Method in the Madness

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

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Declaro
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Re: Method in the Madness

Post by Declaro »

Waaaaaaait...did we seriously ALL use that Tear sprite?
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Gizmological
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Re: Method in the Madness

Post by Gizmological »

Apparently.

Anyways, the deadline is behind us now and we have four entries to show for it.

The Sister's Turnabout - Calvinball
The Ransomed Turnabout - clcman & SwagmaWampyr
A Scholarly Turnabout - Declaro & Tiagofvarela
Turnabout in the Two Towers - OrderOfTheNick

Congratulations on getting this far, everyone. I can appreciate that this theme might have been a fairly demanding one, but this is a good turnout nonetheless.


Now, it shouldn't take me too long to get to the final results, but I will say that I've been dealing with some unexpected family issues over the last couple of days. I won't go in to details, but my point is that, while it shouldn't really affect my availability, the next couple of weeks are going to be a bit uncertain for me and I'd ask that everyone stays patient just in case things do take a little longer than I had hoped.
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Sheika
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Re: Method in the Madness

Post by Sheika »

I think I should explain myself. First, midterm tests kicked in, and pulled my pace back. Then, after a familiar family discussion, my hours of computer usage permission were reduced to one per week. So, I'm sorry, but my entry couldn't reach far enough to be a valuable presentation. A shame...

Here's what I had planned to do:
Spoiler : TTTTT :
In Tornado To Tell The Tale, the victim (let's call him V) would be found and thought to have been killed much like Dustin Prince, that is, pushed by the defendant (D) off a "cliff" in a square -- except V had a cut left arm.
Then, much later, the atorneys would have thought that the culprit (C) would have blown a room's ceiling up with V under it. The zone of the house was about to be hit by a tornado, and when it did, the body had flown over to the square.
Then we would have learned the truth: after the ceiling had been blown up and killed V, C had carried him and the unconscious D to the square before the tornado hit, and left with D a letter saying that V --his lifelong friend-- had killed a woman, and the proof (a bite wound) was in his left arm. It said that in order to preserve V's honor, he should dispose of that evidence: then it asked D to burn the arm and the letter. Being based in Young Phoenix Wright, D did as he was told, but after returning to the scene he was caught by the police.
And then, we would have learned that C had been the one to kill the woman in question. V, the woman's concubine, had caught C redhanded and unsucessfully tried to avenge her, and the bite wound in his arm had been made by the culprit during the struggle. That means murdering V, and asking D to cut the arm, had been the cover-up for the murder of the woman.

Convulted, indeed, but that's what you had requested.
Anyways, my cheers to the people who could finish entries.
Declaro
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Re: Method in the Madness

Post by Declaro »

Hey, take all the time you need. Real life comes first. Also, I will definitely be busy over the next few days, so I at least don't mind waiting.
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Gizmological
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Re: Method in the Madness

Post by Gizmological »

Oookay, I think I'm about ready to post this. Ladies and gentlemen, the results are in. No awards ceremony here, I was feeling lazy. Nonetheless, here are my reviews. I've kept them pretty much spoiler free apart from the most fundamental aspects of each case, so give them a read if you're interested.

Turnabout in the Two Towers – OrderOfTheNick
Spoiler : :
Turnabout In The Two Towers was a great experience and one that captures the theme of the competition really well. This trial’s got a lot going for it. Fitting music, natural sounding and well written dialogue and an excellent use of graphics. However, I will admit that in its current state, this case could do with a little extra polishing, which is entirely understandable due to the time limit. The scene transitions and dialogue can occasionally be a bit clunky, and the character profiles appear in the court record seemingly at random. These are, for the most part, little nitpicks that can easily be fixed, so it’s nothing to really worry about.

Right now, the case has three stages. First off, we have a fairly long introduction. While this intro has very little interaction, it does do two important things. The first is to explore the backstory behind the setting of our case, Codophia. We learn about both the history and the current state of the fictional country’s rather volatile political situation. Second, the intro shows us the bloody chain of events that lead to the murder for which our soon-to-be defendant is accused.

The second stage is a short investigation. We’re introduced to both the defendant and the detective, as well as picking up a few bits of evidence. I do like how there are quite a few times where we get to choose our own responses to people during the investigation. They’re a lot like the choices that show up in PWAA, they don’t really change much apart from a few lines but it’s still a nice feeling to have a little bit of control during the investigation segments.

Finally, we have the trial, which is definitely the most interesting part. We’re introduced to a bunch of new characters and have quite a few testimonies to get through. As the trial continues, we slowly build up to, and then dive head first into an incredible downward spiral of madness. And it. Is. Glorious.

