Interview No. 127

Interview By: @Atlas

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A: A friend of mine from highschool used to speak about Newgrounds from time to time. I think initially I came to Newgrounds to view some of the Flashes he'd spoken about and then I ventured onto the BBS. The BBS was the reason I decided to stick around. The community had a lot of good users and the video games forum was a great place for me to talk about my main hobby with like minded people.

Q: How has the site changed from when you joined to now?

A: Quite significantly, considering the recent(ish) redesign. However, my main interest was always the community. I liked that this site allowed people to speak freely and wasn't so tightly moderated. I feel like forum activity has been on the decline for a while but I also feel like the the quality of discussion has risen to some extent. There doesn't seem to be as much junk on the forums now compared to how I remember it being a few years back.

Q: What was your reaction when you became a mod?

A: I was a little surprised. My first reaction was to check that the PM actually came from Wade because I initially thought it might have been someone messing about. It wasn't something that I ever expected to happen. Back then I probably spent most of my BBS time in the video games forum and we had our own little community there. I'd frequent the general forum too but I never really thought of myself as a well known user. On top of that I barely ever spoke to any of the moderators or staff so I was surprised that I'd been considered as a potential moderator. I guess it just felt nice to have some trust placed on me.

Q: You are a fan of British Punk music. What do you think of American Punk? Who is your favorite punk band and why?

A: British punk and American punk are quite different and I've always preferred the British stuff a lot more. Too much of the American punk bands sound similar to me. There are still a few US bands that I'll listen to though, mostly the bigger name punk bands like The Ramones, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag and D.O.A. (although they're Canadian). As for my favourite punk band, that's something I struggle to decide. I tend to go through phases where I'll listen to a band constantly and then eventually end up replace them with another band. I suppose The Macc Lads have always been a favourite of mine along with Condemned 84. The Macc Lads just have a sense of humour that I find funny, although be warned, their lyrics are usually pretty crude. As for Condemned 84, I just think they have an almost perfect sound, especially on their Storming To Power album. Although they're not strictly punk, Motorhead have also been a band that I've loved for years.

Q: You are also a gamer. You frequent the Video Game forum and I would say you are one of the more prominent posters in said forum. What is your opinion of the Video Games forum?

A: I have fond memories of the video games forum but it's not quite the place it once was. Many of the users that I considered friends and got to know through the VG forum are now gone or don't post as frequently as they once did. I do still enjoy lurking and posting in VG but the sense of community that used to exist there isn't as strong any more. Several of us would play together on Xbox Live and just have a laugh. I made several good friends through the video games forum, a handful of them are still people I speak to despite them no longer having much of a presence on Newgrounds.

Q: What's on your backlog when it comes to gaming and what games do you feel you have missed out on?

A: My backlog is massive. As well as play video games, I also collect them. I probably have around 500-600 games sitting on a shelf behind me and have over 10 different consoles stored in a cupboard. The easiest way to show you my backlog would be to link you to my Backloggery profile page: http://www.backloggery.com/deannewgrounds As for what I've missed out on, I never grew up with any Nintendo consoles with the exception of their handhelds. The Super Nintendo is the console I feel I'm missed out on the most. I've never had one and they're one of the more expensive consoles to collect for in the UK right now. It's one of the most iconic gaming consoles with a massive reputation. I'd love to own one eventually.

Q: What are some of your favorite games as well as game series?

A: I have a hard time deciding what my favourite game is but earlier this year I said that Deadly Premonition was my favourite. It's a low budget title and it shows, but if you're someone who can look past the flaws and low budget nature of the game, there's a great experience to be found. The game has an odd, yet great sense of humour and the story was mysterious and intriguing. Definitely worth looking into if you've never played it. As for my favourite series, I'm not really sure. Grand Theft Auto is a series that I've followed for a long time. More recently I decided to play through some of the Legend of Zelda games (Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, Twilight Princess) and really enjoyed them. There's also the Elder Scrolls series, which I'm not even sure if I'd want to know how many hours I've invested in those games. I could name countless other series but those are probably my big three.

Q: You seem to be a very big Sci-Fi fan. What are some of your favorite Sci-Fi shows and movies?

A: My interest in sci-fi really only started around this time last year when I decided to watch the original Star Trek series, which so far is my favourite of the sci-fi shows I've seen. It's hard to pick my favourite sci-fi movie because I honestly don't watch many movies. In the past year I've seen all the Star Trek films with the exception of Into Darkness, but I'm not sure which of those I'd call my favourite.

Q: You have stated you have watched all of the original Star Trek and all of The Next Generation, so my question is Kirk or Picard?

A: I struggle to pick a favourite but I'd probably have to say Picard. I just found him to be the more likeable character for whatever reason, but it's a close call.

Q: You graduated with an Honours Degree in Computer Science this year, how was university overall?

A: I learnt a lot but the whole university experience really wasn't how I imagined it would be. I spent the first year living on campus and had a group of friends with, for the most part, similar interests. We'd all generally be together messing about whenever we weren't in class. Then after first year ended, I opted to live at home with my parents and travel to university every day for the next 3 years, which saved me a lot of money but also meant those 3 years weren't all that great. I was leaving the house at 7am each day and not getting back until 6:30pm. The days were long and quite often boring but I stuck with it. Looking back I reckon things could have been a lot more exciting if I chose to get a flat in the city with my mates, but it'd also have left me with a lot of debt. I actually graduated from university debt free and I don't think many people get to say that. So I feel quite lucky in that regard.

Q: You also have been programming in Python. How has that been going? Do you have anything you've programmed you would like to show the people?

A: I actually don't spend a great deal of my free time programming. I'd like to, but I just never do. Every once in a while I'll have an urge to learn something new and one of the more recent things I wanted to learn was web development with Python. I basically just followed some tutorials to get a basic blog working with a framework called Flask. Nothing terribly exciting. Most of the projects I work on tend to be more educational than useful, so really I have nothing exciting to show. A while back I was trying to develop a HTML5 game, which you can find here http://www.deannewgrounds.x10.mx/), although I never made much progress with it.

Q: You are in a band. You said they are a blues rock cover band but are adjusting to play some more punk songs. How is the band going? Any gigs lined up? Lastly What is the band name?

A: We've practised a few times together but not so much in the last few weeks. People have been busy and more recently I think the pub that we usually practise in is being sold to new owners, so we may not be able to practise there any more. In the mean time I just try to get better at playing guitar so that when we next practise I'll have learnt more of the songs they play. As for the whole punk thing, there is definitely more of a punk influence now that I've joined them but opinions are split on that. Half of us want to play more punk, the other half want to stick to playing what they traditionally played. We were meant to be playing a gig this month, but it was cancelled as the headlining act weren't able to perform. I can't really complain because I definitely feel like I need more practise before I perform in front of other people.

The band is called Out On Bail.

Q: What are you looking forward to here on Newgrounds and what can we expect from you in the future?

A: Right I don't really have anything I'm looking forward to. I don't mean that in a negative way, it's just I'm more of a forum person, so most of the updates regarding the creative side of Newgrounds aren't something that effect me much. I guess I'm still hopeful that maybe one day there will be another Manchester Meet. I wouldn't mind meeting up with some of my Newgrounds buddies again one day. I'm not sure there's anything terribly exciting you can expect from me in the future either. I tend to just lurk around and contribute to any discussions that interest me.

To recap what we now know about Dean, he is a guitarist, a Picard fan, a college graduate with a degree in Computer Science, and an all around nice guy I'm glad I got the chance to interview.

Interview No. 126

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest is truly a skilled animator. She has been presenting us with her beautiful works for quite sometime now here on Newgrounds including Tales of Zale, which would win her a Daily 2nd Place prize, The Adventurer which would win her a Daily Feature prize, and Little Merry Ego, which would win her the Triple Crown of winning a Daily Feature, Weekly First Place, and Review Crew Pick awards. She is also the winner of The 2013 Newgrounds Annual Tournament of Animation. The Interviewer is pleased to welcome @Hikarian.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A: Well, I’ve known about the website ever since I was little. When we (my fellow young classmates and I) were placed in front of computers in school, Newgrounds would always be one of the first websites we went to. I always thought that the quality of the flash games there were generally much higher than on so many other sites.

I of course only visited for the sake of the games back then. I had no idea about the animations and community that could also be found here – I could barely speak English at that time, so I guess it isn’t so weird that I had no idea what that was all about.

I forgot about Newgrounds for quite a while, but I rediscovered it later back in 2009 when I became interested in animation and wanted to get my flashes out to a wider audience. That was when I joined the site for real.

Q: When and how did you become interested in art and animation?

A: When I think about it, I’ve always loved animation. When I was a kid I would sit in front of the TV and become mesmerized by the cartoons shown. I often became really annoyed when live action kid’s shows came on, even though they where just as much directed towards my age as the animations were. It just didn’t speak to me in the same way. I didn’t realize that animation was an actual profession till later on – as a kid I kind of imagined that the computers did all the work.

But I did love drawing and expressing myself from early on. My mother was an artist, so she always made sure to give me the materials I needed. At one point I wanted to become a manga-drawing archaeologist/palaeontologist – at another a writer. It was always about telling stories in one way or another, though I had yet to find any stories worth telling.

When I was about 12 I finally discovered Youtube. And I learned that I could watch anime that hadn’t been shown on Danish television there. While working my way through Naruto, I stumbled upon some fan animations in the recommendations. Some of these were basically no animation and only lip sync, but it was really entertaining! I remember some of my favourite artists being SnowDragon and FloriParty – it was the first time that I was actually aware of the people behind the creations. The most inspiring thing about these flashes were that they were so simple that anyone would think they could do something alike, and that’s how I first got the idea of becoming an animator. One thing led to another, and soon I had my first couple of “animations” up on my channel. These were fan flashes, mostly starring Naruto characters, and sometimes some from Bleach. I still keep them on my channel just for the nostalgia.

When I started using flash to make my animations, I pretty much only tweened, as it was the custom with many of the fan flashes I had seen. It didn’t always look that pretty, but I was not one to spend countless hours on animation at that time.

I didn’t get much response on my videos, and what I got was mostly “lol comments” on the character’s action and not so much on the work itself, but one day someone commented that my tweening was garbage and I should stop doing it. I think a more experienced Youtuber would just have ignored a comment like that, but it was some of the first real critique I had gotten, and I felt very hurt, so I went ahead and pm’d the guy. He did apologize if I had sounded a bit rough, but what he said he meant was that I’d be better off learning frame by frame animation. He even sent me links to a few examples to check out.

I think it was around this time that I decided that I wanted to become an actual animator, and that I’d try to focus on creating original stories and characters rather than fan animations.

Q: The first movie I want to talk about is one that has caught my attention and it is entitled A Barn Owl. An interesting movie. Why the idea of a barn owl for one of your earlier movies?

A: Together with SilverDragon, this was one of my first attempts at so-called “real animation”. I had gotten really intrigued with owls after watching the trailer for Legend of the Guardians, which had some amazing visuals. I didn’t speak too much about this source of inspiration around the time of Tales of Zale, because I was afraid people would accuse me of just copying ideas. In my head the original idea for the series was a little too similar to Guardians of Ga’hool to be proud of. But that’s coming from the same kid who thought using references was cheating in the world of animation. I might have gone a little too overboard with my inspiration-paranoia.

Q: Your barn owl would be making a return in a movie that you and your friend would make entitled Tales of Zale. A pilot episode of a series that you were working on. Where did the inspiration for this series come from and will we see more of it?

A: The idea of Tales of Zale actually began quite a while before I knew about the Ga’hool books, with a very immersive dream I had. It was about two young foxes, brother and sister, who searched the world for a place that was “good”. A place where they wouldn’t have to freeze or starve – one like the one they remembered from their early childhood when their mother was still around. They traversed the snowy landscape and had to make their way over mountains, through ice caves and over frozen seas. On their way they met a lone wolf who had lost his daughter to the humans in the north. There was also a sparrow at one point, but that’s as much as I remember from it. The story changed quite a lot as I tried to rationalize it, and with the inputs I got from other people, but that’s how it started anyways. One of the foxes became Zale, while the other turned into a barn owl named Elva because of the influence of Legend of the Guardians.

