RICARDO GOLEC
<Website Editor>
I really like procrastinating. A lot. In fact, I’m doing it right now. In order to feel less bad about it, I’ve endeavoured this year to try to rationalize my procrastination by way of increasingly hare-brained schemes to “learn” by not learning. Obviously I’ve had varying degrees of success.
I’ve hit a breakthrough, and I’d like to share this epiphany with those of you still reading (and maybe with those not reading, too): video games.
“But Ricardo,” you say, barely veiling your bewilderment, “that’s not a casebook! It’s not required reading for [insert class here]!”
“Exactly”, I respond, doing a much better job at masking my own bewilderment, “that’s the point!”
But wait, don’t go yet; hear me out! I’m definitely not proposing video games as a substitute for course work (wink). And I’m definitely not proposing just any ol’ game – it needs to be a particular kind of game, one that seems to enhance your legal experience in some arguably rational way. I prefer to look at these types of games as “experience-enhancers” because, once you’re committed to not doing schoolwork, it all comes down to how you feel about your chosen method of procrastination. When you procrastinate by playing one of these games, you feel less shitty than you would if you spent the last 2 hours on tvtropes.org (sigh). And, let’s face it; we’re all going to procrastinate sooner or later, so why not feel better about it at least!
So without further ado, let’s jump into the training level: trial advocacy.
The Basics
Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney
(Capcom, 2005)
App Store Link: bit.ly/AceAttorney
Do you love exclamation marks? Are you a fan of puns? Do you love trial ad but think all that “law” and “rules” stuff gets in the way? Then stop reading and get this game now!
In Ace Attorney, you (ironically) play the role of a young lawyer on his first case – a murder trial. You’ll go through an examination-in-chief, examine all of the evidence submitted by the prosecution, and cross-examine witnesses to put it all together and impeach their testimony. It’s very exciting once you get into the zone and there are a lot of exclamation marks along the way to get you to that stage. The whole game is very tongue-in-cheek and doesn’t take itself very seriously at all, but that’s not the point anyways.
There are a number of cases to try your hand at, and each lets you visit the crime scene, intimidate opposing counsel, and use sign language to encourage your client to “lie like a dog.” It’s wholesome like that.
The highlight of each case is finding that one piece of evidence that completely contradicts what the witness said in his or her testimony, portrayed very enthusiastically with an all-caps “OBJECTION!” scrawled across the screen. It’s silly, sure, but engaging.
So, what do you learn? Nothing! Weren’t you paying attention? You probably shouldn’t repeat Mr. Wright’s courtroom antics in your trial ad small group sessions (if you do it, be sure to let me know what happens). Remember: the point with games like this isn’t to learn but to feel better about not learning. Ace Attorney gives you that feeling in spades. And hey, maybe that helps with confidence or something like that. Or not.
Advanced Cross-Examination
Devil’s Attorney
(1337 Game Design, 2012)
App Store Link: bit.ly/DevilsAttorney
Once you’ve conquered the courtroom procedure and drama of Ace Attorney, it’s time to graduate onto bigger and wilder things. Devil’s Attorney isn’t your granddaddy’s courtroom simulator.
You start the game as small-town lawyer Max McMann, with $700 to your name and a client who was selling bootlegged VHS tapes in the 21st century. As you win more and more cases, you earn money and recognition (hooray!), and even get sweet perks from some clients. I currently walk into court with a monocle, hypnotist’s pendulum, and a gold cane, but there’s still plenty more options to accessorize yourself and your apartment to boost your Materialism, Decadence, and Vanity scores. I’m obviously pining for max vanity.
While Ace Attorney is arguably just a fancy choose-your-own-adventure game, Devil’s Attorney is a slick strategy game at its roots. DA is just as tongue-in-cheek and hilarious as Ace Attorney, and has the added benefit of being fully voiced. This makes the mandatory battle of wits between opposing counsel at the beginning of each case all the more fun to watch.
During each trial, both sides alternate taking shots at each other with skills like “Tamper with Evidence” or, my favourite, “Patronize.” The goal is to “knock out” each of the prosecution’s witnesses and discredit all the evidence before the jury just gives up and decides your client is guilty. There are a lot of close calls – you really have to earn your success. Some witnesses and prosecutors have special skills that complicate things a little bit more, but it’s really quite easy to get into. After a couple of rounds, you’ll be undermining the game’s fictional justice system like it’s second nature.
As an added bonus, DA is also available for Android devices. This is the game your droid was looking for!
Does this game teach you anything? Hahaha, no. But you are definitely having fun and feeling badass while procrastinating, so what does that matter? Take it from me – you may have merely adopted procrastination, but I was born in it.
So, I hope this goes without saying: don’t take either of these games seriously but do have fun with them. Questionable legal ethics and tactics aside, they can be very good time-fillers between classes that at least stay marginally law-related. And as far as procrastination goes, that’s nothing to shake a stick at.