Score: 8

"Enjoyable Game"

submission: MTC: CyberSpace Assault!

date: December 21, 2009

This is a fun game and it's really enjoyable to play. I thought as first this game was too easy. With a bit of caution, brains and good reflexes, it doesn't take an enormous effort to get through this game. But I did go over some of the thingies at the start of the game again and it seems the swinging axes and the lava pits send you back pretty quickly. So good work on producing a very solid package.

Some good things about this:
-The control scheme. Very intuitive. The gravity and jumping was not bad, but there were one or two spots where you could do a double jump off a bump in the wall and clear an enemy.
-Sounds: good music, good voice acting, good sound effects, nice humorous dialogue.
-The level design wasn't too repetitive and it has a very nice classic platformer feel.

Some stuff that could be improved:
-The graphics were usually quite good but there were one or two points (the forest? the buildings?) where the graphics seemed a bit unfitting: dodgy thick lines or unstraight shapes/platforms. But they didn't influence the game's enjoyability of course, it's just that there's always room for improvement.

I did however, like the graphics of all of the characters and the weapon effects.

-The villains: The villains might have been a bit too easy to evade/kill. A lot of them needed only one hit really to kill. This is of course your choice though how hard the in-level enemies are. It does seem fair though with lack of save points after a certain point.

The bosses could've been more challenging.
The panda (was it a panda) in the beginning could be outranged by standing a long way away.
The helicopter boss has a clear spot on the right of the scientology building where you were sure to be safe, and all you had to do once you reached that point was jump straight up and shoot.

There was nice variance in attacks, and I liked the tank boss, but the last two bosses had clear spots where you could just rest and certainly not be hit.

I did however, find, the thingy surrounded by six clones by itself a bit harder. But once again you just had to time in a couple of stabs/super-hand things and then go out of the way.

Maybe a laser that tracks you and makes you move around the screen could make it a bit better. Making the player do more when he can't attack (instead of just sitting) might make it a bit more challenging.

One more thing is that the text for the dialogue seemed to be a bit unfitting or just a bit amateur-ish. Maybe a cool MGS-like display or something could give it a nice touch or even an avatar of the guy talking to you, but that's just me again.

And I really, really liked this. It certainly has areas to improve, but it shows with effort, determination and good planning, you can make a really enjoyable game. I'd take this any day over some flashy graphics with uninteresting gameplay.

Also, I died at the helicopter the first time and then came back to the page five minutes later (I wanted to finish the game) and I didn't get to pick up from my last save point. For future games do you want to program in some cache-data-y thingy?

Very fun.

Score: 8

"Entertaining"

submission: Spider-Powers For XMas 2

date: December 16, 2009

There are a lot of good things to be said about the final package and I commend you for finishing such a big project. It was very entertaining, but not flawless.

Behind any musical cartoon thing, the music is a large driving factor behind the piece. And whilst the main song is pretty catchy, I think even as a musical, there were way too many musical items. The music should come with purpose after a character is inspired by a scene of dialogue (musicals never make that much sense anyway), but what was in this flash were way too many songs.

I think there are some songs that could have just been dialogue, or there were some parts that just needed a break between songs. The elf himself comments that it's too soon between songs when he comes into the bedroom - it's true. Pacing, pacing, pacing. If you ever write another musical or do continue this project please give the listener's ears a bit of a break between songs: it just really seemed like there were way too many songs than needed. A musical does not mean an entire story filled with music.

The singing certainly improved from the first one but it's still out of tune quite often. I do commend you for having the bravery to post your own voice up because it takes some balls, but because you've got so many musical items one after another, you just have to nail it. There is a youthful innocence in the slightly out singing, but having to endure this for so long makes it more cringeworthy than cute. And I'd imagine this is probably the biggest problem for the people who didn't like this flash.

The songwriting manages to stay relatively fresh throughout, and there's clearly a display of musical prowess in the songs, but once again, there just needs to be more non-musical space for the listener's ears to rest, especially because of the quality of the voice. I think there was probably way too much air time dedicated to singing about spider powers. We get it, yeah.

