My old content isn't going away, even if it's not representative of this new path - I can't roll my eyes enough at artists that delete their older work, just because it's not up to par with where they are now (at least on a technical level). This new brand identity brings all of that under a more consistent umbrella. What gave Newgrounds that permanent spot in my heart is how I've been exposed to all these mediums, being inspired by the artists here to make my own content - animations, games, music, illustrations, and literature. The ethic of this aesthetic that I love the most comes from the different interpretations that people bring with them to the piece - I've had some really interesting conversations in that regard with some of my past works with a symbolic lean, and I want to carry that forward.
The summarizing philosophy would be, "unique juxtapositions for a greater whole." More often than not, that'll come from the realm of surrealism, bringing together things that exist in two different worlds, only to take on a greater meaning when brought together than when separate. It was originally an idea I had for the name of a band in my teens, combining the prefix "intra" (within) with the suffix "path" (one who does). I've been wanting for so long to really come back in earnest, and with a sharpened focus, I'd need a more distinct, definite identity (it doesn't help that LDAF already stands for "Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry", "Lower Delaware Autism Foundation", and "Libyan Defense Air Force").Įnter Intrapath. I'd always kept in touch with Newgrounds, but haven't done much more than scratch the surface. Looking back at all of them, I could cringe at all of the technical flaws, but the humor and memories I associate with them still make me smile.Ī lot happened in the intervening years. My first book, LOCKED, took inspiration straight from all of my favorite sci-fi stories at the time. I wrote my first album, Orchestra of the Zodiac, a hodgepodge of genres pulled right from the Audio Portal's listings. My first few games and animations were love letters to the Newgrounds creations that drove me in the first place. The site drove me to take influences from everything around me, and put them into my own art. Seeing all that I did, I knew that I wanted to be a part of it, and make Newgrounds my online home. The best part of it all? They were all just a bunch of regular guys, working on some of my favorite Flash games one minute, and spouting off cock jokes (90% of which were little more than "cock joke!") the next. I was always so excited to come home from school to get another medal to pin on my page, or see what the new game of the week was, or see what my favorite content creators were up to, whether they were animators, programmers, or musicians. In the beginning, I got hooked on the RPG-like system of voting experience, blam points, whistle status, and more (who doesn't enjoy watching meters fill up?). It was a term that came to mind when the 2012 redesign happened, where I likened the site's transition to that of moving from a homely suburb to the flashy, graffiti-laden, bustling city, but that's jumping ahead a few years. They were fine, but there was something very different about this place - and I use the word "place" very deliberately. Whatever it was, I clicked that "Sign Up!" button, saw it through to Mindchamber's artwork of Pico pressing his hand to the login panel, and was quick to lose focus of all those other sites for this one. I know it was a game that drew me to the site, but I don't remember which - it may have been Agnry Faic 2, or Newgrounds Rumble. Somewhere in that time frame, I found Newgrounds. The first helped me start poking at a desire to be a part of something online, and the latter, the beauty of Flash games that could be run through in an hour. Two of my other favorites were DeviantArt and Andkon. We just had internet installed in the house, and I had been busy playing catch-up: Myspace, Homestar Runner, and a new one called "YouTube" (which I misheard as "YouToo", when I'd first heard another kid talking about it at recess, then "BlueTube", which could've ended disastrously for my naive self).
Ten years ago, the track pad on my family's new laptop was starting to show a discernible white spot in the center, surrounded by hairline scratches, worn from constant use, day in, day out.