange that you use default sprites and default courtroom backgrounds, especially given the wealth of custom assets available in the Art forums. There are custom courtroom scenes available that you could've used!

Gameplay: There's one cross-examination with one present which is currently impossible without the walkthrough, since it uses a placeholder image. Again, not really anything to judge here.

Theme Relevance
: Not applicable.

Overall: Can't give you much in the way of a review, other than saying props to you for getting something submitted at all! I'd rather someone submit something rather than nothing, and I really mean that... it's easy to drop out, especially as a newbie, and props to you for not doing so. I hope you continue with this project, as I'm intrigued by the setting for sure.

And finally, next up is The Phantom's Turnabout by Bannedfrom7 and clcman!
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drvonkitty
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Re: Contradictions in the Law

Post by drvonkitty »

The Phantom's Turnabout by Bannedfrom7 and clcman

Image
Stop right there, criminal scum! You violated the law, now... oh, you get the picture.
Spoiler : Synopsis :
After the corrupt Chief of Police gets murdered, and one of his cronies is accused, a crooked cop and a fellow criminal set out to stop Interpol from exposing their organization's criminal activity.
Spoiler : The Contradiction :
The legal system is torn between those who use it for personal gain, and those who use it to ensure equal and fair justice.
Worth noting that this review will contain a minor 'spoiler' for a kind of twist, though it happens early on.
Spoiler : Review :
Story: While the story is incomplete, it is an intriguing premise: a prequel to Dual Destinies in which we play as the Phantom masquerading as Bobby Fulbright in the police department. While it was predictable in hindsight, I actually didn't immediately realize we were playing as the Phantom pretending to be Fulbright (the first "scene" plays it off like the protag is actual Fulbright, which is later justified that the Phantom stays true to character even in his head).

In terms of the execution, I think the pacing needs some work. The characters tell us how urgent this situation is—this huge criminal organization is on the line—but the case doesn't ever really give the player an impression of urgency, nor are there ever clear stakes defined outside of characters telling us that this is a Big Deal. Part of the issue here is that our protagonist, the Phantom, has no emotions, so it's hard to convey high stakes & urgency with an unflappable character. Outside of that, pretty decent! Dialogue could use some polish & rewrites here and there, but overall, well done.

Characters: For what time we had with them, I liked the characters! All of your custom characters felt like the classic, quirky Ace Attorney characters that we know and love, and each had a decent amount of personality, even if they didn't get too much time to show it off. I was especially a fan of the defendant (if we can call him that?). There's one canon character who was a pleasant surprise, and I'm interested to see what his role will be going forward.

In terms of the Phantom as the protagonist... well, personally, I wasn't a fan. Like I said earlier, while it's neat, trying to have a compelling protagonist whose who schtick is "having no emotions" is going to be difficult for even the best character writer. It also offers little in the way of a potential arc—there's no room for the Phantom to develop, because he's a static character. At the end of the day, this is probably more a matter of personal preference than anything else, but I did have a few ideas on alternatives (especially in light of the theme!) if you want me to share in a full review.

Presentation: Great job here. A few minor errors, but generally it felt quite polished, with proper use of fades and line breaks. Also a great choice of sprites—the custom sprites you picked all felt appropriate given the setting and theme of the case.

Gameplay: A linear investigation with a couple examines/presents, so not much to say here. I would've liked to see more out of this for sure.

Theme Relevance
: I really liked the contradiction posed by this case: in order for the legal system to function, those who execute the law must be committed to principles of justice. However, our legal institutions are at the mercy of the people within, and if they simply don't care, then we have a justice system captured by criminal interests and turned into little more than a front. But rarely are things black and white, a corrupt system or a perfect one: the complexity arises when we have competing interests in one legal system! Even if there are bad apples & corruption within a system, there will be actors who are principled and committed to justice. Those two parties—those who believe and those who exploit—will inevitably be at odds, and that tension is the foundation for the conflict in this case. There's plenty of avenues to explore there, and the presence of the Phantom brings a sick irony with his mantra of "In Justice we trust!" while actively working to advance criminal interests.

