Hello people,

I got the chance to vote for the best movie/game of April this year and I wanted to make a blog post about the entries i voted for, and give a quick explanation for the entries I chose.

I guess I feel I want to give a shout out or some recognition to some of the things i saw/played? I'm not so sure they need it, but regardless I wanted to this this anyway because both the times i've done this I felt there was a lot of interesting things to talk about

+ it sounds fun lel

Not that I will say too much though, and hey, if you want to provide your opinion and feedback too, i'd love that :>

Here we gooo:

(1) DE_dust2: Hacker's Wraith Tribute [Movie]

(by LucHD)

This one was my top pick. I grew up watching a lot of stickman cartoons on the internet (they take partial responsibility for inspiring me to become an animator myself), so maybe it pulled at my inner child or nostalgia or something, and therefore I may be biased in this choice. BUT it did have a great story concept, a lot of cool (1 dimensional, but otherwise cool) characters, neat 2d+3d mixed animation, sick action and creative scenarios. It's amazing what you can do with just stick figures, and that's why I love them lol

(2) EARWAX | MELVINS MACABRE [Movie]

(by MeatCanyon)

MeatCanyon is awesome. If you haven't heard of him I'd check him out. He turns celebrities, your beloved childhood cartoon characters and many more things into freaky, wrinkly, deep voiced monstrosities, with a humorous twist. His video EARWAX has all that except with original characters. The narrative turns the ear-cavern dwelling monster in something deserving of sympathy in the end, which is a creepy yet satisfyingly twist, which is what landed it on #2 for me here. Why not #1? I thought the female character design was a little too different from the main art style, and you can see the twist coming a little bit before it happens. But a spectacular movie nonetheless!

PS it should be "Melvin's" not "Melvins" smh MeatCanyon

(3) HOMESTUCK: The Most Internet Story EVER [MOVIE]

(by Shadok)

This video is about Homestuck, some kind of flash-based internet comic-ish series, that tells a story using still images, gifs, small games and even viewer/community interaction. I've heard of it before but am not too familiar with it lol. But this video gives a great introduction to it and essentially functions as a fan parody of it. It's very humorous and fun and does the Homestuck thing very well. It's animation is very basic, and it's only the first part of something, so you do end off without a full conclusion. Also I hope you tolerate bronies.

(4) You Will Fall [Game]

(by YaenGames)

I tend to put games lower down on my list only because I prefer animation, but i try and remain fair either way. You Will Fall is a game about balance, balancing your mouse cursor in the middle of the screen while avoiding distractions and WIND. I thought this game was a master example of a simple yet effective game, both in concept, execution and even design. I guess it's not too original, but i didn't see anything that would out-do it in that regard lol

(5) Recontra [Game]

(by streq)

Wasn't sure whether to put this one about You Will Fall or below it. But i put it here. I don't remember why. It's a modified version of Contra for the NES, but for Newgrounds :> the beginning of the game is simple, it's just play contra on 1 screen but survive. After that though there's a second, comedic objective which sold it to me as being awesome lol. Check it OUT

(6) Maerl Bay [Game]

(by Oroshibu)

Maerl Bay is a game where you play as a smol submarine taking pictures of like seaweed or gunk or something in the sea/ocean/some body of water. I thought the graphics were appealing and cute, and the concept was easy to learn and get used to. I guess I really like games that I can learn fast? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that it's an internet game that i don't want to spend too much time on and not like a game you get on steam. Hmm maybe I gotta rethink the way i vote on games :'

(7) TrashKitty [Game]

(by MadNukin)

Puzzle/platforming game with a cat entering and exiting garbage bins. Plays like jump king when you are in the bins. Great concept, great music, good humor with the kitty and the homeless guy. Nothing more inspiring than watching a cat achieve it's goals while rummaging in garbage.

(8) Super Mario Land in 7 minutes [ANIMATED] [Movie]

(by Xandrecos)

The 1st 3 movies i mentioned were all the ones I found notable considering all the entries, so form here I kinda looked for what I just generally enjoyed. This animation I thought should take this 8th spot because it was a decent length and some good effort was put into it. It had clever jokes and running gags and fun animation (albeit mostly simple). Not toooo memorable but worth the watch!

(9) 64 Bits - Kirby and the Forgotten Land Demake for NES [Game]

(by 64bitsanimation)

Kirby sucks up a car and then starts ramming into people and things. Very cool NES visual style, cool car mechanics and feel I think this one mostly got me just by the look of it lol. Took me a little bit to realize it wasn't a continuously-run foreword game and that you can change directions :<

(10) Kattwerp [Movie]

(by foneycone)

This movie was my last selection! I had a bunch of videos I generally liked, but I selected this one here because I think as artists we can generally relate to the message. The main character apparently sucks at what she likes to do (which is sing) and she has a moral dilemma due to believing that. She questions whether she does what she does either for the respect of people, or for her own satisfaction, and which is more important. A very interesting question I think most artists (and in general people) should ask themselves. Even though it's 10th place for me, I think it's #1 in terms of interesting subject matter.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

• MOSQUITO SONG [Movie]

(by hobotoon)

Creative scenerio, unsuspecting twist

• Bowsette in 23 animation styles! [Movie]

(by TheChalkeaters)

Cool collab with various art/animation styles + awesome music

I wish I could have been a part of this ;-;

• Keeper of the celestial flame [Movie]

(by ArtOfAlexH)

Bro the animation is fucking unbelievably good

• X-RL7 Episode 23

(by X-RL7)

The series seems to be some kinda commentary on the music industry, pretty cool subject matter, goes right under Kattwerp. Will probably check the whole series out. You should too! :>

• Postlife 12: The Process

(by MiuSchardo)

This stuff will satisfy your desire for creative insanity-- visually, auditorily, and poetically.

Thanks for reading!

If you got something you wanna say about some of these entries or the others, please leave a comment, I'm very curious to know other people's views and votes!

Metallis