So, on 9/22, I found this $20 on the ground and it made my day epically awesome. Fun stuff really, school finished and was walking out of class and that's when I saw money on the floor and I bet myself that it was a $20 bill. I was right and I am $20 richer. Woot.

I knew when I first started right off the bat that I would have to write out the script for Episode 1 before announcing this game. At the time I didn't think about what the name for the episode would be, but for sure, I knew what the name for the game would be. Let me explain how and why I chose the name that is now today.



Ace Attorneys: Rising Justice Logo
Ace Attorneys does seem to refer to Apollo and Phoenix. Yes, the way they point each other (imagine like cross swords) in the logo seems to refer that. Although the name also takes on a larger scale and refers to other lawyers as well. Part of the concept is being the next GS5 and the other is being the ending of the Ace Attorney series. So, if I intend to make a finisher, why not bring some characters back? It has been 8 years since Trials and Tribulations and that allows me to give room for further character development for some returning characters. If you have paid attention to the updates, I did say that it is not a 1:1 ratio as they were seen in Trials and Tribulations. 8 years have passed and there had to be some change, no matter how subtle. As an aspiring writer (and I always refer myself aspiring no matter what), it is a good thing to bring questions such as how and why did a character change? What caused them to be this? It brings wonder as to why something happen and maybe even bring curiosity as to what happen during the 8 years. Franziska is one of those characters.

Now, the Rising Justice part can be explained into two parts. The word "Rising" refers to Phoenix (metaphorically and symbolically) and also refers to his return as a lawyer (for whatever purpose). The word "Justice," I believe is self-explanatory and refers to Apollo which would further relate to the cross pointing of the two. Now think why Rising and Justice are together? And now what does it refer then? Do you see the potential symbolic/metaphoric meaning the two words now mean? Do you see how thoroughly I think in making something?

Now, Apollo Justice is the "dominant" protagonist of my fangame but Phoenix's relevance is considerably important in the development of the game. I am sure you have played Trials and Tribulations, and seen its 3(Phoenix)-2(Mia) format. My game may follow that and that may suggest how the story will work.



Writing and choosing a casemaker
When I write, I use Microsoft Word 2007 or even better for writing things like plays or movies, http://celtx.com/. I will release the script one week after the game itself and it will be in .celtx format.

Writing took me a week to do, I started out rough. By then, I would announce the game on 8/6/2010. I thought to myself, I have three choices: AAO, PyWright, and PWLib. I love AAO for the ease it brings (for everybody), there's no denying that. I like PyWright's multiplatform (Mac and Windows) compatibility and would certainly would help in gathering more people to play since it's readily available for any user of any OS. Then there is PWLib. Now, I saw some people complain about how difficult it is and then after further research of it shows the saving is broken (on 1.1). But, as to why I chose it? A big reason, I chose it because it is difficult. I am a person that wants to endure and persevere and if you follow the development of the game, you would see how much the game has changed graphically. I do want to present it as a form of art and PWLib's near-perfect graphic emulation would suit that nicely. Basically, "Never give up and persevere to the end" and I would then begin to realize more about its maker (KSA_Tech) and see how he contains the same ideology which is also his reason to choose PWLib 1.2 as the beginning of the Mio series.

Now, for the writing itself. I have said before, it is rough at the start. I am constantly changing it in order to create a constant/consistent pace. Now, while I was writing, I thought to myself of how should the story play out. I decided to follow the spirit of the other games and begin as a court case. As much as I want to make it as ambitious as Turnabout Scapegoat or Substitution, it would take a while and my particular focus with Episode 1 is not about bringing awesomeness all at once, but rather create opportunity for awesomeness (for other episodes that is). I don't think of it as great on its own but rather as the beginning or slate of the entire story of the game. I have said "The smallest details are the most significant." That is very true still. Do you know how difficult it is in order to keep it seemingly simple and yet somehow blow your mind at the end? Let me state how the crime scene works. Someone shot some person in the open and the witness saw it clearly. Boring? I believe so, but I can say it's very intentional. You literally need to look at those "small" details, yes, small details is a subjective thing but I hope that you might look for them especially how relevant they are in the progression in the episode. Also another thing, these small details will truly help you understand the full aspect of the story. I am free to answer some questions if it is in my ability. If you do recognize the details, I may admit it, but you would have to know how to apply them.

As for the episode name in Whipping Turnabouts, the name is entirely intentional. Some questions.



As for (Project) Re:tracer, that is something of its own and will be discussed about when Episode 1 is released.



Graphics, Music and Videos/Trailers
I have done Photoshop for 7 years I believe. My two biggest fortes is photomanipulation and graphic web designing (not the coding itself but the graphics). I want to make this game unique as much as possible of its own accord and as you can see from some screen shots, those minor changes of the buttons has certainly changed the way the game looks. There is a new background (AAI styled background) to include with it.

As much as I want to do custom spriting for this episode, it would simply increase the time, and it's not like I dedicate my time on this game, I do this for fun. I am just good at time management, literally, I am really good in managing crunch time. For you IB students, I am sure you know what I mean, hehe. AP students, you have it easy :3. Also I haven't done spriting for at least 4 years if I remember correctly, and for certain, I have not done Ace Attorney styled sprites.

Episode 2 will for sure have custom sprites, undoubtedly.