The script was well written and there were some great gags in there. I loved the Tim Allen/Jason Statham bits. I think length might have prevented me from enjoying it a bit more. I believe it could be refined by a few minutes, and a refined, smooth script makes it a much more enjoyable package.

The animation was quite good. Obviously there is room for improvement on the drawing style: some of it was well drawn, with nice shadowy things, but there were points where there wasn't really a union between the foreground and the background, for example the first scene with the sleigh... the lines on the sleigh felt out of place with the effect-filled background. When the elf and parker were standing on the bed, there were some things with lines, and some things without. It's decent drawing but there's often not a visual blend throughout every scene. But a lot of things were very nicely drawn.

The lip sync was well done, the JPG cut-outs were well done. I was disappointed with the lack of a walk cycle. Every other limb of the body seems to be moving properly so please just animate the feet. Just a little nitpick there.

Overall I was quite entertained and impressed by the work that was put into the package. There's some things that can be done for you to become a better animator and I hope we can see more from you.

Score: 10

"Amazing"

submission: Jerry: The End

date: December 8, 2009

I just watched the entire series that is Jerry, HotDiggedyDemon, and I can honestly say it's one of the best series of flash animations on Newgrounds. There are so many things I can praise about this series and the kudos or praise it should get cannot be fit within a 4096 character review.

Every single character in this series is captivating, and the way that you have constructed the narrative which can make us feel for each character within the story is brilliant. Great animation tells a story, and the greatest animation can tell a story without us even realising we're watching a bunch of drawings that someone conceived. Upon watching this flash, I have been put under the illusion that these characters are very real.

Normally I watch out for little nitpicks that I could talk about with the flash. The narrative was so captivating and enthralling that I was no longer looking at an animation, but rather the story you wanted to convey. A story that is far from heartwearming and conveys a sense of social realism, despite the very evident cartoon elements. All of the elements of the flash work together to create a deeply entertaining package.

There is such an amazing interlock between each flash when viewed in order, and through this series you have created a separate universe, a very real universe and a very captivating universe. This ending was well timed. I do not think there is much more to be depicted in this universe.

Every second of this animation is so captivating. Watching this series in order, or even a single episode brings the viewer on an emotional journey, and this is something that flash animation rarely achieves. Because of this i say bravo, bravo, bravo.

Score: 8

"Good good fun"

submission: Dance Off!

date: December 7, 2009

I really enjoyed watching that. Good fun, and it never takes itself too seriously. There are some nice touches on some of the animation. It's great that the keyboard matches up with the notes of the song, unlike other artists who plonk keys down without any resemblance of time.

This was a very fun flash, but my only real complaint about this flash is the timing. It's supposed to be a dance-off, but unfortunately, a lot of time is spent on lip-syncing or just posing, and this fills up way too much time. There are just a few too many places where the characters remain static. Where the characters pulled out the ol' disco/breakin' moves that was really sweet. If this flash gave an arsenal of all of the classic (or groan-inducing) dance moves then it would be that much heaps better.

However, I do understand this was made for a deadline, but I think maybe there was a bit too little happening in certain parts. It however, was completely fun for the entire flash, and it certainly grabs your attention, and this is what's so good about this flash.

Score: 8

"Sweet Little Animation"

submission: Race Across The Rainbow

date: December 7, 2009

Well, it was a very well animated piece. The animation was usually smooth and fluid, and I especially like the inclusion of Snoopy there. I loved the 3D rendering (or what looked like it) in that long shot, and the backgrounds are amaaazing. I commend your hardwork.

I'm a nitpicker, and there's one or two things about the piece. There's a very wacky, cartoony like feel to the piece but I didn't feel the song quite captured the feel of the animation. Some kind of energetic, dramatic romantic orchestral work could have worked better here, and to be a perfect or superduperawesome cartoon there could've been more interplay between the music (i.e. if there was an orchestral background work, timpani bangs are illustrated by a whack in the cartoon) and the animation, because although it's not a bad song, it never feels a hundred percent fitting to the wackiness of the animation.

I didn't see a wide range of emotions being expressed on the characters' faces, or perhaps they weren't exaggerated enough. This is a very exaggerated, fantasy-like setting so really emphasising the emotions would help. The people in the helicopter would've expressed their annoyance, annoyance in the clip wasn't especially there. Another nitpicky thing is that the throwing animation there looked very robotic.

