Codefreq's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Annie Waited]

Wow, it's like listening to the inner workings of a psychotic sociopath; the vibe is incredibly creepy.

The piece's clip points are slightly quiet compared to what they could be, and as a result I had to raise the volume in the very beginning, which is something that can inconvenience the listener. I suggest using normalization to increase the volume.

The title is also a bit vague and doesn't do the piece itself justice.

In addition, the length of the piece is, IMO, too long to support the buildup of the creepy vibe, and at a certain point, that mood change starts to plateau and the resulting repetition of sampled audio stops being as creepy and starts to get in the way of the feeling you are trying to get across.

Overall, I still think you did an excellent job with mood manipulation. I hope you find my review helpful. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

[Forgotten Place]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying.

I didn't mention this in the original review because I didn't think it was relevant at the time, but when you said you were trying to be spooky, I remembered this:

Regarding the quieter parts of the track especially, the melodies you came up with reminded me of a level in the old Gamecube game, "Wario World", specifically the level where there are spooky elements (skeletal enemies, ghosts, strange mansion rooms). From my perspective, what you created was, in a way, spooky, albeit like a cartoon rather than serious and realistic. Given the generally non-spooky genres you mashed up to create this piece, I think it's a good attempt.

I hope this helps. :)

Original 3 1/2 Star Review:

"I'm wondering what your thought process was when you made this piece. I think it would be beneficial if you put that in your description. That way I could base my review on how well your intent came across rather than simply by my own taste. Also, I may be able to provide better feedback and a more accurate rating as a result.

Not sure how the title or the thumbnail artwork fits with the music. Could you explain why you chose those elements to be what they are?

The title in particular seems to bear no relation to the song, making this submission as a whole feel a little unfocused IMO.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806"

GDRyuHayabusa1988 responds:

Well, I will try to answer this question

Not sure how the title or the thumbnail artwork fits with the music. Could you explain why you chose those elements to be what they are?

When I started making this track, I wanted to do something spooky, more atmospheric and a little bit epic, which is what the first 20 seconds turned out to be. However, over time, I added more electronic instruments, focusing in some places on the subject that I was aiming for. For example, on 2:12-2:21 and 4:00-4:21, as for me, the lead I wanted turned out; I don't know why, but I always associated this sound with something spooky. When I finished the song, it probably didn't turn out the way I intended, but for me these melodies remained the same, so I chose the title and the thumbnail artwork that I thought were appropriate.

I hope I didn't write too badly, because I'm not good at English.

[Seize Ur Moment]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying.

Your explanation makes more sense to me when I hear the buildups and drops due to the sense of tension. That said, I recognize you didn't have a particular intent with this piece, which is fine; it's an approach. I said what I said in my initial review because, from my experience, having more of a focus in a piece generally leads to better results in the final version.

Original 4 Star Review:

"I'm curious what you were thinking when you made this piece. I can't give constructive feedback that fits my standards (see link below) without an adequate description of where you were coming from when you made this piece. Adding that description could help me review your piece based on how clear your intent came through rather than purely by my own taste. Therefore, I could also provide better feedback and a more accurate rating.

Some things you could think about:

I'm curious about the title. Why did you name it "Seize Ur Moment"?

Why did you make the thumbnail artwork for this piece what you did? I find it unclear.

I hope this helps. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806"

Azuleux responds:

The title is a play on words, firstly literally saying to seize your moment, but spelling similar to "Seizure Moment," so basically it's implying to take your chance before it's all too late in way. Of course, this is just what I imagined, but I like to keep it up for interpretation :P

So yeah I didn't really have a clear intent on where I wanted to go with, just kinda evolved overtime

[Jamms]

I think this could easily fit into a video game. It may sound odd, but I'm getting a classic Sonic-The Hedgehog meets Sonic Adventure meets Retro City Rampage vibe (that last one particularly in the synth-dominated sections).

I do take issue with the piece ending the way it did. It's kind of sudden. If you intend the piece to not be a loop, I recommend fading the piece out rather than suddenly stopping the instrumentation in an unresolved manner.

I could guess what the title means, but I'm curious, what were you thinking when you named this piece "Jamms"?

Was there a focus with this piece? Did you have an intent behind it? If so, I think you should include your thought process while making this piece in the description, as it would help me be better able to give potentially useful feedback and a more accurate rating. It could also allow me to judge based more on how clear that intent came through and less based on my own taste.

That said, I like the piece. I love all the video games I mentioned, so nostalgia plays a part in that. I wish I could help you further, but right now, I can't.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

[Revenge of the Woods]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying.

Your submission makes a lot more sense having the information you provided in your response to my review. The scale of the percussion and orchestral arrangement reflects the scale of the battle you described as, in my mind, like the battle between the mechanized forces and the indigenous people of Pandora from the movie Avatar; the vibe you communicate is incredibly vast and epic.

The thing is, knowing the information you just provided, I recommend changing the title from "Once Upon a Time" to something that better summarizes the story that was in your head; something that reflects battle, rebellion, reclaiming land, forest, and/or other elements of the story. To me, "Once Upon a Time" is a compelling title, but it ultimately does your story, therefore your song, a disservice because it doesn't provide enough information about what your song represents.

