Credits to E.D.Revolution, SuperGanondorf, and Huddini for this guide.
So you have joined AAO because you thought that it was cool to try to make a trial. That's great! We, at AAO, encourage trial-making here. We love to play your trials, and it's a good way to show us your work. But there are many pitfalls when it comes to doing these types of projects on AAO, ESPECIALLY if it’s your first time
Consider these as guidelines that you, as a newbie trial author, should consider. Remember, this is something you should read first before creating a new trial. It should enlighten you in the back of your mind, and hopefully prepare you to get a well-received case/thread for when you actually go and make a case.
There are four categories, or phases, to this guide:
Planning
Writing/Development
Execution/Presentation
Reviews and QAs
There is also a Helpful Tips section, which we HIGHLY recommend you read if you don’t want to read through the 3 phases.
Expect this post to be long, but it will be VERY worth it when you read the advice from experienced authors, we want YOU to succeed after all
Note: This guide has a LOT of recommendations and suggestions. You, as an author, are not obliged to take them.
Without further ado, here is the first phase, planning:
Planning:
Spoiler : :
All ideas that you suddenly thought up and want to make a case for, definitely requires PLANNING, i.e., what the crime is, who’s killed, how will it be solved, WHO will solve it, what time era, etc. Plan your case accordingly, for without a good plan, your execution will turn out to be very poor.
If you are a first-time trial author, we highly recommend that you do NOT make a very complex case; keep it simple, and show US that you have learned the BASICS OF THE EDITOR. That impresses us more than a great idea, since execution is everything.
As a first-time author, we advise you to do a trial-only case instead of an investigation. Trust us on this: investigations are harder to do.
Decide what time-era you would like to do (Prequel, PW-Era, AJ-Era, or Alternate Universe)
Consider canon events. Creating canon discontinuity is a huge deal.
Corollary to above: If the trial is set in an alternate universe, you need to explain the canon discontinuity.
Avoid improvising as much as possible. You will have more success if you have planned your trial from the start.
The reason we recommend against relying on improvisation is this: You might create logic and plot holes that you, yourself, don't realize you're creating. Also, when creating the next part, you will have to incorporate what you improvised into the next part as well.
Some trial authors recommend “working backwards”. For trials, I suggest you have your main topics ready to go. You should do this in outline form. The main topics are your titles of your testimonies, and your subtopics are what the witness says in the testimony. The details will be the press conversation. It’s easy to read and easy to implement and transfer if you do the “skeleton method.” Best demonstrated here. Make notes about the testimony and the contradictions and any penalties as well. And if you're wondering why there aren't any notes on the testimony and contradictions and such on this example... I'm not going to give away answers to my trial.
Also, don't forget to gather custom resources, if needed. Best place so far is Court-records, but Ace Attorney Spain and Doulifee are also good. Currently, the Editor does NOT have every piece of evidence, and some sprites are incorrect. You can use Bruce Goodman's sprites on the Editor, but you MUST credit Mikker in-trial and in-thread.
Note: if need something that belongs to another user, ask first. Then note who it's from and credit them (unless stated otherwise). NOT crediting the artist or author is the same as stealing and that is a punishable offense on AAO. Be careful.
You do NOT need prior permission to use resources from Court-Records' media section, but you should still credit them.
For any other resource from anywhere, such as sprites or music made by other members or websites, you MUST either
Ask permission or
Credit them if you've done your best to reach them but can't.
This is extremely important, as stealing others' work is totally unacceptable and will have consequences
Please do not hotlink from Court records, AA Spain, Doulifee, or anywhere that you have obtained the media. You must download them and upload them to a site that allows hotlinking, such as dropbox. The minute that a mod gets word that your trial contains hotlinks from those sites, the link to your trial will be removed.
If you got your plan down, it’s time to move on to the next stage, WRITING/DEVLOPMENT!
Writing/Development:
Spoiler : :
First things first, familiarize yourself with the Editor. Learn it, know it. It'll make it easier for us to enjoy your trial when you know how to use the Editor.
Look at the List of Guides thread and Tips, Tricks, and Info thread. Know EVERYTHING RELATED TO THE EDITOR (such as implementing audio, advanced functions like CEs, profiles, etc.)
