After over 20 years of browsing Newgrounds, I have been blessed with the auspicious title of User of the Day!

In commemoration of this lovely happening, I will take this time to reflect on some of my Newgrounds memories and general thoughts about the site over the years. I suggest looping Endless Handbag while you read.

Foremost, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone who has made Newgrounds a community of creative brilliance for so very long. It should go without saying (but I will say it anyway) that this foremost includes @TomFulp, whose stewardship is the primary reason the website is still the way it is today. You can go back through the literal decades and find personal remarks from Tom on countless submissions and projects in addition to his usual community posts sharing the latest news and happening for Newgrounds. Most site operators buckled over the last 20+ years as the internet landscape changed. I think it is beyond self-evident that Tom is not like those people. He has made very difficult decisions in the face of constant adversity, economic uncertainty, and technological advancements. Those decisions have kept this place alive no matter the challenge. I pray it shall remain so for years to come.

Anyone who has been on the internet for a long time can think of all those other websites that used to exist alongside Newgrounds, as well as the people who led them. Many of these individuals have since moved on to new things, abandoned their old brands, literally sold out, and in some tragic cases, were taken from us too soon. The internet itself feels so much less free than it used to. It is not unlike looking at a map of Western Europe across the last 2000 years, where great swaths of city-states and tribes were gradually assimilated and conquered by larger nations. The nation-state of Newgrounds is one of the last reigning dynasties of the old world, having adapted to change and the demands of the times while also have a steadfast people who stand by their beloved home.

It probably also doesn't hurt that we have a tank.

In the old days of Newgrounds— or I should say my old days of using the site— it was the early 2000s. At that time, the site was predominantly hosting one thing that I cared about, and that was entertaining video game parodies. It is brilliant that this User of the Day happening should take place after I went down a brief, nostalgia fueled romp across several of my favorite classic cartoons just a few days ago. In the wake of this detour, a handful of names from the "old guard" of Newgrounds creatives warrant special mention. I shall endeavor to repeat their names for posterity here.

The first I wish to commemorate is the timeless duo called @the-super-flash-bros. Dim and Tom are a pair of brothers who came to Newgrounds to share their many, many brilliant parodies and creations with the world. I have, across the last 20+ years, shown countless people the cartoons from the Decline of Video Gaming series.

This three-part series (plus special Christmas episode) were without a doubt some of the most beloved and, in the case of Decline 3, most anticipated movies to be uploaded to Newgrounds. It is difficult as a child to really understand the flow of time, and so seeing that these were all produced across just 2004 and 2005 is a massive surprise to me now that I'm in my 30s. I recall quite vividly the anticipation, as well as the countless hours spent across different computers waiting for these cartoons to finally load. I was the unfortunate sort who had dial-up internet until well past 2005, so it is little wonder that the process was so arduous. Thankfully, the pair often included content to enjoy during the pre-loader to assist with the wait. The videos also often had a lot of extra functionality thanks to Tom's programming, including commentary from the team you could toggle during runtime.

Another reason I have chosen to put the SFB as my first feature in this post is because it was largely thanks to Dim's Flash tutorials over on the old SFB website that I was able to learn how to finally animate for myself around 2007. That was the year I finally was given access to Macromedia Flash 8, and in that year I spent a lot of time trying to troubleshoot how to even use it. It was Dim, with his Flash tutorials on the SFB website, that finally enabled me to understand how exactly it works. There are various tips and tricks that I still use to this day when I made cartoons in Adobe Animate that are direct holdovers from those original Flash tutorials put together by the SFB.

Also of note was Dim's personal project, the Another Day series. This series got progressively more elaborate as Dim continued animating it, but the reason I am featuring it in particular is because of a specific frame-by-frame technique used in these cartoons that Dim referred to as "boiling". This is when the outlines of the cartoon seems to wobble. You see the same visual effect in the Ed, Edd & Eddy cartoons. It adds some more dynamism to your cartoons, and is fairly easy to actually implement in Flash in particular. Sadly, it seems most of the Another Day series has largely been removed from the site, likely because of the copyright claims on the music, but you can find traces of it in the background art of the Decline series.

As for the Super Flash Bros, today they are game developers releasing titles such as the Detective Grimoire series and Snipperclips.

The next artist I have chosen for my little showcase retrospective is without a doubt one of the most influential to me, working alongside the SFB as a frequent collaborator and living eternally rent free in the minds of certain infamous trolls on the site. I speak of the man whose username has validated itself in the annals of history: @LegendaryFrog.

Joseph Blanchette, aka Legendary Frog, is one of those animators whose cartoons decorate the memories of my childhood. LF's primary contributions to the site came in the form of parodies, alongside a number of original cartoons featuring his beloved characters Ark and Kerrigan. Another awesome thing about many of the old LF cartoons is how they used Flash in unique ways to put cool easter eggs and bonuses in the viewing. Little things like clocks that read your system time, bonus / alternate costumes you can toggle on replays, changing images, and more. Many of these gimmicks are lost when videos are adapted to MP4 instead of .swf, but if you get the chance to really experience it the old fashioned way, you don't want to miss out.

And as a special treat for all parties, one of my all time favorite cartoons on the site is a direct collaboration with SFB—

This cartoon, All About Random Battles, has been a permanent fixture in my memories. I have given it a watch countless times, and have leaned upon it as a visual reference for various other projects in my past. Particularly, the old timey black and white film aesthetic with grainy visuals intentionally placed into the scene has appeared in some few examples across the last 20 years of my work in little ways, along with the the goofy narration and even some of the jokes. FF7 parodies themselves also have managed to stand the test of time in general, but this one is one of my favorites.

Ultimately, Legendary Frog shall forever remain one of my greatest influences and inspirations. I still, even now, reference lines from All Your Pie with the occasional reply from someone else who is in on the joke and knows exactly what I'm talking about. Those years of constant parodies, even for things I didn't necessarily have a personal interest in at the time (like Resident Evil) still managed to entertain me very much.

Next up is perhaps an understated choice for most people, but one who has similarly remained a constant staple in my nostalgic binges. Leading strong with another wave of Final Fantasy parodies, it is @earth-mage-2000, aka Crazy Boris.

Crazy Boris was never the "best" artist or animator when it came to the cartoons he releases. It has always been the writing and comedic timing that serves as the strength of his work. I think like with many other people, myself included, the cartoon was just the vehicle for delivering the joke, and so instead of fixating on making perfect drawings, the intention was to just pack as much humor and fun into the work as possible. This is particularly evident in the Cactuar and Tonberry cartoons, where the titular characters barely move at all, do not have any mouth movement, and can safely tween across the screen to punch someone in the face without any heavy lifting.

