NEWGROUNDS IS SPECIAL

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NEWGROUNDS IS SPECIAL

Posted by Tyler - December 15th, 2018

To you newcomers who appeared during this New Renaissance: Newgrounds is special. Few realize how much powerful, popular content has spawned from this site.

Toms trailblazing impact won't soon be forgotten. Castle Crashers was instrumental in ushering indie games into the mainstream console frey. Here are some more people who started from NG:

2595437_154490999412_ScreenShot2018-12-15at4.38.32PM.png

Despite all this, Newgrounds almost died.

She was near dead for a while. On life support, with low traffic. Being kept alive only by a handful of people who cared: (@Ivanalmighty, @TomFulp, @PhantomArcade, etc). NG was known for its outrageous content; a breath of fresh air in otherwise corporate and marketing-friendly times.

Newgrounds SHINES against the dark spirit of puritanism, which is back in full force today. Think of the heavy censorship you see: Social Media purges, PC Culture, EU article 13 banning memes, you getting reported to HR for saying “gay” online 11 years ago when you were still in grade school, etc.

Who wanted an edgy site when things were getting more prude? As society introspected about itself and what was deemed offensive, newgrounds was forgotten. Not only that, but it had to compete against industry behemoth: Youtube. Finally, youtube began censorsing as well. Indeed, the zeitgeist turned to a spirit of stifling itself.

If you payed attention to the fringes of society, it was very obvious a counterculture sick and tired of censorship was emerging. Culture wars manifest in the strangest places (remember gamergate lol), and Newgrounds is a major player in the new zeitgeist shift.

Tumblr purge is just the beginning of the cultural shift, and Newgrounds returning to be the creative powerhouse it once was. Now is the time to get on board as the growth comes.

Look at all these other people NG touched:

Today, December 15th, 2017 is the anniversary of this post. Im making this post one year later, on Dec. 15, 2018

- We predicted the resurgance of Newgrounds.
- Succesful Newgrounds alumni still come together in support of the site.

Consider supporting the site, because in the age of censorship, Newgrounds is one of the only friends you have left.

- Tyler

PS. What does NG mean to you?

Comments

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SquizofrenicCat 2018-12-15 17:25:07

I didn't know Dunkey started here as well!

Newgrounds is a very interesting and unique place even if you take away "anti-puritanism" out of the equation. Just the ways you can interact, collaborate and maintain a standard of a diverse community of creators is something that isn't anywhere else on the web. I only just got back and am starting to appreciate it even more since the latest shitstorms regarding content.

Tyler 2018-12-15 17:25:07 (Updated 2018-12-15 17:42:41)

https://youtu.be/CCkPhYiKbJU

Belyaevs-Fox 2018-12-15 17:35:25

Newgrounds is great in that niche content gets to shine where elsewhere it would be overshadowed by more mediocre clickbait. It is the site's creative spirit that keeps it alive in an age of corporate driven pandering to the lowest common denominator.

Ranyx32 2018-12-15 17:49:01

Back when I was in middle school i used to go on newgrounds to watch some of the funniest flash animations and looking back I didnt appreciate it much but now since the tumblr purge I find my self back here where it all began and now I respect and appreciate newgrounds for what it is a bastion of creative freedom in a web space with corporate pandering and BS censorship Newgrounds was always there for us and still is to this day even I thought the sitr was dead but thanks to the current social media landscape Newgrounds and other independent decentralized social media sites are now on the rise and its great to see Newgrounds rise again after being on life support.

ninjamuffin99 2018-12-15 17:51:39

My favorite thing is finding out some creator I like comes from (or is currently on) Newgrounds. It's like finding out some famous actor is from your small town.

I remember seeing your tweets last year, pretty nifty how only a year later Newgrounds is coming into a new era.

To me Newgrounds is the place for people to creatively grow and improve with each other. The site isn't only focused on the biggest names. Anyone can make whatever they want, and if it's good, it'll get attention, you'll get feedback, you improve, and maybe you get a little audience for yourself. I could say a lot more stuff but im too lazy to write it all up right now heheheh.

Tyler 2018-12-15 17:51:39

What do you mean you're not gonna have an essay battle with me?

