LuckyDee's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[lost winter]

So I promised you an official NGADM judge review and by gods will I stick to my promise - but having read through the reviews below, you're not going appreciate what I have to say. So I'll run with this:

I can't deny your track is very well made. I could go into technical details on this, but everything's already been said and it appears my skills in this respect mark me as the last person in this merry band to say something sensible about this.

But with all the feedback you're getting, all you do is complain and deny whatever criticism is thrown your way. You're basically bringing a knife to a gunfight to then start telling the judges they're doing it wrong and the competition is flawed. The music you choose to make is great for the dance floor, but in just about any competition you're doing yourself an enormous disservice by submitting something long and monotonous (compared to 99% of the other submissions). That's not the competition's fault.

Congratulations on your place in the finals - which you have definitely earned. A little self-reflection would suit you.

Sequenced responds:

I'm making music I enjoy doing, sorry.

[Testicles in a Jar]

XD

Audio is still rough around the edges, but your stories are hilarious!

[The Beast]

Hey the acting on this is pretty damn solid! Work those production skills a little - the overall volume of the track is very low, creating a number of other challenges - and you'll be making amazing stuff.

ImDennisMenace responds:

Noted my man, thank you for the feedback! Genuinely appreciate it! I think I still have the project file saved so I can actually fix it this time.

[NGADM 2022 Grand Finals Podcast]

Thanks all, it was a great ride! Congratulations to all contestants for their efforts, great work all around, and especially to the finalists and winner - awesome job!

[Pico's Tranquility (Vadell's Mix)]

Awesome work man, really tied the thing together <3

[DystopiaTech: DystopiaTech Tourism Board]

Damn are you being prolific - and funny too! The overall volume could use a little kick in the keister, but other than that this stuff is excellent. Keep 'em coming!

[Like Blades: Carve The Sky]

This is absolutely fucking gorgeous

[Oruga - ADM'22 Round 4]

Official ADM review:

This track blew me away. The minimalism of the first half is daring, but allows the quirks in chord progression and melodies to really shine. Very often they take unexpected turns, with the chords swerving into deep melancholy at 40s in and the melody feeling like it's going to victoriously resolve on the root note at the 1m mark before plunging the listener into regret instead. And all the while the piano and violin are darting around each other like lovers who have forgotten how to talk.

Then halfway through the soundscape begins to fill up, gradually but definitively confirming the anxiety of the two voices before boosting morale and ending on a hopeful rather than regretful note - the only section I actually think could be improved. The contrast with the first pass, featuring only piano and violin, is clear and appropriate, but the climax feels forced. The major chord that brings everything home feels like it either comes to soon or adds to little as it just fades out after that without truly adding to the story anymore. Compare it to reading your kid a fairy tale and finishing with 'and the wolf had eaten his entire family and he lived happily ever after' *sound of book decisively slamming shut*

But truly, that's the only criticism I can come up with. The composition is beautiful in its simplicity, the sound design is spartan but very appropriate and the production is lush and really supports the composition in drawing your listeners in. Great work, and good luck with the finals!

[A Villager's Dream]

Official ADM review:

Well, I'm starting to feel like I'm running out of new things to say here. It doesn't really matter what set of instruments you choose - and the choice for this particular piece is flawless - you make it work every single damn time. The flute might have been difficult to program, but even focusing on that, I can't find fault with how you went about this - it sounds natural and like it's exactly where it's supposed to be.

Once again your storytelling is simply magnificent - I can actually see the places our protagonist is traveling through as the music changes, starting in their home village, going into a dark forest with some curious occupants, a castle and a landscape of rolling hills only for them to start dreaming of home again, and going back.

And this is where I feel the only shortcoming of this track is. Pop culture has been bombarded with medieval/fantasy films and series over the past couple of decades, so much so that within half a minute the listener will have your track firmly pegged as belonging to this genre. This can only be achieved by stringing the right number of clichés together - which you do expertly, but they're clichés nonetheless. And because the cultural mind is so conditioned to hear this music in support of visual arts, hearing it out of its expected context immediately makes it feel like something is missing.

Compared to your previous two entries, which don't have as clear an established cultural framework to be viewed against, I think this one is a step in the wrong direction for these reasons. And you're still scoring incredibly highly because you are simply damn good at what you're doing, but at least I thought I could give you some feedback with this that may help you for the last leg of the journey. Good luck in the finals!

[Grant and LuckyDee's Spooktacular Adventure!]

Gorgeous work \m/ \m/
Thanks for having me on board!

TeffyD responds:

No problem, thank you for your wonderful voice acting!