I'm gonna try my best to summarize this year but if I miss anything, forgive me. Play this song on loop while you read cuz i think its a fitting theme for this recap!
So without a doubt the biggest highlight of this year are the NG meetups. It’s always a blast to attend and seeing old friends along with cool new ones with these get-togethers. Especially with people who have similar tastes and interests. I don't really get that a lot from where I live so it's a refreshing break away. This year I have gone to four of them, which are; Pico day, Too Many Games, The Short Short Fest, and the Fun Stop Arcade meets. I'm going to give a little tidbit on each of them as I write this.
Pico day
Holy Shit! I got to tell ya that it was a BANGER-ASS-PARTY! This year's Pico day has been an amazing event and I feel like I didn't want it to end on that day. SOOOo much was going on. It was hard to take pictures and I wasn’t even able to make a vlog. I was just having too much fun lol. Thank you @Brandybuizel @Coby and @Tamag0 for hosting it. Blood, Sweat and Tears went into this, i know it!
Man, where do I begin? I was doing so much running around the whole place trying to give people their stickers, their signatures for my autograph book, and trying to trade cards (which by the way I was glad I was able to participate in the Newgrounds TCG collaboration. I wasn't able to get all of the cards but I did get the majority of them.)
There were so many people just talking to one another, at the tables grabbing stickers and signing things, peeps had personal tables stands for hosting their indie game projects. There was even a section where we all went to the theater part of the building and we're watching newgrounds cartoons which was awesome. There was even a push-up contest @smugarug fired up which was wild.
I had gotten nice gifts too which I will cherish forever! The cool Anatomy statue from @Henryeyes. The awesome Pico pin from @MindChamber! the big-ol OG Newgrounds tank logo sticker that @TomFulp whipped out from his pocket! The one guy that had the box full of mini tank men figurines (I'm sorry I still don't know who was giving those out!) The Pukebomb CD from @NickSenny and his @Pukebomb crew. The elegant Newgrounds envelope letter from @Serenefalconer. @krinkels sweat droplet marks on my autograph book next to his signature! Playing @Bill 's Poop Game~ @srpelo 's skibity-toilet rant at the after party! I love them all! yes YES!! Lol
Gawd there were so many people i believe i met for the first time but idk exactly who cuz there were also peeps from the yestercade meet. There was @Droid @Ramen-Noodiles @loopykins @cartersterlin, @MrShmoods, @Jack @KOLANI @owen @someoneunkown @littleredlo (aka Bri) @SirLenward @Broly @D-slick @thedyingsun @Dungeonation @kingcrowned @singpiano @OviManicand many others. One person that I was surprised to meet was Coryspazkid! ( I also like to point out that @spazkid gave one of the best hugs! I felt like I was hugging a family member that I haven't seen for a long long time. LOL)
Also wanna shout out a thank you to @Tamag0 and @kastozx for hangin out with me towards the beginning of the event (grabbin breakfast from playabowl) Thanks @milkypossum and @Andyl4nd for the double up Hug! it was Awesome finally meeting you guys im a big fan of yall work and can't wait what's to come from your projects! Lastly Thank you @kriskokoon & your friend for also hangin with me afterwards (grabbin a burger and lettin me carpool for the ihop afterparty)
I feel like there's SO so much more to say about Pico day. truly an unforgettable event!
TooManyGames
Before going to tmg I had met up with a small ng group at the Terminal Reading Market to get breakfast. Its was my first time meeting @psychogoldfish and @mrsgoldfish. @connergrail, @treavex @luis and a few others were also there. We explored around Philly and saw some really cool stores and historical spots~ we made a quick pit stop at a cute little coffee shop and talked a bit ; passing out our stickers and wut-not. it was really nice~ Funny enough, I live very close to that area and I never really traverse around there. Another place we went before the event was like some mall closer to the TMG area. It was also my first time going to a Cheese Factory restaurant! ( just wanted to add thank you Mr and Mrs PG for letting me carpool with you guys ;w;)
Once we got to the place for the TMG panel, I had met a lot of familiar faces and a few new ones like @Mkmaffo @Slimygoo @Bacun @Kekiiro @Kiyo @Bleak-Creep @Leroyalmess @hibachi @pkettles @leviRamirez and so many more! shared a lot of stickers and small presents. that was also that day I misplaced my gooble & locked gooble poster (sorry @kingcrowned. i at least got the cool wooden NG trinket you made!) I felt a little sad that it ended so soon but its understandable because it was only supposed to be for that 1hr and 45 min. Thank you @CorTat-G and crew for hosting!
Afterwards a few of us went to a cozy looking bar. It was really hard to find some seats because there was a bunch of us going to the same bar but it was all right. I still got my beer tho LOL (that picture of @Spinalpalm holding the broken tree-log lives rent-free in my brain. lmao). Then AFTER THAT we went to another bar that had karaoke. it was funny getting to see @Connorgrail @Deucelegoose @erasmusmagnus and @PsychoGoldFish Singing their hearts out. ( I wasn't drunk enough to sing myself. maybe next time~) it was awesome spending time with you guys!
Short Short Festival
I would say this was a casual get together at a bar where they were showcasing a lot of student films as well as films that were posted on Newgrounds. it did kind of suck that it rained in the beginning of it but overall it was still fun. they had tables covered in big white sheets of paper where everyone can doodle on them. a small private table to get posters and stickers for the SSF. Watching the animated shorts back to back got me inspired. If another Short Short Fest happens for 2025 I would like to make an animation for it. I think the highlight of that day was getting that mean ass handshake from @krinkels 's girlfriend. That was pretty badass~ I will strive to get that strong! Thanks @Deucelegoose and Yendor for the free drinks!
FUN STOP Arcade
So going there was interesting cuz I wasn't expecting it to take place at a farmer's market of a place so the actual arcade was inside the building along with other interesting stores. The arcade itself was small and cute. had a nice lineup of pinball machines. i was able to meet up with @Deucelegoose @NickSenny @Imprez @Tamag0 @Mantis @elikapika @Rozebud and few others! We had a great time!
General Summary.
the overall year was fantastic. I didn't really dealt with anything majorly bad, just minor things. There are projects that I wanted to complete this year but hadn't but I was still able to at least collaborate with other people's projects. Towards the end of this year that's when I started to be more active, contributed more and took a step further as far as projects. primarily I'm focusing on hosting a Hello Kitty collab. I'm hoping that I can release that soonish.
I want to give a special thanks to @skeletonhero @jackallHow @SpikeyBelmont @TeraVex for taking the time to help me with the Hello Kitty Collab trailer.
I don't really have a New Year's resolution for 2025. I just have a general sense that I want to be a better person as far as keeping track of things , preserving memories, and doing more passion projects. just in general creating things that I like and making something everybody can enjoy just for the hell of it.
Again I want to say thanks to everyone on Newgrounds for giving me a wonderful experience. For sticking around, being supportive and encouraging. you guys are the greatest.
