Score: 5

"Not bad."

submission: Pleiades

date: August 16, 2009

I was drawn to this game by the title, and review it only because of it's relevance to my alias.

Short but sweet. Your music choice was very fitting, and the mechanics of the obstacles were pretty nice in their variety. I think that this game would be a lot better if the sisters weren't spinning so wildly. I don't think it's possible to get all 7 through as is.

I think that black and white was a poor choice. If anything, a dark blue for the walls, and they could be running on the spiral arms of the milky way, a light blue. It would have helped the mood and theme.

More levels would be nice, and powerups of some sort. Anything to make the gameplay more unique.

Pleiades 2, please. ;)

Score: 5

"Hmm . . . mhmmm . . . MMM?"

submission: Resident Hall Evil

date: June 13, 2009

I'll start by saying that I haven't played RE1, so I can't match your angles to what was used in the game. I can say that I found most of your angles used to be very game-like.

There were a lot more technical issues than in previous installments of the FroNick franchise. Your first shot had some odd light flaring that I can't quite diagnose. Use manual exposure next time, I guess. Your camera was probably adjusting for a glint somewhere and couldn't get it right. Happens a lot with auto-exposure. Also, there were thumbs in one of your shots, which you used twice, so two thumbs. And purple light flares in the washing machine room. Weird effect, really.

Your text was a bit hard to read. It was too fine. Perhaps making it bolder would help, or programming it with bordering. Anything to make it stand out. Good font choice and color though. I'd prefer it faster, and it would cut down on file size if you shortened the film, so perhaps you should have explored the possibility. But I'm willing to bet that RE1 had text that was slow as balls. I guess people were illiterate back in the 90's.

The shot from atop the bed was too shaky. You should have mounted the camera on a pile of books. Or a pile of trash, or the blue pillow on the middle of the floor (man your dorm room is a wreck). Also, the shot where Nick had taken the cell phone (phone disappeared) needed a half second or more cut at the start.

I don't understand why you mixed animation in with live action. It was a very poor choice in my opinion. Especially considering that the animation was sloppy in several ways. No background, and the door that opened opens without the handle. The handle just floats there, detached. Perhaps that's a reference to the game, I dunno.

From a viewer's standpoint, i can honestly say that I have no idea what's going on. That's entirely my fault for not having played RE1, but this project is not at all friendly to someone who hasn't played the game. You could say that preknowledge of the game is mandatory, but I've enjoyed game parodies before without having played. I have a personal belief that to be entertained by a parody on a subject that one has no knowledge of, is the mark of a brilliant parody.

God damn I'm complaining a lot.

What I liked:
Your transition to and from cutscenes. Mother. Fucking. Ace.
I like the artificial light flare on usable items. Clever.
Concept.

Music. There is none, because you ran out of room. Based on your author's comments, I can also see that you're aware that you have a pacing problem. If you cut a few frames off of each shot, the pace would increase, and you'd free up some filesize. Also, it was a good idea to have the cursor switch between NO and YES initially, but the two that followed didn't need it. It took up too much time.

I really feel very strongly that you should re-cut this really quick and trim some of the fat. It would make the movie a lot stronger. And it might free up enough space to add music, which would be really helpful. Win/win.

Overall, an average project.

Score: 7

"Awl right then."

submission: Drug Dealing Skit

date: June 1, 2009

Good stuff on the animation front. Great, actually. Your character designs are interesting and stylized. You weren't lazy with movements, and facial expressions are detailed. I like your choices of color. Even backgrounds are nice.

Sound was okay. Your first shot should have started with volume at 50% instead of 0. I couldn't hear shit. While you might say that it's intentional, I as an audience member understand it as something of a mistake. Voice acting was pretty good.

The story is pretty weak. No real conflict or depth of character. You're playing on cheap laughs and vulgar humor, but whatever. It's NewGrounds after all. And Multimedia classes only give a fuck about animation anyway.

Overall, it's a pretty decent piece of work, but I think you should collab with a writer next time. Best of luck.

:P

Score: 8

"I approve."

submission: The Pretenders

date: May 18, 2009

Interesting idea. Not the best, but certainly different from what I'm used to. It's nice to see linear work that's original.