In one way or another Tales of Zale will continue. This past year I’ve been working with others to turn it into a TV-series, but if that doesn’t work out I’m probably going to turn it into a web-series consisting of 10 5-minute episodes, since I’ve already got it scripted and storyboarded.

I would need to find myself some assistance though. After all, the pilot took me about a year to make. I don’t want to spend 10 years on just this series.

But yeah, you might still see Tales of Zale around in the future in some form or another.

Q: When last year's winner Emrox was here, we talked about one of his entries into the contest entitled Animals of the Metropolis. The theme of that round was "Elephant in the Room". You would be a participant in that contest with your entry entitled The Elephant. You said that you had a lot of symbolism throughout this piece, but that it probably went too fast. Could you shed some light on the symbolism in this movie and what about the pacing do you think you could have changed to make it better?

A: I’m afraid I’ve long forgotten my original vision for the Elephant. But with the 3-weeks time restriction I had a hard time finding a workflow that fit me, and since this was the first time I had to work with such a deadline, I would find myself getting caught in over-ambitious ideas, resulting in me having to cut down the story to a point of it not making much sense. When working on The Elephant I forgot all about the initial message of the animation, but I didn’t feel like I had time to stop and think about if I were to make it in time. It just ended up as one big mess in my head, and that’s probably where most of my regret lies.

Q: Making horror or thriller movies is not always easy. Your movie The Door however, has certainly scared me and made me feel uneasy. You state that a full movie of this will never come, is that still so?

A: I didn’t ever think of The Door as an actual movie, but calling it a “trailer” gave me the freedom I wanted to just work with the atmosphere. I really like horror movies, and I kind of wanted to see how seriously one could be taken when if it was presented through the animation media.

Q: J&J: Sweet and Sour, makes for a nice throwback to the old detective days, while having a modern spin on it as well. Where did you come up with this idea and will we possibly see a series of this in the future?

A: At this time we were having about Film Noir in school, so that’s pretty much where my whole inspiration came from with this animation. I felt like I needed to experiment with the genres at this time to find a style that I would be comfortable with.

While I did think of this as an intro in a series to make things easier on myself, I never actually intended to continue Jack & Jones. But maybe the characters will return in another form someday. Who knows?

Q: We now come to what I believe is the turning point in your animation, with Dreaming High. As a writer I can say that this story is absolutely perfect from beginning to end. Where did the inspiration come from for this? What did you mean by taking a step back to something a little more... "me"?

A: This was coming after having worked on The Door and Jack & Jones for the past two months. I had just been working with formulas that others had thought out and perfected long before my time, and I didn’t actually feel like I had brought something new to the table. I was afraid that I would get stuck making cheap imitations if I didn’t take a few steps back, and so I decided to go with something that was a little more meaningful to me.

When I was younger I pretty much only drew dragons. I was always working on a dragon-drawing in school in which I would carefully draw each and every scale and colour it three different colours. Safe to say each drawing took quite a while to complete.

When I found out that my father had cancer (for the third time) there really wasn’t much left to do, so I did what I did best and began making him a drawing. He fought very hard, and at one point it seemed like he was going to make it, so I stopped working on the drawing, but eventually took it up again when things turned for the worse. I was able to finish it just a few weeks before my father passed away, and at least it was by his deathbed when I couldn’t be there. I called this drawing “SilverDragon”, and it’s that design which the dragon in Dreaming High is based off. The rest of the story just kind of wrote itself from there – I had no storyboard, and I didn’t even know that the main character was going to die in the end when I began.

Q: Don't Look Back is quite the surreal experience. I interpreted it as to keep moving forward and not looking back. I also sense something related to Alice and Wonderland with the white rabbit being chased throughout the movie. Am I getting warmer or colder? You also state that are a few things you wanted to do differently if you had more time - what would those things be?

A: I feel like I’d be killing many of my stories if I explained them in too much detail, but you’re definitely not wrong. I always thought of the white rabbit as a dream I wouldn’t want to lose sight of.

To be honest I was a little short on ideas for this theme. I wanted to do Dreaming High after and let the story write itself, but in the process I think it lost a bit of its soul. I never really identified with the main character as much as I would have liked to. And it didn’t really help my workflow that it was busy, busy Christmas season and there was so much else to do and so many other places to be.

Q: Matchmaker seems like a title sequence to what could be a very engaging series. You have interesting characters and settings and a catchy little intro tune as well. You state however...

"Sorry if this doesn't make much sense -- it was never really meant to. Feel free to take a guess at what the story would've been about, your guess is as good as mine."

What would be your guess of what the story would've been about?

A: That video was originally meant to make for an intro to a series. I was mostly inspired because we had just had about the industrial revolution and a bit about a matchmaker’s strike in school. I had a hard time containing my inspiration, so I went to the local museum and drew all the items they had from this period. When that wasn’t enough to put my mind at ease I began playing around with the idea of making a series, taking place in this age, but I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to keep myself motivated to make a whole series. After all things were also stirring with Tales of Zale at this point in time. Instead I just worked out an intro, so I could at least get it out of my system.

The story was originally going to be about the young Jacob, son of a poor matchmaker (as in match-stick maker) who’d meet up with Liz, a runaway-rich girl who dreams of building a flying machine. She’s being chased by this “Raven” in a plague doctor-mask, who can only be defeated by light/knowledge. Yeah, the story was kind of vague…

Q: We now come to what I believe to be your best animation and what would be your first step into the 2013 NATA with your open round entry entitled, Blume. I have a review criteria that I follow in writing my reviews for Newgrounds and very few movies and games have received perfect scores from me. This movie has attained a spot on my masterful list. I would simply like to say thank you for giving us this wonderful story and animation, it is great to see young animators truly master the visual medium.

The theme was entitled "A New Holiday" and you present to us a tradition passed down from generation to generation and then was expanded upon by a young girl. Where did this idea come from? Also how did you come up with the idea to present it in a form of a school lesson?

A: It’s difficult for me to pinpoint where the inspiration for Blume came from. I had been playing around with a character design similar to that of Bell (the girl), just before the round began, and so I kind of build the universe and the story around that. I had recently worked on an illustration for the children’s book “The Little Prince” for a school project and I kind of wanted to try a somewhat similar style of storytelling.

Q: The Adventurer is a wonderful love letter to those who love video games. Why is it though that you see this as a worst possible outcome? What other ideas did you have for this?

A: I might be a little too hard on my own animations sometimes. But you are your own best critique for better or worse, right? When I watch The Adventurer now, I actually kind of like it. But there were many points on which I didn’t really feel like this animation worked out, such as the animation quality itself and overall story. I feel like I could have planned out that much better. I wanted to expand upon the universe, but felt restricted by the music rather than using it to its best potential.

Q: Draculine Verde has a wonderful concept behind it. You stated that you wanted to do more with it, however complications ensued with that of a stylus. Could you tell us the idea behind this and what else you wanted to do with it? Can you share the complications with the stylus? Also will there be a sequel in the future to expand on your ideas?

A: Well, summer vacation had just begun and I was traveling around a bit. Of course I bring my tablet with me for longer trips, but I realized too late that I had forgotten to bring my stylus. I kind of wagered that I wouldn’t make it to the next round, and so I didn’t pay it much attention – but I lost that wager when the results came in, and so I had to do something. In my laziness I ended up just ordering a new stylus, which seemed like it was compatible with my Cintiq, but when it arrived 4-5 days later it turned out not to be so. I had no choice but to hop on a bus and take the 8-hour trip to go get my stylus the next day. Which I should probably just have done in the first place.

After that I had to hurry if I were to make the deadline. I had gone ahead and worked out the storyboard and contacted the voice actors, and even made an animatic while I was without my stylus, but it’s the animation and backgrounds that is the most time-consuming to me. In the original version of the story I had been more ambitious when it came to the universe and characters. I had planned to do more with the boy who saw Verde from his window, and the structure of the story wasn’t so out-of-balance. But I really had to cut the whole thing down to its very essence. I think the only thing that saved it for me was Verdes reflection at the end – otherwise the whole thing would have been extremely banal and one-dimensional.

I like the Draculine Verde-character, and I’d like to work more with her, so maybe she’ll appear in a sequel one day.

Q: "Little Merry lives in an iceberg below the surface of the sea. She's a perfectionist and doesn't like when things are out of the ordinary, so she has made it her job to make sure the truth-bubbles that makes it to the surface are absolutely perfect. One day, however she comes across a truth that she doesn't like, and has a hard time getting rid of."

That is what you wrote down for your idea on the theme "A Dark Confession" for the 2013 NATA. The movie in question is Little Merry Ego. This would mark the first time winning the Daily Feature, Weekly 1st Place, and Review Crew Pick thus hitting the triple crown on Newgrounds. I guess it shows that deep down inside we all have our own little icebergs, and things we wouldn't like to surface we try to keep them contained. This is certainly a movie that I can identify with and I loved how you presented it with so many light tones. It started as a storyboard on a napkin, where did it go from there?

A: Well, when the round began I was stuck on a ferry all day, and there wasn’t much else to do except to plan out the story. I wanted to make something much brighter than Draculine Verde, but at the same time it had to fit the theme of “a dark confession”, so that was quite a challenge.

When I then got the idea of making a visual interpretation of a psychological aspect, I knew that bringing voice actors into it, wouldn’t necessarily benefit the story, but at the same time, finding a piece of music that fit, was near impossible. I’m no good at music myself, so I hurried up and contacted Matthew (deadlyfishes) and asked him if he’d be able to compose something for my soon-to-be animation. He said he’d be able create something in the short time given, so I went ahead and began the animation. For better or for worse, this is probably the most concentrated I’ve ever worked on an animation. I animated without any storyboard and without any music to sync to, so it was a very open process. I was able to finish the animation about 3 days before the deadline, so I could send it on to Matthew, who then did an amazing job of scoring it in such a short time.

Q: You have not only competed in two Newgrounds Annual Tournaments of Animation. The 2012 NATA and the 2013 NATA. You have been crowned as the winner of The 2013 Newgrounds Annual Tournament of Animation. What made you want to enter the contest two years in a row? How did you feel when you found out that you won? What have you learned from being in these contests?

A: 2012 had been quite a busy year. First I entered NATA, and then another tournament much like it. After having worked on so many animations with such tight deadlines, I wasn’t really planning on entering NATA again – but a few comrades of mine were talking about entering, and I thought I might as well show them how it was done by making something for the open round. I got a little carried away from there. I never planned on making it very far, but I wouldn’t be a very good sport if I just threw in the towel, now would I?

After seeing Pahgawk’s final round entry I was almost certain that he’d win the tournament, so I already thought of it as a loss, even before the scores were released. As you can probably imagine, I was quite stunned when I got news about the opposite.

I feel like I’ve improved a ton from competing in these contests, and I can only recommend it to any upcoming animator who wished to put his/her skills to the test. I have learned a lot about animation and storytelling - and so much more.

Q: You are a very talented animator, however I feel that you're an even better writer. When did you become interested in writing? What would you say your style of writing is?

A: I’m not really sure I’ve found a particular style of writing yet. I just write what comes natural, or what my dreams inspire me to write, and that might just be good enough, though there is of course always room for improvement. In the end both animation and writing is just another way of conveying a story that one can strive to master in order present the tales in the best way possible.

I don’t know when I became interested in writing, because I can’t remember ever not having been interested.

Q: What can we expect from Hikarian in the future?

A: As you can probably tell at this point, I really want to make some series. Those are just very time-consuming, so people will have to be patient about that. I hope I will soon have something that is worthy of being uploading to Newgrounds, but until then you can expect a few short things on my Youtube channel. There will be lots of new animation from me in the future none the less.

I honestly didn't know much about Hikarian before going into this interview, that is truly one thing I love about the Newgrounds Annual Tournament of Animation. You become exposed to so many artists and animators through it. If it wasn't for NATA, I probably would not have known much about this wonderful animator or the works she has done. We may have also not received the beautiful masterpiece that is "Blume" if it were not for this tournament. The creators bring their best at this tournament and it truly shows. I can honestly say she will certainly be climbing up the ladder here on Newgrounds even higher than before.

Interview No. 125

Interview By: @Atlas

Today I have with me the latest addition to the Newgrounds staff team. You may know him for his work with PsychoGoldFish on Mini-Putt Online. He is none other than @BrenTheMan!

