OcularNebula's Reviews

[Opium Cop]

I LOVE OPIUM!!! :D

[The Great Chimp Heist]

the more I listen the better it gets

but you rhymed "you" with "you"?!@?!?#?!

[10 Bullets]

Its too easy to get a chain reaction that wipes out the entire screen and new ships don't appear fast enough.

[Ragdoll Invaders]

hands down, best ragdoll game, imho

The difficulty level is perfect. There are too many flash games out there that are just too easy and boring. The ragdoll physics are fresh as ever, and combined with the ceaseless streams of projectiles coming from both the player and the enemies and the epic music this game makes for a very cool, fast-paced, and satisfying experience

[Sheen]

Some nice elements, but seems a little empty at times. The bass is quite characteristic and the snare both sound crisp, but beginning takes a long time to develop (10 sec of just kick, and then only bass added for another 20 sec; seems slow). Coming up with some sort of intro that could get into around the 1 min mark right away might be an idea.

I echo knightspear in adding variation throughout the song (not just the ending), whether it be velocity or filter cutoff automation - can make a big difference and add some phrasing. Also, idk if you use compression on the kicks and percussion in general - it can make them a bit more punchy (though the snare pretty much already sounds good as is).

Oh, and the plucky synth that comes in at 2:10 is a nice sound with the delay, though the melody you make with it is pretty minimal and meandering kinda without much focus. Overall, the effect is a pretty chill background music, very subdued.

I know everyone's workflow is different, but I like coming up with a solid melody and chord progression FIRST before anything else like drums or bass or soft pads, then that can be a good anchor for a song, like 'the hook'. And definitely messing around with various filter automations is a (relatively) easy way to add movement and progression to a sound or whole track without actually changing the notes or the instrument(s) themselves, ya know?

Sorry for the rant-like info-dump style, just wanted to share some general ideas. Good luck!

Piginoz responds:

Thank you so much for the tips! :)

[lotions and sprays]

makes me feel e t e r n a l

the simplicity of the main motif ~

It's real good, like all your stuff. The detune portamento support lead in the middle section maybe has a bit too much delay on it, idk

[Mind In Dreamland]

Your music is really interesting

I like how boldly you merge seemingly unconventional elements together. You take the basic standard framework of a genre, like in this case, dnb - the drums are crisp, the breaks are appropriately spaced, there is variety in the fills and the sort of energy you expect from dnb.

The little delayed motif feels very consistent throughout the song, and there probably would have been just too much of it, if not for all the other fun harmonic stuff that gets layered with it, as well as the brief pause for when the vocal bits come in, there's some nice contrast.

It feels very progressive. The harmonies are super open, and it's non-standard, which might turn some people off, I guess, but that's what's fresh about this. The composition feels so cohesive as a whole, especially given the title.

It is lacking bass, though. Fans of genre conventions could be a bit disappointed, but otherwise the production is quite good. Albeit, that huge hallkick with delay is pretty loud, so it might be clipping.

Basically, I thought this was really well done, and I like your style!

Athanatos responds:

Thanks Ocular,
I try to merge a lot of different aspects of music to create a song. I don't really put any planning when I create a song. I create sounds and patterns then add a beat(dubstep,dnb,hiphop,etc) such as dnb. And build from there. I actually had to build this song off another unfinished project. About the bass issue, I really really thought about adding "bass" into this song but.. I was looking for more of a gentle touch to this song. There is bass... but very little haha. And mostly coming from the pads. I really tried to make the drums flow with the atmosphere of the song. And that echoing synth that is used throughout the song... I have no idea why but I'm just in love with it. I'm using it in other tracks as well just because it sounds so unique to me, and i can manipulate it so easily. I will admit there might be some parts of this song that might turn people off but I really made it in the way I personally wanted it to be.

I really appreciate your review O.N., and I'm glad you liked how it turned out!!