Top Ten Articles – April 2024

Well, it’s the end of the month and this means that it’s time for me to do my usual thing of collecting a list of links to the ten best articles I’ve posted here this month (plus a couple of honourable mentions).

All in all, this month’s articles went reasonably well – and there was also slightly more of a focus on horror movies, probably because I prepared these articles last October. This blog also celebrated its eleventh anniversary this month as well 🙂

As for next month’s articles, expect slightly more stationery-themed articles alongside the usual articles and reviews. Talking of reviews, next month’s “Doom II” WAD review might be a few days later because I’ll also be reviewing a stand-alone GZDoom-based game near the beginning of the month.

And, talking of reviews, whilst there was the usual “Doom II” WAD review this month, I also – for the first time in at least two or three years – reviewed a novella (“Temple Of The Lizard Men” by Alan J. Duin). As well this, I also reviewed Sum 41’s final album,  the 2023 “Aftershock” expansion for “Ion Fury” (2019) and a really fun 2D “Zelda”-inspired indie game called “Ocean’s Heart” 🙂

Anyway, here are the lists 🙂 Enjoy 🙂

Top Ten Articles – April 2024:

• “Eleven Years Of This Blog“
• “‘Blade Runner’ (1982) Was ‘Retro Sci-Fi’ (…Back When It Was Released)“
• “Artistic Inspiration: Ignore The Inner Critic“
• “Three Obscure Metal/Goth Songs That Absolutely Rule“
• “The Value Of Videogame ‘Clones’“
• “Why Painting From Imagination Isn’t An Entirely Bad Idea – A Ramble“
• “Why 1980s Horror Movies Absolutely Rule – A Ramble“
• “How ‘Censor’ (2021) Uses Contrast So Brilliantly“
• “A Hilarious Art Practice Paradox – A Ramble“
• “How ‘Ion Fury’ (2019) Balances Its Weapons“

Honourable Mentions:

• “Using An Old Speed-Running Trick On A Computer Game (To Get A Playable Frame-Rate)“
• “If Art Had Difficulty Settings…“

Top Ten Articles – March 2024

It’s the end of the month and this means that it’s time to compile the usual list of links to the ten best articles I’ve posted here this month (plus a couple of honourable mentions too).

All in all, this month’s articles went reasonably well. As for next month, not only will this blog celebrate its eleventh anniversary (on the 21st April) but – to my surprise – there will also be a book review next month (the first in about two years or so) too.

Talking of reviews, this month was spectacular 🙂 I reviewed the usual “Doom II” WAD as well as Bruce Dickinson’s “The Mandrake Project” (2024), Judas Priest’s “Invincible Shield” (2024), Alestorm’s “Voyage Of The Dead Marauder” (2024) EP, the 2015 remaster of “Turok”, “Urban Chaos” (1999) and three metal/goth songs from last October.

Anyway, here are the lists 🙂 Enjoy 🙂

Top Ten Articles – March 2024:

• “The Genius Of ‘Ellen’s Fear Academy’ (2020 – Present)“
• “Anatomy Of A ‘Lazy’ Semi-Digital Painting – A Ramble“
• “Can A Bad Ending Actually Ruin A Good Film?“
• “Why Make ‘Retro Horror’ Art?“
• “Do Artists Need To Use Their Imaginations?“
• “Why Is ‘Saints Row: The Third’ (2011) So Memorable?“
• “Why Is This Nu Metal Music Video From 2002 So Memorable?“
• “‘Why Isn’t Their Original Stuff As Good?’ – A Ramble“
• “Why Is ‘Bioshock Infinite’ (2013) So Memorable?“
• “Do Horror Games Need Danger?“

Honourable Mentions:

• “Why So Many 1990s Games Used Tank Controls – A Ramble“
• “Why Scariness Isn’t Everything With Horror Movies- A Ramble“

Top Ten Articles – February 2024

Happy leap year everyone 🙂 Anyway, it’s the end of the month and this means that it’s time for me to do my usual thing of collecting a list of links to the ten best articles posted here this month (plus a couple of honourable mentions).

All in all, this month’s articles went reasonably well, especially given that – back when I was preparing them in September 2023 – I was grappling with hot weather during part of the month and an annoying foot injury (which healed in about six days) during another part of it. Next month’s articles will be more of the same, albeit maybe with slightly more emphasis on films and videogames.

As for reviews, as well as reviewing two “Doom II”/ “Final Doom” WADs – “Dark Club” and “Happy Time Circus” – I also reviewed “Amid Evil: The Black Labyrinth” (2023), “Dusk” (2018) and “Cloudpunk: City Of Ghosts” (2021) as well.