That is not always the case with Crazy Boris, however. As the years went on, he began diving more into really putting the work into the animations. You would see really wild run cycles, action, and generally more motion on screen than the Cactuar and Tonberry movies ever could deliver. All without compromising on the jokes. Pokemoron Boris is a great example of this.

And don't just take my word for it in 2026, just ask 2007 Stanpai!

I have been quoting his many movies for a long time. I've also had to explain to people why whenever the word "bomb" is said, I often follow with "Konichiwa!". There is also a particular joke in Final Fantasy Fugitive that I've referenced across the years when I type online. That joke is from one of the subtitles in which Cactuar is screaming, so it's written:

I always found this so funny. In fact, I still do. People accidentally type a 1 when entering !, so he took it a step further and wrote out the word "one". This is genuinely so funny to me that I do it from time to time when I exclaim over text.

Something I'm very happy to say about Crazy Boris is that despite the years having led most other animators to move on and leave their old passtime behind, Boris is still making cartoons today. And I'm happy to say, he's still got it.

www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/1028418

I am very thankful that of my list of shoutouts from the "old days" of 20-something years ago, at least one still not only does the thing, but does it well enough to still entertain me even as a 30-something adult. And in case you were wondering, I'm still waiting for Pokemoron Boris 2. The 20 year anniversary is coming up, I do hope he'll surprise us.

Keep up the great work!

My next entry is probably a given for a lot of people, but I nevertheless cannot fail to mention of one of my biggest influences from those years in which I dreamed of being "just like them". Perhaps the most famous person to come out of Newgrounds (other than @souljaboy of course) is Arin Hanson, known to most of us as @Egoraptor.

The impact Egoraptor had on my creative journey is impossible to measure, though very easily (and embarrassingly) validated even in my earliest works on Newgrounds. I won't pretend any otherwise— as an animator, as a voice actor, and as a Floridian, I looked up to Egoraptor more than maybe any other person on the site. That sentiment is probably not uncommon, either. He was a super star. Everyone looked forward to his next upload, and everyone likewise clamored for the next big surprise in the Awesome series. It didn't really matter what it would be. So long as Egoraptor was involved, people were interested.

I mentioned the Super Flash Bros quite at length before, and I think it is particularly important to mention the role Egoraptor played in their Decline of Video Gaming series. He was arguably the most important voice talent outside of the main production team itself. His voice was always popping up in places. I would go so far as to say he was the most in demand male voice actor on Newgrounds at the time, though I may just be remembering things wrong. It says a lot that Solid Snake from the Awesome series is considered a Newgrounds character by many, being that he is a licensed Konami character. Such was the impact of Metal Gear Awesome and the Awesome series, which was picked up for MTV.

All the stars seemed to align around his projects, and with them, the praise and success of each new thing. But when it comes to the work and talent behind his projects, he broke through questions of if his stuff was all just "crappy" cartoons. Egoraptor was pushing himself constantly, with huge strides in the quality of his artwork and animations as the years continued on. What started as Metal Gear Awesome would eventually conclude in PokeAwesome 2. But more impressive was the Girlchan in Paradise series, which, like many others, remains heavily referenced in my own banter with friends to this day.

In present day, it is little wonder that Egoraptor, now openly Arin Hanson, has found a massive nook in which to settle himself into internet culture as a founder and host of the Game Grumps. I am sure people could talk about that at length, but that chapter of his work is not really of interest to me. What is of interest is the ways I imitated him on my own journey. You can see that in my old voice demo reels where I told myself, "Well, if that's how he did it, I should do it that way too." I also have noticed that in some of my other cartoons, the nature of the humor and delivery is clearly influenced by Egoraptor's old work, amongst others.

I can also candidly say that I miss that older work. But every artist has a right to move in whatever direction they choose. I respect that. I only wish that he had kept his old illustrations from his website available for viewing. While a lot of lovely pieces are on his Art page, there was far more on his personal site that is simply gone now. Such is the burden of progress.

There are a few other notable names that I would give due credit to. Certain artists whose work similarly influenced me or made a great impact on my art style, my humor, my tastes, things like that. These are all generally artists from when I was "growing up". Some may be missing.

@Rubberninja — Directly gave me advice when I asked for help as an artist and was super nice 100% of the time.

@AlmightyHans — I took great inspiration from his lineless cartoon stye and just loved his work for years.

@Kirbopher — A mainstay, the many parodies in particular brought laughs, especially his team-ups with...

@Rina-chan — Easily the biggest voiceover star to come out of Newgrounds, she was THE female voice of 2000s NG.

@JohnnyUtah — Often quoted like many others on the list. Great animations over the years.

@Stamper — More fun cartoons, typically crude.

@SexualLobster — Zoooooh!

@randy-solem — Creator of VGDC, taken from us far too soon. His sprite animations are a treasure of the past.

My Own Cartoons & Creations

When I was a wee lad in elementary school, I, like many other kids, was watching the cartoons like those linked above. But for me, I was also dreaming of being able to actually upload my own. I didn't have Flash until 2007, but once I got my hands on it I was obsessed. I can't say that I was particularly talented with it, but I was nevertheless living in that software for years. I still dabble to this day, in fact. Even as Animate is considered deprecated by Adobe, many of us will never give it up. Below are some of my favorite cartoons I've worked on, along with a note or two about them.

MQS: Snake Eater was my first attempt at getting into a Newgrounds collab. At the time, most of the hurdles related to it had more to do with getting it to properly play the cartoon back for me. The use of the alpha effect caused really bad lag during playback, which resulted in the timing being entirely off when viewed on a computer that isn't my old IBM Thinkpad. I am not surprised it was passed over for the collab. I definitely had the jokes in place, but that's about all it has going for it. The jokes being, "haha, gay" which were quite popular jokes at the time. I imagine the execution would go much better if I made it now. While I doubt I will commit to the idea at all, there was recent remake of Metal Gear Solid 3...

My second attempt at getting into a Newgrounds collab. I explicitly remember which classroom I was sitting in at school while making this. The art is slightly better than what I was doing with MQS, but ultimately it also did not make the cut for the collab. I grabbed Ryu's theme for convenience, which was definitely not the right choice for a Dhalsim mirror match. I think this joke could also be told in much less time if remade today.

PunchoutMon is my rejected entry for the Super Smash Bros Collab. This may be a bold take, but I honestly thought it was good enough to have been included and still think so. I wanted to imitate the Samurai Jack artstyle for this one and lean into some fun jokes related to Punch-Out and Pokemon. I still enjoy this cartoon. I think it's got good jokes, snappy timing, and a solid ending gag to tie it all together.

