The shape movies proved but one thing: Newgrounds places great value on humor. But everyone knew this already, didn't they?
I've followed this Newgrounds War idea for a little bit because I've felt lost in this mad jumble of a website, but it deflated pretty rapidly for me. The rating system isn't a measure of quality, it's a measure of what the average person likes. While this isn't great, how can such a thing really be judged? We're all humans, we all have to ability to make judgments, so maybe a massive average really is the best judgment of quality. I've come to understand that most people rate each movie just one criteria, did they like it and how much? What else do you really need?
Whatever the case, all it really gets down to is what you're making movies for. If you spend hours on something, and it wins nothing, sure that's a drag. Yet even if you win, it's a fleeting, passing thing that dies away rather quickly. I've gotten front page, daily and weekly awards. Hell, I was even on the top 50 for a few days. But I'll bet most of you don't know or care who I am. I felt pretty much forgotten after a week. But I'm still working on another game. You know why? Because I want to create something, not because I want an award or a high score.
Newgrounds has taught me a lot. When I first came here I expected everything I made to be considered the best. It told me, rather bluntly, that I was nowhere near the best, but that did little more than motivate me to try harder and my work improved dramatically.
I guess what I'm trying to say is: when you really look at it, art is always pointless and celebrity rarely lasts. In the end, when all of that goes away and you're still proud of what you've made, you are a success.