We suggest you get some frames going so you can get a feel for how this trial will look. Worry about the technical details later when you need it (such as profiles, audios, and such, wait-timers, and such)
Characterization is important no matter what. Play the games to find out how your character talks given a certain scenario. For example, AJ is really comedic when it comes to many different situations, and PW being quite the sarcastic person. This is all example, but hobo Phoenix is TOTALLY different from his lawyer counterpart.
No matter who your protagonist is, just remember the golden rule of writing an AA case: we have to play as him/her. So make sure that the main protagonist is memorable and likeable. The case will be boring if we have to play as a boring character. On the same token, if your character is a jerk, the audience will feel disgusted playing as that character.
Most writers don't have a problem with the characterization of the protagonist, the co-council, the rival, the judge, the main witnesses, and the killer. Many writers forget to fortify their minor witnesses and the defendants. Nothing is worse than forgetting why we are defending him in the first place.
Try to write the story in a way that keeps the player engaged. In any trial or story, there is some "downtime" or parts of the story that will be boring. The trick to making a case successful is to make sure the story keeps the player wanting to finish the case.
For a first case, make sure the storyline is logical and everything makes sense. Don't slap in situations without explaining them. And don't slap in characters without introducing them in a way that makes them relevant to the case. It's better to have a slow introduction and a slow transition that explains everything than to have a sudden transition that makes no sense.
Try to balance the length of the story with the amount of content in them. The problem with many trial authors is not always the fact that the story is too short, but sometimes that the story is dragging on for too long without doing anything for the story.
When you are selecting music, custom or not, make sure they sound good and harmonious with eachother. In other words, make sure they sound good together. Music will set the mood, and if the transitions or the music choices are bad, you will ruin the experience for the audience.
This is an example of a discordant set of music: AA music for regular court music, Street Fighter Alpha 3 for Cross Examinations, Bon Jovi for Objection!, Soul Calibur IV for Cornered. This will not sound good at all.
This is an example of a harmonious set of music: AA for lobby/court, GT for cross examinations, AA for Objection, Castlevania DS for Cornered. If you choose the right soundtracks from those series, they will sound harmonious, and it'll be a pleasure to listen to.
Know when to implement your music. Moderato plays in the majority of CEs until the finales. You do NOT need to set each frame to play music... The music will keep looping until you set it to stop or change the music.
You do not have to set a background picture every frame, only when you need to change the background picture do you need to actually consider setting one for another frame.
Make use of the HIDE CHARACTER function. People tend to miss this quite a lot.
As a corollary to above, make use of "previous character" function. If you want to keep the character on screen while the main character is thinking, that's the way to go.
When you're done with the developing of the story, it's time to worry about execution of the case.
Your thread needs to be presentable as well in order for people to take interest. This is to not keep your viewers guessing; it’s to keep your thread organized with information, and the viewers can come easily knowing exactly what to expect (whatever YOU as an author reveal that is)
Also, please do NOT abuse smileys. When we have threads that have too many emotes, it comes off as a smiley cancer, and that’s a HUGE turn-off. You’re not going to be taken seriously like that.
It’s okay to have a few smileys, but don’t overdo it.
Know how to EDIT your OP (Official Post), instead of simply double-posting/quadruple-posting, to show how to update your information.
Excessive bumping is looked down upon, especially if you have nothing to show for your bumping.
Forum rules states that there shall be one post per 12 hours if there are no replies.
Your Thread should have the following:
Title of your Series/Title of your Case (if you’re only doing one case)
INTRODUCTION to YOU (Hi, my first time as an author here, etc.) and Your Case (This case will be set in XXX-Era, it’s a trial-only case). You MUST state if this is an alternate universe. Otherwise, you’re going to receive massive criticism due to “breaking canon” when they play the trial.
Sypnosis. Only reveal enough information about the case to get people to play the case and not ruin the story.
Link to your trial. Use the [ url ] [/ url] tags (remove the spaces) to make it easier to find the case. Nothing is worse than when viewers have to search out the case. Save them the work, or you’re going to come off as LAZY.
Credits. General rule of thumb: Credits should go to betatesters and people who have made custom graphics and sprites (if needed).
