Kickstarter lifts off for Aviary Attorney

Written by Pascal Tekaia — December 19, 2014 at 23:31

For fans of Capcom’s Phoenix Wright courtroom dramas, developer Sketchy Logic hopes to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that their forthcoming legal adventure Aviary Attorney will perfectly fit the bill. The current Kickstarter campaign offers testimony of a game crafted very much in the vein of the well-known litigation series that clearly inspired it, yet taking a unique approach to its setting, characters, and art style.

Featuring an all-animal cast, Aviary Attorney puts players in control of Jayjay Falcon, a legal eagle with a thirst for justice. Jayjay must investigate a total of four cases throughout the game (with the promise of additional cases offered as crowdfunding stretch goals), requiring him to visit relevant locations around the city to gather evidence, then argue his case in court by interrogating witnesses and providing the evidence at appropriate times to back up or refute their testimonies. The aviary attorney, however, is realistically fallible – a time limit is set for the investigative parts of the game, forcing players to think on their feet or risk showing up underprepared for court. Likewise, cases can be either won or lost; the game will continue either way, but with darker repercussions after a loss.

Aviary Attorney is set in 1800s Paris, and the designers have very much kept the game’s presentation in keeping with its setting. Character designs are directly lifted from (or in some cases inspired by) the works of French caricaturist J.J. Grandville from his book The Public and Private Life of Animals, giving them a distinct sepia-toned pencil-sketch flair, though animated. The soundtrack is likewise appropriate for the era, consisting of pieces by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. With these elements in place, Paris’s atmosphere should feel suitably genuine as a result.

The Kickstarter campaign is very close to its initial goal of £7,000, which it must reach before its January 8th deadline. Mac or Windows copies of the game, which could be available as early as June 2015, can be secured with pledges starting at £7. In the meantime, Sketchy Logic has set up a developer blog where you can learn more about Aviary Attorney, and you can also support the game on Steam Greenlight.