Due to the length of the case, we didn't get as much time to see this in action as I would have liked, though. More time with these characters, more time spent world-building, and more time spent developing that tension and clash between corruption and idealism could have really showed us a contradiction that, in many ways, is at the very heart of the law.

Overall: This is a really promising case! When it ended, I was left wanting more, and that's always a good sign. You clearly understood the theme of the competition and subsequently built a case around that, which worked well. That being said, the execution of the story needs some work, and since the case is unfinished, you don't yet delve as deep into that contradiction as I would've liked. The lack of gameplay other than a linear investigation is a knock against the case as well. While it's not impossible to have a case driven exclusively by the story, the story presented here was just too simple for that to work, and I hope you'll implement more gameplay/nonlinearity in the future. Overall though, great work!
And that's all from me! Zekrom is doing most of the heavy lifting on the awards ceremony (I was a boring old man and suggested we just do a post lmao), so hopefully that will be released soon! Thanks everyone for all the great entries!
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Re: Contradictions in the Law

Post by Super legenda »

Oh, the ceremonies are close. Good luck.
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Re: Contradictions in the Law

Post by risefromtheashes »

Good luck, everybody!
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Re: Contradictions in the Law

Post by Bannedfrom7 »

drvonkitty wrote: Thu Aug 19, 2021 6:55 am
The Phantom's Turnabout by Bannedfrom7 and clcman

Image
Stop right there, criminal scum! You violated the law, now... oh, you get the picture.
Spoiler : Synopsis :
After the corrupt Chief of Police gets murdered, and one of his cronies is accused, a crooked cop and a fellow criminal set out to stop Interpol from exposing their organization's criminal activity.
Spoiler : The Contradiction :
The legal system is torn between those who use it for personal gain, and those who use it to ensure equal and fair justice.
Worth noting that this review will contain a minor 'spoiler' for a kind of twist, though it happens early on.
Spoiler : Review :
Story: While the story is incomplete, it is an intriguing premise: a prequel to Dual Destinies in which we play as the Phantom masquerading as Bobby Fulbright in the police department. While it was predictable in hindsight, I actually didn't immediately realize we were playing as the Phantom pretending to be Fulbright (the first "scene" plays it off like the protag is actual Fulbright, which is later justified that the Phantom stays true to character even in his head).

In terms of the execution, I think the pacing needs some work. The characters tell us how urgent this situation is—this huge criminal organization is on the line—but the case doesn't ever really give the player an impression of urgency, nor are there ever clear stakes defined outside of characters telling us that this is a Big Deal. Part of the issue here is that our protagonist, the Phantom, has no emotions, so it's hard to convey high stakes & urgency with an unflappable character. Outside of that, pretty decent! Dialogue could use some polish & rewrites here and there, but overall, well done.

Characters: For what time we had with them, I liked the characters! All of your custom characters felt like the classic, quirky Ace Attorney characters that we know and love, and each had a decent amount of personality, even if they didn't get too much time to show it off. I was especially a fan of the defendant (if we can call him that?). There's one canon character who was a pleasant surprise, and I'm interested to see what his role will be going forward.

In terms of the Phantom as the protagonist... well, personally, I wasn't a fan. Like I said earlier, while it's neat, trying to have a compelling protagonist whose who schtick is "having no emotions" is going to be difficult for even the best character writer. It also offers little in the way of a potential arc—there's no room for the Phantom to develop, because he's a static character. At the end of the day, this is probably more a matter of personal preference than anything else, but I did have a few ideas on alternatives (especially in light of the theme!) if you want me to share in a full review.

Presentation: Great job here. A few minor errors, but generally it felt quite polished, with proper use of fades and line breaks. Also a great choice of sprites—the custom sprites you picked all felt appropriate given the setting and theme of the case.

Gameplay: A linear investigation with a couple examines/presents, so not much to say here. I would've liked to see more out of this for sure.