Updates (If you have updated your thread in any way)
When you have finished writing up your thread, post it! Don’t worry, it takes awhile to get views/posts, these things take time after all. By being very organized, you’re showing you’re VERY serious when it comes to trial making, and people will take you MUCH more seriously and garner interest in your thread.
You can decide where to post where your progress is if you’d like, as long as people know you're working on the case.
You need to playtest your case. Easiest way to do that is to change “editeur” to “jeu” on the URL. When going back to fix from playtesting, “jeu” to “editeur.” If you want to playtest from a specific frame, save the trial then type the url as
where xxxxx is the ID of your trial, and yyyy is the frame of your trial.
Look for: Spelling errors, grammar errors, OOC-ness (though this will be admittingly hard at first), wait-timer errors, redirection errors, profile-errors, etc. Try to fix anything that’s out of the ordinary, i.e., anything you wouldn’t see in an AA-game.
If there’s something you can’t fix that you don’t know how to solve, and if no guide answers it, make a thread at the Questions about the Editor forum section. There will be more than enough people to be happy to answer you.
Also, use the proper terminology when asking questions. Something like "how do I make the big picture from a few frames back disappear" does not mean anything to us. If we do not know what you're talking about, we cannot help you.
It’s recommended you ask someone to betatest for you (and someone with experience). They can easily make a list for things you need to fix for sure. They tend to focus on presentation issues, something you might not see. Also, ask them to look for grammar/syntax/punctuation mistakes.
Just to be safe, get another betatester, and specifically ask them to focus on the STORY/Contradictions. Ask them to see if all of that makes sense or not. That way, you can plug up any plot holes before your case even gets reviewed by the masses of AAO.
Apply all betatesters' reports to your trial before you make it public. Don't put their hard work to waste.
Once you think you have everything done, it’s time to... POST THE PARTS TO YOUR THREAD!!!! Again, do yourself a favor and edit the first post of the thread.
Once you post the parts to your trial, just wait for views, and comments for people to play, and congratulations newbie trial author, you’ve made a notable first time case
Brace yourself for criticism. As a general rule, anything posted to the public is up for criticism. Do NOT backlash if possible, unless the crowd “doesn’t get it.”
You've presented your trial (series), now it's time to worry about reviews, criticisms, and QAs
Reviews and QAs
Spoiler : :
As stated before, brace yourself for criticism.
You will get both favorable and not-so-favorable reviews.
If you get a favorable review, thank the poster for his/her time to review it.
If you get many favorable reviews, you might consider asking for a QA.
Be careful, though. Certain AAO trial author's reviews carry more weight than others (and that's NOT counting the QA, who have pretty much final say in your trial.)
If you get a not-so-favorable review, still thank the poster for his/her time to review it.
Note: not-so-favorable reviews are more useful than favorable reviews.
They often point out mistakes you might not have seen, such as logic errors, OOCness, presentation problems, etc.
However, if the number of unfavorable reviews outweighs favorable reviews, you may want to take down your trial and work on it even more.
Do yourself a favor and research who your critics may be. A critic who has a few successful trials under their belt (especially featured trials) and has a reputation for making great trials (especially those who are successfully put innovations in their trials) tend to make reviews that carry more weight than others. Also, know which users make detailed bug reports, because you want to seek their opinion in fixing bugs, especially before a QA.
Give yourself a couple of weeks to contemplate on the reviews before asking for a QA. But note a couple of things:
QA reviews are harder than reviews from resident trial critics.
They will be nitpicky, because the trial is supposed to resemble a regular AA trial right down to the details.
You can ask for a QA as many times as you want, but you want to limit yourself to four QA reviews from different reviewers.
Get to know what each QA reviewer specializes in:
Tap: He specializes in presentation. He will be harder on evidence at the beginning, wrong tags, not enough sound fx, not enough effects tags, wrong music, etc. He will often refer you to my other guides (technical guides) as well as guides listed on the "Help and Tutorials forum. He's able to spot plagiarism in a heartbeat, which will automatically result in a failure of QA, so be careful to cite your sources when he's reviewing your trial.
ShadowEdgeworth: He specializes in characterization. He will be harder on canon OOC-ness and characters that lack development. Also, he'll suggest ways to fit characters into canon and fanon timelines.