I hope you find my additional feedback helpful. :)

Original 3 1/2 Star Review:

"You really nailed the vibe of a forest-like environment in the very beginning. The sound effects and the calm atmospheric strings set the mood really well to the point where I feel like I've entered that world. Unfortunately. that goes away at around 0:29 into the piece.

I think the orchestral instruments gain steam too quickly and as a result it changes the mood to be more epic. I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with that, except that you are making a song with a forest theme. As I see it, forests symbolize peace and ambiance more than an epic-battle vibe.

I'd like to hear more detail from you about the musical decisions you made and why you made them. It would help me put into perspective what you were going for, and it would allow me to judge based on how well I thought your intent came across rather than just by my own taste. It could affect my rating and improve my feedback as well.

I will say that, from what I can tell, the thumbnail artwork really fits the piece quite well. I'm curious about the title. Why did you name the piece "Once Upon a Time"? I could guess, but I want to hear it from you.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806"

Benji-G responds:

First of all, thanks a lot for the review, I highly appreciate it! So basically, 0:29 was supposed to be the intro, and I quickly realized that it was too 'epic' for an intro, so I brought in a cello for the intro instead.

The title 'Once Upon a Time' basically came from that I had this story in my head, of a guy who lives in the forest in a village. Later it got depredated by another group of people. And now it was the time he striked back since he was seeking for revenge. Therefore I wanted to make this song epic, since he was about to get revenge on the people that destroyed his village.

As you said, forests symolize peace, but this was more of a battle in the forest, than about the forest itself. That's where the intensity and epicness comes from.

Again, thank you for taking time to review this piece, it means a lot! :]

[Two Thousand and Eight]

Reminds me very strongly of Super Meat Boy. IMO, as a celebration of the heyday of flash, what you have here is about as close as you can get without actually covering a song from back then.

I thought this came through quite well. Can't think of any way to make this any clearer.

The only thing I suggest doing is changing the submission from "song" to "loop", because of the way this piece ends.

Still, regarding the piece itself, I think you nailed it. 5 stars! :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

[Rise Again]

This feels like it would fit well in times of Ancient Rome and gladiators in the Colosseum. You've got a good sense of "Prepare for battle, my champions!" type of vibe.

I'm not sure if that's exactly what you were going for, since the description is a little vague. Was that what you were going for, and if not, what was it?

Also, I'm not sure what the title and accompanying thumbnail artwork have to do with this piece. Care to elaborate?

If you provide the information, I can give a better review and possibly a more accurate rating, based on how well I thought your intent came through rather than just judging by my own taste.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

ChillyBite responds:

Well, the "Prepare for battle, my champions!" was pretty much the vibe I was going for. But not specifically "Prepare for battle" and more "Prepare for round 2". Personally, when listening to the track I always imagined it being about a soldier who is dragged out of a pile of corpses by another survivor (the initial build up) and grouping up and rallying with other stray survivors (second build up). When it hits the final climax, that's them returning to the heart of the battlefield and realising that the battle is far from over and there is still a long fight ahead of them. Thus, the title "Rise Again". But ultimately, "Prepare for battle" is more of less what I was going for.

As for the thumbnail... well... I just grabbed a random image I had laying around, lol.

[Bride of Drunkula]

First, your piece is awfully quiet. I suggest normalizing the volume so the listener doesn't have to change the volume to hear this piece and then change it back when they are done.

Second, I noticed at least two of your submissions copy the title into the author comments secton. If you don't know what to put in the description, I have a suggestion:

Put in the description for this piece what your thought process was (what you were going for) when you made this piece. That way, as a reviewer, I can give better feedback based on how well I thought your intent came through rather than my own taste. I could also, potentially, give a more accurate rating as a result.

I hope this helps. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

[Tsunami]

I think it would be good if you put in your description what your thought process was when you made this song. Were you going for a particular vibe and if so, what was it? In order for me to give a good review by my standard (see the link below) I need to know. If you put this in your description it could help me determine how well I thought that intent came through, as opposed to what I thought of the piece itself. Therefore, I can give better feedback, and possibly a more accurate rating, as well.

One thing I'm curious about is the name: Why call it "Tsunami"?

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

[Corkscrew - Hazard]

From a technical standpoint, I think the overall volume of this piece could be louder. The compression and sound of the song is fine, it's just the peaks are quieter than what I think would be ideal.

I'm wondering about what you were thinking going into this song. What was your thought process? Putting that in your description would help me give more helpful feedback based on how well I thought your intent came through (rather than just by my own taste), as well as a potentially more accurate rating.

One example of something to consider is the title. I'm curious, why call it "Hazard"? Also, it's not clear to me what your piece's thumbnail artwork has to do with the song itself.

I hope this helps. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

ItzCorkscrew responds:

Hi there, thank you for this very long review, I love them!

I don't know myself what I was thinking when I was producing this, just because I always decide in the moment what to do. I do a lot of tries, and then I continue to change it until it sounds good. I tried a lot of time to follow some schemes but it always ended up in melodic songs and/or boring songs and/or banal songs.

The title has been chosen casually, I thought it sounded good with the song so I decided to name it like that.

Thank you so much for the technical advice too, I'll keep that in mind!
Cheers :)