Okay, so we're in a situation where I can't really criticise the animation, per se, as where there are some awesome manipulations of sprites in there, some people have gone out and thrown together a piece that is synonymous with pixels = low quality, where this is obvious that it's not what it is all about.
I think that the jokes have been well written and, overall, well delivered. With the way that it did run on a little too long for my liking, I think you could certainly have used a select scene menu, just to allow people to check out one or two particular pieces of the flash, should they wish to send a festive message to friends, for example.
It's a well formed collab and it is clear that you have spent a lot of time, collectively on it all. Will you be doing something for Easter? I see that some of you have already alluded to that, with the Easter Bunny making Cameos :P
I think that you laboured the point without being too informative of how things work, which really could have helped the flash - show how pixels work, with their square shape and that how the human eye perceives it all, as you pan further out, assisting the visual process.
This is a good flash, as it has quite a bit of depth, though I would stress that you need to integrate the 3D pieces into it a little better. I think that it has been quite informative about the importance of Blocks to people and I'll make sure that next time I go to the shop, I will ask for blocks.
Also, I live in a tree house, so mine was not built from block shapes :P
This piece shows so much potential for your animating skills, I'm so surprised that you haven't taken it further. You've done a good job with the 3D and then gave us so little of the demonstration of it that it left me frustrated that you didn't explore it a little more.
I like the fact that this piece steps out from the traditional storyline a little, so that it doesn't mess things up. Now with more modern versions of Flash, you'd be able to make a movie like this entirely in Flash, which would lead to much higher quality and a much smoother piece overall.
Please have another go at it and bring Ghost Motel to even more users on the Internet!
But with more randomness for plot, which is also awesome. My god man, you make this weird shit look so damned easy to create and spread to the masses.
I love the way that Blockhead is starting to act slightly normal and is now obeying the power of auto-suggestion from the schizophrenic voices that he hears and of course the conscience that appears to be giving him ideas now, which shows the progression into insanity.
I'd love to see a feature length version of Mastermind, as that would be awesome, but that off the cuff remark is slightly Blockhead-ish of me, though I don't like to brag.
An addition of a new 'character' in the Hoot Hoot and the triumphant return of the Weevil, who even wants a job this time. Wouldn't it be nice to see him actually getting ajob somewhere in time for the next Ghostmas surprise that he's going to pull on us... maybe April?
Well, thankfully, it's only Jim spinning a leek around in his hand, though I think everybody who's ever seen you flash can only know that you're making better flash movies (hopefully as we speak)
I think that we can soon put this to one side and move on to the proper flash that we know and love from you, but it shows that you've been trying new things, especially with Jim's mouth and this has laid the foundations for some of your later experiments for progressing with the development of this series.
Thanks man, this was sort of done in a couple of minutes, and just because I felt it'd be funny, submitting it to NG was never really in the plan until my buddy (who was a fan of leekspin) told me I should.
Simple and effective imagery for Christmas, which shows that you don't need to be huge in animation to spread a little cheer every single year.
I'd have appreciated the piece being longer and maybe make the proportions of the kid a little bigger, as he looks tiny in the bed - possibly some lumps under the cover for his feet and so forth, rather than having it look like he sleeps in a hollow mattress and leaves the covers perfectly flat :P
It looks nice, but I think that we could use more animation in there, perhaps Santa putting down the present, maybe sounding like a cat burglar, the dark clothes, sneaking around at night, then flying away afterwards and the camera panning around to the tree, where a nice present lies under the tree with the rest.
I like how this piece panned out - the battle was pretty epic, with the only real issue being that the protagonists kept missing one another, as you'd expect them to have some sort of method to regain health that they had lost over the course of the fight.
Still, with that said, there was plenty to keep the viewer guessing. A shame that you didn't shorten the initial piece with Belmont's servant screaming, as his blood gushed from his open wound, but hey. Now that Alucard has taken over the residence of the castle, does this mean that his reign of terror will begin and that future chronicles will be available for us to see the progression of this region into a more modern setting?