Gx3RComics 2018-12-15 18:59:53

Since I'm a shy idiot I only lurked on NG, hearing the community was very vicious. Yet, revisiting here years later and everyone seems chill. Wish I was here sooner.

I bet those people who were saying NG had a rude community are probably rushing here given the circumstances.

But whatever on them, back to share art here.

Tyler 2018-12-15 18:59:53

old stigmas die hard

GallowJolt 2018-12-15 19:45:01

Everytime I see one of these posts it's really inspirational and motivating, in its purest form. Thanks for sticking around with NG as well, OP

Girmor 2018-12-15 20:19:04

I'm here thanks to DuDuL, who is an amazing animator, he also had his beginnings on this site. And now I'm very grateful, because I've discovered so many talented people and many fine additions to my reference collection <cough>, which give me A LOT of motivation to go further! I know I can relay on the community here ^^ NG means a lot to me right now, I know I'll stick with you, Tank lads, for a long time ^^

P.S. RIP NG Discord Channel; what exactly happened? D:

tiarawhy 2018-12-15 20:47:24

Based newgrounds.

FGIJonC 2018-12-15 21:03:47

You're god damn right. It makes me happy to see people talking about NG. Fascinating to hear people go, "oh yeah...newgrounds..."

I haven't posted much to NG but ive been here and about for a while, so i guess what it means to me, is,hell i don tknow. a place that has brought me countless joy at various points. It influenced my sense of humor. For me its mostly happiness in some form.

I honestly cant recall *how* i found out about Newgrounds. im gonna guess looking for stick figure cartoons because thats how i got introduced into internet animation anyway from a friend I used to game with back when my family got our first computer (gamespy anyone?). An animation he made.

I'm just glad this place is experiencing a renaissance of sorts!

NanoSoft 2018-12-15 21:05:00

EPIC FANTASTIC Post my person! a;sldkfjal;sdkf Thanks, I shall become a supporter thanks to this post :P

BrandyBuizel 2018-12-16 00:29:34

Always gonna support the site, not much else for me to say

Zanzlanz 2018-12-16 00:29:40

NG put so many more eyes on my work when I was just starting out. I could easily monetize my games and then show it to thousands of people. So it really encouraged me to take my hobby more seriously, and allowed me to have more fun posting my work.

I'm not convinced I would still be making games if Newgrounds didn't exist, but even if I was, I wouldn't be doing what I am now without it. I mean, it even helped pay my last couple years of college so I could focus more on making creative content...

Going to Pico Day for a couple of years was amazing too! I met people I've been fans of, gained new friends, and was inspired for what goals I should have in the future.

I met my best friend through Newgrounds. We've encouraged each other creatively for years, and I'm sure it's impacted both of our lives. We've been there when we needed someone as well.

Those are just some of the ways NG affected me. I can't think of any other platform that has been this widely impactful to me.

FinalBossu 2018-12-16 04:31:15

>Nightmare Cops coming soon
>Madness Project Nexus 2 coming soon
>artists from across the Internet are signing up
>old members are returning
>number of supporters keeps going up
Feels great man.

Tyler 2018-12-16 04:31:15

hell yea

TheReviewTrickster 2018-12-16 05:29:11

Awesome inspirational speech, man! Let's hope you're right. It definitely does seem like NG is getting better at a steady pace. New updates helping with usability, more customization, and of course, new creators coming back or joining all the time!
I mean, we've got @ChutneyGlaze, with thousands of views here and probably less than a tenth of that on YouTube. @FlowDownStream is really great, and they're assembled here, on NG!
To me, NG means awesomeness. Freedom and community. Stand up to the behemoths (except for Tom's)!

Cyberdevil 2018-12-16 06:05:17

NG means life! Without this place none of the other giants might be here today! It spawned not just all those great artists but also so many other content-driven platforms. The Internet as we know it would be a different place, and in addition to that: I thrive on the inspiration and community NG provides. Every day here is something special. It's a world in itself. An alternative home. Though there used to be a surplus of similar sites (most sourced from the one and only) there's now just nothing quite like it still out there. NG FOR LIFE!

Also awesome post.