Development update & well wishes!
Greetings Counselors,
Today we would like to give you a quick update on what we have been up to since our last post but most of all wish you a happy new year, especially success, happiness and health in 2023!
Over the past year Jury Trial has grown so much that we’re nearly feature complete. Beside working on sound and Steam integration, we’ll now enter a phase of polishing and adding additional motions, event chains and other items to enrich the cases. Our workload will shift from mechanics and systems to content production.
As you might know, we’ve orientated the development process along the flow of the game. We’ve started with the prerequisites followed by the Pre-Trial and Trial Phase. At the end of our last post, we announced the beginning of the verdict phase which is about to be completed. If you missed the last updates or like to revisit them, here’s and here’s the link.
Just like last time, we can’t explain every mechanic and system in detail without going beyond the scope of this post. We’ll do that in due time but if you have questions, feel free to leave a reply on this post, use the Steam boards or have a chat with us over on discord. So without further ado, here are the highlights of what has been added to the game and is fully utilizable in the Case Editor:
We hope that this overview gives you an idea of what Jury Trial is going to offer. We couldn’t put every change or last detail into the list. But as we’ve said before, if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask, we’re always glad to be of assistance.
Last but not least, we’d like to thank you for your support, questions and encouragement over the last year. It really helps us to tackle this tremendous project and we hope that you will continue to do so. Thank you.
Cheers to 2023!
Today we would like to give you a quick update on what we have been up to since our last post but most of all wish you a happy new year, especially success, happiness and health in 2023!
Over the past year Jury Trial has grown so much that we’re nearly feature complete. Beside working on sound and Steam integration, we’ll now enter a phase of polishing and adding additional motions, event chains and other items to enrich the cases. Our workload will shift from mechanics and systems to content production.
As you might know, we’ve orientated the development process along the flow of the game. We’ve started with the prerequisites followed by the Pre-Trial and Trial Phase. At the end of our last post, we announced the beginning of the verdict phase which is about to be completed. If you missed the last updates or like to revisit them, here’s and here’s the link.
Just like last time, we can’t explain every mechanic and system in detail without going beyond the scope of this post. We’ll do that in due time but if you have questions, feel free to leave a reply on this post, use the Steam boards or have a chat with us over on discord. So without further ado, here are the highlights of what has been added to the game and is fully utilizable in the Case Editor:
- dismiss the judge from the case and create an alternative
- create fully customizable opening and closing statements for the player and NPC opponent
- the date for the closing arguments is determined dynamically in case the trial is prolonged / delayed
- added the “written argument” (before the Jury goes into deliberation the player hands in a written argument. In this document scene the player creates arguments by choosing a law / tactic and facts of the case. If the arguments line up with the solution of the case creator, the player gains some bonus points with the jurors)
- create pro and contra conviction arguments and tactics including compulsory and supporting arguments. The arguments will be shown on the legal option tab to guide the player and give him possible routes for the case
- create fully customizable (multiple) indictments including the possibility to put them into a sequence (e.g. murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter. The jurors will cast their vote according to the sequence until they reach a guilty verdict or until the defendant was declared not guilty on all counts)
- determine the necessary guilty votes for each indictment (unanimous, three-quarter, majority and quorum (case creator decides how many guilty votes it takes to convict))
- created a link between dialogue and indictments. It’s now possible to put points on answers that modify the jurors opinion for a certain indictment
- created a link between events and indictments. It’s now possible to manipulate the opinions of the jurors through events (all jurors flat, specific groups (e.g. an age group / jurors of a specific political belief etc.) or a specific juror))
- introduced a matching value between all protagonists (the matching value determines the opinion of a person to another person by matching all traits (e.g. rich vs poor, political left vs political right) and creates a value. This value is used in different ways e.g. the initial value for each indictment (matching value between defendant and each juror. The similar both persons are the lower is the chance of conviction))
- introduced a credibility mechanic for witnesses and experts (matching value between witness vs each juror)
- created seven different types of additional traits that manipulate the opinion of the jurors in three categories : chance to convict points, gained through dialogue & credibility
- implemented the election of the foreperson. Both player and NPC opponent nominate a juror as foreperson. The other jurors cast their vote along the matching value
- implemented the verdict roll (chance to convict = matching value juror vs defendant modified by traits, events and dialogue). In case of a tie (6-6 in a “majority indictment”) the vote of the foreperson decides the outcome
We hope that this overview gives you an idea of what Jury Trial is going to offer. We couldn’t put every change or last detail into the list. But as we’ve said before, if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask, we’re always glad to be of assistance.
Last but not least, we’d like to thank you for your support, questions and encouragement over the last year. It really helps us to tackle this tremendous project and we hope that you will continue to do so. Thank you.
Cheers to 2023!