Q: How did you find Newgrounds?

A: I worked with a guy who worked with PsychoGoldfish at one point. For some reason I can't remember (early 2000s), I added PG to AIM and I'm sure through him I learned of Newgrounds.

Q: When you found Newgrounds what about it made you join?

A: Making the multi-player server that ran Mini-Putt Online with PG. I actually made like $100 or something so that was cool.

Q: What was it like working with PsychoGoldFish on Mini-Putt Online?

A:Pretty cool. It's challenging stuff but we got it working. I'm still very proud of our work.

Q: Why haven't you released anything since Mini-Putt Online?

A: I had a day job that wasn't NG and didn't really like to work nights/weekends and PG doesn't either.

Q: Under your stats it says you have released 2 games but the public can only see Mini-Putt Online? Was there another project you removed? If so what was it?

A: Pico Roulette. It's broken and we never got around to fixing it

Q: Why do you have the lollipop level icon and not a tank?

A: No clue.

Q: How is it working for Newgrounds?

A: I get to work on cool stuff all day and don't have to deal with corporate BS. The older I get, the harder it is to drink the corporate kool-aid so to speak. It's nice to not have to deal with that any more.

Q: Are you in Glenside or do you work from somewhere else?

A: I'm in the suburbs and come in to the office most days, and work from home a lot too.

Q: How did you get a job at Newgrounds?

A: By knowing PG, it being good timing for everyone, and being a good fit technically and hopefully personality wise.

Q: What do you think of Newgrounds now compared to when you signed up? Better or worse?

A: I respect the community but have never been apart of it so I can't really say (I am not really wired for such things). I am more behind the scenes - I make sure everything is up and running well and before that I didn't have much involvement in NG after we finished the multiplayer stuff.

Q: Any upcoming features for the site you can tell us?

A: We're planning on doing a pretty extensive multiplayer system that will build upon our previous work. We have a few projects to tackle first though.

Q: Any personal projects you working on you can share with us?

A: NG is my personal project. I watched a video the other day where someone said "I get paid to do my hobby." That's how it is for me.

BrenTheMan is a great addition to the Newgrounds Staff and seems like an all around nice guy. I'm sure we are all awaiting the multiplayer system he mentioned. Until next time, keep on reading.

Interview No. 124

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest is a writer and animator. His works range from Digory, A Fable II Experience, and No Service, which would win him the Daily Feature, Weekly Users' Choice, and Review Crew Pick awards. He recently competed and won the Creat A Newgrounds Commerical Contest. It gives me great pride to introduce, @WhiteLightning.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A: During my early interactions with Newgrounds, it was nothing more than "that other flash site where I can watch Knox's claymations sometimes." I didn't really know much about it until I began making my own animations with a program that was severely lacking in being Flash. Once I finally got around to getting Flash, I decided to do some research on which site was best for submitting Flash animations, and the internet unanimously agreed that it was Newgrounds, surprising no one. I spent a good two days after that learning every detail of how the site worked and setting up my account.

Q: At what age did you become interested in art and animation? What inspired you to animate?

A: Well, I've drawn characters, cartoons, and comic strips my whole life, but in regards to animation, I guess I was about twelve-ish. My friend told me about a site creatively dubbed flashplayer.com (now UGOplayer), and the first video I watched was BoogieMonster by Knox. It was awesome and stupid and violent, and was my first real taste of comedy outside of kids' films. I tried some claymation myself, but since I rather enjoy comically disproportioned characters and gravity doesn't, I soon abandoned that medium. I listened to the podcasts of Knox and Filmcow for a while, and their descriptions of their day to day activities sounded so appealing that there really wasn't any other possible outcome than deciding I wanted to do it too. And when I make a major life decision I tend to stick to it, even if I still have the voice of a small girl and no real understanding of what "major life decision" means.

Q: When and how did you become a writer?

A: I once heard of a shrine somewhere in the mountains of northern China that granted the gift of the scribe to he who was brave enough to look upon it, and who could resist the draw of such power? I travelled as quickly as I could, by boat, plane, and car, scrounging up just enough money along the way to keep myself alive and moving forwards. The hike was brutal, and death was my close companion, but through pure will and a few miracles I was able to fend him off all the way to the top of that peak. And when I had wiped the tears of joy from my eyes, I cracked open the ancient tome to behold a single line of text: "Stop telling this dumb story just to cover the fact that you don't have an actual answer." So I don't know, I guess I was just born with it or something.

Q: Your first movies on Newgrounds would be a trilogy, Yoda's Christmas - Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. What can you tell us about the writer alsosteve and how this trilogy came into existence?

A: Ah, Yoda's Christmas... excuse me for a moment while I reminisce... kay, done. It was a make-believe game that my brother and I played, and it's difficult to explain it much more concisely. We would go above and beyond the occasional lightsaber fight when we were kids - we were Jedi with some backstory, dang it, and there was drama, comedy, and more than a few plot twists. That was my story-telling outlet before I had any method of recording them, and we improv'd that entire script from nothing but our messed up little kid-brains. When we were done, I vowed to make that nonsense into a cartoon someday, and during the first year of high school, I wrote the script and animated the whole fifteen minutes. It remains my most viewed Youtube video to this day for reasons I will likely never understand. Alsosteve is the preferred username of my friend and White Lightning HQ crew member Ricky Linn, who edited the script and helped refine it from the jumbled mess of nonsense it was into something worth watching. He also did the voice of Obi-Wan. Incidentally, we have a remake of the movie frozen in production at the moment as we clear away some more pressing projects.

Q: Digory is a very endearing Halloween movie. You state that your brother did the character design. Did the story come first or was the story written around the character?

A: My brother drew the character first, actually. Reid tends to sketch creatures that would make even Tim Burton cringe, but this one time he brought home a colored-pencil rending of a really cute little voodoo doll thing that caught my attention. The image just sparked an idea in my head, and I started work on my first actual Flash project. After doing one scene, I got a bit bored, and didn't touch it again for another couple of months until I saw that money was being offered in exchange for Halloween animations, at which point I buckled down, put away all distractions, and cranked the thing out in exactly two weeks, finishing at 10:30 PM the day before Halloween. I have never been quite so impressed with myself since.

Q: When and how did you become introduced to video games?

A: I was born in the 90s.

Q: A Fable II Experience and A Fable II Experience 2 are parodies of Fable II. What made you want to parody Fable II? Why not start with the first game in terms of parodies?

A: I've actually never played the original Fable. In fact, when I set out to make A Fable II Experience, I never had any intention of parodying the game. I wasn't even trying to make anything impressive. I realized I hadn't released anything in quite a long time, and remembered a funny thing that had happened to me and my friend Jon once while playing Fable II. It was a story I liked telling in real life, and people tended to enjoy hearing it, so I thought I'd put a quick animation of it together just so people wouldn't forget I existed. Considering that goal, it was very effective. When everyone asked for more, I pretty much just wrote down every other snarky remark we had made about the game and put it into dialogue. Rodriguez ElCazorro was just what I called myself while playing because I was (am) weird, but he turned out to be a character who everyone loved, myself included. He and Jon are so easy to write for that I'm as reluctant to let them go as anyone else, so I can guarantee they won't be going anywhere, even after the Fable series is finished.

Q: One of my favorite movies by you in terms of writing has to be Holiday Stress. Such dark humor delivered in a very clever way. Where did the idea of this come from and was the writing process like?

A: I'm pretty sure the idea came about as a result of the following paraphrased conversation: Me - "Hey Reid, I want to make a Christmas cartoon before the year is out. I'm thinking something with snowmen. Thoughts?" Reid - "Um... snowmen talking by a water cooler?" Me - "Wow Reid, that's super boring. Besides, isn't a water cooler just... you know... a tank of melted snowman?"...*Brief pause punctuated by maniacal laughter and sacrifices to Satan*

Q: An Anticlimactic Moment is an experiment so you could test new animation techniques. What exactly were you testing and will we see the idea of this movie expanded on?

A: There were actually a lot of Flash techniques that I didn't know for my first couple of years, like how to nest graphic symbols, and how to pick out specific frames of graphic symbols for animating mouths, and when it got right down to it, what a graphic symbol was. I finally learned all of this seemingly obvious information from a pdf I purchased from Adam Phillips. Then... well, I guess I did make a little video to test it. It probably shouldn't have existed, and almost doesn't, but every video of mine that has come since is noticeably better than those before, so I guess it's kind of a milestone, or... something. I don't know. Why am I talking about this?

Q: No Service would win you the Daily Feature, Review Crew Pick, and Weekly Users' Choice awards, hitting the triple crown. It was also the first movie I saw by you. You say that this was based off of a person you saw dressed exactly like this. Can you tell us more about this event and what about it inspired you to write and animate this movie?

A: I'm still not entirely sure what about No Service spoke so deeply to the human consciousness, but apparently some part of it did. Maybe people just really identify with the deep-seated desire to acquire burritos at all cost. What I do know is that if I base my writing off of real things that make me laugh, they make other people laugh too, so I guess I'll stick to it. In this case, I was at a restaurant one day - a place of reasonable class, mind you - when I glanced over to see an exceptionally atmosphere-displacing figure clad only in a far-too-tight fitting orange tie-dye t-shirt and white, stretchy, corduroy shorts. It took a couple of weeks for the details to fall into place, but the video really just wrote itself from that point.

Q: To Dream of Flight I believe to be your best work. I wasn't expecting that ending though, the fake out was leading me towards something else. Where did the inspiration come from for this? Also when writing a fake out, what steps should a writer take to ensure that the proper effect is made?

A: I made it specifically for our composer, JP De Ovando. All original music you've heard in our videos has come from him, and I wanted to return the favor by making an animation specifically for one of his compositions. Interestingly, a significant portion of those who have seen the video didn't even notice the fake out ending, probably because it happens so quickly. But I think the technique, along with comedy writing in general, can be summed up by one rather simple rule: throw away the first joke you think of. If it immediately comes to your head, it will to everyone else's too. Surprise is the key.

Q: Fable III Experience: The Final Quest was a movie to ask for funding through Kickstarter. What exactly would you require Kickstarter funds for this? Why turn to Kickstarter?

A: The Kickstarter project wasn't actually related to Fable at all. That video only exists in its current form through a series of mishaps. I started work on A Fable III Experience with the intention of finishing it in time to funnel views into the Kickstarter project for our live-action feature film The Guards Themselves, which is currently in production. All of my videos so far have sent a lot of traffic to whatever links I've attached to the menu, so it seemed like a good plan. However, I severely underestimated the amount of time the animation was going to take, and only got the first scene done. Afterwards, the editable file corrupted, so now I can't take the Kickstarter link out, and I just kinda look like a jerk. Technology!

Q: Newgrounds member ForNoReason hosted and judged the Creat A Newgrounds Commerical Contest. You would become the first place winner in this contest. How did you come across this contest and what inspired you to make a commercial for it?

A: It was the first contest advertised in the news feed that really caught my attention. It seemed simple, so it wouldn't distract too much from my other work, and I've always loved Newgrounds for helping me get to where I am. I'd be nowhere without it, and I feel that I owe Tom and friends a great deal for their help, even if it was indirect, so I try to advertise them any time I get the chance. Plus, the contest deadline was three months away, which meant I could procrastinate for a whole 84 days before cramming on the final two. But I tried my best to make the video functional as an actual commercial, and I officially grant Newgrounds full use of it wherever they wish. It's the least I can do.

Q: When writing comedy, many comedic writers tend to have a sharp wit and inspirations of other comedians. Looking through your works, I do see some influence from Looney Tunes. Do the Looney Tunes play a role in your comedic writings? What other inspirations can you note for your writing?

A: I am a huge fan of subtlety. I get bored with cheap laughs and I actively search for things new and complex, and what I usually end up finding is British. But there are fantastic American works of subtle comedy as well: my absolute favorite TV show outside of Doctor Who is Arrested Development, which is the unrivaled king of understated humor, and most people probably never notice. The writers weave the story from threads of pure comedy - the same jokes will show up again and again, referencing others and themselves, changing slightly each time, and eventually wrapping back around to where they started, and you as the audience won't even see the whole thing until your twelfth viewing. Every time I watch the show I notice something I missed before, and honing the skill to produce something even half as brilliant is one of my biggest life goals. Along with Arrested Development, my favorites include The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Princess Bride, Portal, Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, The Office, and 90% of Cracked.com.