Hodou Okappa: He has a rather unique style of writing the review. He starts off with random babble, with a sprite to show what he's thinking as he's heard of the case or plays through it. It tends to be long, and he focuses more on story and dialogue. However, he will not hesitate to end a QA early if he feels that the story is starting to get dull. I personally don't believe that's morally correct, despite his reasoning.
Meph: He specializes in storytelling. He will be harder on logic holes, storyline development, how a regular trial is run, how an investigation is run. He is the grandmaster of all QA reviewers, but storytelling is his specialty. He'll refer you to his guides when it comes to presentation, when necessary. Also, he can provide you with a service of "Urgent Art Request." He usually does this when the trial has passed QA but visual elements need to be fixed if you can't fix them.
HELPFUL TIPS!:
Spoiler : :
As a 1st-timer, we HIGHLY suggest that you don’t do investigations, as they are harder to develop in the editor. Focus on JUST doing a trial-only case.
At this point, it is expected that you read the list of guides and tricks, tips, and info thread in order to find out how the Editor works. Do yourself a favor and refer to those before you ask a question in the "Questions about the Editor" section.
We recommend that your first trial-only case that lasts around 1000-2000 frames TOTAL. Anything less than 1000 frames (including game over sequences) tends to fall on the short side. If you do this correctly, you should be able to fit around 4-8 cross examination blocks in there.
Note: This number has been agreed by the community. Notable authors such as Zeel1, Tap, E.D.Revolution, ShadowEdgeworth, and BBblader have made their first trials last over 1000 frames, even as high as 3600 frames TOTAL.
On splitting cases:
Tap wrote:
If one part is less than 1000 frames, don't split it.
It is possible to have your trial last less than 1000 frames but feel like it's more than 1000 frames.
If the frame count doesn't help you establish length of trial, then make sure that we can play the trial for at least 20 minutes the first time someone plays the case.
We advise against making a character, an idea, or case that requires a LOT of custom content if it will hinder your progress. Examples where custom content doesn't hinder cases: Leon Prinze. Example where it does hinder: The Final Truth.
We encourage you to recycle sprites. Don’t be afraid to do so, but do not be set to the limitations of the character’s set of emotions he/she has.
If you make an idea, it might sounds great the first time. later on, you’ll probably need to refine it.
We highly recommend against putting up more than 1 or 2 projects on AAO. Not only are you obligated to complete some work on them... You'll most likely be stretched too thin.
Corollary to above: Don't always sign up for collaboration spots the minute someone opens them up. Again, you'll be obligated to complete some work on them. If you're stretched too thin, don't sign up. If you do sign up, tell the author that you have to resign.
It’s okay if you want to do a simple case (you can do a simple case with a GREAT message/theme), as long as you remember that everything is presentable.
Depending on what era you do, consider timeline events that is canon. Make your case(s) accommodate these canon events. If you do an Alternate Universe, you need to justify it by explaining the back story. People DO get mad over an unexplained Alternate Universe.
On prequel series:
E.D.Revolution wrote:
I would advise that first time authors avoid prequel series. They are VERY hard to write for, and there's a high failure rate for those kind of projects. Currently, there is one successful Mia Fey series and one successful Young Edgeworth series.
Do the best you can in retaining characterizations. Viewers tend to hate OOCness in general.
Your protagonist needs to be likable, so we're drawn to playing as him/her. Remember the golden rule for writing an AA case: we have to play as him/her. If we can't enjoy playing as him/her, we can't enjoy the case.
Have a good plan and a general direction to go for. That way, you don’t need to improvise as much as possible.
For every new situation or new character, you need to transition it in a way that makes sense in context. It'll be obvious when a situation or character has been plastered on to a case without explanation.
Don’t RUSH! Most newbie authors have failing cases because they RUSH in developing their case and release it as is!!! These things take time!
Give yourself a couple of WEEKS of working on the trial before making a thread. You’ll have something to show for it when you present the thread.
Apply all betatest reports before you make the trial public.
Sometimes, even if you post a successful first case, you might not get noticed at all (Example: Turnabout Deception, Narokh’s featured cases). It’s just the way of things, but granted, it will be easier to get views if you get your case FEATURED. In that case, I shall refer you to Tap and ShadowEdgeworth’s QA guide when it comes out.
