Gyakuten Saiban Blog Entry 2: The Dancing Meeting Room (2001)

Title: The Dancing Meeting Room / 「会議は踊る」
Source: Gyakuten Saiban official site (down)

Summary: In the second blog post for the original Gyakuten Saiban (Ace Attorney 1 GBA), director Takumi Shū talks about the very first period in the development process of the game, when the small team of seven had gathered for the first time and they went through Takumi's proposal together. As we learn in the course of the developer's blog, Takumi's proposal definitely wasn't without its faults, so it was not wonder that the team was kinda confused about what the director was trying to create.

The Dancing Meeting Room

It took about a week to complete the first proposal. 2000, September 1. The whole team had gathered for their first meeting. It was a very small team, just seven including myself. We had never met before, so we were all a bit nervous. I felt confident about the proposal, but to summarize the reactions of the team in one word…: Tragedy.

“Eh? Weren’t we going to make a detective game?”

“We might as well make this into a law office simulator…”

“I’d rather play a judge than a defense attorney, pal!”

“I think it’d be better if the protagonist was a hamster!”

It was a total chaos.

Was it a bad idea to use the courtroom as the theme, something few of us really knew? This team of only seven was about to fall apart on the first day! I was at my wit’s end. …We needed to overcome this crisis and become one as a team…!

So I glanced out of the window, and saw the courthouse. There is actually a district courthouse here, just ten minutes away by bicycle away from Capcom. It’s true.

“That’s it! Let’s go attend a trial all together, so we can get to know each other better!”

This plan was executed immediately. Some took snacks with the, some had a sketchbook under their arms… it was a bit indecent.

The courthouse. The conclusion of the trip was that it was a wonderland that surpassed my imagination. I’ll report on that in my next column.