Acting was great, especially from Nick. I like what you guys did with VO.

The humor was subtle. In some places, I think it would have been better off even more so. Case in point, the smiley map. I think that shot should have come in only when Nick says "no pattern has emerged yet," and for NG's sake, it should have been angry faic. I also feel that the shot lingered too long. That's my main gripe, which is why I'm going on and on about it. >:(

Lighting wasn't used, as far as I can tell, but the choice of natural lighting works to create a gritty effect that is in tune with the mood you set. Your basement was lit brighter, which is more in tune with comedy. I see what you did there.

Sound was pretty crisp. Nick overmodulated once or twice, but otherwise, it's good. I think giving each of your guns different sounds (bang vs bam) was a clever idea. I can't even articulate what about it appeals to me, but I like it nonetheless.

Overall, it's a lot more professional and inspired than your "Wars" series. I approve of the direction you're heading in. Don't stop improving.

Score: 10

"My interpretation . . ."

submission: Gray

date: May 16, 2009

It seems to me that a side is required to sway someone, and only once someone has experienced seeing things from both (all?) sides, can they see that the best position, is neither, but a midpoint between both extremes. Moderation is best in all things.

It doesn't seem to me though, that the notion that arguments from gray fall on deaf ears, which seems to be what is suggested here. Often times I take strong notice of opinions in the gray area, and hold them in higher regard, since they usually make the most sense to me. Then again, I'm not everyone. Perhaps some people need a more one-sided argument to understand something. I for one, prefer gray coverage.

All around, a very interesting piece. I don't think that it could have been more well done. Ah, and is there any way that I could acquire that audio? It's so surreal, I need it.

Score: 10

"War is a dish best served snowy . . ."

submission: Snow Wars

date: March 23, 2009

The audio is pretty good. Everyone is coming in clear, and the choice of music is appropriate.

The write is good, very good. Most of the jokes are pretty funny, others are very funny, but a few missed. Your "like brothers" bit was golden. Most of Nicks lines were good too. Some jokes that didn't do it for me were "not another one" at the end, and the second time facemask dude tells Nick the date. It was funny the first time, but repetition doesn't really do it for me. I normally don't dwell on it, but second helpings of decent jokes seem to be one of your motifs, and I feel that it hurts you comedically. But that's just an opinion based on personal taste. Even so, if you can keep up this level of humor for the entire duration, however long that is, then you'll be sitting on gold. If this is going to be your opening, I'd recommend clipping it down a bit. Nick kinda repeats himself when talking about enemy pain. His first line about it was good, the second was weak by comparison.

Your acting talent was noticeable. But you seem to be switching between a normal guy accent (good) and a drill sergeant accent (bad). Consistency in your regular guy voice would have been better, but I'm guessing it's too late to fix that now. VO is a bitch that isn't worth the effort. Everything else concerning your acting was expectedly professional. Nick was good too. Facemask guy, could use some work.

I have a problem with a few of your slates. Any slate with an actors name on it should usually be followed with a shot of that person for visual identification purposes, but you and Nick followed every title slate. When several characters aren't identified the audience finds it very hard to follow what's happening to whom. Continuity breaks only aggravate the situation.

You seem to have run into a problem as far as storytelling is concerned. Comedy, even parody, while ridiculous in nature, shouldn't break certain rules, these being rules concerning cinematography, which you have no problem with, and rules governing continuity, which you have disregarded. While it's funny to see you kill your own men, they should still stay dead. When they don't, your story appears to function non-linearly, which is somewhat of a problem. It's probably too late to fix that, but you could take it into account in the future.

Most of the lighting is pretty good, although you may be overusing halo lighting. A few of the earlier shots were whited out, but you fixed the problem later on. If you can replace those shots, or cut them off early, do it. It will maintain a consistency in quality.

You seem to be setting up for something pretty good. It's the best I've seen from you yet. I'm looking forward to the final, hit me up when it's posted.

Score: 6

"Pretty good."

submission: Words of wisdom

date: March 19, 2009

The assignment was simple, and your execution was good. When the head turned, you needed to add something, either some blur, or lines, or both.

Other than that, the animation is pretty good. Art was nice but could use a little refining. Voice was befitting the character. Background looked good. Blah, blah. Blah.

