I really love how smooth animation is combined with fluid facial expressions. The background colour during the transition phase from normal bg to red-coloured bg really fits well the sense of imminent danger and it gave me a nice Ren&Stimpy vibe especially with Skipper's worried look. I love it in its short duration, I would watch such episode. It deserves a higher score in my opinion. Keep it up the amazing job!

First time I comment on a submission under judgement but I really loved and enjoyed this animation so much that I couldn't resist leaving a comment. First off I loved how fluid animation is, how movements feel natural and the overall simple environment with minimalist colours that help focus on characters.

Second I loved each character's design and how they evolved i.e. the bishop turning into a sniper.

Third the music, great music choice for each character. Each sample fits each character well, their personalities, abilities and role.

I really hope it gets high votes because it truly deserves

p.s. I loved the reference to Felix Colgrave's Double King for the King piece and nice behaviour contrast between the white and black King.

Ok I admit I really enjoyed this game, it was fun exploring each room and finding winners of the awards by clicking on objects^^ I was happy to see WheelieYellow reaching the second place at least, I love his series and deserves a lot. Now my mind memorized Aalasteir's voice without even looking at the description of who contributed because now I am used to his fun voice and laugh (thanks to his interviews), and speaking of Aalasteir, congrats for being the user of the year, totally deserved. I am very happy for you!

I am also happy for ElRamondGMD for the Newcomer Award^^ and despite Yatsufusa's wishes seeing them in the fourth place of the category of the Most Helpful user put a big smile on my face^^, congrats to Pingu for reaching the first place though! Lol, I can't help but to giggle at Tom Fulp nominated among the worst moderators XD because to me he's everything but a bad moderator but it's still cute seeing him in a category different than the usual Never Logs Off (I admit I voted Tom but for this year I will give my vote to DamnedByFate).

Now that I am exploring again the supporter forum (thank you Techno!) I know who to vote for the next Oddball nomination. I enjoyed this game also because it was first time I voted for the NG BBS so it's a bit like I took my small part with those votes. I can't wait to vote again this year! I liked the music choice, "Tripped Up" really fits well the chilling vibe the whole exploration of rooms has despite its escape the room overall vibe. I liked clicking on things to get the medals, most of them were pretty straightforward to get: just hover the arrow and click when the 'lil pointing hand appears but the last two achievements were a bit more difficult (the last one actually).

I've noticed the symbol ☿: it's the symbol of Mercury which in Western Alchemy symbolises the principle of fusibility and volatility, Paracelsus mentions the three primes or tria prima which are Mercury, Salt and Sulphur. Fun fact: alchemists thought of mercury as the First Matter from which all metals were formed, not only Western alchemists but also Eastern ones. They thought it was the father of all metals so being able to control this equals to control the Matter, this is why in Classical India there are exercises aimed at retaining mercury inside the penis. This is still practiced among some alchemists.

Well, asides from this little alchemical excursus, this symbol I found across the room gave me the hint it was linked with the exit from this room. I clicked on them and then door but nothing, I couldn't find the last piece to solve this little minigame until I read a comment of a person who mentioned the TAB key. Thanks to this key I managed to get the last achievement, so I would like to share here how to get this one since only 21 people got it (at the time I am writing this review). The last achievement called "True Believer" can be obtained by following these steps:

1) click TAB key, you will see yellow rectangles that indicate you where to click (click with ENTER key instead of the mouse for this last achievement if you want to be more precise but nothing prevents you from clicking with the mouse too, I preferred ENTER because it was more convenient to my needs)

2) click on all ☿ symbols you see across the rooms (the first one is on the bookshelf next to the escape door, the second one is on the bed (click the left part of the screen to access the room), again left and you will see the third ☿ that is on the barrel

3) click again left to get to the room with the PC and click on the "B" of the "SHUN THE NON-BELIEVER" writing

4) again left and click on the door lock and enjoy your 50 points!

Congratulations to all winners and to Little-Rena, Aalasteir and Pop-Tart for making this game! 5/5

See you the next BBBS awards!

