Trial by Fire [Comedy][Courtroom Drama][NaNoRenO 2015]

NaNoRenO is an event where creators make a game from scratch during the month of March.
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minyan
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Trial by Fire [Comedy][Courtroom Drama][NaNoRenO 2015]

#1 Post by minyan »

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Writing: Kuiper
Art: Minyan

"Trial by Fire" is a short visual novel based on a mock trial case from 2009, "State v. Lane." The structure and gameplay is inspired by Capcom's Ace Attorney series, featuring a mix of courtroom drama and lighthearted tone. The game is split into two modes: investigation sequences where the player must question people and evidence, and courtroom sequences where the player must spot logical flaws and inconsistencies in the prosecution's case and expose them by presenting evidence.

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Woodville, population 12,500, is a town on the east side of Alpine Forest, a large state park. Woodville's location, coupled with its friendly small-town culture, has made it a popular tourist spot, and much of Woodville's economy is reliant on that tourism. 18 months ago, a spiritual movement called the New Believers moved into Woodville, attracting migration from across the nation.

The New Believers' practices include panhandling and begging for donations, and tourism in Woodville suffered as a result. Numerous Woodville citizens have expressed concerns over the presence of this new group. Leslie Lane, a local rapper and concerned citizen, took it upon himself to organize and lead these community members in protest against the New Believers. On July 22, Leslie Lane led a demonstration, performing several protest rap songs encouraging Woodville's citizens to oppose the invasion of the community by the New Believers.

Later that night, the community center on the New Believers' property burned down. The police discovered evidence of foul play, and Leslie Lane was arrested. Tracy has just returned to her home town of Woodville. She's fresh out of law school, but she's ready to prove her chops, and more importantly, prove Leslie's innocence.

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Tracy is a recent law school graduate. When her friend Leslie finds himself accused of wrongdoing, she decides to defend him. She's got a solid academic background, but her first real court case will really put her to the test. She's got one thing going for her: she knows her client is innocent. But it's going to take a bit of persuasion and evidence to prove that to the judge.

Clara Stone is steely-eyed prosecutor, and she's on a mission to prove one thing and one thing only: Leslie Lane is guilty.

She's got a reputation for fairness, but she might have a dirty trick or two up her sleeve.

Leslie Lane has grown up in Woodville his entire life. When members of a spiritual movement called the "New Believers" showed up and began harassing people on the street and disrupting local businesses, Leslie was upset to see the town he grew up in suffer.

After more than a year of unsuccessful attempts to persuade the New Believers to stop disrupting the community, Leslie has turned to more direct methods of advocacy. Unfortunately for Leslie, that leadership role makes him the first suspect when the New Believers' community center is burned down on the night of his protest.

Christina "Chris" Chen is Leslie's childhood friend and former right-hand man, but in the months leading up to the trial, they've been at odds. Chris agrees with Leslie's ideas about the New Believers, but disapproves of his methods, and recently she's become a rival, both in music and advocacy.

H.H. Hingel is the leader of the New Believers, a spiritual movement which has began in Woodville 18 months ago. H.H. claims that people must be cleansed and purified to reach a state of perfect harmony. Those who join his group are required to donate their material possessions to the group and cast off their old life, adopting the New Believers' minimalist garb.

The New Believers have been gaining traction, but recently some Woodville community members have begun protesting their presence, and H.H. Hingel is none too happy about that.

Riley Roberts is a former member of the New Believers, but he recently left the group due to certain "irreconcilable differences." As someone who's seen the organization from the inside out, Riley has a certain admiration for Leslie's opposition to the group.

During his time in the New Believers, Riley did his best to keep his head down and stay in line, but he has little fondness for H.H. Hingel and his strict ways.

Dana Daniels has little fondness for punks like Leslie, and he got a bit of smug satisfaction finally getting to cuff Leslie on suspicion of wrongdoing on the night of the fire. That being said, Officer
Daniels' greatest commitment is to catching wrongdoers, and he's been a police officer long enough to know that wrongdoers come in all shapes and sizes.

Kelly King is a forensics expert with a background in chemistry. Kelly has little interest in the case itself. What she does know is this: a fire happened, and it appears that some kind of chemical accelerant was involved. Her only priority is uncovering exactly how that fire started; the question of who started the fire is none of her concern.
Last edited by minyan on Thu Mar 26, 2015 10:16 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: Trial by Fire [Comedy][Courtroom Drama][NaNoRenO 2015]

#2 Post by Godline »

Looks somewhat educational. ^^
I'll be looking forward to this.

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minyan
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Re: Trial by Fire [Comedy][Courtroom Drama][NaNoRenO 2015]

#3 Post by minyan »

Godline wrote:Looks somewhat educational. ^^
I'll be looking forward to this.
Hey thanks! And I'm looking forward to your paranormal teens project even though it's not for nano (I don't think). ^^
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Re: Trial by Fire [Comedy][Courtroom Drama][NaNoRenO 2015]

#4 Post by Kuiper »

Godline wrote:Looks somewhat educational. ^^
I'll be looking forward to this.
Thanks! I hope you enjoy the finished product once it's released.

Just a fair warning, I hope you don't go in expecting something too educational. I'm writing the story as a somewhat cartoonish caricature of the actual court systems, inspired heavily by the portrayal of the Japanese court system from Phoenix Wright, which itself is a bit of a satire. Incidentally, the exaggeration in the Ace Attorney games isn't actually too heavy, here's an interesting piece from the Escapist on that topic: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/article ... -Objection

The main places that the fictional courtroom I'm writing departs from reality are the standards for admission of evidence, and the legal burden of proof. The only way to "win" the game is to prove the innocence of your client (it's not enough just to introduce reasonable doubt), whereas in a real court, the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

That being said, part of what got me interested in adapting this story is my own experience with mock trial when I was in school (the case this visual novel is adapted from is taken from one of the years I competed), and participating in mock trial did teach me a few things about the actual practice of law. Some of that will (hopefully) be reflected in the visual novel. In particular, the case as I'm writing it deals a bit with freedom of speech in the context of a protest and what constitutes "protected speech" versus inciting a riot. Also, one of the reasons I picked this case in particular is because it does have a bit of nuance to it--I specifically wanted to avoid tackling something like a murder mystery, since the potential for melodrama there seemed a bit too high.

The story is written first and foremost with entertainment in mind, not factual accuracy. But a few educational moments might seep in. No guarantees, though. :)

I am trying to stay as factual as possible when it comes to things like explaining how chemical fires start, since some of the "logic puzzles" that the player needs to solve will actually be based around trying to figure out how the fire started. (Don't worry, you don't need a science background to figure them out--there's an expert witness with a chemistry background to help give you the information you need. It's just up to you to connect the dots.)
Necrobarista - serve coffee to the living and the dead
Idol Manager - experience the glamour and dangers of the pop idol industry
Cursed Lands - a mix of high fantasy and gothic horror

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