The 'Bloody Zombie' screaming/death is as it is in the game. It's only called a bloody zombie because it's probably the most gushy enemy in the whole thing, especially the death animation as you've pointed out ^^
EDIT: Just rewatched that actual scene and think I figured what you mean. The first scream is the Zombie death via Alucard sword, and the high-pitched 'wweaarroogghhh' is the second zombie having it's soul stolen. Thats yet another issue with the sprites, they're so small so it's hard to keep an eye on whats going on at times if characters are far apart.
Regarding them 'missing', there's only one or two occasions either character misses, the rest is all dodging (Alucard ducking Richters whip attacks / Richter Backflipping Alucard Sword Swings and Hellfire etc) it's just harder to make them look like they're 'dodging' due to the nature of the sprites, unlike all the StreetFighter or Mortal Kombat sprite fights out there where characters actually block and dodge - The only remotely similar ability ANY character has to that is Alucards Shield Block (But of course he threw that at Richter after being taunted, so thats out of the question for the moment ;)
This is the problem I will always have with Castlevania animation - The sprites. Alucards sprite was hailed and praised when this game out years ago, because it's very fluid and so well animated (His hair, his attire, his cape and the way it all flows with motion) but it turns out that he was indeed the most horrible character to work with in this entire movie, because his animations are so long (Smooth, yes, but not very agile) whereas Richter has very few frames per move, allowing me to have him run circles around Alucard (Which I emphasised... Maybe a bit too much) because he's so much easier to work with and agile as a character.
It's something I'll work on - I dont forget the fact that Richter didn't land one whip hit (Sadly I dont have a sprite for him swinging it in his circle attack, or even whipping while ducked) and Alucard can weild multiple weapons but they'd be horrendous to change.
There's a lot of work that needs to be done if I'm to make anything else different or more interesting, but I'm still happy and proud of this one.
Also, without spoiling the movie for potential other viewers, Alucard certainly didn't wrest castle residence considering Richter is still on the loose - The question is what will Richter do in the safety of Dracula's room while Alucard has a face full of demon looking his way ^^
Still, as always, thank you for your constructive review ^^
What a remarkable concept! Such a well devised plot about something so simple, that many people have overlooked it. I like the way that the plot for the sock itself develops like with certain Indiana Jones movies. Perhaps you could have developed that a little more, with some sort of dialogue for the Ogre and the sock, as they clearly have some issues.
When you draw, try zooming in more, to give yourself better control of the cursor, as it will improve the overall finish of your characters and will make the animations look smoother and better finished.
I loved the call back to the laundrette, as lots of people would have missed that out at the end, since it was just a vehicle to start the story. Perhaps we can see this taken a little further, by showing us what exactly goes on in Sockland?
Oh and for the grammar of the title, it should read "Where the missing sock goes", or "Where the missing socks go." Just so you know.
Yeah the title in the actual flash is "Where the missing socks go" the title had to be truncated for newgrounds to the character limit on titles. I really should have just thought up a new title ("A Sock's Odyssey, maybe?), but thanks for noticing that.
I'll try to work on the detail of the artwork, as you suggested.
I was sort of halfheartedly batting the idea of sequel around, which would focus more on sockland, but I'm not sure if I could stomach another sock related project.
Not quite as funny as your usual pieces, but this has parts of it that brought a smile to my face - if you developed the plotline slightly, this could become something worthy of awards, like the Klayworld series.
I think that there needs to be more action from the characters, as Zacharee was too laid back to be the main character of this piece - even Ga only left the room, then came back, so it's not really your usual standard.
I think that the sock puppets have a place to go though, as it proved that your animations have more than one dimension, so try taking that further.
Not a bad short and I have to say that this style of animation was an excellent choice - it works so well for the type of joke that you were trying to put across. Some sort of Monty Python could have been thrown in there for a few more laughs, as the Dead Parrot sketch is widely regarded as one of their best.
I think that the set up for the gag was good, but it could have used a little more, just to give it a decent prod in the right direction. You're almost there, but not quite.
***The Pixelmas Shorts*** 
The Importance of Blocks 
Ghost Motel 9 (3D) 
Blockhead: Episode 11 
JimSpin 
Some Christmas Spirit 
Alucard vs Richter: SOTN - Rhapsody of Ruin 
Where the Missing Sock Go 
Zacharee & Ga Order Pizza 