First review of the year and I want to start by reviewing this intense experience that accompanied me and others (both those who were actively involved in the making of this awesome game and the players themselves) over the course of this month. Let's start by saying that it was one of the best gaming experience I had here on NG not only because it lasted an entire month but also because I was involved in the making one of the artworks featured on December 25th so this Tankmas ADVENTure has a special place in my heart: it's part of me.

I still remember the first day it was launched, I immediately went to play it not only to get the first medal but also to see the overall look of this journey and I like how simple it was: just a simple fire to roast marshmallows. And this brings to the first thing I loved about this game: marshmallow roasting. The first day I had difficulties and I kept burning it. I still remember when Tankmas Discord server members and I were just many Captains and G-Bots (I was G-Bot since I was supporter then) standing before this fire and keeping these marshmallows burnt. There were some bugs at the beginning, I still remember with affection the big black void square that appeared in the middle of the fire and all of us roasting burnt marshmallows as if we were offering to the Void divinity. I still remember when I saw Tom Fulp the first day the game was released, I still have the screenshots XD.

But if this minigame initially was just a funny joke to see who roasted the most, but then with the addition of high scores it became a very addictive game, to me at least but whenever I felt I roasted as many as I could but ofc I never reached the level of the only and true legend of this minigame: BeepBeeBbastard! I remember the first time I met her: it was a snowy day (in the game, where I live December was pretty much sunny or foggy at best) and I went to the fire to try to figure out how to roast these marshmallows and I saw this user with this funny username and the avatar of Boyfriend. I liked how the name fit perfectly the avatar because the first part of the name mimicked, in an onomatopoeia-like sound, the auto-tune noises Bf tends to do.

I started to see her every day and I liked the vibe she gave me: a tranquil user, peacefully enjoying the atmosphere and chilling before the fire while roasting marshmallows. I observed her and her roasting skills, I've noticed where she tended to position herself to optimize the roasting speed. She definitely mastered it but I wanted to master my roasting skills too. I initially failed a lot because I couldn't figure out how others managed to roast them. I just had to press Z at the right moment but in the initial phases it wasn't this obvious, why? I want to give a tip to those who wish to master this art: follow the sound.

What do I mean by this? I mean listen carefully the sound marshmallow makes, you will see different cooking degrees. I initially had to rely a lot to the sight in order to memorize the pattern of cooking stages and my roasting technique was very rusty at the beginning once I figured out I just had to press Z or SPACEBAR. Some of you might have seen me moving back and forth with the stick when I reached the penultimate cooking phase. It was clumsy but the more I practiced, the more I mastered it especially after I noticed that different locations around the fire give different roasting speed. BeepBeepBastard positioned herself at the right side of the fire (from the perspective of the player) with the feet touching the tips of a stick with a marshmallow impaled in the snow. I experimented this and I've noticed that it gave a fast roasting speed, but it has a downside for people like me who prefer calmer, slower and more patience approaches: you had to be quick in observing and pressing Z at the right moment.

So I preferred to do at my own pace until I finally reached my personal balance: I can now literally roast marshmallows with closed eyes. I don't need to see it getting roasted and reaching the perfect temperature, because now when roasting them I only rely on the sound it makes and I've noticed an interesting pattern: if I understood well by following each sound the marshmallow makes when hitting a cooking stage, there are 5 cooking stages represented not only visually but also acoustically. Each stage has a specific jingle with the next sound being high-pitched and at close range to the next one. If the sound distance between the first cooking sound and the second seems to be split in half (1/2), the distance between the second and third cooking stage is approximately 1/4, then 1/8 etc. When I first realized this I relied a lot on sight but finally on December 29th I reached my balance: relying only on the sound it makes. And I can reach nice streaks (even 20-30) by relying on sound while keeping my eyes closed and the finger on Z button. It works better for me to follow the sound rather the look of the marshmallow. It's a minigame I love because it is based on slowness, determination and patience, this is why it's not for everyone. I've seen some users giving up with the first burnt marshmallow. And around that fire I met some very nice users cheering for me while I reached 100 marshmallow in a row.