As it stands currently, the case cuts off a little bit after these deductions, but with so many more mysteries left to solve. I eagerly await the day that I can see where he whole thing leads. And when that day comes, I guarantee that this case will be worth your time.
A Scholarly Turnabout – Declaro & Tiagofvarela
Spoiler : :
A Scholarly Turnabout is a bit different to the rest of the entries. It’s the only one to skip the investigation and drop us straight into the courtroom lobby. One of this case’s strongest points is definitely its wide cast of hilarious and memorable characters including a mentally disturbed prosecutor, a detective incapable of showing emotion and a Judge who refuses to take anything seriously.

In its current state, the case has three cross examinations and quite a few evidence presents, almost all of which work quite nicely. I did have a small problem or two with some of the logic, but nothing particularly game breaking. Most of it could be fixed just by clarifying certain points better. And of course, being an Athena case, there’s also a mood matrix segment… sort of. It’s actually handled a bit differently to the mood matrix in DD and SoJ. Personally, I think it’s a really nice way of doing things, and I hope that more of these segments show up later in the case.

One thing that I love about Schorlarly is just how much choice it gives you. There are a quite a few options in terms of evidence for any given cross-examination or presentation, giving you multiple ways to progress. Different choices result in different reactions and can sometimes give added or extra scenes later on. Even if the overall plot stays the same, these choices at least make the case feel a lot less linear.

Right now, this entry is the one that needs polishing the most. I ran into quite a few graphical errors during my playthrough. Granted, they were all very easy mistakes to make and were most likely a result of time constraints, but they do need to be addressed.

To conclude, A Scholarly Turnabout has the foundations of a strong case and I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.
The Ransomed Turnabout – clcman & Swagmawampyr
Spoiler : :
The Ransomed Turnabout is a great experience. The best thing about this case, by far, is its range of quirky, goofy and just plain silly characters, not least of which is our protagonist, a detective by the name of Bryce Bohley. The case has no end of hilarious banter which will leave you with a constant grin on your face as you play.

The case is notable because it doesn’t involve a murder (or at least it didn’t up until the point that I played it) but instead we’re investigating a kidnapping. This is always a breath of fresh air and it will be interesting to see exactly how things play out.

Presentation-wise, there’s not a lot to complain about. One thing to note is that this case recycles a lot of assets from the games, including sprites and backgrounds. However, these are mostly used in an appropriate way so that they don’t detract from the experience. Each character fits their respective sprite, but are unique enough that they don’t just feel like a copy of the original. One other thing that was handled particularly well was the choice of music. Whether it was from Ace Attorney or some other source, it all fits the tone perfectly.

Currently, The Ransomed Turnabout cuts off just before the classic parlour scene. The gameplay so far is made up of your classic Ace Attorney style investigation. There are no actual puzzles to solve outside of a couple of times where you’re prompted to present evidence, but this is one of those cases where you’ll constantly be theorising about each piece of new evidence you find.

The case hasn’t really touched on how the crime was committed yet, but from what I’ve seen thus far, I’m eager to find out.

The Sister’s Turnabout
– Calvinball
Spoiler : :
Okay, so in all honesty, there isn’t much for me to say about The Sister’s Turnabout. In its current form, the case is made up of an intro, one short investigation scene and then a teaser of what’s to come. As a result, we don’t get to see much of the murder method involved, but the teaser seems to imply that it’s going to be a complicated one based on the cause (or should I say “causes”) of death. What I can say about this case is that everything that has been written was done well. The dialogue, music and characterisation are all flawless from the small amount that I’ve seen. As for the plot, all I can tell you is that it involves von Karma. A lot of von Karma. Probably more von Karma than you could possibly handle.

But yeah, that’s all I really have to say. The case is far from complete, but there’s enough there to convince me that it will definitely be worth playing once it is.
My Final Thoughts
Spoiler : :
This was a really tough choice. Each case has its own strengths and weaknesses and it's really difficult to judge something when you don't even know how the final product is going to turn out,
which is why I'm forcing myself to judge each case solely on what was presented to me when I played it. If each case had already been completed by the time I played them, the final results would probably have been very different.

I said I'd be judging these entries on four things. Plot, presentation, gameplay and theme relevance. The former three criteria were, for the most part, quite balanced between each entry. However,
there was really only one entry that I felt was able to convey that sense of madness that I was looking for in its current state. Which is why...
The Winner
Spoiler : :
The winning entry is Turnabout in the Two Towers by OrderOfTheNick. Congratulations!

I hope everyone enjoyed this competition. To everyone reading, make sure that you keep an eye out for each of these cases. We've got four great cases here and you'll definitely want to try them out for yourself.
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Tiagofvarela
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Re: Method in the Madness

Post by Tiagofvarela »

Congratulations to the winner(s)!