You're someone who should be watched, 'cause you could potentially churn out quality work. Think of a good story to animate, and run with it - you might get somewhere.

Score: 10

"Wow, that was . . ."

submission: Hentai Bliss QG 3

date: February 23, 2009

. . . very well made. The story was great, as was the art.

I appreciate how the protagonist didn't simply fuck everything he came across, and the characters he did fuck didn't fuck him for the usual reasons ("lol, I'm horny," ugh.) The questions were appropriately difficult, and I'm glad that they were used sparingly. It's also nice that they revolved around a combination of knowledge and reasoning, rather than pure trivia (mostly). The plot not only existed, but was good.

I have to award major points for humor. I really found your writing to be very funny. And the characters, good, bad, and in between, were about as well-developed as I've ever seen in a hentai-quiz, even more so than in many of NGs RPGs.

The drawback was the gallery that you set up at the end. It sucked, and was unrelated to the story. You should take it out, or replace it with a gallery of all the pics from the adventure that were pornographic in nature. The video, while unrelated, was of good quality, and was a good choice. I really can't think of any other way to improve this game, and as such, I have to give it a ten.

TL;DR - It's the finest, classiest, most interesting hentai-adventure game that I've ever seen. Ridiculously good work.

Score: 6

"Fuck Youtube."

submission: Beneath the Sheets

date: February 16, 2009

The humor is somewhat infantile, but parodies are IN right now, especially on NG, so okay. Nick's acting is pretty good, but since he's more or less playing himself, it's to be expected. I can't really score very high though because of the simplicity of the cinematography and storyline. Like on a scale of storyline, with St1ckF1ght!!1! as a 1 and . . . something with an actual story as a 10, you're somewhere around a 4, right above Waterlollies.

One thing that I think you did really well was the lighting and set design. I realize there wasn't much to it, but the color and the point-sourcing were spot on. So as the equivalent of graphics, you did well in that respect. Also, major props on your choice of credit role. I can't emphasize enough just how sick I am of seeing bad credit roles. Style points +1.

I would have liked it if you had used a larger screen size, but I'm guessing that it would have caused pixelation? Also, add some controls on the bottom of the screen, man. See Half-Beard or anything else by Bobert-Rob for a great example of what I mean.

One directorial problem that I think is worth pointing out is the way the camera jerked while in the car. I know you'll say that it's supposed to look like that, but watch it again . . . did you see it that time? The camera shake is too soft, indicating that it was held by another person. Whether or not this is actually the case is irrelevant, because visually, that's how it appeared. So for the very first scene, I though Nick had a cameraman. If only one hand of his was shown, the camera jerks were sturdy and subtle, or if that wasn't the first shot, then I as a member of the audience probably would have understood. But since that wasn't the case, I found it confusing.

Basically, what I feel is that your execution of this project was very very good, but you could and should be working on way better projects.

======

I'm on a seven day ban right now, can you tell? Is it just me, or do you write waaay better reviews while on ban?

Score: 7

"Meh."

submission: tWHYlight

date: December 18, 2008

Not as good as a lot of your older episodes. Not even close, actually. I think it's because your rants contain less jokes than true episodes. Maybe it's my fault for not seeing the movie, but after being warned by so many parodies, I can't bring myself to watch it. That would undermine your efforts.

Your art doesn't really seem to be evolving much anymore, but that's fine, because it's already pretty good, and I watch your stuff for the writing, not the art. I think you need to focus more on your writing. Spending an extra day or so on the write before you start to work on the episode will make all the difference. I want you to know that I know that you know that already, but as we both know, sometimes it really helps to have someone say it, nice and clear, like that ^.

<rant>Hearing you scream and scream loses its luster after a while, and you've done lot's of screaming lately. Also, your scrapbooks are getting really fucking lazy. I understand your problem with TIME

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But shit like that ^ is just overdoing the laziness, to the point where it's just fucking obnoxious and borderline childish. I usually have to unlock everything, but the first 55 pages were so unrewarding I couldn't go back to find the rest. I'm sorry to be so harsh, but the quality of your work is suffering and you can't just keep joking that you're lazy and busy and expect it to keep flying.</rant>

I still love you and all your work, but you need to . . . yeah.