Sometimes it happened that I cheered or greeted BeepBeepBastard with those lovely stickers and I liked when she replied back. It's nice how that fire brought together many different users and even helped me to develop a skill I didn't think to have developed: roasting marshmallows only by following the sound they make when reaching the right temperature. And stickers were another part I loved because they are all awesome (I admit my favourite is the one with Jonny Utah and Tom kissing XD XD XD along with Pico, Skid&Pump, Edd, Isaac and others). I saw their evolution: from buggy to perfectly functioning ones.

Second element I liked where these ghosts around the hotel but I always wondered what is the purpose of the silent ghost that was first positioned before what then will become the hotel we learned to love and then was put where the Little Candles present is. I don't want to believe I am the only one who tried to speak with him every day of the month XD seriously, I tried to talk to him each day but I always got the "..." reply. Mmmhhhhh....very mysterious. Each ghost has his/her own personality expressed by their speech patterns and I liked that a lot. I loved how the game developed during the month, how each present was added (I loved every single submission posted, I could see the talent and creativity of each artist who put a piece of their soul in this big project).

I loved the style of each character used as skin to chose: we started as Tankmen, G-Bots and Picos and then exploded in a variety of characters. I image Tankmen first arriving in this place and exploring it, then each NG character its appearance. I initially stuck with Red Knight from Castle Crashes since I like them but my love at first sight was Skid and still now I keep using it. I haven't see many Pumps, the only one I remember is Pumpadoodles, a very talented artist I follow who makes great Skid and Pump art. I still have the screenshot of me roasting marshmallows with BeepBeepBastard and Pumpadoodles watching us. This inspired me to draw a fanart to celebrate this experience. I am already making it.

I liked meeting staff members of the game sometimes across the game map and another thing I loved were the music. I congratulate with each musician, you made each day or group of days (some songs could be listened over two or even three days). I've noticed the contrast between other songs and today's song. Today's song has a more somber and melancholic vibe, as if the end has been reached and it gave me a strong feel of nostalgia, that's very rare I experience nostalgia for something that is only one month old. I tend to develop it after an average of four month because that's the period in which I tend to form first memories of an event I experience.

This song looked like Christmas Ghost that brings every thing away and now only a pale memory of what Tankmas has remained, towering on dusted objects used to make this Tankmas memorable. It's still a great song, it fits perfectly the spirit (no pun intended or maybe not :))))
It's very difficult to say which song I loved the most but I think that Starcat Ft. Saulo Mid - Merry TankMas!, Holiday Memories - Tankmas 2024, Santa's Gone, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas and Ode to Snow are among my favourite songs of this game, especially Ode to Snow because it differs from others because of the synthwave vibe it was, the sound it makes truly makes me feel winter, it's cold but not a dangerous cold, a distant yet refreshing cold that gets warmed by a fire. I listened to it while I was studying too.

I really liked the addition of dialogue trees to NPCs and how they gave you different dialogues if you used a specific skin linked to said character.

Movies were a part I enjoyed a lot especially NGTV Christmas Marathon, Sketch Collab and Dr. Good's Christmas Special but each movie was fantastic because it combined the spirit of the holiday with NG humour which is always a good thing! Comics were another great thing I loved, and I loved them all especially "Pico and Friends Bringing Smiles to All Kids" and "Tankmas Chronicles" (nice reference to "Pico saves Tankmas" of the previous Tankmas). I just love VoicesByCorey's voice acting, his voice fits Pico perfectly. I first discovered him with Pico vs Bear, and then I could enjoy his voice in these Tankmas comics.

I also appreciated a lot that our Pico Cross pieces were included in the game, everyone did an amazing jobs, kudos!

After all this long walltext I want to conclude this review with a personal thank to everyone: from developers, musician, artists to players I met in the game. Thank you for making all of this possible! It was deep honour to be part of this experience and I hope to participate to the next Tankmas (I will participate again). This was my second favourite collab I took part (the first was the Great Homer Collab) but in terms of emotional connection got the first place because I saw its birth, development and evolution. Thank you to everyone! I hope everyone had a serene Christmas/winter holiday. Keep rocking!