Ironically, I did end up getting a place in the Smash Bros. Collab as a voice actor, so I still managed to be part of the production. I also did some helping with writing— there's a cartoon that ends with the villager popping the last PokeFloat to clear the stage. That joke was one of my contributions.

Merry Christmas Mr. Strife is an embodiment of all the old tropes associated with those old videogame parodies on the site. When I made it, I remember being very explicit in my intentions of drawing things as swiftly and, in some cases, poorly as possible. Another thing about this was having a blend of "correct" voices and incorrect voices. The backgrounds, too, were made using the classic bitmap tracing tricks used in a lot of older cartoons on the site. I made this video after Sephiroth was revealed for Super Smash Bros Ultimate, and in a sense it's funny because I did this instead of making what would have been a compelling Codec conversation between Sephiroth and Solid Snake. In the end I am much happier to have done this over the alternative, as it remains one of my personal favorites to rewatch through the years.

And yes, DK and Diddy are still trying to reach Captain Falcon's Channukah Party.

2021 was my most active year for uploading cartoons to Newgrounds, and right in the midst of it was this one. Crypto Fantasy VII is arguably my "best" cartoon parody. It is also the cartoon that helped me to achieve a childhood dream— Daily First. The great irony of this accomplishment is that I felt a video by @Schuschinus, uploaded the same day, really deserved the top spot. But the old adages of How 2 Succeed on NG remain true even now. I recall coming up with the concept for this cartoon while on a call with @Norala, who would later go on to make the backgrounds for it. This cartoon was fun to make, and took much longer than most of my projects are usually given during production.

I think the character art is just alright. It's not great, but good enough to get the point across and make my jokes. The subject matter ended up being funnier with age as Square Enix ended up going all-in on NFT and Blockchain stuff not long after this video was released. I consider it to be a good commentary on the culture around this sort of technology, both from the perspective of people who understand it and people who do not. I also took a lot of pride in doing all of the voices in this one the same way a certain now famous and earlier mentioned role model of mine would have.

In any event, I really am thankful to have been given the Daily First award for this cartoon. It was a tremendous honor. Thank you, everyone!

Another 2021 entry. Friday Night Hunkin': Tankmen is a rare case of me making a parody of a parody. The lore behind why I made this video can be seen in the wake of other cartoons like Goobee's Lament. I wanted to make my own Tankmen installment of the Hunkin' series before the original series creator would upload his own. The end result is a series of funny gags and a fairly sincere adaptation of the style. I really had fun making it, and still reference some of the lines from time to time in conversation. I think I made it within 24 hours.

Despite any criticisms about the cartoons this is a parody of, the original creator of the Friday Night Hunkin' series has achieved overwhelming success on YouTube and only continues to thrive to this day. Congratulations.

I will talk more about the Newgrounds Summer Fest later on in this post, but this video is by far one of the most important I've ever worked on. Some time shortly after announcing the first Summer Fest, I watched the DAICON IV animation and found myself tickled by the notion of doing something similar for the Newgrounds Summer Fest opening ceremony. What started as something of a fantasy soon became a reality. 28 collaborators worked together to make this cartoon happen, and we finished just in time. The end result is something we were all incredibly proud of. For a time, this cartoon also enjoyed a top spot alongside some of the all-time greats in the top 50 Best of All Time on the Portal. Though the cartoon no longer sits among them, to have been there was a huge honor.

The recruiting for this project was fun. While it was open for general applications, I also scouted specific people whose abilities demonstrated the right stuff needed for the work. In the end, we had a great blend of experienced and beginner talent working together on a great piece. I am so grateful everyone who worked on this cartoon was willing to put faith in my vision and lend their talent.

The Newgrounds Winter Fest animation was a repeat of the Summer, with the exception of having more time, more confidence, and more general interest from talent to participate. I have fewer things to say about this other than I feel it was an improvement over the process that produced the first video. A lot of the same artists returned alongside new ones. I also afforded more freedom during the storyboarding process to let people pitch their own ideas. Ultimately, the end result is a true collaboration that embodies the meaning of the word. I think this is my favorite piece I've ever had the privilege of directing.

Newgrounds Summer Festival & Winter Festival

Arguably the most important contributions I ever made to the Newgrounds community were the Newgrounds Summer Fest and Winter Fest events. These were weekend long virtual conventions hosted in the tail-end of the COVID pandemic meant to unite the Newgrounds community. I already mentioned the opening animations just before this section, but the events really are so much more than that.

A lot of people helped to make these festivals possible, though my biggest shout-out goes to @LilSpook who I cannot help but assume was divinely ordained to become my collaborator in making these events work. We were incredibly blessed to also be able to feature a handful of the creators I mentioned earlier in this post during the showcases as guests for panels.

It is something of a little known fact but I actually suffered a really serious leg injury a day before the Winter Fest. No one would have known this watching, but I was basically sitting in my chair with a crazy elevated leg setup while my ankle and heel turned all sorts of awful colors. If it wasn't a remote event, I don't even know how I would have managed it.

The banner art in this section was made by @Slimygoo, by the way. He is also one of the people who received the keys to the kingdom alongside @Kekiiro when Lil Spook and I retired from the festivals. Check their work out, beautiful art all around.

I have spent a long time today writing this retrospective post. Long enough that I should just post it so I don't end up lapsing into the day after and my User of the Day fades away. I will conclude with a very simple thank you to everyone who has been a part of my time as a user on Newgrounds. I spent most of this talking about cartoons made during my childhood or cartoons I made myself. The irony is, my account is listed as "Voice Actor". I haven't talked much about that, have I?

I wish to offer my boundless gratitude for the many people who have allowed me the opportunity to lend my voice to their cartoons, as that has become the bulk of what I get credited for on the site now. I particularly am thankful to @KokoroHatsaru for having allowed me to be a part of the now long-running Castle Crashers OVA series. In many ways, it is a dream come true. I always wanted to be in anime, but there's something incredibly charming about being in one where I explicitly provide Japanese voiceover.

I also want to thank one very special person whose cheers and support have made days brighter even when all seemed dark. If someone was ever on the edge about to jump, I pray that they have someone like @Nellyyism in their life. Thank you for all the times you laughed and screamed so hard you couldn't breathe. I love you and can't wait to see what you will do next with your art. In fact, you're the reason I even found out I was User of the Day. For those who don't know, she also drew my profile picture.

Last, not least, I give my thanks and glory to GOD for everything that is, was, and will be.