Q: What can we expect from WhiteLightning in the future?

A: Our main focus right now is The Guards Themselves. We have a few thousand dollars of Kickstarter money backing it, a whole crew helping to gather the footage, and a lot of editing to do when that's done. Any other large-scale projects will have to wait until this one is over, but I would still like to get some shorter videos out here and there. There are definitely plenty of ideas ready to be made, but it always comes down to time, and I haven't quite finished collecting the plutonium necessary to give myself more of it, so we'll see what happens.

WhiteLightning is one of those members who seems to be lurking in the shadows. I hadn't realized what all he had done until he won the Newgrounds Create A Commercial Contest. Although his drawing and animating are top notch, I have to say that his writing surpasses his artistic skills. WhiteLightning is certainly member to keep your eyes on.

Interview No. 123

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guests have been lighting up YouTube and the front page of Newgrounds like wildfire. From satirizing video game culture with Girl Gamer and Minecraft Problems, to Internet culture with PewDiePie Commenters and Most Beautiful Teen. They are an artist and animator duo known as Dalton Joyce, a.k.a. @Jaltoid and Emi, a.k.a. @ObliviousEmi.

ANSWERS WILL BE POSTED BENEATH THE _A:_ DUE TO TWO PEOPLE BEING INTERVIEWED PERSON ANSWERING WILL BE NOTED AS SO.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A:

Jaltoid: I actually found Newgrounds on my mom's old windows 98 back in 2002 I was maybe 9 years old. I googled "games" and stumbled onto Newgrounds. At the time I was just another site with games on it. It took me until middle school to actually look into Newgrounds. My older brother asked me to register an account so I can review his movies with positive scores. He was making low effort GroupX videos, but they continued to get blammed. We thought reviews would save the submissions.

ObliviousEmi: I originally found Newgrounds when I was really little and I had been looking up weird/cute pokemon flash videos.

However, it wasn't until I met Dalton that I grew an interest in actually using the site. I'd post my art here and there but I wasn't too active. Now that I'm animating with Dalton though I really enjoy being active and submitting our flash animations.

Q: When and how did you two meet one another?

A:

Jaltoid: It was at complete random. When me and my friend bmac discovered deviantArt we'd try and find submissions that were cheesy or amusing, just go give each other a laugh. He links me this submission that I didn't really say anything towards. It was a video of emi, and she was singing. Something clicked in my head, I realized that maybe dA can be used to collaborate with new people. I saw potential in her voice and I was interested in making her a voice actor.

ObliviousEmi: Oh boy, this is a silly little story, but here it goes. Back when I was tied down to deviantart I had been extremely active and submitting every day. I had recently back then just submitted some silly little thing where I had my voice in it. Out of pure chance Dalton saw it and ended up contacting me about doing some voices for him for his latest flash. I wasn't sure if I'd be into that and was even more unsure since he wanted to use skype to chat and I didn't want to install it. However I did and we ended up chatting more and more until we became very close. Silliest part is I never ended up doing the voices for him, haha.

Q: When and how did you two become interested in art and animation?

A:

Jaltoid: They actually came to me at separate times, I was interested in animation long before I cared about art. I was always fascinated with animation and cartoons growing up. I loved making people laugh at ridiculous things. I'll never remember when I first realized I could do it. Before I was introduced to flash I was making crappy mspaint, windows movie maker animations. But I got home from school one day and my older brother was playing around in a program that he downloaded called "Macromedia Flash 8." I was really interested in trying it out myself, cause I always wanted to make my own cartoons. So I got on my computer and I downloaded some 30-day trial, Chinese ripoff of flash, and even though the program was just awful. I was just so amazing with myself, and so eager to make something, that I would be on it all day. Then I would submit it to Newgrounds and be crushed, I would get some really harsh reviews. But it motivated me, because I realized that I was just a kid and it was only a matter time before I would be able to get submissions to pass judgement.

ObliviousEmi: Art has always been a part of me. I have been drawing since I can remember. I used to get in trouble at school for doodling and drawing too much instead of paying attention, which was a repeating issue all the way up until I finished school. My biggest inspiration however was Sailor Moon, hahaha. That show is what really got me drawing 24/7.

Now as far as animation goes, when I was younger I'd see some animation around and it made me want to try, but it'd always come out terrible and I'd be discouraged. I was the kind of person that really disliked failure and I ended up telling myself I didn't like to animate because of this. It wasn't until Dalton that I really started to try it out, and he REALLY had to push me. He had wanted to start collaborating a long time ago before we started living together but I was just too stubborn, which I do regret. I'm still learning and Dalton is still teaching me quite a lot.

Q: When and how did you become interested in video games?

A:

Jaltoid: I can't remember a time that I wasn't. Games have been a huge part of my life. I remember going to Blockbuster and renting NES and Genesis games as a kid. Most of my friendships were established by playing games. Me and emi bonded over games. I love games. I'll try any genre and any style. I was born a gamer, and I'll die a gamer.

ObliviousEmi: Ooooh gosh. I was definitely very very little when I first tried video games. My first handheld was a Game Boy Color and my first game I played was Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. My sister had one as well and we'd always fight over whose was whose since she always got farther than me. I really didn't get too interested in games until I started playing the PlayStation and Nintendo64. Those were my first consoles. Though I must say I played a lot more on the 64 as the only game I really played on the PS was Spyro. I played Mario 64, Kirby 64, Pokemon Stadium, Zelda (that was a big one) and I'd often beg to be renting more games to try out. Now I'd say I'm more of a PC gamer (at least until Animal Crossing New Leaf comes out...).

Q: Your works have originally been posted on your YouTube Account. Why YouTube? Also what made you decide to come to Newgrounds?

A:

Jaltoid: I'm actually native to Newgrounds. There were some issues with users that I had gotten myself into back in 2011, and it had discouraged us to post on Newgrounds at first. We had a ton of viewers that wanted us there, so we decided to take a chance.

ObliviousEmi: The whole YouTube thing was really Dalton's idea. We originally started doing liveaction skits and slowly started moving over to animation, as it was the thing that really stuck with our viewers. I was very unsure of it at first but the way we've been growing has really surprised both of us, it happened so quickly. It was then Dalton thought since we're doing animations, we should come back to Newgrounds and see how we do there, what people think of us.

Q: A lot of your earlier works have been rather short, some just shy of 30 seconds. These include works such as The Fish, The Best, and Brown Cow. Why at the beginning did you do these shorts?

A:

Jaltoid: We had planned to rapid fire animations for practice. They were so short because if they were a total disaster, it wouldn't matter because they were so short. But we realized we wouldn't have to practice if we just take our 2 strengths and put them together. I'm the stronger animator, and she's the stronger artist. It just seemed to fit.

ObliviousEmi: That was back when we were doing separate videos and really just experimenting for the most part. Regardless if they're not that good, the ones I worked on by myself I'm really proud of. (The Best is my favorite out of the ones I did)

Q: Minecraft Problems is a movie showing the problems that persist players when playing Minecraft online. When did you two learn about Minecraft and have you encountered these problems? What inspired you to bring them to light in animation?

A:

Jaltoid: I was introduced to Minecraft by some of my old friends from Newgrounds. They had a private server and we would play for hours. There was a time when we all just ate slept, played Minecraft. I had also done the same with my current pals.

Our frustration with the game was inspired after getting our own server. We had just launched the channel, and we would be animating, and the server had to be babysat constantly. There was always someone cheating, or complaining. It was directly effecting productivity with the channel. It was so frustrating that we shut the server down without notice, blew up the map, and told the service provider to close out account immediately.

We then took out our frustration by making the video.

ObliviousEmi: Haha, again it was Dalton that had me start playing minecraft. It was again, something I kept saying I wouldn't like but once he let me use his other account, I really fell in love with the game. Gosh Dalton's really opened me up to everything, huh? We definitely have encountered people just like that, as well as being the actual griefers. (Though I would never wear that terrible, terrible, generic girl skin that ever girl wears) We've completely destroyed houses and replaced all the grass to look like it was never there, which inspired that part of the flash. We've also heard that "MY DAD OWNS _____ AND I CAN GET YOU BANNED" line all the time, no matter the game, so we thought we'd throw it in there.

Q: Your first movie that you would bring to Newgrounds is also a favorite of mine and that is PewDiePie Commenters. What are your thoughts on PewDiePie and his fanbase? What made you want to make a movie about it?

A:

Jaltoid: When making PewDiePie Commenters we wanted to make something that wasn't too offensives, but it properly portrayed the violence of members in his fanbase. We wanted actual "bros" to come to the video and like it. Our target was to make a place where both sides can agree on something. supercodplayer1995 was intended to make fun of the overly aggressive PewDiePie haters that felt more deserving if the attention PewDiePie was getting.

I don't know about him personally, but how he portrays himself online is honestly undesirable. He has inspired the most violent fanbase I have ever seen. Emi had introduced me to him, and she liked him at first. It would actually spawn arguments between us, because all I would hear over skype was "AHHHHHHHH" "AAAAAAHHHHHHH" it was like nails on a chalkboard. One day she watched "Adults react to PewDiePie" and she finally understood how it annoys people. Because by the end of the video she was sick of his screaming.

I disliked his content, but his fanbase was what we really had a problem with. We'd watch videos not even remotely related to him, and people were attacking users because of PewDiePie. One time there was a chair in a video and people kept calling it "Mr Chair" in dozens of comments. One person asked "Why so many bros -_-" They flagged it as spam, and they were just beating on this user for asking that that.

Thing that really set me to dislike him as a person was his "I'm Sorry" video. He was apologizing for being offensive, and claimed to not care about money. But he had ads rolling on that video. He makes enough money playing slender and happy wheels. I can't imagine that he NEEDED to profit off an apology video. Especially if it was intended to be taken seriously.

ObliviousEmi: Oooooh man don't get me started. Well I myself used to be a fan of Pewdiepie (I cringe). It took me to watch montage of his videos to realize all it was was just screaming. Sooo much screaming. After realizing that all the videos were pretty much the same, I stopped liking him.

Now with his fanbase... They are literally the worst. (And I'm not saying all of them either, just the crazy ones) I would constantly see fanart of him on deviantart looking "sexy" and fanart of girls clinging onto him. I got irritated at this because really, he has a girlfriend, and if I were in her shoes I would HATE seeing all these girls obsessing over him. Then we have the people who think he owns all the games he plays. So many times have I gone to let's plays of Slender or Amnesia to find some kids screaming at them because "Pewdiepie did it first you're just copying" and it makes me feel ill. The people who shout "YOU'RE JUST JEALOUS" can be clumped together with them as well. Finally we have the people who run around holding Pewdiepie's memes near. I was watching one of my favorite vocaloid videos, and in the beginning they show a chair in the center of the screen. I scroll down to the comments all of the sudden to see some kids yelling "IT'S MR. CHAIR PEWDIEPIE NEEDS TO WATCH THIS!" (which is where that line came from). Then someone who had visited the video, ya know, FOR the video and asked "why so many bros? ._." and it had been flagged as spam, on a video that literally had nothing to do with pewdiepie. (That was the video I took the screenshot of that comment from too).

Q: Hardcore Brony I like due to the throwbacks of other cartoons in it, such as Dexter's Laboratory. Are you a brony? If so how did you become one? What was it about the bronies that made you want to make this movie?

A:

Jaltoid: Actually I am a brony. I do not watch the show anymore though. But I sill enjoy the art. Me and emi were introduced to the show by one of our friends. We decided to try out the first episode. Next thing we knew, we had watched an entire season.

What inspired this video was a lot of people I knew (who were not bronies) thought bronies were these creepy, outcast, obsessive, neckbeards, ect. We thought, ok lets make a video where we can make fun of a brony stereotype. We wanted the video to appeal to those that hated bronies, but also appeal to bronies. We made the character look like a regular brony, but gave him the personality of the stereotype.

