Jacob 2010-12-03 03:58:55

Actually, a similar thought crossed my mind a couple days ago. See, I've noticed that no one regards Newgrounds as a choice for their Flash gaming, and I was curious as to why. The first thing I concluded was that the other sites prospered through their simplistic, straight forward game classifications, adding a huge traffic flow. Honestly, though, Newgrounds isn't about the games. Newgrounds is an entirely unique creation, allowing artists of all kinds to share their work with a genuine audience of fellow contributors. The overall atmosphere for this community is actually enhanced by the graphics, giving it that polished art-like look.

Besides, I'm sure they were referring to an attempt at a thousand abstract things, similar to what Myspace has been trying out. Newgrounds is incredibly organized, and the design just molds, rather than becoming a flashy mess of advertisements.

Come to think of it, actually, Newgrounds' design was one of the things that really drew me in. It's user friendly and professional, yet graphic and compelling. So, in my opinion, you've got nothing to worry about.

FallowerOfHank 2010-12-03 15:44:19

The file uploaded, but it takes so long, I worry this piece of s ' ' ' laptop might crash on me. Is this because the file is more than 10 mb. Keep in mind this is on the personalized dumping grounds. This laptop normally crashes on a normal basis if it stays on too long. Fix this bug so I can store backup files for use incase of unexpected file format.

PiGPEN 2010-12-03 17:09:54

I could see being completely overwhelmed by this site as a new user.
First thing i'd get rid of are the big >Games/Movies/Series buttons and make them subsets of >Collections since no regular user clicks any of them and new users will be mistaken in thinking that's where the action is.

JAYZILL44 2010-12-03 19:58:45

Hey fulp theres some bitch named "deleted" hacking peoples accounts can u delete his account

ZX 2010-12-04 00:59:04

gee i hope tom knows who i am

Galneda 2010-12-04 01:52:58

The black and orange simpler times of NG when I first started frequenting it were different enough visually where I sought it out afterschool, and when the redesign hit, it sucked me in further. The continuous upgrades as the years go on have only been more and more impressive.

If you were to follow that list's advice, Tom, you'd be doing everything that everybody else has already done. So, the less distracting presentation with bland fonts and what-have-you is ACTUALLY making more of a sterile "museum" environment as opposed to the sleek lines and distinct color scheme of Newgrounds, which totally rocks party.

Think about it; they're probably advising less distractions and clean-cut boring bullshit around "the site's content" probably because more often than not the content is boring, or people will otherwise opt to go overboard with glittery myspace gay-ass .gifs that take forever to load. Because let's face it, not everybody has taste and most people are idiots.

Don't doubt yourself or your amazing team, Tom. I think you guys have the right idea, and Newgrounds has been distinct enough to really jump out from other sites with it's unique presentation for YEARS. Each layout has definitely been better than the last, and I personally can't wait for the widescreen layout. Newgrounds has enough character in itself to support it through many website's lifetimes, and if it's constantly adapting, I can't wait to see what something great can become.

Vegemorph 2010-12-04 16:28:51

I've always thought the design of Newgrounds was one of it's best features. The fact that it was designed and built from the ground up by a really talented group of people is what makes it my favorite flash portal.

Although content could be a little more accessible, which is what you guys are addressing in the redesign. I'm looking forward to NG being pretty and easy to navigate.

bamshep1998 2010-12-04 19:23:42

you got a LINUX A PC OR A MAC? if you got a PC make me windows 7 real windows 7

Ansel 2010-12-05 12:48:02

I think the biggest deterrent to new visitors to NG would be the sheer amount of stuff on every page of the site. The first thing you see upon visiting Newgrounds is a massive header with a shiny logo, login box, search bar, and 19 links, and the rest of the front page is crammed with submission and user icons, news posts, the Portal update, etc. Vising an user page is just as baffling -- Aura? Level? Experience points? What the fuck is a whistle status? Most new websites following the trend of white backgrounds and 18 pt. Arial are designed for one or two features at most, and they can afford to make everything very large and simplistic, but NG just has too much going on to dumb down the site that much.

