I suppose you guys set the standards so high..
.. with Decline Christmas (which I thought was an awesome flash) that I thought this was going to be even better or at least similar. This had its good moments, but the whole thing seemed drawn out and didn't seem to have the energy and humor of the other great Declines.
Humanize the "God"
Just as "The Decline of Video Gaming" underscores some of the principle flaws of the industry, so does it share similar problems, none of which destroy its real worth as one of Newgrounds' best satires.
The first issue: voice acting. The main characters sound disenchanted, yes, but they (and everyone else, except for the lady--she sounded good) came off as flat and stolid. Send rehearsal clips and receive feedback before sending a final version. Never hold back when speaking lines and let them flow out as naturally as possible. If there's a hint of strain, it's wooden.
The next problem deals with sound compression. The streaming audio (I'm guessing it's streamed) is so badly muffled, you really need to crank the volume to hear a conversation. Even if you have to submit something much beyond 10 MB (you got away with 7.5 already), do anything that will prevent your sound quality from managing to shovel through the planet's core even after hitting rock-bottom.
The last problem is the screenplay. Face it, it rehashed everything we came to expect; such is the fate of sequels. You'd think the villains would change, or that you'd discuss the stagnation or lack of innovation in favorite genres (such as first-person shooting games). The first two in the Decline series were funnier because they were fresher. Don't get me wrong--I did laugh--but be sure you introduce fresher material next time. I did consider the efforts your groups took in revamping the the series' visual style with new flash techniques, and that is where your short film shines.
So, this is an objectively good flash--superior to most of the stuff that comes through--just add fresher content, adjust the sound quality, or just work on your acting skills, and you'll wow them with the anticipated sequel (sigh).
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Er guys? Your words are in Chinese not Japanese. Plus when I read them in Chinese, they don't make sense either. I'm just wondering whether you did your research before putting in "oriental looking words".
Anyway, nice work on the flash as always. Personally preferred Decline 2's jokes, but well done nonetheless.
Quite a few people have mentioned this. The font I used was called "Japanese" and I had another one called "Japanese symbols". If they're Chinese....well, then, blame 1001fonts.com!
-Dim
Wasn't as funny as it should've been.
I'm let down by this one. I was expecting something fantastic and funny as hell. Infact I signed off on all my messengers when I saw Decline 3 on the flash portal. It wasn't nearly or even close to being as funny as the first 2, or even the christmas episode. This had nothing to do with videogames, it was all about you guys being kidnapped by the owners of gaming companies.
Hillarious!
Great idea! Parodys were cool.