This is a really lovely game that made me think hard during the hardest levels of stage 3 but also previous stages were fun to enjoy and find a solution to both pain and collect all stars in order to get a higher score. The ninja looks very adorable, levels are well designed and the level of difficulty is balanced according to the stage. Some levels were easy to solve while others required to think outside the box, especially the last ones. Others were difficult but with a bit of mechanical thinking you can pass through.

I also liked the design of each stage from the village to the big city and how each stage colour is reminiscent of the paint you have to use to colour walls. The music is very catchy and helps to keep focused on the task. The level of difficulty keeps the player engaged to continue solve it even after some failed attempts. Trials and errors are another strategy after all but also looking carefully how each level is structured is important, especially in the big city. I admit level 25 was more difficult than level 30 to me but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

I've experienced some harder puzzle games (traps, enemies, time running out, etc.) that can make you feel frustrated so playing a more casual game like this was a nice gesture from the developer so even those who are not hardcore players can still enjoy this 'lil adorable gem. The game has the potential to expand its gameplay and why not a bit of lore but still I liked it a lot and I would recommend it to everyone especially casual players and medal hunters since you can get them all in one sitting.

I also admit I was quite surprised not to see a limited number of moves to complete a level, this would have added a bit more difficulty and thinking process, but I am fine with this solution too. I was also glad to obtain 69,200 points. I didn't expect. Really cool game, keep it up!

Congratulations for the FP, well deserved! I love the sound of the theremin that starts at 00:22. I always loved that sound which reminds me of a cello lost in a dense fog, crying because it doesn't know how to get home. The otherworldly sound of it that accompanies the entire musical composition adds a nice reminder that this is Halloween time despite the upbeat notes that make the backbone of the musical piece.

This piece gives me a mix of "hey, dance with us! It's Halloween, the holiday in which you can be good or mean!" and "be careful, danger is always round the corner" and in terms of sensory stimuli, this song makes me feel a sweet sensation in my mouth as if I am eating lots of candies.

The combination of the theremin-like sound and the upbeat notes, that almost reminds me of droplets of rain, add a cheerful yet eerie vibe to the whole song. I love it! Keep it up.

Wow, this track is truly sick. I love! Every part tells a story of its own, the beginning seems to prepare for something really cool and mysterious to happen, the middle part hypnotizes the listener with its percussion rhythm and the final part was unexpected to me: a mesmerizing, compelling experience.

If I had to depict in my mind what the initial part gives me as image it would be a cristalline marine cave similar to Blue Grotto, a cave in Anacapri with its intense blue waters and magical atmosphere.

The middle part seems to physically accompany me into an urban but serene environment of a city that struggled to reach that peaceful state of mind.

The last part with this accelerated tune reminded me of a dream that evaporates from your mind before waking up and leaves you with an uncontrollable impulse to reach again this dream.

It's too beautiful that I am re-listening to it in loop over and over while exploring NG. Thank you for this masterpiece, totally deserved the frontpage!

5 stars from my rating, but 10 stars from my heart!

I love so much how this musical composition really gives me a water vibe, it has liquid notes with the basic leitmotiv repeated as if they were the drops of water coming from the cave of a lost atoll in the middle of Pacific Ocean. I am imagining a bright vivid light blue sky being soared by sea birds while a soft, fresh wind caresses the surface of the sea.

I love that dynamics of the composition starts at slow but peaceful pace and starting from the half part of music the rhythmic cadence creates an extremely catchy tune that combined with the nice loop that is created when music ends, make all of this a hit that sums up the spirit of summer: carefreeness, liberty, relaxation, sunny days, hot temperatures but fresh water to cool you down.

The melody is very sweet and this is emphasizes by the leitmotif that repeats itself and again reminds me of water droplets. I've listened to this piece almost 20 times and I love it so much, I think I will keep it going on while I create my piece for the summer collab as I love drawing while listening to quality music. Keep it up!

I always fall in love with lineless artworks, they look so beautiful and visually appealing because they manage to show the overall structure without sacrificing details in their simple structure. I really like the colour gradient that can be seen on Pico's pants, shirt, hair and gun. It adds a nice depth vibe to the composition.