I have done video editing since my Freshman year, so that's around 3 years. I like to keep in-sync with the music and the beat as you may have noticed will the Ace Attorneys trailer, the Episode 1 trailer, and especially the Ace Attorneys intro. I like to keep things simplistically and sometimes I am forced to keep it simplistically. I have a HP M9040N computer with a Nvidia GeForce 9800GT OC with Windows Vista 32 bit. I want to have a Quadro card, but eh, no money. So, I can't use Adobe After Effects to further enhance my videos.

The Ace Attorneys trailer, ugh, it was too long, and I really enjoyed the music from the PW: Remnants of the Past trailer but I did not want to use it simply because of not wanting to copy it, mainly music (pride issue I suppose haha). It has a brief and very vague overview of the game with some quotes that appears ingame.

Episode 1 trailer, I like the Sonic remix in there. That's pretty much it.

I spent a lot of time thinking how the Intro should be done. Since Ace Attorney series uses Latin sometimes, I remember one Latin phrase that friend has told me once. Suum Cuique, to each his own. And that follows the ideologies that I pertain to. Now, some questions.



Now for the music, to say it simplistically, I search for music of the following: Immediate Music, X-Ray Dog, Audiomachine, Two Steps from Hell, and music from other video games. Sometimes while I am writing, I would be playing a single song a hundred times to get the emotion of that particular part I am writing for a story. So, yeah, Tap you can see how I choose my music well, right? :D



How I spend my time
Here's some questions I ask myself.

Ok, are there any good distractions that can prevent me from working on this game?
Oh, wonder if I should play Left 4 Dead 2 instead?
Modern Warfare 2?

Oh, Halo Reach, maybe I should go Youtube it and watch the walkthroughs.
Oh, painting sweetness, me and my tablet.
Basketball awesomeness.
Workout.

How can I avoid working on this game (oh wait, same question)?

Oh, snap, dammit school, one time I actually want to get some work done, I get three school projects in return.
(Referring to friends) Hey guys, you wanna go out and do something fun?
Music fun.
Sleeping fun.
Eating fun.

As you can see, I spend my time wisely. I have to be efficient if I do work on the game since I spend 30 min to an hour since school started. It'll get done eventually but I want my distractions first.



Frustrations
Not everything is all pretty and colorful, you know. I have my own frustrations too. Let's break it down into two parts: advertising/recognition of this game and PWLib (because I am awesome).

Advertising/Recognition
You may see me under a new light; you may see me as a whiner. You may not agree with me, and you are free to rage at me. Believe what you may see. Either way, I am not one to hide and hey, it's a (development) diary, you want to know what I am frustrated about right during the fangame's development?

Yes, of course I do this for fun and on random times, but if I am trying to release this game, I am trying to get people to get interested in playing it, correct?

Let me say this broadly. It is a frustration for any artist to feel that their work is underappreciated. It is really and truly, a frustration. Now to be more specific, let's talk about my fangame.

Sometimes, I do feel like that, I do wish people would comment or question more in either AAO or here. And that is why probably I am making a credits/acknowledgments to those people who have. Those people really have helped motivate me to do more.

Some examples, I will put the "ARE YOU HIGH, JUSTICE?!" fanclub . Of course I will name people specifically and I am sure you know who you are.

Let me ask you a few questions.


You know what's funny, why am I not mad against PW:RotP since that could be a great example? Meh, I probably don't pay much attention to it, and I see/watch Pleading's topic quite often seeing my topic and her topic exist (from when they started) generally close. I often try to think how should I get more views, of course, I do know CR and AAO is slowing down, not surprised.

And of course, we all have all our reasons for not dedicating our time in finishing these fangames. PaperMario, university. My list of things above in how I spend my time. And so on and so forth.

And now there is AAO, why the hell does my topic have to be in General Discussion? I understand, yes, it's PWLib, but thing is, when you go to General Discussion, do you intend to see fangames? I would not think so. When I present something, I need it to be criticized or questioned like the way DeMatador has done for the purpose of further enhancing the game. But, to limit something like that, can be frustrating.

Before anyone suggests of releasing a beta or preview, I will not for Episode 1, for the purpose of effect, yes that again. I will continue to struggle on that until I release the game. Once it's Episode 2 and above, I most likely will bring previews.

Not a doubt, I am better off than many people. But, I think it's something interesting to talk about since it does relate to anyone (think of the broader aspect) and hey, give me credit for being brave for even saying this :D.

PWLib
It won't be as long as the other haha. Sheesh, I am bad (and whiny). Well, basically I have to experiment a lot and learn how things worked like the animation engine in PWLib (when I was making Wendy). Really, it's trial and error and I use YggdrasillSword's and DDRKhat's fangames as references in making my game. I am getting better at my organization and efficiency. Over 6000 lines of code already and making cross-examinations pretty fast.


Thank you for spending the time reading the Ace Attorneys: Rising Justice Development Diary. I really appreciate it and I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to say anything ;). Oh, go ahead and check the PWLib Unleashed Book Development diary.

And let me say it, OH WOW I AM SUCH A PROFESSIONALIST OMG OMG OMG OMG, and I am a good time manager. Haha, trust me, IB does that to you.

If you were looking for something on PWLib, well...

There's one thing.

Me and KSA haven't talked much about PWLib, more or less, we're talking about SW. Well, KSA does most of the talking, while I do most of the awesome listening. Good convos, really.

It's fun stuff really. It'll get done eventually.


Thank you for spending the time reading the PWLib Unleashed Development Diary. I hope you are not pissed.