Notable Authors, like E.D.Revolution, Huddini, Tap, etc. love to hear from new trial series from first-time authors. They will also attempt to help your case get noticed if your trial is very enjoyable to play, by posting in your thread for bugs, comments, praise, feedback, etc.
On advertising:
Blackrune wrote:
Make a prologue or teaser about your case at the same time you're creating the thread. That way, you can gauge the audience's reaction and possibly help you keep going with the case.
On asking for a Quality Assurance Review:
E.D.Revolution wrote:
QA reviews are not for simple professional opinions. They are for asking for the trial to be featured. It's best to wait a couple of weeks before you ask for a QA rather than a few days since the release of your trial. That way, you have time to develop and mature your trial to V2 or whatever update. QA reviewers are harder on you than your resident trial critics. Just because you've got good (note: good) reviews doesn't necessarily mean you're prepared for a QA. If people all over AAO are talking about your trial, you can almost guarantee that you're prepared for a QA review. In fact, ask some tough critics for a review of your trial before asking for a QA. They often see things most people miss (and it will help you cover up major errors before a QA.)
Taking an expert's advice and spitting it back in their faces is the best way to get your trial flamed. Don't do it. Take the advice gracefully, since they're very experienced with the editor.
Addendum by Huddini.
Huddini wrote:
As a trial author, you don't have to take the advice. In fact, you're not obliged to do so. But you should take the time to say "Thank you" to the person who posted up advice because that person took the time to comment and provide ways to improve your case.
Finally, don't forget to ask for help when you need it.
Well, I hope that this thread helps in your creation of your first case here on AAO. These tips were compiled by trial author experts, so we know what we're saying. Don't be afraid to ask for help and don't be afraid to make your case.
_________________
My featured series: Mia Fey: Ace Spirit Attorney Credits to Tap for this awesome logo! Case: 1FEATURED!★ | 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | On Hiatus, transferring to PyWright
Last edited by E.D.Revolution on Tue Oct 25, 2011 6:44 am, edited 23 times in total.
Sat Apr 30, 2011 10:21 pm
Holhol
Joined: Sun Jan 09, 2011 8:20 am Posts: 2711 Location: Tip of the iceberg
Gender: Male
Spoken languages: English; Ich lerne Deutsch; Un petit français
[*]Don’t make an idea, and suddenly make a thread on it. It looks bad on your part. You as an author will never be taken seriously (especially if you decide to make a couple of more threads with “newer” ideas and zero progress.)
Sounds a lot like me.
Anyways, this is very helpful.
_________________
~Isy and Danielinhoni are the bestest friends anybody could ask for~
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TKinhonipei is my soulmate ~<3
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Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
Sat Apr 30, 2011 10:32 pm
Blackrune
Joined: Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:11 am Posts: 2922 Location: Right behind you
Spoken languages: English, German, Japanese
Also... I tend to be far more interested if there's a new thread that actually already contains a prologue or first part rather than just some promises. The best way to show that you're serious is proof that you've already begun working on it.
That said... Trial-only, around 2000 frames, plan things out beforehand. Mhm, sounds about right. Nice guide.
Nice guide. Just a few things: -Canon discontinuity is fine in AU cases. Just make it clear that it's AU, and not you being stupid. -I feel like that skeleton is both a bit more detailed than it should be and a bit less detailed than it should be xD Instead of explicitly stating each statement, a general summary of the testimony should work well enough. (For instance, for your Ema 1 I might've written "Jung got drunk while partying. He got home at 1:20, ate the poison, and died between 2 and 3.") I also think there should be notes on each testimony's contradiction, and what happens between each testimony (as well as noting any presents that need to be done) -One last tip I think you should definitely emphasize is "Don't hesitate to ask if you have a question or need help!"
Nice guide. Just a few things: -Canon discontinuity is fine in AU cases. Just make it clear that it's AU, and not you being stupid. Good Point. Duly noted. -I feel like that skeleton is both a bit more detailed than it should be and a bit less detailed than it should be xD Instead of explicitly stating each statement, a general summary of the testimony should work well enough. (For instance, for your Ema 1 I might've written "Jung got drunk while partying. He got home at 1:20, ate the poison, and died between 2 and 3.") I also think there should be notes on each testimony's contradiction, and what happens between each testimony (as well as noting any presents that need to be done) Well, true. Except, this is not the real version of the skeleton that I've used for HHnFLaT. Do you really think I'd give away the answers as part of this guide? Also, if you have your statements laid out, you can work on how the contradictions will be revealed or what the press convos are. In the real thing, yes, BP, that's what I do. -One last tip I think you should definitely emphasize is "Don't hesitate to ask if you have a question or need help!" Of course.
