The very first thing I decided for this case, before anything else, was the gameplay. This might seem fairly obvious based on some of my previous messages or how I marketed the case, but what you might not know is how long I've had the idea for Logic Lines in my head. It was originally conceived for a Ren'Py project I've had on the backburner since May of 2021. The specifics of it aren't really important and I definitely don't have the time to get into it here, but all you need to know is that it had a series of murder mysteries like Ace Attorney, and I wanted a way to differentiate the gameplay of solving those mysteries from other, similar series. So, inspired by GAA's summation examinations and YTTD's "conflict," I came up with the idea of a mechanic where you would draw lines between a bunch of different people's statements in discussion. At first there were just connections and contradictions, but later on I also added cause&effect. But as you might notice, that's quite different from the final product in SF. Yes, this mechanic evolved from a statement-focus to a scene-focus, with evidence and statements on the... ahem. Sidelines. With this scene-focus, an all-investigation case was decided on. This was mostly a result of technical limitation. I didn't know how to have that many statements on screen at once while still fitting into the 256x192 pixel DS screen. You might've noticed that in the Logic Line Deduction near the end of the case, I was only able to fit four relevant pieces of information on the bottom screen. That is literally the maximum amount that can physically fit in that space without some lines overlapping some information. And if I wanted as many statements as I imagined for the Ren'Py rendition of the mechanic, while also somehow making it clear which statement was which... It would be quite difficult, to say the least. Of course it would be easy enough to do functionally the same thing by storing statements to use against other statements, but the whole idea behind Logic Lines is having those physical lines on the screen as visual shorthand for deductions, which that would remove. So instead I pivoted, and made the Logic Lines you all know. Honestly, I like how it turned out, and might implement it back into that Ren'Py project. Funny how things work out...
You may be wondering how I programmed said Logic Lines. I didn't. Well, that's not true, obviously I programmed it or you wouldn't have played it, but the idea I'm trying to get across is programming was very haphazard at first. In the first rebuttal, when I was still getting my bearings, I use a totally different, unrefined system compared to what I use everywhere else. As for that everywhere else, there are 5 main variables that matter. CN, CT, CE, EA and EB. The first three I could've simplified into a single variable, but didn't, because frankly I didn't know what I was doing at first, but hey, it stuck. As you might be able to guess, CN, CT, and CE refer to connection, contradiction, and cause&effect. Their value is set to 1 or 0 depending on which line you use. EA and EB are the first and second "nodes" of the line, set to various values depending on what that "node" is, from something at the scene (say, the box in Kyla's rebuttal) to the statement button. Depending on the value of these five variables after both nodes are clicked on, it redirects to the right frame to draw the line, and if you click confirm those variables are also used to determine whether your answer was right. Clear sets all those variables to zero and erases every possible line, as does back. The rest, I think, is easy enough to figure out. It's a bit crude, but it works. It is VERY tedious, though, both to code and make assets for. Oh well.
Another interesting thing about this case is its open-endedness. The biggest example of this of course being that you can tackle Ivy's and Kyla's testimonies in either order. Surprisingly, this didn't actually take that much effort to pull off besides a bit of variable shenanigans. As some of you noticed, there is some special dialogue depending on your order, but not much. I decided on this open-endedness mainly just because I could, and I thought it would be cool. I had to work the narrative around this fact a little bit, but by just having Kyla's testimony mainly relate to the buried treasure subplot, it wasn't too bad.
Enough about gameplay. Let's talk about that story. The first thing I came up with was actually the intro cutscene. I decided that graph theory would be an apt comparison to get the player used to logic lines, and then I came up with the idea that the whole thing was a lecture, and the whole university theme built itself from there. Ultimately I'm glad that happened, because it meant that not only did this case have altered canon characters, it also had an altered canon setting, and this Ivy U. I think takes on a whole different life than its canon counterpart. It's small and terribly built, for one. And... there's no upsides. Amazing! But that's obviously the point.