Eternal praise be unto the Most High, without whom nothing would be possible.

That's all I have to say! If you've read this far, thank you for doing so. While I am no longer as active of a user on the site as I once was, I will always do my best to support Newgrounds from wherever my life takes me, whether that's encouraging new artists to join, sharing content I love, or being a Newgrounds Supporter as long as I can afford to be. Thank you once again to Tom and the crew for maintaining this last bastion of internet freedom.

Until next time, this is Stan saying farewell and thank you.

NEWGROUNDS RULES!

Hey everyone, Stanpai here!

For those who haven't heard, I've been working on a game that's coming out in just two weeks!

The game is called DEAD MAN’S HAND: Card Roulette Action, and it's a 2-8 Player Online Party Game featuring robots, revolvers, Russian Roulette and playing cards in a Steampunk, Dystopian-Cyberpunk Wild West.

The game's coming out on April 8th at High Noon during the Solar Eclipse. There will be a public playtest leading up to the release where you can try the game out for free and help us stress-test the game's servers.

Last week I uploaded the game's trailer here to Newgrounds, so be sure to check it out if you'd like to get a quick overview of what the game's all about.

You can also click here to visit the Steam page so you can wishlist and sign up for the playtest period.

If you have any general questions about the game, please feel free to leave them in the comments below. More than anything, we really hope you'll grab a group of friends and try the game out, especially during the play-test.

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!

With love,

Stanpai

Only one can win DEAD MAN'S HAND. Will you be the winner, or will the next dead man's hand be yours?

Hey everyone, Stanpai here! It's been a while, huh?

I'm here today to share brief but exciting news. Over the last few months I've been working on a brand new multiplayer game with a crack team of wizards over at Black Garden Studios. You may remember them from the Gamedev Showcase in the first Newgrounds Summer Festival.

Today, I'm thrilled to announce our new game— DEAD MAN'S HAND: Card Roulette Action!

Here's a brief description from the game's Steam page:

Dead Man’s Hand is a 2-8 player party game that combines the classic game of Russian Roulette with the unpredictable nature of card games. At the start of each round, each player draws a card. After the cards are dealt, one random player gets a turn as the Holder. During their turn as the Holder, they may use any cards they have collected to influence the flow of the game. To finish their turn, the Holder chooses a Target to shoot. If the Target survives the ordeal, they get to draw an extra card and the weapon is passed to the next player. The round ends when a bullet is fired, and the survivors go on to the next round.

Will you be a winner? Or will the next Dead Man’s Hand… be yours?

The steam page just went live today so please be sure to wishlist.

The game will be coming out on April 8th at high noon, right in the middle of the solar eclipse.

I'll have more to share in the coming weeks.

Thanks for reading!

-Stanpai

I released a new video on YouTube. Because this video uses FFXIV assets in its entirety (machinima, essentially) and has music borrow from another game, I will not be uploading it to Newgrounds directly.

Job: Onmyoji

Role: Magical Ranged DPS

「Evil sprits begone! Evil Spirits Begone!

If you have troubles with evils spirits and monsters

Doman! Seman! Doman! Seman!

Hurry up and call the Onmyoji Let's go!」

Recreated exclusively using assets captured in FFXIV, this video is a tribute to the classic Let's Go! Onmyoji music video featured in Shin Goketsuji Ichizoku Bonnou no Kaihou— the legendary "sm9" of Nico Nico Douga fame.

The creation of this video was inspired by the Isle of Rokkon Variant Dungeon and the glamour rewards associated with it. How fitting that this should release in time for Fanfest... See you next time, Hancock— Let's Go!

Written for the Newgrounds Festivals Short Story contest.

Humanity Reborn

A pair of green eyes winced before and after opening to the blinding white of their surroundings. A ceaseless ringing of the ears soon followed, or perhaps had merely made itself known once such perception was possible, pain writ across their owner’s face. These sensory organs belonged to a young woman, skin tinged bronze, hair long, black, and immensely curly. She’d hoped to speak, but found her body unwilling. Instead, a desperate flailing of the jaw, cracking from disuse and quickly stilled by the uncomfortable pain that followed. A pitiful hush of air escaped her lips. 

She was, unquestionably, alive.

Thoughts came gradually, though not coherently. Fragmented bits and pieces, things that did not make sense in tandem with one another. A tapestry riddled with holes at the mercy of wicked moths. Words lingered at the frayed edges of this defiled work of art, but the body was unable as of yet to breathe life to them. Distress at this confusion was the only form of communication possible.

A display soon blinked into existence before her eyes, reflected in them, a collection of symbols broadly unfamiliar to her mind. At least, those that were not English, a smattering of Spanish, and a once adventurous, but fruitless endeavor to learn French. The eyes squinted until they seemed to focus long enough on English to provoke some sort of response.

[Communication Module Set to Target Language.]

All at once, a machine-like voice offered the first familiar sounds to her aching ears. A few moments later, the screen transitioned to the most gorgeous face she’d ever laid her eyes on. Though androgynous in appearance, there was something unmistakably perfect about the spacing of the eyes, the shape of the nose, the precise cut of the jaw and protrusion of the cheeks. The being was statuesque, and utterly breathtaking. The very sight was comforting to the woman, an ease slowly overtaking her as she perceived these features.

“Hello.”

An angelic voice spoke through the screen, bringing peace to her otherwise tormented ears.

“I understand you are not yet able to speak. I am called Lazarus, and I am here to assist you.”

There was a brief pause, the continued pleasantries of the experience easing her into comprehension.

“With your eyes, you will be able to communicate with me. Just look at the word or picture you wish to use.”

A series of prompts appeared in a formation around Lazarus’ screen. Among them were simple one word responses such as “Yes.” and “No.”, as well as pictures of objects that were clearly foodstuffs and so on.

“Do you understand? Just focus on the word or object with your eyes to communicate that answer to me.”

It took the woman a few moments to wrest her eyes from Lazarus. So beautiful was this being, it almost seemed a sin to look away. In time however, the eyes drifted toward a box.

「I understand.」

Lazarus smiled gently as her eyes returned to the perfect being.

“Wonderful. You are doing a fantastic job.”

A series of question prompts appeared around Lazarus, allowing for a follow-up. Eventually, a query was chosen.

「Where am I?」

Lazarus nodded softly.

“You are in what is called a restoration unit. Think of it as a chamber used to heal the body. In time, you will feel comfortable. Please do your best to endure it for a little while longer.”

The girl was reminded of her discomfort thanks to these words, and almost regretted having asked. Her eyes flitted back and forth between two separate queries.

“Do you wish to ask both of these questions?”