Blackrune wrote:
Also... I tend to be far more interested if there's a new thread that actually already contains a prologue or first part rather than just some promises. The best way to show that you're serious is proof that you've already begun working on it. Duly noted.
_________________
My featured series: Mia Fey: Ace Spirit Attorney Credits to Tap for this awesome logo! Case: 1FEATURED!★ | 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | On Hiatus, transferring to PyWright
Sun May 01, 2011 1:23 am
Bad Player
Joined: Wed May 20, 2009 10:53 pm Posts: 5382 Location: Under a bridge
Gender: Male
Spoken languages: American
-I feel like that skeleton is both a bit more detailed than it should be and a bit less detailed than it should be xD Instead of explicitly stating each statement, a general summary of the testimony should work well enough. (For instance, for your Ema 1 I might've written "Jung got drunk while partying. He got home at 1:20, ate the poison, and died between 2 and 3.") I also think there should be notes on each testimony's contradiction, and what happens between each testimony (as well as noting any presents that need to be done) Well, true. Except, this is not the real version of the skeleton that I've used for HHnFLaT. Do you really think I'd give away the answers as part of this guide? Also, if you have your statements laid out, you can work on how the contradictions will be revealed or what the press convos are. In the real thing, yes, BP, that's what I do. Well if that's how you actually do it, that's how you should do it in the guide!
Well, the skeleton method is a separate issue altogether. I'll probably make another guide SOLELY on the skeleton method.
_________________
My featured series: Mia Fey: Ace Spirit Attorney Credits to Tap for this awesome logo! Case: 1FEATURED!★ | 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | On Hiatus, transferring to PyWright
Sun May 01, 2011 5:18 am
Ryu Ushiromiya
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:57 pm Posts: 2360 Location: Puerto Rico
Gender: Male
Spoken languages: American English, Español (Puerto Rico)
This is a great guide that will be a boon to new authors. But I only have one suggestion: rather than pointing authors to the Guides thread (but don't remove that, keep it), mention a guide or two for specific things, like establishing Psyche-Locks (both basic and advanced), some of Meph's and Huddini's guides and mine on characterization. That way newbies will know what to look for.
As a first-time author, do a TRIAL-ONLY case because it is HIGHLY recommended. Those are easier to do than investigations.
Ryu Ushiromiya wrote:
like establishing Psyche-Locks (both basic and advanced)
*facepalm*
Ryu Ushiromiya wrote:
some of Meph's and Huddini's guides and mine on characterization. That way newbies will know what to look for.
Well, I already mentioned one guide via link. I'll wait for more responses. Though I'm not too keen on characterization guides, since that's NOT a guide that's totally objective at all.
_________________
My featured series: Mia Fey: Ace Spirit Attorney Credits to Tap for this awesome logo! Case: 1FEATURED!★ | 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | On Hiatus, transferring to PyWright
Sun May 01, 2011 4:56 pm
Ryu Ushiromiya
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:57 pm Posts: 2360 Location: Puerto Rico
Gender: Male
Spoken languages: American English, Español (Puerto Rico)
Sorry, ED, but I'm going to stick out and say that I don't like this guide. The main reason why is because you've established very negative pragmatics in it (i.e. the guide is very unfriendly). Since this is targeted at new users, that is very bad. I'll give a more detailed explanation below (sorry, if this sounds rude):
Spoiler : :
Quote:
Be glad that I put the major parts of the guide in spoilers, so that it's easy to read one section and ignore the other when done.
There was no need for this paragraph, so it makes it seems as though you've only added it to brag.
Quote:
If you are a first-time trial author, it’s highly recommended you do NOT make a very complex case; keep it simple, and show US that you have learned the BASICS OF THE EDITOR. That impresses us more than a great idea, since execution is everything.
As a first-time author, do a TRIAL-ONLY case because it is HIGHLY recommended. Those are easier to do than investigations.