Anyway, here are the lists 🙂 Enjoy 🙂

Top Ten Articles – February 2023:

• “Console Gaming In The Mid-Late 1990s – A Ramble“
• “Why Some ‘Retro FPS’ Games Weaken Their Rocket Launchers“
• “One Simple Technique That Horror FPS Games Use To Scare The Player“
• “The Appeal Of Haunted House Games – A Ramble“
• “Making An ‘Artist’s Impression’ Of A Forgotten British Fizzy Drink Flavour“
• “Action Game Design In 1996: The US vs. Britain/Japan“
• “A ‘Blade Runner’ (1982) Survival Horror Game In All But Name?“
• “A Clever Design Decision In the Classic ‘Serious Sam’ Games“
• “Indie Developers Are Keeping Old Consoles Alive – A Ramble“
• “No, Taking Inspiration Isn’t Copying (With An Example)“

Honourable Mentions:

• “Novelty Value And Artistic Inspiration – A Ramble“
• “Today’s Mediocrity Is Yesterday’s Paradise – A Ramble“

Top Ten Articles – January 2024

It’s the end of the month and this means that it’s time for my usual collection of links to the ten best articles (plus a couple of honourable mentions) that I’ve posted here during the past month.

All in all, this month’s articles went reasonably well, albeit with some uninspired days. As for next month, expect more of the same – albeit with a slightly heavier focus on articles about videogames.

In terms of review this month, I reviewed the usual “Doom II” WAD, as well as some stationery and the 2013 art-horror film “The Strange Colour Of Your Body’s Tears“. I also reviewed the games “Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death” (2003), “Broforce” (2015) and “Maximum Action” (2018?). Oh, and a reaction article about that A.I.-generated “George Carlin” video too.

Anyway, here are the lists 🙂 Enjoy 🙂

Top Ten Articles – January 2023:

• “The Appeal Of ‘Extreme’ Horror Fiction“
• “In Praise Of ‘Gamey’ Game Design – A Ramble“
• “Why Do People Use Gel Pens?“
• “My ‘Second Sketchbook’ (15th April 2023 – 5th August 2023): A Retrospective“
• “How To Create ‘Dario Argento’ Red (Traditional Art)“
• “Why Original Art Can Feel ‘Second-Best’ – A Ramble“
• “How Detailed Should Your Preliminary Sketches Be? – A Ramble“
• “1995-2005: A Cool Decade For British Videogames“
• “The Best Metaphor For An Artist’s ‘Style’“
• “Learning To Draw A ‘Fish-Eye Lens’ Effect – A Ramble“

Honourable Mentions:

• “‘Resident Evil: Death Island’ (2023) Is A Film Of Two Halves“
• “This One Thing Makes Your Art Or Writing Totally Unique“

Top Ten Articles – December 2023

Well, it’s the end of the month (and the year) and this means that it’s time for me to do my usual thing of compiling a list of links to the ten best articles I’ve posted here this month (plus a couple of honourable mentions too).

All in all, despite having to replace two articles due to quality concerns or scheduling errors, I think that this month’s articles went reasonably well. As for next month, expect more of the same – albeit with more of an emphasis on action genre videogames (since I was going through a bit of a phase of playing these at the time).

As for reviews, there were more than I expected. As well as the usual “Doom II”/”Final Doom” WAD review, I also wrote a stationery review, a review of a hilariously weird 1990s comic, as well as full reviews of “F.E.A.R” (2005) and “Stranglehold” (2007), plus “impressions” type reviews of “F.E.A.R 3” (2011) and the demo version of “We Are Not Alone” (2023?).

Anyway, here are the lists 🙂

Top Ten Articles – December 2023:

• “The Technical Reason Why This 2000s Hairstyle Instantly Makes Your Characters Look Better“
• “Thoughts About Cheap Watercolour Paper (With Watercolour Pencils/Waterbrush)“
• “How Two Classic Survival Horror Videogames Portray The Same Weapon Type Differently“
• “When A Piece Of Art Is TOO Good – A Ramble (Plus Bonus Art)“
• “Two Cool-Looking Skills That Are Easy To Pick Up (But Difficult To Master)“
• “Why Regenerating Health Is Terrible In Action Games“
• “It’s Impossible To Have Just One Artistic Inspiration For Original Art“
• “The Largest Strength – And Flaw – Of The Written Word (On The Internet)“
• “A Quick Way To Add Rain-Spattered Windows To Your Art (Using GIMP)“
• “Why Are Some Things So Collectable?“

Honourable Mentions:

• “Make It Meaningful To Get Inspired – A Ramble“
• “Your Own Imperfect Version – A Ramble“

Top Ten Articles – November 2023

It’s the end of the month and this means that its time for me to do my usual thing of collecting a list of links to the ten best articles I’ve posted here this month (plus a couple of honourable mentions too).

