I've had a few people send me PMs, asking me for advice on how to get started on a fan game. Here's something I came up with. Hopefully it can help some of you out there.
1) Think of a general idea for a case. It can be an overall theme, like the Internet; or maybe just a specific plot twist you want to happen, like a major character dying; or it can be something else. It might be the actual murder method or it might be the end result. Just get some sort of idea to build the rest of your case around.
2) Make an outline for the case. Right now it should just be a general outline of what you want to happen and in what order. You don't need all the details quite yet. Also, you should think up your whole cast in this stage. (Maybe you already have thought of characters you want. Now figure out how to work them into the story).
Note: If your case is more than one day, you don’t need to have every character show up on every day. There's lots of instances in the canon series where important characters aren't introduced until the final day. Try only having scenes where stuff actually happens. It's okay to have character development, but too much filler/padding can get annoying. If a character has no new information to add to the plot, just give an excuse for them to not be around. For this same reason, avoid using too many canon characters for cameos. Nobody likes seeing people show up just to say hi and then leave (I’m looking at you, Ema from AAI).
3) Give more details to your outline. What evidence do you find, when and where? What are the background stories for each character? What are all their motivations? What contradictions are in the testimonies?
4) Write a rough draft. This will be every piece of dialogue that the player can see. If you find that your plot deviates from the outline as you write it… That’s okay! Just make sure everything fits together.
5) Have somebody proofread your script. The best proofreaders will tell you every little thing you did wrong (proofreading is pointless if all they do is kiss your ass). This is the stage where you’ll want to fix all those little plotholes you probably wouldn’t notice by yourself (and there WILL be some).
6) Edit your script as advised by your proofreader. Depending on circumstances, you may or may not have to change everything. But don’t just ignore everything s/he told you, otherwise there wasn’t any reason to have it proofread in the first place. It's very easy (and perfectly okay) to be prideful of your work, but that doesn't mean that it's flawless.
7) Start on the artwork. Character sprites, evidence, backgrounds, interface… everything. I’d actually put priority on backgrounds and evidence first, because you can beta-test a game without all the character sprites – just use temporary stand-ins with canon characters.
7a) If this is your first time working with art, you might want to spend some time practicing making it. There are lots of art tutorials out there to learn from.
7b) If you don’t think you’ll be able to make art yourself to the standard you want, get somebody else to do it. However, know that it can be difficult to find good artists who are willing to do it for free. If you have enough money, it might be worth it to hire people to make sprites or backgrounds. There are plenty of artists on Deviantart looking for work. If you don’t have the money, you might have to beg on the Court-records forums. Alternately, there are plenty of already made sprites that people have made specifically for the purpose of others using them in fangames. Check on the C-R or Ace Attorney Online sprite boards and you just might find something that works for you.
8) Gather all the music, voice clips, and SFX you’ll need. Use Audacity if you need to edit or loop the files.
9) Put everything into whatever casemaker you’re using. Convert the script you wrote into coding.
10) Play through the case once. This first time through, you should put in all line breaks, and fix any major bugs you run across.
11) Test it a second time, fixing any errors you either caused or overlooked the first time.
12) If you need a third or fourth time, do it again. It’s always good to be thorough.
13) Send the game to your beta-testers. While you’re waiting for them, try adding some more updates in or improving the artwork that’s already there. Don’t just spend this time twiddling your thumbs… Actually do something to make the game better!
It’s okay to give your testers a deadline, but give them plenty of time. We all have lives outside of the Ace Attorney fandom, after all. I, personally, don’t set deadlines at all (most testers will still get back to you in a pretty timely manner, even without a deadline).
There’s a lot of good testers out there, but as a general rule, if somebody has worked on their own case before, they’ll probably give pretty good advice on how to improve your game, because they know what kind of mistakes to look for.
14) Once your beta-testers have responded, fix any problems that they ran across. Play through the game a final time, and fix the mistakes they found. I usually like to have 3-4 testers, because that gives you a good range of opinions, but it's also not so many that the proverbial cooks will spoil the broth.
PAY ATTENTION TO THEIR CRITICISM!!!
If your testers are upset about something, I guarantee that your players will be as well.
That being said… You aren’t required to make every single change that they mention. This is your game, not theirs. If you think changing something would alter the game too much from your vision, don’t do it. However, also keep in mind that major changes might be for the better. In Turnabout on the Web and Turnabout Consequences, one of my testers (the same guy both times) recommended that I add a few scenes that weren’t in the original scripts. These new scenes ended up being some of the best parts in those cases and really helped add to the emotional impact.
15) Release the case. Any file sharing site will do.
I just hope there is a BOATLOAD of evidence to make it harder... (So much evidence... dang you Turnabout Ablaze!!!!)