What's important is that understanding all the peripheral systems isn't necessary to watch Flash. The average new user is going to visit the front page, gloss over a bunch of shit he doesn't care about, click on the prominently displayed icon for MARIO TOWER DEFENSE and happily enjoy his game. I think the only problem is trying to prevent this pattern from repeating on subsequent visits -- ie encouraging him to register and explore the site, rather than continuing to ignore the news updates and the portal and heading straight for GAEMS. Looking forward to the new redesign :3

FallowerOfHank 2010-12-05 13:59:22

I tried Castle Crashers, and Its pretty good. I should download the full game for XBOX.

DarkzVenom 2010-12-05 14:30:22

Can't wait to see the new layout! I guess I see what they mean about their coming from, but personally I like the newgrounds layout. I think it just needs less crowding and more categorizing, but other than that I think it looks awesome.

SugarSimon 2010-12-06 05:21:07

Hey! Tom, what is redesign this NG website?

David2121 2010-12-06 08:41:31

Dude,I mean Mr Tom,Do YOU want to beat Twitter,Facebook AND mYSPACE?
Well,there's a lot of ideas.For starters you could like change the background every like christmas,halloween,easter,you get the point(just a suggestion)
Or you could like add like friends or something that you can add a person as a friend,like facebook,(Seriously,If you're gonna rip it off of something it better be something good(not that you rip off though)
My last one is....that you support a charity OR,Hold a contest(any kind)for which the winner would get a chance to work with you guys.Is that good enough?

David2121 2010-12-06 08:45:11

another one is that one can customize their own ng skin,not one one of the sites I metioned had those(I think)
Lastly(AGAIN)
You could help PoderODunk with making a video,voice chat,and enlisting a few Die hard ng'ers to monitor it,just saying.
Tom keep it up keeping up.PEACE!!!

David2121 2010-12-06 08:48:57

aND tOM HAPPY-ALMOST-BIRTHDAY TO BOTH OF US!!!
yours is april 30,mines 21 woohoo!!!!

Conal 2010-12-06 20:40:01

Are we getting that icon related update soon?

OneWhoListens 2010-12-07 23:05:51

I guess I'm both a little bit die-hard NG fan and someone passing through...my time commitments are rough, but I love to spend time here whenever I can.

I know that NG, to me, always seemed a lot tighter knit and had a lot better social interaction than most social apps do. And the physical layout is one of the best parts of NG! We know how to be cool and have fun at the same time. The rest of the world...just doesn't get how the NG community works, and thrives.

NG is amazing the way it is, don't worry about it a bit. And keep up the amazing work!

amplefied 2010-12-07 23:11:19

Depends how you look at it Tom, I've studied design and a lot of the mental processes in creating a good design goes mostly to the things that you can-not see, tings like spacing, usability and viewers focus. Questions like, what do you want the user seeing first, which features to highlight and how to do it in a subtle way. In many ways clean, minimal designs are much harder to pull off so as not to overwhelm the user.

But then again NG is all about identity and a corporate design may not suit NG's identity, nor a social network one either. I think the focus should be on the everything by everyone motto and allow for people to collaborate on artistic projects more efficiently. A creative and collaborative sandbox kinda environment. Which it really is becoming with music, voice actors and animators collaborating on various toons graphics etc.

Imagine someone writing a story on the Lit board, someone else picking it up and doing some animation, another comes in with music etc etc. Making the whole process streamlined is a part of good design.

or somthing.. idunno lol

ancioos1 2010-12-08 09:39:34

Hey tom can you help me see im 13 now and i do know the ng history so could u help me get macromedia for free these trial versions just aren't enough plz Pm me

SSJDre 2010-12-08 10:22:24

Dude, I like Newgrounds the way it is, but if you think you've got a better lay-out for it, who am I to argue with you? Hell, you thought this site up, and if it weren't for that, so many people would be struggling to get themselves heard. So for that, I thank you, on behalf of myself, and all of the other Newgrounders out there that appreciate such and easy to use, and open site. Each member that joins and submits or views content, is just another brother or sister brought into the fold. I personally think that maybe Newgrounds should make it to consoles so that members and non-members can view and play content from the site. I know it would take a lot of time and coding, but it would be worth it. I'd be happy to be one of the testers if you can ever get a deal with Microsoft. You'd just have to make it so that non-members (potential members) can only see featured content, and current members can access everything through search or via portals. I think I've said too much though, still, I bet you like the suggestion.