Theme Relevance
: I really liked the contradiction posed by this case: in order for the legal system to function, those who execute the law must be committed to principles of justice. However, our legal institutions are at the mercy of the people within, and if they simply don't care, then we have a justice system captured by criminal interests and turned into little more than a front. But rarely are things black and white, a corrupt system or a perfect one: the complexity arises when we have competing interests in one legal system! Even if there are bad apples & corruption within a system, there will be actors who are principled and committed to justice. Those two parties—those who believe and those who exploit—will inevitably be at odds, and that tension is the foundation for the conflict in this case. There's plenty of avenues to explore there, and the presence of the Phantom brings a sick irony with his mantra of "In Justice we trust!" while actively working to advance criminal interests.

Due to the length of the case, we didn't get as much time to see this in action as I would have liked, though. More time with these characters, more time spent world-building, and more time spent developing that tension and clash between corruption and idealism could have really showed us a contradiction that, in many ways, is at the very heart of the law.

Overall: This is a really promising case! When it ended, I was left wanting more, and that's always a good sign. You clearly understood the theme of the competition and subsequently built a case around that, which worked well. That being said, the execution of the story needs some work, and since the case is unfinished, you don't yet delve as deep into that contradiction as I would've liked. The lack of gameplay other than a linear investigation is a knock against the case as well. While it's not impossible to have a case driven exclusively by the story, the story presented here was just too simple for that to work, and I hope you'll implement more gameplay/nonlinearity in the future. Overall though, great work!
And that's all from me! Zekrom is doing most of the heavy lifting on the awards ceremony (I was a boring old man and suggested we just do a post lmao), so hopefully that will be released soon! Thanks everyone for all the great entries!
Thanks for playing the case and I'd be happy to see a full review!
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Re: Contradictions in the Law

Post by TheDeadMan »

Good luck to all the other entrants and I'm curious to see what happens.
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Re: Contradictions in the Law

Post by ZekromFan57 »

Planning for the ceremony is over, now I just need to get started on the framing. Hopefully I should be done in about a week (not making any promises though). By the way, there's gonna be a total of 30 awards to be won.
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Re: Contradictions in the Law

Post by Bannedfrom7 »

That sounds exciting, can’t wait to see it!
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Re: Contradictions in the Law

Post by TimeAxis »

Good luck to everyone. I'll be curious to see how this turns out.
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Re: Contradictions in the Law

Post by ZekromFan57 »

Quick update: I've been a tad busy these past few days, but I've had time to work on the ceremony today and it's now passed 100 frames. However, it might end up taking longer than I originally expected. I probably won't have time to work on it tomorrow, but from Thursday onwards, I'll be working my ass off on this, believe you me. But anyways, here's a hypeshot in the meantime.
Spoiler : :
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Re: Contradictions in the Law

Post by Super legenda »

Spoiler : :
Evilthena is, ETERNAL.
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Re: Contradictions in the Law

Post by Bannedfrom7 »

ZekromFan57 wrote: Tue Aug 24, 2021 9:53 pm Quick update: I've been a tad busy these past few days, but I've had time to work on the ceremony today and it's now passed 100 frames. However, it might end up taking longer than I originally expected. I probably won't have time to work on it tomorrow, but from Thursday onwards, I'll be working my ass off on this, believe you me. But anyways, here's a hypeshot in the meantime.
Spoiler : :
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Spoiler : :
she returns...
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Re: Contradictions in the Law

Post by ZekromFan57 »

The ceremony is nearing completion! It should be ready within the next day or so (hopefully), but here's a hypeshot for you all.
Spoiler : Honestly it doesn't really spoil anything :
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Re: Contradictions in the Law

Post by Super legenda »

Oooh! So this might be the final day, nice!
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Re: Contradictions in the Law

Post by clcman »

ZekromFan57 wrote: The ceremony is nearing completion! It should be ready within the next day or so (hopefully), but here's a hypeshot for you all.
Spoiler : Honestly it doesn't really spoil anything :
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Reminds me of one of my old gags.
Spoiler : :
Person 1: "You know what this situation needs?"
Person 2: *enters* "An unnecessary cameo?"
Person 1: "No."
Person 2: "Oh." *leaves*
Good luck with the ceremony!
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