All in all, this month’s articles went reasonably well – and there were also more videogame-themed and stationery-themed articles than I expected too. As for next month’s articles, expect at least three game reviews as well as a review of a hilariously weird 1990s sci-fi comic, amongst other things….

In terms of reviews this month, as well as the usual “Doom II” WAD review, I also reviewed some stationery as well as two computer games – “Red Faction” (2001) and “Far Cry” (2004) as well.

Anyway, here are the lists 🙂 Enjoy 🙂

Top Ten Articles – November 2023:

• “DRM-Free Gaming On A Low-Spec PC – A Ramble“
• “Distractions Aren’t All Bad – A Ramble“
• “Writing With Rollerball Pens – A Ramble“
• “Dark Manifestations – ‘Silent Hill 2’ (2001) And ‘New Thought’ Spirituality“
• “‘You Were Almost A Jill Sandwich’: The Multi-Verse Of ‘Resident Evil’ (1996/2002)“
• “‘Far Cry’ (2004): A Game Between Two Eras“
• “Verdant Locations In Early-Mid 2000s Videogames“
• “Horror Elements In FPS Games From 2004“
• “‘Shopping Malls’ In Horror Games“

Honourable Mentions:

• “A Quick Demonstration Of Why Art Skills Are Still Relevant In The Age Of A.I.“
• “Another Reason To Have A Second Sketchbook – A Ramble (Plus Bonus Art)“

Top Ten Articles – October 2023

Happy Halloween everyone 🙂 It’s also the end of the month, so I’ll do my usual thing of collecting links to the ten best articles (plus a couple of honourable mentions) that I’ve posted here during the past month.

Also, there will be a collection of links to all six of this year’s Halloween stories posted here at 11pm (GMT) tonight too 🙂

All in all, this month’s articles went well although – weirdly for October – I didn’t really write much about the horror genre. Still, I think that there might be some horror-themed articles queued up for next month if I remember rightly.

As for reviews, as well as the usual “Doom II” WAD review, I also reviewed the dystopian sci-fi comic “Just A Minute” (2023) by Winston Rowntree and the 1996 PC port of “Exhumed”/”Powerslave” as well.

Anyway, here are the lists 🙂 Enjoy 🙂

Top Ten Articles – October 2023:

• “Why You Should Make Original Art (As Well As Fan Art) – A Ramble“
• “‘Violent Videogames’ Are A Type Of Alchemy – A Ramble“
• “Art Pens vs. Writing Pens“
• “Another Reason Why Making Real Art Feels More Satisfying Than Using An A.I. Generator“
• “Digital And Traditional Art Tools – Which Should You Use?“
• “An Artist’s ‘Style’ Covers More Than You Might Think (And Why It’s Impossible To Copy Exactly)“
• “The Paradox Of Internet Comparisons – A Ramble“
• “I Tried To Make A Piece Of Art With My Non-Dominant Hand“
• “Why ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ (2021) Is Underrated – A Ramble“
• “Should Artists Make Traditional Art Based On A.I. Images?“

Honourable mentions:

• “Making A Cool Grim Reaper Painting – A Ramble“
• “Popular Culture In 2003 – A Ramble“

Top Ten Articles – September 2023

It’s the end of the month and this means that it’s time for me to compile a list of links to the ten best articles I’ve posted here this month (plus a couple of honourable mentions too).

All in all, this month’s articles went reasonably well. As well as the usual art-themed articles, I also found myself looking at the history of stationery (Yes, it sounds “boring” but it was fun and nostalgic to write about...) and all sorts of other stuff.

As for next month – whilst there won’t be any “Horror Videogames Series” articles (I might have prepared one or two for November though, if I remember rightly), I’m delighted to announce that Halloween stories should return again this year 🙂 At the time of writing in June, I’ve written six of them and I’m not sure whether or not I’ll add any more, but look out for them towards the end of next month 🙂

As for reviews this month, there were more than I expected 🙂 I reviewed the classic 2002 3D Platformer game “Ratchet And Clank“, the usual “Doom II” WAD, and a really cool “Doom II” mod, as well as a film called “The Love Witch” (2016) and this utterly amazing “so bad that it’s good” 1980s zombie movie called “Burial Ground” (A.K.A “The Zombie Dead”) too.