It is very pleasing to the eye to watch animation of this quality, but there feels like there is something missing from this piece. But you're a great animator so keep on pumping out these great works!

Score: 5

"Not bad"

submission: Toasty Nothing Short

date: December 4, 2009

Your drawing style is pretty good and it's very good for a first effort. Just a couple of things. If you stream audio (although it decreases the quality slightly), the filesize will go down a lot. This could've been 700 KB tops I reckon.

Some of the audio wasn't too clear. I had to watch it a couple of times to figure out the 'I lo-ved you Newgrounds' bit... but I mean it's a test (essentially right?!), subtitles maybe or extra clarity if you go to do an extra project?

I liked the extending arm bit with the arms with the 'nooooo'. Basically, I liked the visuals, but I didn't give it more than 5 was the content itself. The audio wasn't a bit clear, there wasn't much of a narrative (obviously) and the over 9000 thing was cliched. The blam joke was good though. It certainly won't get blammed and it's better than about 80-95 percent of the firsties you see on the site.

My suggestion: you've got a decent groundwork. Think of some idea, some animation you can conceptualize, get it down on paper, animate away and then entertain! Let's see some more from you. wheee

Score: 5

"not bad"

submission: SFTCS Part 1

date: December 4, 2009

Overall it wasn't bad... firstly I'd like to congratulate you on producing a six minute flash... getting something out of that length is pretty hard, and the time and effort put in is a great virtue, so well done.

The animation was overall good: the drawings are quite good, but I feel like maybe there were too many tweens and a couple of bits of animation that could be improved. When master chief turns his head in the snow at that one bit, his head turns, but nothing else. The throwing animation (of the shoe, i think?!) didn't seem a bit natural and those little things can be tweaked.

I'm no expert, mainly because I'm a lazy animator, but maybe bits of frame by frame or at least a couple of in-between keyframes to guide direction will help the fluidity of the animation. I'm disappointed that Mario didn't have a lip sync and although the moustache thing is okay, I think lip sync or mouth movement would enhance the animation a bit. More careful bits of smooth animation, I reckon.

The main area of the flash that could be improved is probably the story and the gags themselves. There were amusing ideas in there: the violent Master Chief placing Peach in hospital, the RPG-style battle, but there didn't seem to be much flow to the direction of the narrative, or at least in terms of delivering the goods (the gags). Maybe some of the references are too obscure and seem a tiny bit out of place, the grues and memoirs of a geisha are subtle but don't seem quite right in their delivery.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like the flash didn't have a script from the start for the whole six minutes. If there wasn't, then make sure it's scripted out. If you did have a script, (I'm starting to do this) if you're going for a humorous flash of such a long length, rewrite, rewrite, recheck and rewrite again. Make sure you can visualise all of the gags in your head and make sure they come at a fast rate. Some parts of the script dragged on in areas, maybe because of the script itself, maybe because of the delivery/execution. Perhaps some of the dialogue could have been delivered quicker or in a snappier way.

The visual gag with the button was too quick, whilst the RPG gag seemed to be out of place. The bit about Santa didn't really seem to get resolved, or the narrative at the end didn't seem clear enough for me to understand. I think the big problem is that there's a lot of dialogue that could be made snappier, and it just feels like it drags a bit.

The dialogue itself could have more energy into it. Mario's voice is one of those ones that just has to be right. It's not a horrible voice for Mario, but it just doesn't seem to quite fit, and Mario's voice is very distinguishable.

I think the narrative is just a bit too disjointed and jumps around to unrelated things a bit too much to let the viewer become comfortable with watching this. There's just something lacking in the content, technically it's quite good.

Just keep on striving to get better, improve and improve and you'll be on yer way.

Score: 8

"Congrats on the Daily :D"

submission: *We Didn't Start the Fire

date: December 4, 2009

Under the constraints of a deadline, I thought this was animated very well and it's a well deserving piece for an award. There are little nitpicky bits that could have been drawn better, bits where a bit of movement could have occurred but most importantly it was entertaining and the animation really did fit the lyrics of the song, like, literally. Woah. Animation not technically perfect but it enhanced one's enjoyment of the work/song/flash.