ObliviousEmi: Me and Dalton actually used to watch it since the animation and style really lured us in. It was just a happy show that really just, well, made you happy. It became pretty hard to watch the show when the fanbase started to crumble. People demanding things from a little kids show (yes it was intended for little kids I don't care what anyone says) just started to actually make them cater to the fans, such as giving that "Derpy" pony a voice and actually calling her DerpyHooves. That's when the show started to go down hill. I won't get too into that though. Basically we were parodying the "hardcore" fans of the show. People have actually gotten into arguements with me over my opinion on why I dislike "hardcore" fans.

Q: Girl Gamer bring up an issue in the video game community that is still being talked about today. Girls playing video games. What would be your stance on girls playing video games? Is it something to address or is it just silly to bring it up in the first place? What does this movie entail for girl gamers?

A:

Jaltoid: I think girls playing video games is awesome. Me and emi bonded over games. But what we don't like is girls that are "girl gamers." Its like calling yourself "Girl artist" or "Girl programer." No, your an artist, or a programer. I knew a few girls in high school that would brag about playing halo or call of duty. The typical games that are more popular with guys. There are people out there that are passionate about games, and it a bit of an insult that they use it to seem appealing to guys.

ObliviousEmi: I'll give it to you straight. If you are a girl and like video games for the actual games, then don't slap "girl" in front of gamer. Your gender SHOULD NOT matter, you are literally begging for attention if you call yourself a girl gamer, and what's the point of that? Just play the game. If someone asks if you're a girl, sure you can answer them, but if not, keep your mouth shut. Once I was in minecraft and someone asked if I was a girl, before I could answer about 5 other girls shouted "I'M A GIRL". It made my skin crawl. We were really just trying to show in our flash that if you're a girl that plays games, don't put a label on yourself like "girl gamer". You are just a gamer. You don't see boys saying "Boy Gamer" so why should we be any different? Girls are always upset about equality between guys and girls. Well if that's true, stop trying to set yourself apart, just be a regular gamer.

Q: Seeing as you are part of the YouTube community you are most likely going to have more trolls on that side of the pond than here on Newgrounds. Responding To Trolls however you state...

"This does not represent specific individual. But some people pretend to not care about trolls. Yet they cant resist making a video about how they apparently do not care. Do they not realize its still a response even if they claim they aren't bothered?"

Do you still agree with this comment and movie? How do you respond to trolls? What advice would you have to give to others? What do you believe are the pros and cons between YouTube comments and Newgrounds reviews?

A:

Jaltoid: I do still agree. I can say, that trolls can get to me sometimes. Trolling is an art form, and if your good enough, you can effect even the best of us. If I told you that trolls do not bother me, that would be a lie. However the average troll that just recycles jokes or uses cheap insults like "fat" or "ugly" doesn't work on me. Usually if a troll bothers me enough, I get off the computer. Sometimes I even go off and troll myself, I personally love to mess with people on occasion. But Its usually not worth giving a response to someone that wants to see you lash back at them.

Its natural if a troll bothers you here and there. But pretending like you don't care, but constantly fighting the problem.

Our inspiration for this video was actually a YouTube user by the name of shoenice22. I was subbed to him for about a year, and liked seeing him eat crazy stuff. But after a while he got obsessed with telling trolls off, and always say "I don't care what you think." Its hard to convince people that you're not bothered when its all you talk about anymore.

I think YouTube comments Vs Newgrounds reviews is a tough subject. I had a discussion with Tom a few months ago on this very subject. YouTube comments being easy and short to read, gives users and content creators a great way of communication. However a lot of times it turns into just general discussions, and arguing between users. Newgrounds reviews is a great way to critique content creators, and give genuinely honest feedback. But a lot of times it turns into just comments with a score.

ObliviousEmi: So many times have we seen videos where they say themselves, "I will not respond to you trolls, I will not give you a reaction" where as by making that video, they ARE giving a reaction. I'm not sure how people don't understand that. The biggest reason we put in that we weren't representing a specific individual was because people were telling us that the character was supposed to be Pewdiepiew, which was completely incorrect. I actually modeled him after Link just for the funsies, which was why you can find triforces, hyrule in the background outside, and rupees. At 0:31 on youtube I actually drew the real Link behind the rainbow which I'm surprised no one had caught yet.

I had a bad tendency to reply to comments I find on the unintelligent side, and I'd end up making a nice clean argument. However I realized it really wasn't worth and and I just flat out stopped responding to comments like that.

As far as pros and cons between youtube and newgrounds, I say with youtube you don't really get many comments about the video itself and more so the subject. On newgrounds people will critique it can give actual reviews, which I like. (Doesn't happen all the time but far more often than youtube).

Q: Opinion is FACT as you put it, makes fun of the way people think. Where did you get the inspiration for this?

A:

Jaltoid: The typical online arguments. You say state you love or hate for someone, next thing you know your in a heated debate over why your opinion is the better one. We would see this everywhere we would go.

ObliviousEmi: It actually came from the people who wouldn't read the descriptions of our videos and assume something was hate or something of that sort.

Q: Most Beautiful Teen talks about two girls arguing over who is better looking on Facebook. Perhaps I don't spend as much time on Facebook as others, but is this something that actually happened on Facebook and you brought it to life or is it a culmination of other events?

A:

Jaltoid: Actually yes. There are contests on Facebook where there is no actual winner. But teenagers are competitively competing for complements, and attention from members of the opposite sex. We had been invited to a contest and were in disbelief that it was real.

ObliviousEmi: Yes this actually happens a lot for some reason. People start these "Most Beautiful Teens" contests on facebook and tons of people "enter" and post creepy pictures of themselves. Some trying to be cute some trying to be sexual. Those events end up being trolled as it's quite silly to take those kind of things serioues. You don't need facebook to evaluate your self worth.

Q: You two would bring us the sequel to Girl Gamer entitled Girl Gamers. Why the urge for a sequel?

A:

Jaltoid: We didn't think that Girl Gamer was as good as views say it was. Its honestly the only video out of our popular ones that I don't care for. But however it was the most successful video on both YouTube and Newgrounds. We decided to make a sequel to do it it better.

ObliviousEmi: It's actually something we had thought about for a while and thought it'd make a boom, as it was really anticipated by our viewers and requested. When I look back on the original Girl Gamer I kind of cringe at how different the art is. I wasn't really focusing on fixing up lines or anything, and for some reason I decided not to draw any fingers. With this one we really wanted to show the difference between a real gamer and a "girl gamer" as people who "didn't read the description" of the last one and assumed we thought all girls were like that.

Q: Your latest work is another Facebook issue, opposite that of Most Beautiful Teen, but in the same area and that is with I'm Ugly. I'll be honest, I have dealt with a friend who has done the same thing, so I can understand the idea of it. Have you two dealt with a friend who has done the same or come across others who have?

A:

Jaltoid: Yes, and I've been rather rude to people on purpose to test them. If I tell someone that I'm an Idiot. Should I expect them to treat me like a genius? You can't possibly be upset with people agreeing with your negativity unless you're using reverse psychology on people. If you genuinely have a problem with yourself, fix it.

ObliviousEmi: I actually know someone who does that sort of thing all the time, and I won't say any names. She constantly posts pictures titled something like "DON'T LOOK!" and putting something in the description like "this picture is gross" or something like that. I just think to myself, "if you REALLY thought it was gross, why did you post it?" She actually does this in real life too. If someone calls her pretty or cute she just rejects it with "No way I'm not, nooo I'm ugly!" It drove me nuts.

Q: When it comes to your writing, you two enjoy picking at things in the Internet and video games. Have you two thought about branching out beyond this?

A:

Jaltoid: Yes, Most of our videos were us kinda venting to the internet about what really bothers us. We are very sheltered people. I get more of a tan from my computer monitor than the sun. So we relate to online situations more than anything.

We plan on moving away from internet conflicts. "I'm Ugly" was a but redundant to our previous video "Most Beautiful Teen." No set direction just yet. But we have delayed all our online oriented videos for now.

ObliviousEmi: Haha this is actually something we've recently been talking about. While we love picking at the "dumbness" of the internet we realize we're getting a little bit repetitive. We have worried that with this "I'm Ugly" one we submitted we'd be pushing it a little. With this one we're working on now we hope people will enjoy because we're trying to be more creative. Of course it's still the sort of pointing out the silly things sort of thing, but it will not be the same formula as the others where they're all in separate rooms typing or something. We really need to reach out of the box a little.

Q: What can we expect from Jaltoid and ObliviousEmi in the future?

A:

Jaltoid: A newer direction, we have an old project that we started a few months back. We never finished it because it was so different. "Ded Oreo" is actually the same concept we'd be working with. But we may take some time to finish it and see how our viewers react. It was a comedy video feature us as characters. More settle humor, not the wacky humor people are used to seeing from us. Depending on how people react it could pave a whole new platform for us.

ObliviousEmi: New ideas and being more creative with our writing! I myself am trying hard to make the art look very nice and appealing, and Dalton will be working on more frame by frame and more movement. We realize it appears as if we've gotten a little lazy so we're trying to fix that! Please look forward to it~

This duo caught me off guard. Seeing their multiple works on the front page and loving every single one of them. To know that they these two met by chance on deviantArt is truly amazing. It shows that if you're willing to lend your hand, you may find a collaborative partner that you can make gems with.

Interview No. 122

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest you may have heard of if you're a fan of Team Fortress 2 or a visitor of the Audio Portal. She is an artist and musician of great valor with hits such as Revengineering, for which she would receive the Daily Feature award for, HERONDANCE and Eyes, which she would receive two Daily 5th Place Awards for. Her musical works include titles ranging from epic proportions to 8-Bit Nostalgia, with Sky Battle (Final), Space Mission, Regular Battle, and Neutral March. This is just a small offering of her skills as an artist, animator, and musician. Please welcome... @daigonite.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A: I used to go on here when I was younger but I never made an account. I made an account in October of 2011 because I wanted to extend my art to a different audience, which originally started with hand drawn works in the art portal. I didn't really receive much attention before releasing Revengineering.

Q: At what age did you become interested in art and animation?

A: I started drawing around the age of 7, and persisted in drawing wildlife and basic high contrast characters for many years. I did not indulge in animation until much later, when I was 17, because I was given the entire CS3 package for free by my school (I had limited internet access before then so obtaining anything was rather difficult). I experimented with Adobe Flash Professional for about a year, working on and off three projects until I started working on Revengineering.

Q: Your first submission to Newgrounds would be Revengineering. Oddly enough this is based off of Team Fortress 2, but to those who don't know anything about the game wouldn't notice and wouldn't have to to get it. What is it about Team Fortress 2 that inspired you to make this and how long did it take?

A: Team Fortress 2 has a very distinctive art style, which goes well with my high contrast Soviet propaganda like style that I use for painting several pictures in the past in art classes. I came up with the idea to use silhouettes to animate the characters because of my lack of knowledge in animating, but I had a distinct vision and in the end it worked. I've learned a lot from my later works but this one sticks out to me as the most ambitious until I worked on Eyes.

Q: One of my favorites by you has to be HERONDANCE. Where on earth did you get this idea from? Why this song?

A: My friend at the time suggested that I listen to a band called Caravan Palace. This song was the one that stuck out to me the most. I'm not a particulary huge fan of this band, however this song had a very quirky nature that reminded me of birds. Bird courting behaviours are very interesting, especially those associated with birds like herons, which is what the inspiration of this particular flash is. Essentially, it's about birds courting.

Q: Event Horizon tells quite the story. There is no real beating around the bush here... when were you diagnosed with autism, what variant of autism? Could you tell those here who don't know what autism is and what your diagnosis entails? What events happened that lead to the creation of this movie?

A: At the time I was really worried about having autism because of the stigma associated with it. There's no real "variant" that I was diagnosed with, just good ol' run of the mill autism. The whole DSM definition is changing and mutating because of controversy over overdiagnosis, but everything I've looked over with it still pretty much applies to me.

I'm no doctor but the biggest thing to understand with autistics is that it's basically three big ideas - communication problems, difficulty in understanding emotions and obsessions. It's a VERY VAGUE definition and can mean a lot of things, which is why I urge people to try to help people with autism, not hold them back. To me though, my diagnosis helped me figure out what I was doing wrong and helped me become more aware of the problems I do have to help me benefit in everyday life, and honestly it has helped.

