Amnesia: TDD LHudson Reviews Custom Stories

[Amnesia: TDD] LHudson Reviews Custom Stories - Printable Version

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LHudson Reviews Custom Stories - LHudson - 08-19-2013

Wow, a lot has happened since I've been gone. We've had the announcement of Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, a presidential election, and four horrible Adam Sandler movies. But this place has a nice room in my heart so why not come back to the scene I have been on the fence on for some time.

I'm LHudson, I make videos on the internet, and I (hope) you like them.

[Image: 02%20Content.jpg]

With the Let's Play community being a very over-saturated market, I thought I'd do something I haven't seen people do, be a guinea pig! With the rise of overused elements (such as naked flying corpse) it's hard to find out whether the custom story called 'Dead at the End' is good, bad, or terribad. I dive into whatever has been released recently and I shall deconstruct the elements and give it a recommendation level based on my personal experiences. There are no face-cams, no high pitch screaming, no plodding about, just me and a small report about the custom story to deliver to you.

I play them so you can save yourself the horrible custom stories to come.

The review is subject to personal tastes but I try to stay as unbiased as I can. The main areas that are covered are

Level design
Atmosphere
Pacing
Puzzles

There are some other areas that are covered but that depends on what this custom story sets out to achieve. I also highlight some custom story clichés so that those wanting to avoid any custom stories with them in them can be safe in the knowledge whether they do or don't have them.

[Image: 04%20Concluding.jpg]

I take on the good, bad, and ugly sides of custom stories so you don't have to accidentally jump into one and come out with a bad taste in your mouth. If you have one that you want me to take a look at, feel free to post them below and I shall take a look at it.

I look forward to seeing your feedback and support, and I also look forward to becoming an active member on this forum again Smile

Channel Link
Twitter Link
Review Playlist

Video List (Schedule subject to change)
Death by Fear
0 Calories
Secrets of the Old Mansion
A Slaves Masquerade
Where Am I?
The House
The Dark Treasure
Only Fear: From the Past
Key to Freedom
A Late Night Drink
Dark Demise
Last Battle
Grandfather's House
The Unforgiven Game
Red Waters
CinnamonToastKen's Escape Part 1

RE: LHudson Reviews Custom Stories - Bridge - 08-31-2013

I watched all of your videos and have some thoughts if you are interested in hearing them.

First of all, I think the concept itself deserves applause - although I frequently rant about how flawed the concept of art critique is, I think this idea is fresh and quite welcome. Although I would urge players to decide for themselves upon the merits of a particular custom story this review show is not without its merits as players can get a glimpse into the game and hear structured arguments for why they should or shouldn't play it. They are also mostly spoiler free it seems which is good. The only problems I had were 1) the fact that the footage is most certainly not HD and in fact quite low quality I would say and 2) I think your voice tends to be a bit monotone and inexpressive. After 6 videos I have gotten used to it but it does not enthrall me at all.

Apart from that, I think this is great stuff so far, the editing is good, it is well structured, concise (maybe the videos are a little too short sometimes) and not unenjoyable. I would however recommend not reading the release date aloud in the introduction to your videos. It's extremely superfluous because if anybody is actually interested they can simply read it. I know it's only 2-3 seconds but it is still tedious to listen to. You might also think about adopting a more informal style of introduction, it is a bit stiff as-is. Anyway, whether you agree or disagree with my perception, I do wish you great luck with these reviews, I think this has the potential to become "big" so to speak.

RE: LHudson Reviews Custom Stories - LHudson - 09-01-2013

(08-31-2013, 08:17 PM)Bridge Wrote: They are also mostly spoiler free it seems which is good. The only problems I had were 1) the fact that the footage is most certainly not HD and in fact quite low quality I would say and 2) I think your voice tends to be a bit monotone and inexpressive. After 6 videos I have gotten used to it but it does not enthrall me at all.

Odd. There must be something wrong with the gamma and/or contrast because the footage is filmed and exported in HD. I'll faff about with the settings and see if I can improve the quality.

And the Yorkshire accent I have is to sadly blame for that monotone voice, though I am hoping to take some presentation classes when I return to the West Midlands.

I'll have the date deleted after the 17th September episode, since it's already uploaded for release.

Many thanks for your input Big Grin

RE: LHudson Reviews Custom Stories - Bridge - 09-01-2013

(09-01-2013, 04:37 PM)LHudson Wrote: Odd. There must be something wrong with the gamma and/or contrast because the footage is filmed and exported in HD. I'll faff about with the settings and see if I can improve the quality.

Actually, I looked over some of the footage again and I noticed the quality tended to drop proportionately to the lightning and I suppose that's to be expected. If you can improve it, great, but I recant my words somewhat. Also you don't need to take my word on the whole release date thing, it is just in my opinion unappealing.

EDIT: I do admire the fact that you are so organized with your videos though, especially since you're just starting out. I will definitely be watching videos as they are released, even though I'm not hip to the CS scene in general.

RE: LHudson Reviews Custom Stories - Kreekakon - 09-01-2013

I just watched all of your review videos, and I can say with utmost confidence that I am not subbing just to give you support, but because I genuinely wanted to.

I really enjoy these review videos. They're short, and don't take too much time, quickly telling you certain aspects of the story through your own unique way of saying it (Which for some reason I feel is Yahtzee inspired due to a dry sense of cynical humour). The writing flows extremely well, and there's never any dead space, at least non that stood out in my mind.

The only thing that I can think of you to improve is like Bridge said to put more emotion into your voice, and make it more clear, and saturated (Although it's already very clear compared to most Yotubers!)

Everything else would be practice makes perfect as you get more, and more into the craft. Keep this up, and I can see you becoming something absolutely phenomenal!

When I release my FC mod I am definitely going to stuff it to you, and force you to reviews it, and I won't take no for an answer! Big Grin

RE: LHudson Reviews Custom Stories - LHudson - 09-01-2013

(09-01-2013, 05:48 PM)Kreekakon Wrote: I just watched all of your review videos, and I can say with utmost confidence that I am not subbing just to give you support, but because I genuinely wanted to.

When I release my FC mod I am definitely going to stuff it to you, and force you to reviews it, and I won't take no for an answer!