Not bad! The animation is a bit crude, although I like the plot, and the music fits in well. I think the park/city main street scenery is drawn particularly well. Keep it up, flashmakeit! :)

Awesome! Love your self-deprecating sense of humor here and all the different badger lore elements. I remember jamming out to the original badger animation when I was a schoolboy. To think it's been 20 years since it came out is crazy, haha. Rock on, Weebl! ^_^

Disturbing and dystopian. The music really helps set the mood too. Not sure I like the pixelated quality of the animation, but the vivid imagery (puzzle pieces, militaristic marching of the characters, etc.) comes through well regardless. Happy birthday!

This looks awesome! Love the world map radar screen in the background and the gritty, military-style text. Fits the branding of "deathmatch" well. If I had to complain about something, it might be that 482 hours is not a very intuitive period of time to understand. Still, it was a really good idea to post this, and the design is clean. Cheers! ^_^

Cute game! Thematic content is fun, and I like the music and story at the beginning. The concept is a bit simple, and the picture could be a little less pixel-y, but it also gives the animation a fun retro vibe. Keep at it, Nick et al! :)

Great game! The original made my year in 6th grade, and this game is both similar enough in format to rekindle that nostalgia while it's different enough in the strategy and mechanics required to win to keep it interesting. Nice work! Maybe I'll even go to MaxGames later to try it on impossible mode. :)

I like the eerie low-register rumblings at the beginning. The mixing sounds fine - I can hear all most of the instruments clearly throughout, although the bassy instrument gets a bit murky after a while. Frankly, I'm impressed so many of your other songs sound as clean and clear as they do without EQs. In general, your mixing is pretty good, and I'm glad you have another tool in the toolbox now.

The composition here sounds a bit thrown-together, though. The instruments don't always blend well with each other, and a lot of the entrances are pretty sudden (like the ghostly mid-range synth at :58). Between 1:10 and 1:30 or so, there's quite a bit of dissonance between the chords that play on the downbeats and the other instruments. The melodies could use a lot more variety, too, although the main one (at :58 and 2:13) is pretty catchy. I would encourage you to use more melodies that have longer, held out notes - often, they're more memorable that way.

Good to see you're still doing so much experimenting with new tools/ideas. :) Happy holidays, CF24!

I like the growly bass guitar at the beginning. The piece is a tad slow to develop, and is also mixed very loud, which can cause a bit of distortion in the texture (I’m not hearing too much here, though - just something to watch out for going forward). The riffs here are really catchy, but since their contour is very similar throughout, they don’t quite keep my attention for the full 5+ minutes. Some drums could really help give this piece more of a sense of drive, and at some point a melodic element (vocals, lead guitar, etc.) would also help fill out the texture in the higher pitch range. You’re clearly a really talented bassist, though, and I love the compositional details here, like the ornaments at 4:49. You’ve earned a scout, my friend. Thanks for coming out to Battle of the Bands 2024. Keep at it! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.75/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.5/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
1/1
Composite score
6.5/10

I like the sound design a lot. It’s a little hard to follow the rhythm at the beginning, though. Sounds like the different harmonies are fighting to establish their own patterns of emphasis. The individual riffs are pretty catchy, and the production quality is solid, but unfortunately the rhythmic issues never really get resolved. The structuring of the piece is good - I like the mellow breakdown at 2:13 and the transition back into the busier section at 2:43.

If you’re not doing it already, one thing that might help you stay on the beat is if you listen to a metronome (or phone app that mimics one) through one earbud while you’re recording. That way, your DAW won’t pick up the metronome clicks, but it’ll be a lot easier to stay on the beat.

To your credit, I think the stripped-down sections of this piece where it’s just the guitar and 1-2 main harmonic riffs (like at 2:17 and 3:28) sound a lot better than the busier parts. I also really like the ascending line at 4:20 - it was a cool, atmospheric way of hitting the piece home.

Overall, you’re clearly a talented guitarist who has range as a composer - atmospheric, danceable, etc. In the parts of this piece where a lot is going on at once, it just needs to be clearer where I’m supposed to tap my foot. Keep at it, jedlev! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.75/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
0/1
Composite score
7.25/10

I like it! Cabin looks good. Maybe it could feel a bit more festive with some trees or large ornaments across the roof or something. There are just a few too many browns and grays to make it feel very Christmas-y. I also think the snow could be a bit "denser," otherwise it's a little too subtle. Lastly, there's one floating black pixel above the character's hat, and I'm not sure what to make of it. I like the way you varied the coloration on the smoke coming out of the chimney. The cloud break is also nice - the way it's placed between the character and the cabin gives the image a nice "rhythm," if that makes sense, and it's aesthetically pleasing that the edges of the cloud break line up with the roof line and character's figure. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, CF24! ^_^

This is cute! I can definitely see the Waterflame influence here. Some of the clouds seem a bit low to the ground, unless that's supposed to be steam or smoke? Also, is the flag design supposed to be anything in particular? Otherwise, the shading on the dock and skyline are really clean and realistic, and a lot of the subtle details are impressive. For example, the small red flag at the bottom really looks like it's actively flapping in the breeze. Strong work, CF24! ^_^

I love the abstract root-like structures in the sky and the nod to chemical symbols on the ground. The eye-like structures on the hand give this an eerie veneer, and the coloration is further reminiscent of something toxic and sinister. I also like the textural details on the hand. Really evocative work.

Also, I appreciate your profile's references to Infinite Jest. :)