Ace Attorney Wiki:Perspective

The perspective of writing in articles generally falls into two categories: "in-universe" and "out-of-universe". An article or section written in an "in-universe" perspective presents itself as if a person from within the Ace Attorney universe wrote it. An article or section in an "out-of-universe" perspective is presented from outside the AA universe, as if the author knows that AA is fictional. Consider the following:


 * In Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations, Phoenix is framed for the murder of Doug Swallow, who is a former lover of his girlfriend Dahlia Hawthorne.

The above is written "out-of-universe". The term "Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations" is a "real world" term. The sentence is also written in the present tense, as someone describing a fictional plot. In addition, the main character is referred to by his first name, implying a personal connection from a fan of a fictional game.

If one wanted to write the above example from an "in-universe" perspective, one might try the following:


 *  In his third year, Wright was framed for the murder of Doug Swallow, who had been a former lover of his girlfriend Dahlia Hawthorne. 

This becomes the following:


 * In his third year, Wright was framed for the murder of Doug Swallow, who had been a former lover of his girlfriend Dahlia Hawthorne.

When to use which style
Articles concerning subjects that are inside the Ace Attorney universe should be written from an in-universe perspective, in contrast to articles in Wikipedia. More specifically, these articles should be written from the perspective of someone living at the latest date in the universe's chronology, namely December 20, 2027. The articles should ideally be presented like historical accounts, like files in an online court record.

However, articles on subjects that are explicitly outside the AA universe, such as the games themselves, should be written in an out-of-universe perspective. Sections that are outside of the universe, such as name origin sections, may also be written in an out-of-universe perspective.

More on in-universe style
In-universe articles should be written in the past tense. For example:


 * Mia Fey is quite nervous about this case. This is her second time in court, the first occurring a year before and resulting in a traumatic experience for her.

This would be inappropriate since the event that the sentence refers to has since happened. It would be better as follows:


 * Mia Fey was quite nervous about this case. This was her second time in court, the first occurring a year before and resulting in a traumatic experience for her.

In general, people should be referred to by their full names upon initial mention and then by their family names in all other instances. Referring to people by their given names introduces bias in favor of "main characters" and "major characters", which are out-of-universe concepts.

Not appropriate:
 * In the defendant lobby, Mia Fey was very nervous. She met with her client Terry Fawles, who insisted that he was innocent. [...] Terry admitted that she was the reason he had escaped and that he had met with her on that day. However, Terry told Mia that when he left, she had still been alive.

Appropriate:
 * In the defendant lobby, Mia Fey was very nervous. She met with her client Terry Fawles, who insisted that he was innocent. [...] Fawles admitted that she was the reason he had escaped and that he had met with her on that day. However, Fawles told Fey that when he left, she had still been alive.

Exceptions include instances in which multiple people have the same family name. In this case, given names may be used to avoid ambiguity.