As for the actual murder plot itself, the pulley system was decided fairly early on, and I also wanted Kyla and Reckor to be getting up to something sneaky in the background, which I eventually tied back into the main murder plot. What took the longest to decide was pretty much everything you deduce in Trey's rebuttal. I wanted there to be some kind of trick to how he escaped the campus building without being seen, and I considered a bunch of different options, but ultimately went with the fairly simple solution of the cushions. I almost went with a trampoline instead at one point, but... I also wanted to tie back into the treasure, and it wouldn't make sense for Ivy U.'s founder to have something modern like that. Other than that, though, strangely, I don't have much to talk about with regards to story. Probably because it gets overshadowed so much by the characters, which were the real meat and potatoes of this case in my opinion.
The story of this case is inseparable from the three altered canon characters: Miles, Manfriede, and France. Though the first thing I came up with was the intro cutscene, the second thing I came up with was that I wanted wildly different dynamics between the von Karmas, which in my mind includes Miles. That's honestly the biggest thing about this case. Manfriede, mellowed down from being a teacher, connects much easier with Miles and has a more wholesome mentor-student relationship with him than in canon. The same is also true of Manfriede and France, although you don't get to see much of it on-screen, and France still got a little bit of the cranky perfectionist Manfriede we know. Hot tip, if you haven't, present Manfriede's profile to France in Miles' dorm. Neither Miles nor France are groomed to perfection like in canon, and that allows for Miles to be a bit more awkward and France to show her emotions. Though this was a Takumi-Verse and not a butterfly effect, I still wanted a reason for all the character changes I made to those three, and in a way most of it can be traced back to Manfriede becoming a teacher. Miles and France also have what is probably the best dynamic in the case. Fury compared it to a buddy cop-type relationship, which I think is very much true at parts, but I also think they bring out each other's best selves. Miles calms France down when necessary and teaches her (ironically) the value of teaching, while France helps Miles build confidence and become a real investigator. Their arcs are inherently intertwined, and neither would work without the other. I have a lot more thoughts about the individual characters in this case, which I will list now:
Miles, as Samallama pointed out, is a fairly standard AA protagonist. Socially awkward yet snarky, I think he retains a lot of the classic Edgeworth charm that makes him so good in canon, though without any of the actual charisma. He has no rizz and he's not supposed to. He has trouble saying no to people, or really speaking his mind much at all, bar a few important moments like volunteering to investigate Manfriede's death. This can become a bit of a problem when, say, France's hotheadedness rears its ugly mug and she does something she's not supposed to, like punch Trey in the face. Because of this, he forgives her, even though what she just did is a serious offense and she knows it. Some of this anxiousness manifests in his arc with learning to live with the consequences of the law. For someone new to detection, I like this arc as a setup for a Miles we can presume becomes much more competent after the events of the case. Miles definitely isn't the most flashy character in the cast, but he has his good moments and he enables a lot of excellent dynamics, like him and France, and him and Kyla.
France is my favourite character in the case. Obviously her dynamic with Miles is peak, but I also really like a lot of the comedy she enables by just being her dramatically serious self. "You know what you get for ending an innocent man's life? Karma." Is peak cheesiness (to paraphrase drvonkitty) and she relishes every syllable she says of it. I get theatre kid vibes from her. But the comedy takes a backseat to her character arc. She begins the story redirecting her sadness and anger at her father's death towards catching the killer, with some of that leaking out occasionally, until she finally comes face-to-face with Trey. The anticipation swells within her, building and building until he reveals his motive for murder, which she deems as pathetic and all the rage spills out of her all at once. So she punches him. This is the emotional peak of the story but also clearly France's lowest point. And she realises this, so she decides to give up her badge. A detective shouldn't be so emotionally volatile. It's dangerous. But what she didn't realise is what she's built up to that point. Albeit unintentionally, she's tutored Miles into a brand new, more confident person. So she doesn't give up detection entirely, instead she takes up her father's mantle of teacher to Miles.
Manfriede is a subversion of the canon Manfred. While Manfred is mean and vindictive, Manfriede is kind and helpful. It may seem like it doesn't go much deeper than that, but what I really like about Manfriede isn't what's different, it's what's the same. He's still a rampant perfectionist, and holds himself and his pupils to the highest possible standards. The only thing is, he's realised that some standards are impossible to achieve, and thus he seeks perfection on an individual level rather than the absolute peak performance. Most of this is said simply in the first library scene, but I still think it's effective. Effective enough that other students like Kyla and even Trey truly grieve his passing.