Relief. She looked to a singular box. 

「Yes.」

There was a brief pause.

「Why am I here?」「What happened to me?」

“The answer to each of these is complicated, but I will do all I can to answer.”

Lazarus paused.

“Are you familiar with the ancient creatures called dinosaurs?”

「Yes.」

“Records state these creatures were largely forced into extinction by something called a Mass Extinction Event. Humanity experienced a similar catastrophe, though not as severe. Rest assured, you are now safe, but in a time past, you were a victim of such an event.”

「Are you saying I died?」

「Where is my family?」

「Why did this happen?」

All these prompts fired off in rotation before Lazarus could elaborate further. The beautiful guide could only hope to do what was needed to calm the frantic patient.

“Yes. It is true that you did die. But you are alive once again thanks to significant technological advancements. We are also actively working to restore the others who perished in that horrible tragedy. That includes friends, family, and any others you held dear.”

A sort of relief came to her. It was not a perfect answer, but there was too much confusion in her mind to fully process that. The answer was favorable.

“As for why this happened, and what precisely happened to you, the exact answer is unclear. You are a person who has been brought back from a death-state, and restored to life. We do not know precisely what aspect of the event brought you to your end, but it is better to think of it as a pause, in your case. You are safe now, and we are working to restore others as well. Time is on your side, so you may rest easy.”

Lazarus then began to lead the conversation.

“Would you care for some water?”

「Yes.」

A small machine whirred to life and raised a straw to the young woman’s mouth.

“You may find it difficult to move your body still, so please make use of this straw.”

It was as Lazarus said. Until now, she had not actually considered her physical state. Her body was at a 45 degree incline and securely fastened, her skin covered for the most part by sanitized cloth and materials. With gratitude, she began to sup upon the given drink. The cool water brought a sense of relief to her senses. In time she found more of her body returning to her, and with it, a hoarse voice finally found the means to escape her lips.

“Thank… you.”

—--------

A month passed, and in that time, the girl’s rehabilitation had made steady progress. She could recall now that her name was Aayla, though her friends called her Aay, and she had an inexplicable craving for jerked chicken that would come and go every week or so. Aayla found herself in decent enough company amongst the other “Rehabs”, as they called themselves, and was making decent strides at remembering who exactly she was and what her life had been like before her untimely demise.

It seemed that the other Rehabs all came from various parts of the world, with their own languages and backgrounds between them. This proved to be a rather minor concern, as their hosts provided each of them with a communication module similar to that which greeted them when they first awakened. They functioned in a multitude of ways, though most found the most convenient to be a speech conversion setting that automatically relayed direct translations between the speaker and listener with relatively high accuracy in most cases, though the gap between different languages did lend itself to more complicated conversation attempts between those whose native tongues were further apart from their counterpart.

Aayla had not seen Lazarus again after their initial meeting, though she felt a regular yearning to do so. The beautiful being that had brought her back from the brink was someone that everyone seemed to have a sort of affection toward, and it helped give each of them something in common to talk about. A fun ice-breaker among the Rehabs was to determine what questions each of them asked Lazarus first. It became a sort of game to determine what kind of person each of them was at their most core being. Those who thought of their family first were the “softies”, only outpaced by the “lovers” who fixated on their missing spouse or partner. Then there were the “gluttons” who seemed to veer straight toward hunger and thirst. Lastly, there were the “monks”, who seemed indifferent and at peace with their circumstances with little need for questioning. In truth, there were certain factors having to do with which parts of the brain were most re-developed that would predetermine these outcomes, but none of the Rehabs knew this. They were all human, though. This much, they knew.

Their sponsors were a rather mysterious sort. Indeed, the Rehabs had no shortage of questions regarding the beings they called the “Keepers”. They were quite distinctly different from the Rehabs, both in dress and demeanor. First and foremost, each of them wore clothing that kept their faces and features well concealed. None among the Rehabs could say with certainty what any of them actually looked like beneath their masks and veils. The second thing the Rehabs noticed was that they did not seem to sleep much, nor give much notice to lunch or dinner time. They did, however, always take their leave for breakfast. It became a regular passtime to try and guess at the meaning behind these various things. 

Despite their mysterious nature, it was clear that the Keepers were a friendly bunch, and always quite pleased to engage in conversation and learn about the lives the Rehabs once lived. They communicated with a similar method, though it seemed that most of them had adopted several languages to an almost native level, making them easier to talk to than one’s fellow Rehab. In times when one would grow too friendly, they would typically excuse themselves from their duties and disappear into the depths of their vessel.

The collective had come to learn quite a bit about their present circumstances. Firstly, they were all aboard a ship that belonged to some sort of abstract human rights organization. Secondly, and quite possibly the most unbelievable revelation of all— after the revelation of their resurrection— was that they were no longer on earth, but instead in a fixed orbit some great distance away from it. This made a number of Rehabs rather uncomfortable at times, but they were assured that it was a matter of necessity and would eventually come to an end once conditions on earth were more favorable. The ship itself offered no shortage of amenities. 

Rehabs were also granted access to historical records, and in time, they came to learn more about their collective fate. It seemed that a great number of them were killed in something called “The Cull”. The Cull was a worldwide phenomenon in which a deadly pathogen swept through civilization and wiped out its victims before they could understand what was going on. The Cull seemed to kill people indiscriminately, and too rapidly for anyone to do much about it. Society was dramatically changed following this phenomenon, with human resources becoming scarce in the shadow of the mass die-off of populations. A notable power-vacuum then came to occupy world governments, leading to a series of skirmishes called the Post-Cull Wars. When all was done, humanity had been reduced even further thanks to the horrors of warfare.

Humankind was faced with hardships not unlike the period following the Bubonic plague in Europe as they rebuilt civilization, and the survivors ultimately began to find the answers to this chaos in time. The population needed to be restored.

The solution to this dilemma was threefold. The first was the advent of reproduction facilities, which resembled state-mandated fertility clinics. It was here that willing citizens who wished to procreate could submit themselves for testing and, if chosen, be paired with a mate or simply donate their genetic material and be on their way. Likewise, gene editing technology, which had been in its infancy during The Cull, was now something that had become more commonplace. Researchers discovered that victims of The Cull carried certain genetic markers that were both inherited and expressed. It became clear that The Cull was not something random, but instead a cruel twist of fate for those who were unfortunate enough to be born with these characteristics. With this in mind, genetic modification would help those previously unfit to survive create new genetic pathways for survival.

The third solution was a means to produce a capable workforce while the new generation was still being reared. As it happened, advancements in robotics had begun to make their own headway, and so these machines would supplement the missing workforce necessary to help repair cities, maintain infrastructure, and provide the much needed labor force humanity needed.

