The first ever interactive flash
Wow, well I dont know what to say, breathaking at the very least! And I thought R-A-G-E was good.....
The whole presentation of this was very good expecially the 'memory' bit with the jumbled up writing. Everything in this seemed like a dark dreamworld atmosphere, and from beginning to end you spent the flash trying to understand, and I knwo this sounds like a sad ocmparison - but it really was like through this whole flash you were 'searcing' for answers, trying to pick out pieces inb a large complex puzzle. This affect is amazing and Is extremely difficult to do, not often have I watched a flash where I am so confused, where at the end my mind is completely boggled and it takes a few minutes to take it all in. The capability to do this is so important, because like the title suggests this really does relate to the name 'memory' because the character is experiencing these such horrific flashbacks - what you are very successfully doing here is actually CARRYING out the confusion the character in the story here to the actual audience, this gives us a tense and scary emotion and we are feeling what the character is feeling; this alone deserves extra credit because in a way we are actually INTERACTING with the story, we are touched by a mere flash which is why I gave this so high on the interactivity department, I frequently found myself jumping out of my seat hairs raised experiencing what the character was experiencing. I never once on Newgrounds have really felt this before, and it was one of those rare moments which made you think.
My true feelings on this flash already described to you, ill sum it all up. First off, very well done on the beginning of this by the way, i really wasnt expecting that thing to jump out of me! I thought by the creepy writing and scary tune 'wow this is going to be powerful!' but a flash is usually like a film : it starts all happy and you wait most the time waiting for the boldness to begin - but you did this right at the beginning! Oh yes, you made us jump out of our seats RIGHT there RIGHT then - and because an audience rarely ever experiences this, thats why it was so unexpected! The switching was also effective as you began in a dark atmosphere but when you made it all cartoonish it was a brilliant contrast, and I used this as a few moments to gather my breath before it plunged back into the whole 'darkness' theme; which is good becuase when you cause the viewer to feel relieved they are having a break from the evil and taking a moment to gather their thoughts to find the 'truth' in the message you were sending out you KNOW you are captivating your audience in the right way, you know you are getting to the watcher which is exactly what you should want :) this switching from light to darkness also in a way gave us a comparing mind and if you will showed us the 'reality' from the 'disire' - in a perfect world everything would be happy in the cartoonish part of this flash. On a smaller note, the menus were well set out and also raised the interactivity level of this. Sound did an excellent job and has its own personality in setting the scene. Graphcis could be better but i really wouldnt focus on that, what matters is the powerful message and content of your work, and a pretty excellent content at that :)
All in all give this a 10 and vote a 5 as in all my months at NG i have never seen a flash that deserves it more, i only give out the perfect score if i really thinkthe flash dserves it and if it manages to capture me in the right way - and both of these you pulled off, you should be very proud of yourself. I know I havnt made any suggestions but i really am definant that this needs none, this truly was the first 'interactive' flash i have ever experienced, and i wanted you to know how your audience felt during that even if this review was a little lengthy.
I heartily wish you good luck on future flashes and I really hope to see more of this soon, i truly do admire your style of work :)
You have just been reviewed by
~T_C
I don't think i will sleep tonight :)