Kyla. What can I say about haha funny lesbian allegations girl. She's awesome, that should be immediately obvious the moment you meet her. She definitely got the best and most consistently good optional present and examine conversations out of everyone, which is probably because her personality is just so strong. She somehow manages to out-presence France of all people, which is a feat and a half. She's not all goofs and gaffes, though, as being forced to betray Miles truly cut her deeply. Luckily she's able to mend that, and all is well. But... let's be real. She's mostly just goofs and gaffes.
Trey is the character most closely tied to the themes of the story, which is why I've avoided talking about those until this point. His crippling paranoia about the future led him to inadvertently murder Manfriede and ruin everything for himself. He couldn't accept that he'd have to rely on luck to get anywhere in basketball, and succeeding academically didn't exactly appeal to him either, but by killing him he locked himself out of both of those options. But, as Reckor says, he doesn't need a perfect future, he just needs a future. So what if it happens to be a, eh... sidelined future... I'm done. I was inspired by my own life with this one. I often tell myself I need to, say, get my book published before a certain age or it's not impressive. Or I need to have perfect grades because that's what I've had for so long so it would suck to ruin that streak. And I wanted to channel some of that perfectionist struggle into this case. I do try to tell myself the same things Reckor tells Trey in the post-credits scene. Does it work? Eh... But that's not the point. In a way, Trey can be considered a foil to both Manfriede and France. Trey and Manfriede are both perfectionists, but one gets crippling anxiety from that ("What if my life doesn't turn out perfectly") and one of them uses it to help himself and others improve. Trey and France are both extremely volatile, but in very different ways. One is very self-deprecating in that volatility ("Stupid! I'm so stupid!") while the other directs it outward. All in all, I relate very strongly to Trey (aside from jock sports stuff ofc) and I like him a lot for that. In theory he's my second favourite, but Kyla is just too good so he's actually my third.
Ivy isn't really all that important. She needs to be here, of course, to witness the weird stuff going on in the library, but she's not all that impactful to the story otherwise. I think she's pretty funny at times, but that's about it. I'm at least glad I was able to tie her in to the themes somehow, with that post-credits scene.
Reckor is an interesting one. They're not the best morally, asking students to steal for them and just being generally unscrupulous, but I do love me some selfish pricks every now and then. Their strongest dynamics are technically with Kyla and Trey, but the former isn't explored much as the two aren't really on-screen together at all, and the latter... Well, the latter's actually pretty good, but Trey and Reckor aren't really two characters you'd expect to have a dynamic at all. Before the post-credits scene, they barely know each other. Overall I think they have some good character moments and some good comedic moments. Their legally-mandated-AA-witness-gimmick required a fair bit of research though...
Presentation-wise, I'm quite happy with what I pulled off here. There's a lot of obvious improvements compared to my last case, like word wrapping, shakes and fades, etc., but my favourite part has to be the CGs. I was actually planning on making a few more, but I ran out of time and ultimately I don't think they would've been that necessary anyway. I don't draw very often, so getting the opportunity to do so in this case was a blast. I tried some new things, and not all of it worked out, but all-in-all I think they're the easiest thing I can point to and go "This. This is what I'm really proud of." Music choices generally just came from my favourite games. I may have a small hyperfixation on the FF XIII trilogy and/or Octopath Traveler. Maybe slightly. But also, Square Enix just make amazing songs so it's no wonder I went for them. Also, fun fact, I started a new Tomodachi Life island during the comp that now has 70 islanders. Playing on that save file is how I discovered what I would later use as Ivy's theme.
This case, as I've said before, is a proof-of-concept. Mainly for logic lines, but also for my mystery projects as a whole. I think learning that I'm able to make something like this in 3 months was very helpful for me to schedule any potential future stuff. I don't plan on using Logic Lines in an AAO case again, at least for a little while. I really appreciate everyone who wanted to see more! But it's just really taxing and I'd love to just be able to work on a normal case next time. I need some downtime after something of this magnitude. But overall I had a ton of fun working on this and it's amazing seeing all the positive reactions to this case! There are a couple smaller edits I'll release sometime after the comp deadline, but after that I think I'll lay this project to rest and work on the rest. It's been a blast!