This didn't happen at the time though. I was being fed some total bullshit from this lady who tried to tell me how retarded I was, and believe it or not I actually bought it. It wasn't until I met Kyle in September that I didn't buy her bullshit anymore and I gained some independence from the stereotype.

Q: How did the events in your life lead into a month's work with Arctic Sea Diner?

A: First off, Arctic Sea Diner, like Trinity Fascist, is an acronym that is the same as ASD, which is the technical term for Autism (I'm surprised nobody's noticed that yet). Secondly, I essentially overcame my fears of who I was and just dealt with it. It was pretty much me starting to evolve my independence from the label and helping me become my own person, which is what happened in the months in between this flash and Eyes.

Q: Eyes I believe to be your best work. Who is Kyle and what made you want to turn this parallel universe idea into reality? Where are things with you and Kyle now?

A: Eyes, bar none, was my most ambitious flash. It took almost 80 hours to complete and has a run time of over 4 minutes, and uses colour schemes that I rarely use, as well as being very streamlined in performance, and relying on the "trippy graphics" to illustrate the idea of seeing for the first time in your life, which are a lot of work to keep interesting. It also has a very distinctive story, very different from my last two flashes.

This particular flash arose from a peculiar discussion I had with him at one point, discussing an alternate universe where I was blind and he was not. The idea fascinated me to the point to bringing this flash to fruition.

Kyle is a friend of mine who was born blind who I'm very close with, and talk to every day. I see his struggles not just physically but how people treat him, and honestly he's one of the most phenomenal people I've ever met, and it's disappointing that so many people brush him off because of his disability. It drives me crazy that people really pull their children away from him like he's some kind of monster or something. People are really uneducated. I really tried in this flash to explain how I feel about his character and I used the story to really just prove it. It's also kind of a love letter because I really do love him a lot.

At the time I had a big crush on him (and admittedly it was pretty selfish), and it's evolved into... something crazy. I mean really crazy. He's currently in a failing relationship right now though so it's less about "getting him" and more about helping him out right now. He's going through tough times so yeah, that's been occupying a lot of my life at the moment (hence the lack of works being sent out). We're still best friends for sure, but it's obvious he really likes me and I really like him and well, it's just a sticky situation. NOT IN THAT WAY GAWD.

Q: A lot of your works hold this style of somber colors like black and gray, as well as colors such as red and white. Where did you adapt this style from?

A: This style was adapted from a set of "ATC" cards (Artist Trading Cards) that I did for a project back in 2010. Basically, I was assigned to making 9 of these cards, and I made these 9 cards by using alliteration in the names, such as Funky Felines and Gaudy Gryphon. The idea was to use only white and red paint on a black background to make these characters come to life. I might scan them and post them on NG, they're really cool little things. But yeah, that's the origin of that style.

I really love the contrast of Red, White and black, which are my primary colours. I find it difficult to diverge from my main colour scheme so much, which made Eyes and some segments of Event Horizon and Arctic Sea Diner especially difficult.

Q: When did you become interested in music?

A: I've been playing guitar ever since I was 5, and I've always been very musically inclined. This is part of what makes me so readily able to imagine things when I hear music. When I was about 9 years old I began to sequence music on the computer, which is mainly what I do today.

Q: Your first two songs submitted to the Audio Portal were DKL2 - Zinger and DKL2 - Bramble. When did you play Donkey Kong Land 2? What is the process in bringing music from a Game Boy to life on a computer?

A: This is a game that I've played ever since I was very little, it really is a part of my childhood. Basically I transferred the notes to the midi software, using my guitar as an aide, and writing out the song to match the personality of the 8bit originals. Particularly I was experimenting with filter techniques which is obvious in the Zinger song.

Q: Trinity Fascist is quite the diverse song mixing multiple instruments together while never seeming repetitive. What instruments went into this song and what was the inspiration for it?

A: Trinity Fascist is a dumb name - it has the same initials as Team Fortress. Each segment of the song represents the 9 classes in their presented order, plus an intro at the beginning. The instruments are too many to list, but there's a lot of filters I put on a lot of unusual instruments, such as amp filters on Kalimbas. Listening to it again, I used a piccolo, oboes, french horns, strings, keyboard, synth, bagpipes, guitars, accordions... the list goes on. I really just went all out with this song.

Since the characters are so varied, I kept the song varied as well. Keeps things moving. If you listen to it again you can now hear how each segment relates to the character.

Q: Sky Battle (Final) is quite the epic song in every sense of the word. Where did the inspiration come from for this piece and what was the process you brought into making it?

A: I was working on a game back in 2011 that had a sky world. The song that this song is based off of is based on the regular music for the sky world, and this song is the boss battle of that world. Like my other midi songs, I wrote it first in a midi, then worked on it in a fancy program with better samples.

Q: You have done quite a bit of 8-Bit Music as well, such as Strategy, Regular Battle, and Neutral March. What inspired you to do 8-Bit Music and what is the differences for you in making more modern electronic music and working within 8-Bit limitations?

A: It should be noted that the songs listed are not true 8-bit and were written in a similar fashion as my previous songs. However, the songs "The One and Only", "Ich Warte", "The Drummer's Theme" and "Chance" are true 8Bit and are written in LSDJ.

LSDJ is a song writing system for the Gameboy that makes writing chiptunes actually quite easy. It takes a lot of patience though and because the method is different, the songs I write with it have a different taste.

Learning how to use LSDJ was frustrating because of the limitations of the software, however I developed a new style to compensate for it's differences - this is why the true chiptune songs listed sound quite different than the ones that were just written from midis.

Q: You have been talking about an upcoming game for quite sometime now in the descriptions of a lot of your works. What game are you working on? What can you tell us about it?

A: Unfortunately Kyle hasn't been doing so good right now so it's been put on hiatus. I've worked on a couple of projects from time to time but they just aren't panning out. I think he's dropped programming on the game, which means I might either pick it up from where he left off or might just drop the project altogether.

For those curious, it was a text-based strategy RPG that I was going to port to flash with graphics.

Q: You are no stranger to the Art Portal with a variety of bird pictures. Are you a bird watcher? If so when and how did you become interested in it?

A: The art portral like previously stated was the reason why I joined NG in the first place. I wouldn't say that I go out of my way to do bird watching but I do enjoy the presence of birds. Birds are very enjoyable creatures for me to draw and I'm honestly completely memorized by them, which is why they are a primary focus. I also use birds to symbolize people when I don't want to actually draw that person for whatever reason.

Q: Jungle you state is a self-portrait. Why did you decide to do a self-portrait and what problems come with doing a self-portrait?

A: I just felt like drawing me (lol). I was really craving a joint at the time so I drew that. Simple stupid story. The character is based off of "Matilda" who is essentially a self portrait in of herself. So when you see her, that's me! But basically she was an interesting character to design. I associate myself with crows and ravens and usually wear dark colours, which explains her colour scheme. I also wanted to design her to be kind of mysterious and seemingly emotionally distant distant, but powerful enough that people could still understand her emotions.

Q: What can we expect from daigonite in the future?

A: I'm starting a band with Kyle. Not sure when we're going to pump out our first songs, but we're a talented group. He's a total bro and I'm really excited. In addition, I'm thinking about creating a flash called "Furanufutari" about a legendary warrior that uses a white sword to pierce through the darkness, and will be my first non-music video flash. In addition, I swing back and forth with doing "Wings of Glory", the flash about the TF2 soldier. It's a hard flash to conceive but I think my techniques are going better. I also plan on making music videos for our band.

daigonite is one of those individuals who I had stumbled upon while reading news posts. It truly is amazing what you will find upon digging around Newgrounds. It is what makes me happy about Tom's Treasure Hunt that he does. However you don't have to wait for the Treasure Hunt to go looking for those diamonds in the rough. daigonite is no exception. Truly an underrated artist, animator, and musician here on Newgrounds.

Interview No. 121

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest has been on my list for quite a long time. He is an interesting game maker that has given us some unique games and takes on the different aspects of the Internet, world, and Newgrounds. With games such as SevenSeize's Adventure and Seven's Second Adventure. He has also contributed to ForNoReason's Charity Project with games like Hide the Reefer! and Turtlodyssey. He has also participated in Pico Day with his entry Picos Quest. I would like you all to please welcome @Magical-Zorse.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A: I played a lot of maplestory in 2008 and there was this guy on Newgrounds who made flash versions of boss simulators for it and I would play them all the time. Eventually I started looking around the site and playing other games and I thought it was cool so I joined.

Q: When and how did you become interested in programming?

A: Back when I was young, eager, and naive I wanted so badly to be able to contribute to the site that had brought me so much joy. I was never good at animating or drawing with flash so I wanted to program games, so I started reading through all the tutorials I could find on NG like the AS: Main and the tutorial collabs.

Q: When and how did you become interested in art and animation?

A: Art is cool. Animation is cool too. It boggled my mind how crazy awesome the art and animation on newgrounds at the time was.

Q: SevenSeize's Adventure and Seven's Second Adventure would be two games made for SevenSeize. Who is SevenSeize and how did you two come to meet?

A: SevenSeize is a velociraptor who is secretly a moderator on Newgrounds. She commented on one of my newsposts randomly and said something about wanting to make a game so she can win an award and be famous. So I decided to make a game about her making a game as a joke. After Tom Fulp posted about it on the front page we thought we would make a sequel with medals in it.

Q: Hide the Reefer! is a funny text-based adventure game. However there is more to it. How did you come across ForNoReason's Newgrounds Charity Project and why did you decide to contribute the revenue of your game to The Yellow Ribbon Fund?

A: When I found out FNR was doing the charity thing I thought I would donate my revenue to a charity to make myself feel a little bit better about being such a shitty person.

Q: Turtlodyssey would be another to be for ForNoReason's Charity Project, this time for Breast Cancer Research. Why did you also decide to make a game for this charity and what was the inspiration of having turtleco fight against TheWeebl?

A: I donated the ad revenue to breast cancer research because I care about boobs and stuff. When turtleco made a movie about me I wanted to return the favor by making a game about him and putting all of our friends in the game too. I was originally going to have him fight a bunch of different NG characters but I got lazy and only put in one which happened to be the weebl.

Q: Pico Day is a day to celebrate Tom Fulp and Newgrounds. You would do this with Picos Quest. What can you tell us about Picos Quest?

A: I had been playing a lot of sarien.net games and I wanted to make a game celebrating Tom and all of the NG characters. Now that I think about it I probably spent way more time putting in all of the possible responses to whatever you might type while playing it than actually making the game.

Q: You have participated in quite a number of collaborations here on Newgrounds. What advice can you give to those wanting to start a collaboration or wanting to join one?

A: Don't suck, and don't pick a stupid theme for a collab.

Q: What do you look for when looking to join a collaboration?

A: I'm a sucker for cute graphics.

Q: What can we expect from Magical-Zorse in the future?

A: More apathy, cynicism, and strange games.

Magical-Zorse has always had original and interesting games to play. It is amazing what he will take and turn into a game. He truly is a creative individual whose games for the most part speak for themselves. I am eager to see what he will bring to Newgrounds in the future.

Interview No. 120

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Every 10th interview, I try to shed some light on some underrated folks or make an event out of it. Today's guest is no different. His works are probably very unknown, but his variety shows a creative spark. He started off as a humble writer and has moved to the Audio Portal. With songs such as Nothins-messy nature, Nothins-The Eulogy of my heart, and Nothins - Relax in the dark as just a small sample of what he has done. If you don't know him, you should, he is none other than @Nothins.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A: Originally, I had a lot of free time. By a lot, I mean every waking hour was free time. I didn't care all that much for school and I was high bored of it. Eventually I was on mini clip, and started looking for a flash site where the games didn't all suck completely. Alas I found a few, tea games was one I used quite often but it grew into something I no longer liked. I ended up stumbling upon Newgrounds, and it was something amazing. The creativity of every one was astounding to me. By no means do I think of myself as creative. Just don't. But some of the people here... There are very few words. There are many wonderful things. and many not much so. But it's glorious as a whole.

Q: When and how did you become interested in writing?