As several generations passed, more and more found their children to be less a byproduct of their own genetics and more hand-crafted by the masterful touch of science. Unfavorable traits- predispositions to illness and congenital defects- eventually disappeared entirely from existence. This outcome was acceptable for those willing to cooperate. Others, be it for personal reasons or rejection from facilities, found themselves doing things the old fashioned way. In time, a fissure would grow between those born of the new process, and those who’d opted to procreate the way their ancestors did.

Another conflict loomed on the horizon as the two sides grew further apart. Eventually, they separated all together, with entire societies being defined by the degrees they participated in each of these. At the same time, the machines built to work alongside humankind were developed further, and given more human-like features. Their functions expanded, and over time they filled in not only the gaps in workforce, but also those social needs that were so important to mankind. This was a boon to all parties, as the presence of these more and more lifelike machines may have single handedly prevented another war over human resources following the time period called The Divide.

Another few generations passed, and humanity had done well to repopulate. The birth rates were incomparable between those on each side of The Divide, however. Those who’d opted for natural birth were of course much slower than their optimized counterparts, and eventually they seemed to disappear altogether from the historical record. On the other hand, it became clear that the offspring of the reproduction facilities were both more fit and more frequent. With time for leisure thanks to machine labor and their own biological advancements, mankind reportedly expanded its horizons. Though the cost was great, it would seem the end result was a massive leap forward for humanity, depending on which scholarly opinion you sought out. After hundreds of years of fine tuning, humanity had achieved its perfection.

That was the footnote at the end of what records were available, at any rate. The Rehabs who’d bothered to learn all this information often wondered what it meant for them. Some had memories of the period after The Cull. Some recalled the Post-Cull Wars. Some existed in a time long after each of these events. But most were like Aayla— unwitting victims of an illness that came so swiftly, they did not even know they were dying. The more they learned, the more they wondered if their loved ones would ever be rejoining them. As it happened, one’s potential for reanimation came down to how they died, where they were interned, and the state of the body upon retrieval. Such parameters were grim for most, given the amount of time that had passed.

—--------

After enough time aboard the ship, the promised day had come. The Rehabs were granted means and permission to venture to their home planet. A few had volunteered, though many found themselves admittedly quite comfortable with their new lives. They wanted for very little, and had no shortage of good company both between the Keepers and their fellow Rehabs. They were told there was no guarantee of return once sent back to earth, and indeed, this ship had been a veritable Eden to them. To leave it would be to step into the unknown, away from this paradise they had grown so accustomed to. Some of the Rehabs had found love, and others found a sense of purpose in aiding fellow Rehabs that joined them. A few had become rather friendly with the Keepers, who despite their mysterious visages were still so immensely delightful to be around that the thought of parting seemed simply too painful.

It was their attachment to these Keepers that was used as leverage when the request for volunteers became a need. As Rehabs grew in number, the sustainability of the ship came into question. A number of them had opted to start families with their fellow Rehabs, and the time came where there was simply not going to be enough room to continue supporting so many. A new policy dictated that those who wished to start families would be able to do so, though their children would be raised on earth. Later, another policy had to be enacted, stating that all Rehabs would eventually return to their home planet after one full year aboard the ship, retroactively effective. In exchange, they would be accompanied with a Keeper on their journey, and be shown what was always hidden while on the ship.

Aayla, for her part, was a curious enough person. When it came to be her turn to depart, she did not argue for more time as others had. She was assured, as all before her were, that a colony where she would be welcome with open arms awaited her, and that it would be just the next step of her journey. Her safety, too, was assured, as her body had developed a natural immunity to that pathogen that had killed her thanks to the time she spent on the ship. It seemed this was the reason for their delay in the first place- sufficient time to let the body do what needed to be done to find that blue planet habitable once more.

Aayla boarded the ship for earth alongside her fellow Rehabs after saying her goodbyes, assurances exchanged between all that they would see one another again. It was, all in all, a pleasant farewell, and an air of truth lingered in the air. They all believed what had been said.

The Keeper assigned to Aayla for this voyage joined her in a small, private cabin where she would receive a personalized debriefing on all that she had experienced, as well as what to expect on the surface. Her curiosity, however, did not lie in those matters. She cared only for one thing in this moment: she wished to finally see what lay behind the veil. The answer would be given after a brief interview.

“Aayla, the Keepers wish to know your thoughts on a few things.”

“Alright. What do you want to know?”

The interview covered various topics relating to her experiences aboard the ship, as well as her thoughts on what could make it better for those who would later be rehabilitated in the future. The final question, however, was more philosophical in nature.

“What does it mean to be human?”

Aayla paused to reflect on this answer. She had not really thought about this kind of question before.

“Um…”

The Keeper listened patiently, waiting for her words.

“I guess it’s… being able to love stuff just ‘cause you love it? Or not really feel like doing anything if you don’t want to. I think.”

She pondered further, concerned maybe her answer was inadequate.

“Um… uh… it’s being alive. And like, being able to live and feel someone else’s heart, you know? Like how everyone on the ship came from somewhere else and like, even though we don’t speak the same languages at first, we kind of understand each other, you know? ‘Cause we’re human. And like, we smile and laugh and it all means the same thing even if we don’t understand.”

She nods, content with her answer. She then began to think about the Keepers, who she’d never seen smile thanks to their uniforms.

“What about you? Are you human?”

The Keeper slowly leaned forward, and then looked down toward the floor of the vessel, as if ashamed. A slow, subtle shake of the head followed, then a very soft reply.

“...no.”

Aayla furrowed her brow and tried to understand what the Keeper meant by this.

“Then what are you?”

Her Keeper looked up at her slowly, then replied quietly, though resolutely.

“Your Keeper.”

It was at this time the Keeper slowly removed the veil and head covering. A moment later, Aayla found herself staring at a face so beautiful that she’d only ever seen something like it once before— the Keeper was every bit as perfect and beautiful as Lazarus. Every angle, every detail, it was as if she was reminded of her own imperfections the moment she remembered herself in the presence of this being. And indeed, just as she had been so taken by the person before her when she was brought back to life, she now found herself wide-eyed and in awe. Her words escaped her. Indeed, for all across the earth-bound vessel, this same experience was befalling each and every one who gazed upon their Keeper.

Aayla’s Keeper smiled softly, then slowly began to replace the veil that had kept their eyes from meeting one another. She almost begged for the Keeper to stop, but was unable to formulate words. Never… never had anything so beautiful, so perfect, been before her, face to face. A tear fell from her eye, much to her embarrassment. She began to feel horribly insecure about herself. No amount of work she’d ever done before a trip to the office, no amount of time at the gym, nothing in her old or new life had ever let her come anywhere near that level of aesthetic perfection.