People don't like being told what to do (especially when someone has no implied power over them). Give them freedom and don't force them to do it; just advise them. People want to have a go. It's OK if they mess up on their first trial, and it would be very rude to expect them to do it perfectly.
Quote:
Consider canon events. Creating canon discontinuity is a huge deal.
Corollary to above: If the trial is AU, you need to explain the canon discontinuity.
Most members that are new to the scene won't know what you mean by "cannon" and "AU" and whatnot.
Quote:
Avoid improvising as much as possible. You will have more success if you have planned your trial from the start.
This I disagree with. Let people learn their own way how much they should improvise. I do a lot of improvising in mine.
Quote:
First things first, familiarize yourself with the Editor. If you don’t know how to use the editor, your trial will look like crap. That, in turn, will make it hard to enjoy the trial in the first place.
It's best not use a negative sentence in this case, because it creates bad pragmatics again. Change it to a positive sentence, such as: "If you do learn how to use the Editor, your trial will look great!"
Quote:
Easiest way to do that is to change “editeur” to “jeu.” When going back to fix from playtesting, “jeu” to “editeur.”
But where? You need to explain that you're referring to the URL of the trial.
Quote:
As a 1st-timer, we HIGHLY suggest that you don’t do investigations, as they are harder to develop in the editor. Focus on JUST doing a trial-only case.
Let people have a go, if they want. If they fail, let them fail and learn from it.
Quote:
Try getting some progress done before you think about collaborating with someone (and should be someone who has experience with the editor as well)
No it shouldn't. It should be a friend. (Well... usually, anyway.)
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A good first trial should be a trial-only case that lasts around 1000-2000 frames TOTAL. Anything less than 1000 frames (including game over sequences) tends to fall on the short side. If you do this correctly, you should be able to fit around 4-8 cross examination blocks in there.
Let's not scare people. It's fine if first trials are a bit short. Instead, maybe you should recommend a minimum of 600 frames, but point out that it would be better to have at least 1000+.
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Don’t make an idea, and suddenly make a thread on it. It looks bad on your part. You as an author will never be taken seriously (especially if you decide to make a couple of more threads with “newer” ideas and zero progress.)
This point is also quite off-putting. It would be better to say "Wait until you've finished a bit of the first chapter of your trial before you showcase it."
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Avoid Prequel series if possible. It’s harder to write for Mia Fey or Marvin Grossberg, since there’s very few precedents to base it on.
I disagree with this and I think you should remove it. If people want to write about these characters and let us discover more about them, let them.
But if you get that sorted out and try to use a softer register (i.e. tone-of-voice), I think this could be a useful guide!
Responses in blue. Most of these I can agree with. But there are quite a few I'm not budging on.
Spoiler : :
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Be glad that I put the major parts of the guide in spoilers, so that it's easy to read one section and ignore the other when done.
There was no need for this paragraph, so it makes it seems as though you've only added it to brag. Point Taken
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If you are a first-time trial author, it’s highly recommended you do NOT make a very complex case; keep it simple, and show US that you have learned the BASICS OF THE EDITOR. That impresses us more than a great idea, since execution is everything.
As a first-time author, do a TRIAL-ONLY case because it is HIGHLY recommended. Those are easier to do than investigations.
People don't like being told what to do (especially when someone has no implied power over them). Give them freedom and don't force them to do it; just advise them. People want to have a go. It's OK if they mess up on their first trial, and it would be very rude to expect them to do it perfectly.
I disagree. Quite a few of us are more impressed by a well-presented simple 1st trial than a poorly executed complex 1st trial. It's more entertaining when it's more simple.
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Consider canon events. Creating canon discontinuity is a huge deal.
Corollary to above: If the trial is AU, you need to explain the canon discontinuity.
Most members that are new to the scene won't know what you mean by "cannon" and "AU" and whatnot. I assume that someone familiar to Ace Attorney would be familiar with the terms "canon" and "AU" (though admittedly, I should have put "alternate universe.)
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Avoid improvising as much as possible. You will have more success if you have planned your trial from the start.
This I disagree with. Let people learn their own way how much they should improvise. I do a lot of improvising in mine. The next time I edit this guide, I should explain why it's a bad idea to rely on improvisation.