A: I was in English class in the 9th grade I think, and I wasn't one to pay attention in class (seeing a pattern yet?), So I usually just sat there and drew, one day I was thinking of line rider and planning out a map I could do, and I drew some guy giving head to Barney. I had to cover it up, so somehow I made it into a worm of sorts. And I got something stuck in my head. And that's how Wormy was born. As for The Nothing War, On Mangafox I was in a thread called The Great War of Honor, and I role-played as Nothins. Also one of the reasons I use this name, but that's another story. So I get stuff started usually when I'm bored.

Q: The Nothing War: Pre Nothins is a story that you started three years ago and have recently picked back up. What can you tell us about this story and when will we see its ending?

A: I love this story, but it's such an old story it's something I can't stand to type. My writing was horrible and even typing the up the small amount I did, I had to edit quite a lot of it. The story is about the Master. Can't spoil the ending, because I still need to type it up after mid terms are done, but I can say that in the latter series I was planning, he has a pupil called Nothins.

Q: Wormmy The Squirmy Worm Wormmy is quite the humorous story. How did you come up with this idea and what inspired you to expand it more?

A: I explained this a bit before. Once I got that little phrase down I started to want to write a children's book. Half way, I was running out of ideas and said screw it, hence why Wormy takes a weird turn way way threw it. I was going to make a second one. About squirrels and coconuts, or something of the sort. But what rhymes with squirrel...

Q: When and how did you become interested in music?

A: I honestly, do not remember, it was one of them things I was like "Hey, I want to try that" Same was with Cinema 4D, a 3D modeling software, and drawing, and a few other things.

Q: Your first submission to the Audio Portal would be entitled from the past is the future. You state you were still learning, so what did you learn that would come to produce this? Can you tell me anything about the title of the song?

A: It technically wasn't my first, one of the better songs, smooth like-ish I did long before. At the time Newgrounds had a lot of problems with people voting everything with a zero. But any way. My goal with the song was to mix in some oriental instruments you don't usually hear, or at least sound like it. I think I didn't do too badly with this. My other goal was keep it simple at fewer than three different instruments. Something else I always try to do with song. Keep them simple and enjoyable. As for the title. As with most things, I pull the name out of the nether regions of my brain. You can ask me about any song title, it's usually the first think in my head when I'm saving the file. Very few times do I actually try to name it.

Q: Nothins-messy nature is quite the quirky little outdoors song. What was the process you took into bringing this strange wilderness to life?

A: I am a loops user. I love taking loops and samples and what else have you, and making them fit together. I'm partly deaf in one ear, I'm also tone deaf. Using a piano roll doesn't do well with me. So using loops I get the same enjoyment as making a song many would with fruity loops and other programs. I used to use fruity loops, mainly for simple creating of bass or drum loops. Messey nature was one of the songs, I wanted to take totally different lops smash them together, and with a bit of unicorn magic, see if it works. Debatable if it did or not, but it could be much worse. As I say, losey goosey baby, losey goosey.

Q: A peaceful tranquility, Nothins-The Eulogy of my heart. One thing I like about this piece is that it starts off with this mystical aura, but slowly moves into this bittersweet tone. Was that intentional or a happy accident? Or am I completely off base entirely? Also could you give us some background into the name of the song?

A: No, I wanted something that evolved. The heart changes over time and I wanted a song that reflects that. So I tried to start off in point A, and have the song finish in point C. I don't want it to change entirely, but enough that you notice. It's like what your 20, and when your 40. When your 40, you still have that heart when you were 20, but things have changed, maybe for the better and sometimes not so much. But there is a difference there. That's what I was trying to point out with the song.

Q: The first song I ever listened to by you is also my favorite of yours and that is Nothins - Relax in the dark. You said that this one was made out of boredom. I'm curious about this, what is the difference between putting a lot into your work and being driven by inspiration and making something when bored? What is the process you took into making this?

A: This. To this day, it is still the most played song of mine besides muwalaha, and its many incarnations. I loved this song. I was up late one night with nothing to do. I needed something that would either put me to sleep or calm me down, but not be cluttered or filled with all these unnecessary sounds. To me Relax in the dark did this perfectly. As for the effort. Using loops makes it easy and hard. Sure you have the instruments, but you don't have the one you really need. Ones close, but never the one you quite one that would fit perfectly. When I'm not trying I'll usually mess with sampled for a good +5 hours, usually having it set to repeat once its over, listen to it for a good 20 minutes, make a few changes and repeat. By this point I have heard it so much I can't tell if its good or it sucks. So I save the file and don't mess with it for a few weeks or even a month later. Helps clear everything out. However for Relax in the dark. It only took me two days or so. Everything just fit into place. It is the only song that I have had, that everything lined up smoothly and elegantly if you wish.

Q: A lot of your songs hold this peaceful nature or club nature. You change this formula up a bit with Nothins - Mello dramatic. You said the original was too long so you scaled it back. Why do you think it was too long? What was the inspiration behind this piece?

A: Well it's weird, in my mind if you're doing something related to a movie, or a movie type theme, it should be short and to the point if it's not in a movie its self. It gives off the range and spectrum it should without all the unneeded build up in movies. The dramatics wasn't needed. Most of my songs, tend to take that peaceful vibe to them. I just like it. When I first started I wanted to be doing very simple techno, and a little mix of trance. With a little dip into house. But as I went on, I found I was a lot better at chillout and ambient styles, and they were an enjoyable time spent making. I still do a mix of some styles, but my main one is Ambient. Probably always will be.

Q: Nothins - Moonlit bells is an interesting song that intrigues me. Mainly because you state...

"An idea I had been messing with, turned out completely different then what I thought it would."

What was the original idea and how did it come to be this?

A: I don't know if you ever watched Skins? But I know in seasons 6 the opening theme was quite nice. I tried to make something with that feel. For some reason I had all I needed but it wasn't working out quite nice. Then I remembered that game where you have to select matching tiles. I played it a lot when I was younger. There was one level where it takes a lazy tone to it, and the music also does this. The tiles were TV and animals on couches and such. Very lax and easy going. About half way thru the song when I decided it wasn't going to work, I deleted two of the key instruments, and it started to remind me of that feeling. So I went with it. What was supposed to be an upbeat happy going song, turned into a lazy mild moving one. Not what I wanted, but of the songs I have done, I'm happy with it.

Q: Although Nothins - Relax in the dark is my favorite by you. I do have to say that Nothins - Pab bad is by far your best work. With so many songs done already and many Random Beats, we come to this. You say it's not really a song though, why is that? Also how does it feel to look back at your earlier works and see how you have grown?

A: Random beats was to job ideas in my mind, it was me playing around with idea for songs, and some made it into songs like Underwater arrhythmia. Songs to me, should range from two minutes to five. No more no less, unless it's a trance, or a remix. A one minute song, isn't a song at all. I was playing with a more "hip" I guess, vibe and wanted to see where I got me. I am impressed with it, but it's too short to be a song. It's one of those I need to go back to and do some work one, like with wild wild space. They are short. Plain and simple. But Thanks for that, Relax is also a favorite of mine.

Q: What tools do you use to create your music?

A: A Casio midi keyboard, a cowbell, and a few different programs depending what it is I'm doing.

Q: What advice can you give to those looking to improve their music?

A: Don't listen to what others say. You're making music because you want to. You shouldn't be in it for fame or fortune. I'm no deadmau5 or Soulero, but I just try to make things I like, things I can put on my iPod at the end of the day and listen to and be like "I'm happy with this." That's what you need to do. If you're happy with it, then that's all you need.

Q: What is in your opinion, the definition of music?

A: Whatever makes you feel good and conveys emotions. Music is a powerful tool and has the voice of a generation. It can be used for great things. It's all about finding that one word and that one note, and having it roll all into one glorious song that gets people to "feel them feels"

Q: What can we expect from Nothins in the future?

A: A Few songs, Not as many as back in 2010. I've slowed down. But a few, as well as a rework of the newer songs, and maybe I'll keep typing up The Nothing war. With me, you never know what I'll do next. Maybe I'll make a sex tape and upload the audio...

To be honest, I found Nothins on a whim. The first song I heard by him was Nothins - Relax in the dark. It was just beauty to my ears. As I heard more from him, I just had to interview him and bring him to light. To be honest though, I had someone else planned for this No. 120 spot, but I have yet to get the questions back, so I thought why not have this underrated musician? His works enraptured me, maybe they will do the same for you.

Interview No. 119

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest is an underrated artist here on Newgrounds. His works vary from sketch work with Love of mine to graffiti work with Are you alone?. Please welcome, @372.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A: I first found Newgrounds when I was around 7 or 8. My older cousin showed me things like the Killing Spree series by Sam Green and Rob Zombie. I've been on ever sense. I joined NG a couple years later in 2006 as MaddSkill because I was working with flash and wanted to post them for reviews. Haha I used this horrible program called Kool Moves. It was pretty bad.

Q: At what age did you become interested in drawing?

A: I've been interested in drawing for as long as I can remember. To be honest I've always been a little obsessed with it.

Q: What is the Left 4 Dead Action Flash?

A: A flash I started a couple years ago. I made a few sketches and then got side tracked. I gave up on it pretty quickly.

Q: Your first piece on Newgrounds is entitled TheUsed. You say it is fan art, so what is TheUsed and who is Alex Pardee?

A: The Used is a band I've been listening to for just as long as I've been visiting Newgrounds. Their first 3 albums have really inspired my artwork. Alex Pardee was the artist who illustrated their second and third album's artwork. The piece is just some drawings I did from the copy of the album I have.

Q: One of my favorite pieces by you has to be Love of mine. It is a beautiful picture that you drew on your school desk. What was on your mind in class while drawing?

A: Well one day when doodling in class I noticed that pencil drawings came out really nice on desks. My hot Italian teacher said she liked my desk drawings so when I had the free time I started working on nice looking stuff. I actually used a girl in my class as reference and it came out looking a lot like her.

Q: Are you alone? is a graffiti piece done by you. When The Graffiti Crew we talked about why some people use graffiti as an art form. What made you decide to use a part of the world as your easel?

A: Well I live on long island and there isn't much art to look at around here... just a lot of white walls and shopping malls. Graffiti is a great way to get the public exposed to your message. Usually when I use graffiti I'm trying to say something. It's my hope that each person who sees my work will reflect on the pieces differently and take something away from them.

Q: One thing that has always fascinated me, but is so elementary in art is the drawing of faces. Sleeping Man on Train shows off some of your facial works. What advice can you give to those who may have trouble drawing faces?

A: Drawing faces takes a lot of practice. I found studying the anatomy gave me a good foundation for drawing faces and anything living. Knowing exactly what you're drawing can help you make good decision's while you draw, and lead to an overall better looking piece.

Q: Toast-Tony, Fifty-50, and CosmicDeath, have all been past guests on The Interviewer before. Each one of them like many others have art threads. My art thread. is yours. How important would you say it is for Newgrounds artists to have an art thread?

A: Well I have a more recent art thread. 372'S Artistic Manifestations

I think it's very important newgrounds artists have an art thread. As an artist not all the stuff you make will be suited for the art portal, but that doesn't mean it's not worth sharing. A art thread is a really good way to show your studies and doodles and get feedback from other artists and users.

Q: Desk Art intrigues me. A drawn hand, drawing something. What inspiration came to you while drawing upon your desk this time?

A: Haha well I have trouble trying to draw something cool from nothing, so I figured I could draw my hand...drawing my hand. Like a M. C. Escher sort of thing. I draw my own hands a lot. It's a reference that's available 24/7

Q: One of my favorite graffiti artists goes by the name Banksy. You paid homage to him with Banksy Tribute. What is it about Banksy's works that you like and is the piece completed like Banksy's original?

A: I love the boldness of Banksy's work. He really showed me that graffiti could be more then mindless bombing. I really started to enjoy the idea of using well thought out art in graffiti. It inspired me. The piece on my way was actually sketched out and hand painted free hand while Banksy's was stencil work.

Q: My favorite piece by you holds gothic and majesty. That is A skull. What was the process in this piece?

A: Well I drew out the skull using a real human skull my bio teacher has as reference Then I drew some tree looking things and added some water color. I don't have a scanner so I just took a picture with my cell phone and upped the contrast haha.

Q: Many artists tend to use computers for their creations while you use paper and city walls. Have you used computer tools to draw? If not then why?

A: Yeah I've also worked with computer tools though it's not my favorite medium to use. I find creating with more traditional styles to be much more natural and satisfying.