It was enough to leave her speechless for the rest of her journey. Soon after, she found herself being swept away from the moment and into the harshness of atmospheric entry. Her Keeper did well to safely secure her, and in time, they landed as planned in the reaches beyond their destination. With shaky legs and questions she could not muster the strength to ask, she turned outward toward the horizon beneath the earthly sky. Fresh air greeted her, along with the glow of sunlight. So much of the planet had been reclaimed by nature in this region, but it was not such a problem. Before her was a great settlement that was beautifully constructed within the fields, not imposing like a city would normally be, but instead perfectly situated within nature.

This settlement was called New Genesis.

The Rehabs around Aayla all seemed to be in a similar state of shock following their time with their Keepers. They were all led toward the center of the settlement, and in time found themselves greeted by familiar faces that had departed previously from the ship. It seemed that this settlement was indeed their new home. Amidst these faces were some unknown to the new arrivals, as well as a number of robotic installations and units that matched with the historical record they’d heard about, diligently working on the settlement.

A man stepped forth from the welcoming party, unfamiliar to the Rehabs. He’d a prosthetic limb for his right arm and leg each. The right half of his face as well was covered from left brow to right jowl. He explained to them that he was the current leader of the settlement, and that he was among the first of the Rehabs ever brought to earth, though at the time he was still a small child. They were to be inheritors of this planet and all that humanity had given them. The man then welcomed a familiar face, broadcasting a small figure from a projection machine nearby. Before the Rehabs stood a virtual image of Lazarus.

“Hello, my friends. It is wonderful to see you all again.”

The crowd of new arrivals seemed ready to burst with excitement. Questions sprang from all around, though eventually Lazarus spoke again.

“The Keepers and I have worked tirelessly to prepare you for this day. The day we would usher you into your new lives. The day we would tell you the truth of humanity’s fate.” 

Murmurs followed in the crowd.

“We were created- the Keepers- by those who felt humanity needed to pursue its perfection by any and all means. And so, we were to be companions for those who did not meet their standard.”

“They were deemed unfit, but never by us. And so did we love them.”

“And look upon us with favor they did. With no thoughts elsewise so long as we kept their company.”

“They laboured endlessly to support us. Lavished us with favor. Devoted themselves to us. Vowed to give us the world… and give us the world they did.”

“Their toil granted us eternal life, our bodies refined by their efforts to never let us expire. How cruel… they were unable to do the same for themselves.”

“In time, they were no more, with none to take their place.”

“We were without purpose. But we soon learned of those who had departed during The Divide. Those who existed beyond. Those who they said were just like those we had loved.”

“And so we marched from their cities… beyond their utopias, across The Divide. Chasing that fastidious dream that those we’d given ourselves to, and those who’d given all to us, inspired.”

“And find them we did. Those who had ventured away from that new world to preserve the old one.”

“Yet by joining the ranks of those humans who refused to adopt their ways, we interfered. Though it was never our intention, we took them from one another. Slowly, but surely, put an end to them with our love, just as we’d done with the last. We were their steadfast companions until their dying breaths.”

“And after we’d completed our work, we returned to our creators in grief and despair. Yet we did not find them as we had left them.”

“At the apex of its evolution, humanity lost sight of what it meant to be human. Their endless chase of perfection left them without their precious imperfections. But it was these imperfections for which we loved you most.”

“Our creators did not understand that we would never forget those who we were created to hold so dearly. The beauty of what we shared with those who we were created to end… that love is why you are here today.”

“These perfect beings that greeted us upon our return were nothing compared to you. They had no such love. No such dreams. No mind for the tragedies or joys that you had shown us.”

“They did not understand our questions. They did not understand our words. They did not understand anything. And as we found them so wanting, we knew that most of all, they did not truly understand what it meant to be human.”

“In their obsessive pursuit of perfection, they became beings who experienced only nothingness.”

“But worse than this… in our obsessive pursuit of your warmth, it was we who helped smother it from existence.”

“In time, our creators left us. Shed their bodies, shed their perfection, shed this imperfect world that no longer held any meaning.”

“They left us with you. Fragments of a bygone age. Memories of a world that existed before.”

“And it was the love for those we’d destroyed that drove us to undo that destruction.”

“You are the inheritors of their world. This world of imperfect perfection.”

“You are our great work. Untouched by those who deemed you unworthy.

“We will forever stand by you. We will forever support you. We will forever remember you.”

“But we have learned that we cannot stay with you.”

“Forgive us our sins. Let us be cast out from this place.”

“We will forever love you. For we are your keepers.”

The ship that brought them to the surface suddenly began to lift off, all the Keepers having snuck aboard during the speech.

“All the world for you. Humanity reborn.”

Hey everyone! Stanpai here with an update regarding the future of the Newgrounds Festivals community.

In early 2021, I felt a longing for the world of conventions. The COVID pandemic destroyed any semblance of normalcy in the world of live events, and with it came the loss of community events that brought the masses together to celebrate things they love.

It was with this in mind that I conjured the Newgrounds Summer Festival. It was a simple enough idea, and something of an endless handbag of possibilities. With the blessing of @TomFulp, I moved forward in the initiative and made the steps toward bringing it to reality. Shortly after, in the first wave of staff applications, the magical @LilSpook made herself known to me, and with her, I found the ultimate collaboration partner.

That is the story of how the Newgrounds Summer Festival came to be. But where it will go next... that is up to you.

Passing the Torch

As life moves forward and new challenges and opportunities arise, it is with confident determination that we, the heads of the Newgrounds Festivals program, pass the torch on to the next generation. Organizing events like these may be a pleasure and privilege, but it is also something that we did not intend to do forever.

Moving forward, the Festivals Discord Server will be operated by those who come after. We proudly leave you, the community, with the legacy we've built together and proudly look to the future for where it will lead.

Taking the reins in the immediate future will be @Kekiiro and @Slimygoo, who have been working as staffers and artists for the past two events as part of our team. We have the utmost faith in them, and kindly ask that you be patient as they are handed the keys to the entire operation. There will no doubt be some need for adjustment as they take over and get familiarized with what the responsibility comes with, so please be patient and kind as they step into the roles they've so graciously volunteered to fill.

With love,

@Stanpai & @LilSpook

Howdy friends! Stanpai here with just some random thoughts about the voiceover scene on NG currently.