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First things first, familiarize yourself with the Editor. If you don’t know how to use the editor, your trial will look like crap. That, in turn, will make it hard to enjoy the trial in the first place.
It's best not use a negative sentence in this case, because it creates bad pragmatics again. Change it to a positive sentence, such as: "If you do learn how to use the Editor, your trial will look great!" True, True.
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Easiest way to do that is to change “editeur” to “jeu.” When going back to fix from playtesting, “jeu” to “editeur.”
But where? You need to explain that you're referring to the URL of the trial. Good point.
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As a 1st-timer, we HIGHLY suggest that you don’t do investigations, as they are harder to develop in the editor. Focus on JUST doing a trial-only case.
Let people have a go, if they want. If they fail, let them fail and learn from it. I disagree. First case/trials that are investigation-heavy tend to go nowhere.
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Try getting some progress done before you think about collaborating with someone (and should be someone who has experience with the editor as well)
No it shouldn't. It should be a friend. (Well... usually, anyway.) Usually. heh
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A good first trial should be a trial-only case that lasts around 1000-2000 frames TOTAL. Anything less than 1000 frames (including game over sequences) tends to fall on the short side. If you do this correctly, you should be able to fit around 4-8 cross examination blocks in there.
Let's not scare people. It's fine if first trials are a bit short. Instead, maybe you should recommend a minimum of 600 frames, but point out that it would be better to have at least 1000+. I disagree. I've taken a survey based on the sample population, and most of them agree that 1000 frames is the minimum. Though IIRC, I remember playing a case that was less than 1000 frames by DEFINITELY felt more than 1000 frame. As long as it feels like the right amount, that is.
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Don’t make an idea, and suddenly make a thread on it. It looks bad on your part. You as an author will never be taken seriously (especially if you decide to make a couple of more threads with “newer” ideas and zero progress.)
This point is also quite off-putting. It would be better to say "Wait until you've finished a bit of the first chapter of your trial before you showcase it." Actually, I should have made it clear that if you shouldn't have more than 2 projects going on at the same time (meaning 2 major projects.) I have to reword that one, since I meant that to be for people who are on too many projects at once, something I KNOW too well... -_-;;;
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Avoid Prequel series if possible. It’s harder to write for Mia Fey or Marvin Grossberg, since there’s very few precedents to base it on.
I disagree with this and I think you should remove it. If people want to write about these characters and let us discover more about them, let them. Do you realize how much sh*t I have to go through to make my Mia Fey series a success? I'm doing quite a few people a favor by advising that they don't do this as a first attempt at the editor. No doubt that I support Mia Fey projects. It's just that when you think about it, it's MUCH HARDER to write for them in general. PW and AJ cases/series are easier to write for, when you think about it.
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My featured series: Mia Fey: Ace Spirit Attorney Credits to Tap for this awesome logo! Case: 1FEATURED!★ | 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | On Hiatus, transferring to PyWright
Mon May 02, 2011 4:21 pm
Bad Player
Joined: Wed May 20, 2009 10:53 pm Posts: 5382 Location: Under a bridge
Gender: Male
Spoken languages: American
Perhaps you two could compromise by putting in "personally"? (ex. "I personally HIGHLY recommend doing trial-only for your first case" "In my opinion, you shouldn't start out with a Mia Fey or Marvin Grossberg case" etc)
Spoiler : also, just to be a math snob :
the AAO community isn't really big enough to do statistical analysis with
Well, I might recommend it, but this guide was written with the help of a couple of users. I'm going to have to edit this guide to give it more of a plural tone anyway.
_________________
My featured series: Mia Fey: Ace Spirit Attorney Credits to Tap for this awesome logo! Case: 1FEATURED!★ | 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | On Hiatus, transferring to PyWright
Mon May 02, 2011 4:38 pm
Bad Player
Joined: Wed May 20, 2009 10:53 pm Posts: 5382 Location: Under a bridge
Gender: Male
Spoken languages: American
Whatever, you get what I mean. Make it feel more "personal" and less "factual"
(instead of giving it a plural tone, you could just add a little note saying "Whenever I say 'I,' I actually mean myself and the other people who helped write the guide ")
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I'll give a more detailed explanation below (sorry, if this sounds rude):
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