Despite Pico's readiness to fire (the index finger on the trigger) we can notice his tired look, a look of someone who had to go through many traumatic events, starting from Cassandra incident. I like the overall pensive atmosphere this composition has starting from the background. The use of cold colours and simple shapes further enhance this feeling: a feeling of tiredness, necessity to collect thoughts and maybe relax. Even in the title there is this concept and I like the possible pun between Pico's school and Pico So Cool if one reads it fast.

The circular shape of the whiteish circle of the background give a calming vibe and the curved pose Pico has almost looks like a fetal pose. This speaks to me as if Pico entered a new life; a life made of action, guns and dangerous enemies. A difficult life that can have a toll on his mental health and we know he suffers from schizophrenia, insomnia and homicidal tendencies. At the same time he is not an asshole nor he's sadist, he can be a pretty cool guy who gets his job done in an efficient way.

I like this depiction of Pico, it differs from the usual hot-headed gunner we usually see, don't get me wrong I like those depictions too, he is a man of action after all even though he's not reckless, but I don't mind at all more relaxed depiction of our favourite redhead. I also like the bullets as decorative elements of the background, they act as a signature of Pico since he uses guns as his main weapon.

Really great job! I love everything about it and I admit I have to thank BuupDraws's blog about their favourite works found on NG since I found your work from there: https://buupdraws.newgrounds.com/news/post/1505980

Keep the amazing job up!

WOW! This is simply fantastic! I love it so much, I love how everything turned out, from the Pokedex, the simple background used to each Pokemon. I just love how they show their unique traits and how your personal style enhanced each of them. Nice choice using the Inline way of showcasing them because it makes the overall work fluid to look at while scrolling down (and it's perfect for those who use mobile). It makes you want to keep scrolling down to reach the end.

I love so much Aerodactyl's look, that small eye really give an antediluvian vibe of an almost forgotten fossil. Nice use of different shapes to convey the Pokemon's traits i.e. Rapidash's elegance and strength, Gyarados's dangerousness compared to its pre-evolution (the use of round lines highlights this), Eevee's cuteness and so on. Each Pokemon is well stylized in this lovely way of rendering their characteristics. I love the band-aid on Graveler's right shoulder, it's a nice detail that shows its tendency to confront with dangers and possibly other Pokemons (I assume other Gravelers). Missingno is quite cool because I always wondered how people would render this mysterious Pokemon with such intriguing yet complex external look that is not always to render in such tangible way like you did. I commend you!

I love how you made Growlithe, he's such a good boy/girl. It's one of my favourite 1st Gen fire type Pokemons. And can we talk about the starters? I love how you gave them different personalities in the way they send their glare or are positioned. I can feel Charizard's self confidence with the way he curves his neck and looks at a potential challenger, Blastoise's readiness of wit in case a fight is inevitable and Venusaur's willingness to be left alone without giving up a fight if situation requires it though.

With this artwork you brought me such nostalgia because Kanto region and its awesome pokemons were the first I experienced when Pokemon arrived where I live. You hit me right in the feels with this lovely artwork. I still have the cartridge with Pokemon Red and I didn't delete in years its data: I have a Mew and Mewtwo in my team along with my lovely Arcanine, Dragonite, Gyarados and Venusaur. I tend to almost pick Bulbasaur but Squirtle is another great alternative (I love water type pokemons and in the game I could increase the overall number of pokemons in the game since there are many water type pokemons). I rarely used Charmander, I opted for Growlithe instead.

I can see the dedication put here so despite I gave you 5, just know that in my mind this work gets 10 stars. Keep the amazing job up, you have a fantastic Gallery and superb talent!

I really love a lot how she turned out in your style! As I told you in DMs I love how you managed to catch her curious look and the choice of giving her big, round eyes with small irises enhance it!

Another thing I truly appreciate is your effort to draw something that was out your comfort zone: animals and more specifically a feathered coelurosaurian theropod dinosaur. Coelurosauria is a clade containing all theropod dinosaurs more closely related to birds than to carnosaurs.