Anyway, here are the lists 🙂 Enjoy 🙂

Top Ten Articles – September 2023:

• “Ranked: Seven Cheap Hardback A5 Notebooks From 2000s Britain (Best To Worst)“
• “Cheap Hardback A5 Notebooks In The 2000s Vs. The 2020s“
• “In Memory Of Ocean FM (Portsmouth, UK) (1986-2009)“
• “I Made 140+ Ballpoint Pen Drawings In Two Months (And Five Days)“
• “Eleven Years Of Making Daily Art – A Ramble“
• “Artistic Difficulty Is Weird – A Ramble“
• “Should You Show Off Your Sketchbook? – A Ramble“
• “Why Artists Might Use Several Types Of Pens For One Drawing – A Ramble“
• “Why ‘Hyper-Inspired’ Times Don’t Always Last – A Ramble“
• “Why You Should Make Practice Art Based On Action Movie Stills“

Honourable mentions:

• “Why Your Choice Of Art Medium Matters (Plus Bonus Art/ ‘Making Of’)“
• “How To Start An Art Series“

Top Ten Articles – August 2023

Well, it’s the end of the month and this means that it’s time for me to do my usual thing of collecting a list of links to the ten best articles (plus a couple of honourable mentions) that I’ve posted here this month.

All in all, despite no less than four “work in progress art preview” replacement posts (three were due to quality reasons and one due to a scheduling error), I still quite like how at least some of this month’s articles turned out 🙂 As for next month, expect at least a few intriguingly quirky articles, such as no less than two articles studying/comparing old hardback notebooks from 2000s Britain (exciting stuff!).

As for reviews, I reviewed the usual “Doom II” WAD, as well as the brilliant BBC radio comedy “Prepper” (2019-21) and an amazingly good short steampunk/dark fantasy “point and click” game by Octavi Navarro called “The Librarian: Special Edition” (2020) as well. Alas, my planned review of “Doom 3” (2004) never got written though – although I’ll be reviewing the classic early-mid 2000s 3D platform game that distracted me from it during next month’s articles 🙂

Anyway, here are the lists 🙂 Enjoy 🙂

Top Ten Articles – August 2023:

• “‘Doom 3’ (2004) And The Horror Genre“
• “How Human Artistic Inspiration Differs From A.I. ‘Training’ (Plus An Art Preview, Bonus Fan Art, Alternate Art etc…)“
• “One Solution To ‘Lifeless’ Art“
• “Making ‘Lazy’ Digital Art In GIMP 2.10.30 – A Ramble“
• “Can You Become ‘Re-Sensitised’ To Horror Games?“
• “Why ‘Doom 3’ (2004) Gets Overlooked“
• “How To Make A Quick ‘Tropical Waves’ Pattern/Background Using GIMP 2.10.30“
• “What A Left-Handed Writing Grip Taught Me About Literally Everything – A Ramble“
• “One Difference With Reading Novels In ‘Pre-Internet’ Times (And Why It Was Better)“
• “Recording A ‘Lost’ Place Using Art – A Ramble“

Honourable Mentions:

• “Why Diaries Are So Awesome“
• “‘Art Style’ As A Metaphor For Perspective – A Ramble“

Top Ten Articles – July 2023

It’s the end of the month and this means that it’s time for me to do my usual thing of collecting a list of links to the ten best articles (plus a couple of honourable mentions) that I’ve posted here during this month.

All in all, this month’s articles went reasonably well 🙂 As for next month’s articles, expect the usual variety of articles – although I should point out that, despite preparing at least two articles about “Doom 3” (2004), I didn’t get round to actually reviewing this game – I got about half to two thirds of the way through re-playing it when I got completely distracted from it by another old game (which I will be reviewing in early September).

As for reviews, I reviewed more than I expected this month – as well as the usual “Doom II”/”Final Doom” WAD review, I also reviewed the official 2012 expansion for “Doom II”, as well as the 1996 “Doctor Who” movie and no less than TWO modern survival horror games: “Oxide Room 104” (2022) and “Ghost Blood” (2021).

Anyway, here are the lists 🙂 Enjoy 🙂

Top Ten Articles – July 2023:

• “Three Ironic Paradoxes About Wanting To Be A ‘Connoisseur’ Of Anything“
• “One Month Of Sketchbook Practice“
• “Fascination, Obsolescence And The ‘Ordinary’ – A Ramble“
• “Regular Creativity And Your Imagination – A Ramble“
• “Why ‘Because It Looks Cool’ Is A Valid Reason To Make Art – A Ramble“
• “How To Figure Out How To Do Digital Art Stuff (That You Haven’t Done Before)“
• “Why Ballpoint Pen Artists Often Use Just One Model Of Pen“
• “A Clever Way That Two Modern Indie Survival Horror Games Make Fighting Suspenseful“
• “Five Weird Side-Effects Of Making Ballpoint Pen Art“
• “Does Your Location Influence Your Art?“

Honourable mentions:

• “Artistic Inspiration And ‘Training Data’ – A Ramble“
• “The Joy Of… Badly-Drawn Fan Art“