Nice touch with the NG tanks, the year bar on the bottom left and the little thingies with the globe every time the chorus came around. You did justice to the song and it was great. Well done!

Score: 7

"distururururbing"

submission: Grandma's Cheese

date: December 3, 2009

Well animated, a nice cartoon-like feel to the flash, as always I guess. Basically, you're a master and a person of my skill can't really pick out any flaws because I'm just not that good.

That being said, one cannot help feel but slightly disturbed when watching this animation, for a number of reasons. Freud would have a lot to say about this cartoon. Or it would give him some new material for dream analysis.

I do like that Weebl can keep up coming with fresh tunes to make songs to and they're still nice, fresh and quirky, distinct (in a good way) from the oldies such as kenya and badgers and scampi.

Some of the humour in here isn't exactly my cup of tea and will probably scar anyone under 10 here for life, but keep up the quirkiness?! Actually, no, I'm pretty sure even I'm scarred for life. Don't show this animation to your loved ones. Show it to people you know that don't quite have a sane grip on reality.

Score: 4

"Well..."

submission: I love the HALO World

date: December 3, 2009

It was decent, but I can't say I overly enjoyed watching this animation. It caters to a certain audience, but I feel this animation could have been enjoyed more in some aspects.

The art style consists of firstly, sprites that you did not draw, and jpg's from the game as background images that you used the trace functions on. Firstly, correct me if I'm wrong but I'm reasonably certain Halo is not a game with 8-bit graphics, and I think I would appreciate more of the heart the animator put into this work if you attempted to draw the Halo guys, just like some other great Halo parodies on NG. Halo is a game of 3d graphics and the art style I feel doesn't really suit it. TRUE 'hard work' would be put in if you attempted to capture the aesthetic beauty of the halo models in the game. Using sprites for a game that (I'm pretty sure) does not have sprites feels like a shortcut, and original graphics would give you an individual voice or style in your animation.

Correct me if you disagree, but conceptually, the beauty in animation that I see is the soul of the author literally being poured into the drawings behind the work. I feel here there is basically only tweening, well-tweened in most areas, but I was baffled when in the line 'I love egyptian kings' the mouth looked a bit dodgy and the tweening in the rave party looked robotic.

Also, these 'bit' style characters seem completely out of place with the 3D rendering of the backgrounds... I'd suggest making 'bit'-style Halo backgrounds to fit the characters or hand-draw the dudes to fit the background a bit more.

I wish you could have drawn a lot more of this animation to capture an individual style, because with the same style of tracing and the same sprite sheet anyone could make a similar animation and you would not be able to distinguish any real original 'flair' or individuality here. Flash animation is about bringing things to life, but after watching what really is non-original graphics, tweens and traced backgrounds, I can't be too impressed with the visual aspects of the piece. You said you worked hard, but try pouring your heart and soul into an animation, try drawing everything.

Those aspects actually make me feel like the animation in this piece are minimal: only heads dodge, no lips need to move for the lip sync (this is the game of course), walking seems to be interchanging a couple of sprites and tweening quickly... it doesn't feel like Halo, and it would feel like Halo if you drew the guys yourself in a 2D style, made your own backgrounds... a cartoony Halo but something that fits the bill of what flash animation. Here, what we have feels never quite fitting and a bit out of place.

Did I feel entertained? I'm not too familiar with the song, but I would be a lot more entertained if I didn't have to look at some of the aspects I pointed out which don't quite give a very natural flow to the animation.

On the plus side, the use of special effects and sound effects were good. It's not a bad sprite movie, but I think the score compared to the 'greats' is almost insulting... is the animation magical and pleasing to the eye? Does it convey the complex emotions of the human condition? Or for humorous ones, is it well animated? Does it have a cartoon-like feel to emphasise the humour? Is the animator's ability used to the fullest capacity to convey the plot or elements of the narrative? Not really in this one minute video.

Is the beauty of the 'Halo World' captured in this video? I don't really think it can be with traced images and sprites, which feel out of place.