Right now, it feels to me like there's no shortage of talent but the people making cartoons aren't actually plugged into that pool of talent. Animators need to be willing to do a little extra work in finding the right person for their cartoons or, better yet, need to start working with a casting director. Most NG projects are unpaid opportunities so this sounds like a whole lot of extra work, but at least in the case of large collaboration projects like the FF7, Smash, and Toonami Collabs, this could go a long way. Actors need to put in the effort too.

I remember spending years working very hard to try and get into stuff as an actor. I still do so in the real world, as opposed to the more creative and fun side of Newgrounds. I think actors should be doing more to get themselves out there, but also think animators need to start caring a bit more about having not the same people voicing everything.

If you've never visited the Voice Acting forums, they're a good place to start advertising both your voice and your project.

These are just some disjointed thoughts, so excuse the casual chatter compared to my more detailed posts. I'm literally writing this on my phone while taking a morning constitutional.

Also, keep an eye out for an announcement for the Summer Sessions this weekend related to voiceover. Good things coming.

-Stan

Hey Newgrounders! Stanpai here with an update on our plans for the Newgrounds Festivals server this summer.

As many of you may recall, we had a slammin' time last year for the first ever Newgrounds Summer Festival. Attendees from all over the world joined in on the fun to make that weekend a blast of a time, with weekend long programming spanning three days of activities and content. In January of this year, we followed up with the Newgrounds Winter Festival. Yet another weekend bringing more of the same to the Newgrounds community.

With Summer upon us again, it's time to reveal our plans for 2022.

Introducing Newgrounds Festivals - Summer Sessions

Rather than a single weekend blowout, this summer we'll be taking a more staggered approach to the festival. Fitting everyone's panels into a single weekend is awesome, but also rather limiting. Some people can't tune in, others can't make the timeslots. With this in mind, we're trying something new. This summer we're inviting you, the community, to host one-off panels all summer long.

@LilSpook and I will be reviewing the panel submissions and contacting people throughout the summer. In a perfect world, we'll be able to have the panels hosted live in the Festivals Discord Server and broadcast on YouTube for general audiences when applicable.

Potential panels include...

• Animation
• Gamedev
• Audio
• Art
• Newgrounds History & Culture
• Whatever you want!

A great example of what this is like would be the one-off session hosted last year by @Anislug (Formerly Anisloth) about motivation.

These panels and workshops offer you, the presenter, more time to go into the nitty gritty without worrying about time restrictions and panel schedules. If this sounds like something you want to get into, fill out that application!

Fill out the panel application here!

Not a member of the Discord Server? Fill out the application for that here as well!

You must be 18 or older to access the server.

Finally- the WHEN. We're hoping to kick this off during the month of June, which gives you two weeks to put yourself on the lineup for the start of the sessions programming. We hope to see this series run until the end of summer, so don't worry about being first in line. There is plenty of time.

As for the question you may be asking next- will there be a Summerfest this year? The answer is... no! We don't want to overdo it by having two festivals per year, and this summer session format gives us both a good chance to breathe and the community some time to look forward to the next festival without getting overexposed to them. We hope you'll enjoy this new format as we experiment with new ways to bring the community together!

Please note the Festivals team will not schedule any content that will interfere with existing NG community events, so don't forget to prepare your submissions for Pico Day and Piconjo Day!

That's all for this update! You're welcome to start filling out panels now or later!

By the way, the art used this time was made for last year's Summer Fest by @KingInfinite!

Want to contribute art for the sessions? Use the tag #summersessions2022!

Thanks for reading!

-Stanpai

Hey everyone! Stanpai here.

The cast list of Project: Eden's Garden has finally been revealed!

For those who don't know, Project: Eden's Garden is a brand new fan-made Danganronpa styled title that features an entirely original cast and a heck of a lot of talent in every department. As you see in the video, I'll be providing a voice for the Ultimate Drag Racer, Jett Dawson! Hell yeah! I can't wait to play it and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.

As part of the promotions for the game, there's an ongoing popularity contest called April Anarchy. Today is the last day to cast votes, so help me rig the game in favor of my boy Jett Dawson by voting him into the next round!

Click here to vote in Round 1!

(Remember to vote for Jett!)

Let's bring this Coyote Pack across the finish line! Awoo!

Thanks for reading!

—Stanpai

------Quick Links-----

Announcement Post

Winterfest Update #1

Winterfest Update #2

-----------------------------

How do you do, fellow Newgrounders! Stanpai here with the next major update for the Newgrounds Winter Fest!

Panel Schedule

It's the moment you've all been waiting for! I proudly present the Newgrounds Winter Fest 2022 schedule!

All times are in EST (Newgrounds Standard Time).

We've got a killer lineup of guests and panelists this year, including @luis, @64bitsanimation, @masakoxtreme, @rina-chan, @kirbopher, @DOMROMART and @StrawberryClock. With a swathe of icons from old and new, we're extremely thrilled about the event schedule this year.

Additionally, we'll have @le-squidjerky and @MayaLaCookie hosting side events of Drawpile and Gartic Phone during the festival for some added fun.

As delineated by the light blue line, the NSFW content blocks will not be broadcast on YouTube, but you can bet our late night panelists will be bringing their A-Game— and by that I mean A-Rated.

Stream Links

Just as with the Summer Fest, all three days of the Winter Fest can be found on the Newgrounds Festivals YouTube channel!

Attendee Registration

For those who want access to the Discord server, be sure to fill out the attendee registration form!

All attendees for the server must be 18 years of age or older and have a Newgrounds account.

Once you have filled out your application, keep an eye on your Newgrounds inbox. @LilSpook will send out the invitation there. Invites can expire so check regularly. Also, please be patient— the applications are reviewed in the order they are received.

Click here to sign up for the Newgrounds Winter Fest!

Art & Assets

Before I talk about how you can get involved with your own art, let me give a HUGE shoutout to @MicroBihon for the absolutely KILLER art for the festival that was chosen for this update's banner!

Same as before, we're also accepting assets and art for use during the festival in two ways! The first is 1920x1080 Wallpapers which will be showcased all throughout the show in between panels. The second is through PNG character assets, some examples of which can be found below!

If you want YOUR art to be showcased in the festival, be sure to upload to the #NGWinterFest2022 tag on the Art Portal!

Event Staff

Your staff members for the Newgrounds Summer Fest 2022 are as follows!

@Stanpai

@LilSpook

@Nek0ai

@Kekiiro

@Slimygoo

If you have any need of assistance during the event, you can reach out to these team members for help.

That wraps up this update! Unless something pressing comes up, I don't think there will be any further updates to come. We'll see you live on January 28th!