I really enjoyed this competition because it's the first time I've gotten to write for a case where there's already a mystery. Most of my cases start with a vague idea of what I want and then I wing it from there. Adding scenes and evidence and things as I see fit to cover up plot holes. Which means they are either really simple cases but contrived due to the ridiculousness of the situation or purposeful obfuscation by the smartest presence in the room.
But this one? This one is contrived by design. Oh yeah! The thing was plotted out and I'm writing these early scenes already knowing how it'll end! Which is new, for me.

Ahem, but back onto the competition. As usual, these competitions seem to produce very interesting trials, and I'm excited to eventually get to play them.
Also, wow. People can really get that far into their cases in such a short time? There's two of us and I'm pretty sure we still have a fair bit to go to complete our entry!
A Laggy Turnabout ★
A Batty Turnabout ★
A Tricky Turnabout ★
Upcoming: A Worldly Turnabout, A Courtly Turnabout, A Clumsy Turnabout, A Needy Turnabout
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OrderOfTheNick
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Re: Method in the Madness

Post by OrderOfTheNick »

Spoiler : Winner :
Oh wow, I didn't expect that! Thank you very much. To be honest, after so many dropouts from previous competitions, I never thought the first trial I actually submitted would win. I'm really glad it made such a good impression!
I've been itching to get back to finishing the case, since it's all written already. I hope it'll meet your expectations!

As for the next competition, I would love to host it. I'll just have to come up with a theme first.
Congratulations to everyone! I'd like to thank everyone involved, especially Gizmological, who came up with a theme that motivated me enough to actually submit something. My trial will not take very long to be finished, so you can expect it soon-ish. I hope I'll also get a chance to play the others, since they all sound great from the reviews. :)
I made Turnabout in the Two Towers, the winner of the Method in the Madness case competition.
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Calvinball
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Re: Method in the Madness

Post by Calvinball »

Spoiler : Winner :
Yo, many congratulations, OrderOfTheNick! And it's your first submission (if not your first comp)? Sweet! That's a real accomplishment right there. Hopefully I'll get to play your case in the future myself!

For now we can induct you into the secret order of First Entry Winners, MWAHAHA
Thanks again for hosting the competition, Gizmological. While I wouldn't go so far as to include my demo/teaser in the ranks of "four great cases," it was still fun to make. Thanks for your theme, since it motivated me to start work on an idea that's been in my head for a long time. Alas, it shall have to be put on hold for now, but getting started still feels great.
The score is still Q to 12. Shirley Homes avatar by my Invisible Friend. They're an awesome artist!
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A huge thanks to my Invisible Friend for this AMAZING Shirley Homes art!

Shirley Homes
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Connie Harper
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A big thanks to gotMLK7 for this Shirley Homes and Connie Harper art. He is an awesome artist!
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Tiagofvarela
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Re: Method in the Madness

Post by Tiagofvarela »

Calvinball wrote:
Spoiler : Winner :
For now we can induct you into the secret order of First Entry Winners, MWAHAHA
Why was I not informed of this order?
A Laggy Turnabout ★
A Batty Turnabout ★
A Tricky Turnabout ★
Upcoming: A Worldly Turnabout, A Courtly Turnabout, A Clumsy Turnabout, A Needy Turnabout
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clcman
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Re: Method in the Madness

Post by clcman »

Spoiler : :
OrderOfTheNick wrote:Oh wow, I didn't expect that! Thank you very much. To be honest, after so many dropouts from previous competitions, I never thought the first trial I actually submitted would win. I'm really glad it made such a good impression!
I've been itching to get back to finishing the case, since it's all written already. I hope it'll meet your expectations!
As a fellow member of the Secret Order of First Entry Winners, in my experience, comp winners tend to be fairly new authors or DWaM. Welcome to the SOFEW.
Meanwhile, Swagma and I shall do what we can to have at least the first part of our entry released pretty soon.
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Declaro
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Re: Method in the Madness

Post by Declaro »

Spoiler : :
Well, Congratulations, OrderoftheNick! Also, darn, I can no longer get into the Order. Shoot.
And I'm glad you enjoyed the mood matrix. It was actually written like that because I couldn't find a background, but I thought it did the job alright.
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Tiagofvarela
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Re: Method in the Madness

Post by Tiagofvarela »

Declaro wrote:And I'm glad you enjoyed the mood matrix. It was actually written like that because I couldn't find a background, but I thought it did the job alright.
I'm sure there's something to be said about art thriving due to constrictions placed upon it...
I just don't know what that something to be said is.
A Laggy Turnabout ★
A Batty Turnabout ★
A Tricky Turnabout ★
Upcoming: A Worldly Turnabout, A Courtly Turnabout, A Clumsy Turnabout, A Needy Turnabout
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Enthalpy
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Re: Method in the Madness

Post by Enthalpy »

Congratulations to our winner! In the meantime, I'll be locking up this insane asylum...
[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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