Q: What is Chillin' With Satan?

A: I have a lot of free time in school that I spend in my computers class. One day out of pure boredom My friend Julian and I came up with the idea of making a flash. It's about us just trying to hang out with our favorite imaginary deathcore band "Satan": with the front man being Satan himself. It's pretty much satire of the whole music scene we have to deal with because of the music we listen too.

Q: What would you say is the definition of art?

A: That's a tough one. I guess I think art is anything you can do that can instill different feelings or ideas in a different people. Skill's like drawing and sculpting don't define your artistic ability, they only expand the ways you can express yourself.

Q: What can we expect from 372 in the future?

A: I'm working on a ton of artistic projects. I've been especially working on abstract-anatomy themed works. Oh and stencils. Lots of stencils.

372 is an up and coming artist here on Newgrounds, even though he has been a member here longer. His sketches are pretty and his graffiti artwork is beautiful. Then again that could be my bias showing in that aspect since I can't seem to resist graffiti. 372 is already quite the artist and he can only grow from here.

Interview No. 118

Interview By: @The-Great-One

Today's guest you might know through his latest game Relive Your Life. However he has done more before this including participating in the Tournament of Flash Artists, which has evolved on Newgrounds as the Newgrounds Annual Tournament of Animation (NATA). Has done works on Internet Allstars 2011, has competed in the Power of Three contest with his work on Primary, This is just a small sample of his talents... I urge you to please welcome, @FrozenFire.

Q: How did you find Newgrounds and why did you join?

A: My brother showed me Newgrounds when I was around 10 years old (~2001). All I did on Newgrounds was navigate myself to the adult section and play dress-up games. I was one horny little bastard. I was more of a regular at Albino Blacksheep at that age, though. I know now that there's some bad blood there, but I was young and reckless!

I joined a few years later, once I realized that all of my favorite movies and games started here on good ol' NG.

Q: When and how did you become interested in animation?

A: One flash sparked my interest in animation. It was a short "How To" video by Edd Gould (RIP Buddy) in which he explained the program he used to make his cartoons. A friend and I sold a bunch of our games so we could collectively pay for Flash MX and make toons together. I still remember keeping all of my "brilliant" ideas written down in a journal. I even doodled a bunch of FrozenFire logo designs in there.

Can't remember the exact year but I was fairly young.

Q: What age were you when you became interested in video games?

A: I've always been a big fan of video games. My friends and I would play together for hours on Bomberman 64 and Jet Force Gemini.

The Power of Three event sparked my desire to get more involved in making games. My senior year of highschool was all about game design. I published Primary, Manhattan Project, and even studied game design at Vancouver Film School for a few days. VFS had some really good courses on story/character development, and we fooled around with the Unreal engine. I still have my notes from that trip.

Q: When and how did you learn about David Cage? What inspiration do you get from him?

A: For those who don't know, David Cage is the head honcho at Quantic Dream. Quantic puts out some of the best storytelling games.

I used to get Game Informer magazines in the mail every month. One of them had screenshots from this game, Heavy Rain. The graphics looked terrific and the main hook they advertised was that the game would not have a "Game Over" screen. Essentially the game would mutate as you failed/succeeded. I thought that was brilliant! That was the main inspiration for Relive Your Life.

I think that my focus on games in the future will be about storytelling thanks to David Cage.

Q: What made you decide to attend Texas A&M University?

A: Short answer: The in-state tuition was a huge draw for me.

I applied to quite a few schools, and I graduated pretty high in my class so thankfully I never got a rejection letter. I really want to live up north so schools like Drexel and DePaul were my picks but I'd be living in debt right now had I followed through. Texas A&M has a great Visualization program that has classes for Art/Animation/Game Design/Graphic Design. The major touches on physical artwork, 3D animation, 2D animation, and requires some computer science courses as well. Quite a few graduates go on to work at Dreamworks or Pixar.

I met El-Cid (Rodrigo Huerta) at the Pico Day meetup and we talked quite a bit about his journey from A&M to Dreamworks. I even had a class with his sister at the time... small world.

Q: What are the Milano Toons?

A: The Milano Crew was one of those Newgrounds flash portal clans that would hang out in forums together and make silly collaborations about whatever they wanted. They called them, "The Milano Toons." When I was but a young noob, I barked a rather malicious review to a Milano Toon which was under judgement in the portal. After a bit of snooping I realized that this group was actually kind of fun. I was a young talentless animator, so having a group of people willing to work with me and give pointers encouraged me to improve.

Q: Most of your works both in games and animation would be through collaboration. What is it about collaborations that can be beneficial to new artists or programmers?

A: Collaboration is the best way to learn. Normally, I analyze my partner's work closely and understand their progress that way. Also, you'll have a formidable challenge in this line of work if you can't cooperate with people. Employers find collaborative traits extremely attractive.

I've rarely worked with the same person twice, whether it be a programmer/voice actor/etc. Not that I found any of my partners unbearable to work with, but I like working with new people. I've built up quite a repertoire of work-related friends this way. Newgrounds really does have a community, and I love that about this place. I want to work with as many great people as I can!

Q: The Newgrounds Annual Tournament of Animation is coming up. You have participated in past Tournament of Flash Artists competitions with your works Father-Son Chat and Pulp. What is it like to compete in one of these tournaments and are you excited for the upcoming NATA?

A: The TOFA I participated in was hosted by Albino Blacksheep. Newgrounds wasn't doing a competition like this at the time. I was in the semi-finals when I eventually was defeated in a match-up with Jimmy Egeland. He's a talented writer so I think it was well-deserved.

It was a fun experience, and I love the talent it brings out each year! I don't think I will be doing one anytime soon unfortunately, as I need to focus on my own projects.

Q: When AlmightyHans was here, we talked about a collaboration he was a part of entitled Africa Dudes. You and a group of animators would do something similar. My question is this... what can you tell me about Eskimos?

A: Eskimos was something RedHarvest iced up in response to Africa Dudes. It's the same formula, but a different setting. I didn't take it too seriously, but it was a reason for me to try voice acting again. I always feel like I could be a voice actor and then I try and realize I'm still terrible at it.

I'll figure it out eventually.

Q: Internet Allstars 2011 is an anti-meme flash in a way, by using a meme to destroy memes. What is your take on the different Internet memes out there and will we be seeing future Internet Allstars movies?

A: I feel like memes could be good if they weren't abused. This Harlem Shake nonsense is getting out of control. Truth be told, I didn't even know what My Little Pony was until I started working on this project.

Mick Lauer and I just wanted to team up on something together. I let him come up with the ideas and just animated it. He's been ridiculously busy lately, so I don't think there will be another one. Overall though, it started our friendship. For me, that's the most important part.

Q: I'm gonna be blunt with this one. What the fuck is Derpasaurus Rex? When will there be more episodes of this?

A: Derpasaurus Rex! Oh my goodness is he fantastic.

Basically anytime anyone around me does something stupid I'd just say, "Derp." Eventually it evolved, similarly to the word "bro", into many different variations. (One being Derpasaurus Rex)

It sparked a character idea that is essentially a well-meaning, hyperactive dinosaur that isn't quite all there. He doesn't fit the scene. His color scheme is different... Rex just doesn't belong in that environment. Noah Scammon (Lefthandedsock) plans on continuing with the series so you might see more!

Q: You would participate in Newgrounds Power of Three with an entry entitled Primary. For those who don't know, could you tell us what the Power of Three is and how you came to be a member of your team?

A: Tom started the Power of Three tournament in 2009 with the purpose of getting people to collaborate and expand their comfort zones. A programmer, an artist, and a musician would team up to create a game revolving around the number three.

Dave Fulton (Jacksmack) put an ad about needing an artist and I sent him a few animation samples I'd done recently. He seemed pleased, and shot me a positive response a few minutes later. Selcuk Bor (MaestroRage) was our musician, and BOY he did a fantastic job. Selcuk and I had a lot of hilarious conversations during that project.

Q: Who came up with the idea for Primary? What elements were put into the game over time?

A: Jacksmack had the initial idea for a platforming puzzle game where you change colors to physically touch certain platforms. I don't think he imagined it being as complex as it is now. I was definitely a key player when it came to some key elements! (Try imagining that game WITHOUT checkpoints. You are welcome.)

Dave and I disagreed quite a bit, but I definitely considered him to be my superior. He'd usually make me re-do anything I made at least twice. In retrospect, the project came out much better because he was a hardass and I thank him for that. It was an amazing learning experience and it started a chain of events for my life in game design.

Q: One of your more twisted games would have to be Lil' Einstein's Manhattan Project. Where did you get the idea for this game and what was the process in making it?

A: Andrew Virostek was my programmer for this game. He approached me in the wake of Primary's success and just said, "Use me as your programming slave, and I will make anything you want." He promised not to question me and would just do what I say.

I didn't want a partner like that. So to get him out of his shell, I actually made him a list of short game ideas and told him to pick what one he thought would be fun. My history class had just gotten to Hiroshima so I thought I'd be offensive and make light of a horrible situation. I wasn't very subtle about it either.

Andrew's best friend is Jon Sandness, who worked with me later on Symphonic Tower Defense.

Andrew's brother Donald is working on a project with me currently too, so it really was a chain reaction.

Q: Who is John Moody?

A: John Moody is a tall, goofball friend of mine who worked alongside me for the prototype of Relive Your Life. That version of the game was never published because of some serious bug issues. His wacky sense of humor really helped shape the game though. We would back and forth ideas about what would make people laugh. I remember him cracking up for like five minutes over the thought of someone spanking a butt at mach speeds.

The published version was done solo, with the exception of Arin Hanson's voice talent. I rewrote a majority of the script, re-animated all the scenes, and doubled the amount of content.

Q: You got to celebrate Pico Day at the Newgrounds Office and you got a chance to meet Arin Hanson. How did you two come to make Relive Your Life?

A: Yes! I met Arin and we talked for a bit. Freaking ridiculously nice guy. I was actually about 90% done with Relive Your Life when I was at Pico Day, because the game was made as a college assignment and it was due the day I got back. I finished putting it together on the plane ride to Texas.

At the beginning of that month, I messaged Arin out of the blue and asked him, "Hey we are both going to be at Pico Day! Would you like to work with me on something?" I warned him it was a lot of voice work, but he didn't skip a beat to say yes. He was in the middle of a move too, so that just speaks wonders for his character.

Q: You have attended a few meet-ups in your time. Are meet-ups simple fun or are they a chance to learn more from others?

A: Pico Day was amazing. I wanted to talk to everyone! I was a little nervous but I think I played it off pretty well. I feel like I both gave and took a lot of advice from talking to people. Motivation seemed to be a main issue among everyone attending, which is understandable considering the standards are constantly being risen by amazing talent.

When Harry Partridge showed up a few people said, "I both hate and respect you!" because Starbarians had just been released.

Plus, Tom Fulp.

I mean, come on what else do you need?

Q: What advice would you have to give to those looking to get into animation or game making?

A: There's a short video floating around the internet about the "Superpower" of programming. When I initially started getting into game design, it was substantially harder to understand how code and art worked together to create a game. So naturally I read books and took courses on computer science following Primary's release. That was probably the smartest decision I ever made.

Learn how to code. It's a skill that is simply necessary for all game design and animation fields. Plus it is a lot of fun!

Q: What can we expect from FrozenFire in the future?

A: Relive Your Life XL! Two programmer friends of mine want to start a small game studio up in Pennsylvania and I'll be the key artist on the team once I graduate. We already have a few games in the works, but the one I'm most excited about it is the HUGE adaptation of Relive Your Life. Just RIDICULOUS amounts of content will be going into that project. There's also an iPhone game I'm working on called Statiq. It's a puzzle game that has some familiarity to Primary. Very saturated colors, which seems to be a common thing in my work.

I graduate from college in a year, so after that I'll be moving to PA as a co-founder of Predical Studios. Hopefully you'll be hearing that name a lot more in the future!

FrozenFire is a very talented animator and artist. His collaborations show no bounds as he has been able to work with some of Newgrounds greatest over the years. I can safely say that we have simply gotten just a small taste of what FrozenFire can do and I imagine that we have yet to truly see his greatest work. Who knows? Perhaps a Pico Day in the future will change all of that.