AA INVESTIGATIONS CROSS-PLATFORM SPRITE COMPETITION!!
Hosted by virgin artistic weakling(s) risefromtheashes and chad sprite legend SuperAj3.


Edgeworth: "Aha! Thankfully, I have a lower body
now, so I have many pockets at my disposal!"
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...So, about that Investigations game...
Most of us can agree about how good the Investigations spin-off games are overall (one bombed, one is the bomb)... but there is one key factor that remained consistently good between them: the art. As the most recent Ace Attorney games before we transitioned from pixel art to 3D models, they truly mastered the original AA style before moving on to new heights.

...We're stuck with the old stuff. Unless you're a god with timespace manipulation powers, you probably can't make your own Ace Attorney game with 3D models and all this complex stuff -- and all the AA fangame tools and materials out there are only compatible with the old games. Even the OC sprite thread, which has around 300 different sprite sets, is almost entirely composed of AA1-style attorneys and witnesses... all of which are front-facing. The Investigations games broke this pattern in a genius way -- they instead created all of their characters with side-facing sprites (specifically 3/4 view), allowing there to be multiple characters talking to each other on screen at the same time. And with longer, scrolling backgrounds, you can fit up to four characters comfortably in a scene without switching anybody out!

Our challenge here is to create the same revolution for the fandom -- to open the door to AAI fan content. Almost all of the side-facing sprites available in the OC or Canon Custom threads are either court sprites for attorneys or co-counsel poses, which almost always have an incomplete lower body, are limited in the types of poses they can make, or face the wrong angle. An attorney or their co-counsel can't make a convincing AAI character... but an AAI character can make a convincing attorney!
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The winner of this comp will receive a $20 Steam gift card (or a Steam key for a game of their choosing within that price range) and the choice of theme for the next sprite comp!
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RULES FOR ENTRY

Your entry must be an original character in the style of Ace Attorney Investigations.
We encourage submissions of all ages, genders, races, skin tones, and body types!

Your entry must contain a forward-facing mugshot (70x70 px), and at least two poses (256x192 px), with blinking and talking frames, on a transparent background.



(See SuperAj3's notes below on how to distinguish AA attorney sprites from AAI sprites.)

Your entry must be in GIF or sprite sheet format.

Your entry must be created in the next two months -- between August 26, 2023 and October 26, 2023. Formal deadline is October 26, 2023 @ 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time (PST), though we will allow a 24-hour grace period for any last-minute issues.

You may submit your entry through Court-Records PMs to rosefromtheashes and SuperAj3, or AAO PMs to risefromtheashes and SuperAj3. You may only submit one entry.

By submitting your entry, you are making it free to use (with credit) in the AAO Original Characters thread.
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How can I tell if a sprite is AAI-styled or AA attorney-styled?
SuperAj3 here!
Compared to trilogy sprites, AAI sprites:
- use more colours. AAI uses 256 colours, not 16 or 32 like the trilogy and AA4 use. Colours are also more blended in areas and overall detail is greater in outfits, hair texturing, etc.
- are larger in size (more zoomed in)
- are on a 3/4 angle. This angle is flatter and not as wide a perspective as court sprites (see below; trilogy on left, AAI on right)

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ENTRIES
[None yet -- what did you think?]
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GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!