Birds on the other hand are feathered theropod dinosaurs and constitute the only known living dinosaurs. Likewise, birds are considered reptiles in the modern cladistic sense of the term, and their closest living relatives are the crocodilians. They are descendants of the primitive avialans (whose members include Archaeopteryx) which first appeared during the Late Jurassic. According to some estimates, modern birds (Neornithes) evolved in the Late Cretaceous or between the Early and Late Cretaceous and diversified dramatically around the time of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago.

Birds can be quite challenging when it comes to feathers because they have different shapes, colours and patterns and it's the same with feathered dinosaurs. A thing to keep in mind when drawing a feathered theropod is the way wrist are drawn. Raptors are clappers not tappers, this drawing well shows it: https://64.media.tumblr.com/8494c33613d29939ce4b46ec228ab2a9/tumblr_nq08kb3jci1qztb1ro1_1280.jpg

from: https://korybing.tumblr.com/post/121617944477/a-dinosaur-enthusiast-told-me-this-little

A huge tool I suggest you to use when drawing dinosaurs in general is using skeletal reconstructions because they help you to focus on main elements of the skeletal structure, the body size and proportions. I link here the skeletal reconstructions of Microraptor:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Microraptor_Skeletons_by_Qilong.jpg

My Microraptor OC is based on the holotype IVPP V13352. There are three species of this dinosaur and the first one is not Microraptor gui (the species Xiang is based on) but Microraptor zhaoianus (Xu et al., 2000) while the most recent was M. hanqingi (Gong et al., 2012). But it was the specimen of Microraptor, BMNHC PH881 that helped to discover several features previously unknown in the animal, including the probably glossy-black iridescent plumage coloration.

And I like the technique used to render it, I mean when using a ballpoint pen cross-hatching and gradients are the way if you want to play with iridescence or iridescent-like effects. So kudos to you considering you only used a single colour (black) to render it!

fun fact: in 2010, it was reported that there were over 300 undescribed specimens attributable to Microraptor or its close relatives among the collections of several Chinese museums, though many had been altered or composited by private fossil collectors.

Despite its name Microraptor is not the smallest dinosaur, the smallest dinosaur known from adult specimens which is definitely not an avialan is Parvicursor remotus, at 162 grams and measuring 39 centimetres long. However, in 2022 its holotype was recognized as a juvenile individual. Right now the smallest theropod overall (including avians) is the currently extant bee hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) at 6.12 cm long and 2.6g for females, and 5.51 cm long and 3.25g for the males.

Anyway, back to the drawing. I like the claw visible in the right wing. Nice job at drawing the hands, they always face inwards, palm-to-palm (remember the clapper NOT tapper thing) and I like how you rendered the tail. Tail is most flexible at the base and didn't wag like I did in my face expressions exercise, that was for comedic purposes. Theropods tails were rigid, long and held straight especially when running, so they weren't used as whips XD

Why weren't theropods tappers (see JP Velociraptors to know what I mean)? Because it was anatomically impossible for dinosaurs to pull off naturally. The wrists would just break if it was tried.

The only thing I feel to suggest when exploring a new territory (i.e. drawing birds/theropods etc.) is to break down the figure into shapes such as circles, squares, triangles etc. This way you can immediately study the overall shape and proportions of the subject you are going to draw. Other than this I commend you for drawing something that is out your comfort zone. Keep it up!

not so fun fact: there's a relatively new yet also well-supported theory on how some dromaeosaurs could've taken down prey, and their wings would've played a very essential role on it. They'd pounce on their prey, hold them down using their famed sickle claws, and stabilize themselves by flapping their wings wildly. After that, they'd start ripping apart and eating their prey and a lot of the time the prey would still be alive.

another fun fact: based on the size of the scleral ring of the eye, it has been suggested Microraptor hunted at night. The discovery of iridescent plumage in Microraptor has led many to question this assumption on the grounds that no modern birds that have iridescent plumage are known to be nocturnal, but this argument is itself questionable as there in fact are modern nocturnal birds with iridescent plumage, such as the kākāpō as well as various night-feeding waterfowl; furthermore, as a forest-dwelling, presumably solitary carnivore, Microraptor was significantly different ecologically compared to extant corvids and icterids with dark, iridescent plumage, which are social omnivores of more open habitats.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22403389/