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ninjamuffin99
I like Newgrounds stuufff

Cameron muffin99 @ninjamuffin99

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Friday Night Funkin' whiplash

Posted by ninjamuffin99 - January 1st, 2021


This newspost a bit scattered, just wanted to get some thoughts out there in writing.


December was pretty wacky. In case you haven’t been paying attention, I worked on a game that got 2,000,000 views and kinda went viral. If you look it up on youtube, you’re gonna find videos with hundreds of thousands of views, and if you can scroll for days trying to dig through every piece of fanart on Twitter. It’s definitely been overwhelming to say the least. It absolutely is a dream come true. Any gamedev in my position would murder to have a 1/10th of the attention that Friday Night Funkin has. It’s been pretty much one of the only things on my mind all December, and because of that it also has felt a bit isolating. Even if I can talk with my pals about it, there’s always something in the back of my mind that feels a bit guilty, like I’m always just talking about myself and my problems. It’s overwhelming to look at numbers and compare myself to classics that inspired ME. It’s cool to see though, and makes me feel proud. Trying to be happy for my own success is a bit of a tricky line. On one hand, it’s like “aw hell yeah, this game I made is fuckin awesome and is blowing away everything else”, on the other hand, it can so easily feel like I’m just some dweeb rubbing in the one lucky break I have. I know for a fact it fills Newgrounds with a certain amount of hope, because I know whenever I saw ANYTHING Newgrounds related get any amount of attention it was inspiring. Whether it be Derpixon’s porn animations getting millions of views, or even the Among Us crew having some roots in NG, it all felt like Newgrounds as a whole was slowly taking over. It’s weird to think that me and the other FNF fellas are a part of that, but really something like this I’ve been waiting for ever since I joined the site. It really has been my dream to be a part of a project that could somehow help out Newgrounds in some way. And it ABSOLUTELY happened.


I don’t think there’s a piece of me that’s like, “naw, I don’t deserve this” because I know it’s all sorta just random chance and right place right time lightning in a bottle type shit. Made good plays and most of them worked out VERY well for us.


It’s weird to think of myself or anyone else on the team as ‘famous’. Almost feels a bit in denial, maybe it’s true maybe it’s not. I think especially looking at numbers it’s easy to compare to other game developers I look up to, and it’s weird to think that I’ve been slowly creeping up on them. And of course shit like Twitter followers isn’t the end all be all of success, but like I said it’s just somethin easy to compare to. 


Twitter has definitely been strange, but I don’t think I use it too drastically differently than I used to. I still find myself making dumbass tweets and whatnot. I literally am FLOODED with notifications basically 24/7, to the point where I almost can’t even check my mentions. For a while that’s been overwhelming, to try to keep up with every single comment and reply, but I think I’m slowly realizing that it’s gonna be impossible to make sure everyone gets a piece of my attention. I’m slowly starting to realize that with DM’s as well. I used to try to reply or respond to most questions or messages, but it’s been A LOT, and it’s been spread out through Newgrounds, Tiktok, Twitter, Instagram, and Discord. I really can’t find a place to get away from it other than fully disconnecting, which would probably be good for me to do at some point in time.


It’s weird to think of the potential success. I mean we have a VERY good hand dealt to us right now. The stress I don’t think comes from the possibility of us screwing things up, but almost moreso if we DON’T screw up. Because if we are very successful, it absolutely will be life changing. The thought of having even more than 5000$ in my bank account is crazy, so what’s gonna happen if there’s 10K? 100K? What if this game turns me into a millionaire? If we fumble our chance there’s gonna be a ‘what if’ in the back of our minds for a long time, but at the very least my life will more or less be the same and I’m back to just making dumb little gamejam games. But if we nail it, and everything goes even better than expected, it’s like nothing will be the same. I never grew up with money, I’m still not exactly used to buying myself things too often. At the start of the year was when I had one of my first real jobs ever, and I was able to move out for the first time. At the end of November I moved across Canada to a city in Ontario. That happened not because of the game btw, but it’s like, I think December has just been such a drastic and crazy whiplash for me, and it sorta been makin me lose my mind, just a little bit. Hard to know what things am I doing because I’m just going crazy, or what things am I doing because I sorta ‘changed’ in some form (good or bad). Maybe it’s too personal and real, in case she’s reading this, but did you guys know that I confessed to a girl for the first time ever? Did I do that because I’ve been so stressed with everything? Or do I just have some sort of newfound confidence and I’m just sorta developing as a person? Obviously it’s a mix of both, but it’s always more tempting to think of it as one or the other, and try to overthink in my own mind about it to the point where it feels like I’m short circuiting my brain. That whole situation been complicated but in any case you probably understand my point, where it’s feeling like there’s a chance that all this stress and overwhelming-ness from the game and everything around it is affecting my personal life. 


That’s it for now, there’s a million more things that’s in my head. Usually I do a yearly recap or whatever but oops I just wanted to have something out there about Funkin and my own brain. I’ve been trying to take it easy. Game, watch youtube, relax. But it’s been hard. Even writing this and posting this I know I’m gonna get a good handful of messages and replies telling me to take it easy, oh well. I DONT KNOW ANYHTING LOL. I will say the fact I’m writing this means I’m in a bit of a better situation than I was not too long ago. Felt hard to focus on anything other than game stuff directly, whether it be browse twitter for fanart, program the game, or reply to messages from FANS (it’s weird for me to call people fans but it is what it is I guess). It’s good for me to get these thoughts in writing and whatnot, and get it out so it doesn’t feel as isolating.


Happy new years Newgrounds XDD

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Comments

I know you said we would say this, but really, take it easy, if you are feeling bad for whatever reason take a break, that is what your fans wants more, for you to be ok,so pls take care, and happy new year ^^

ngl Friday Night Funkin actually got me back into some rhythm games, and it also gave me varieties of ideas for the game. Like visual effects, etc.

Dude, you're the first 'big' indiedev I've seen really come forward with how the success of something is a mental drain. Everyone always puts people like you on godly pedestals but it's all human folks trying to make some cool stuff in the end. All the deadlines, horribly difficult stuff you can only hope to understand well enough to implement, not even getting into issues that inevitably make into the finished game! As I see it, you will find a way to manage all this, and you already came out of this very strong, and always passionate. It's a fuzzy feeling that keeps you going.

member how this year started with bum ass cassette tapes lmao

LMAO DAT CLASSIC SHIT

Hope that it doesn't become too much for ya, you and the team are indeed lucky to be where you are right now but know that just as much skill and talent went into it all as well. You got this, man.

(Repost from Twitter cuz I didn't wanna add to your already overwhelmed notifs LOL)

I hope you get better man maybe turn off dms for a bit to make you feel good after a while youd get used to it but if this makes your day even a little friday night funkin is what brought me out of a huge art block and gave me brainrot so I'm very thankful for it and have a happy new years cam(am I allowed to call you that???) and the rest on the fnf crew ?

I completely understand the insanity of having so many eyes on your work, it's scary, honestly. But I do believe you got a good head on your shoulders and you have amazing buds that'll keep you grounded! Happy new year, and let's hope that 2021 will be okay :]

Starting the year with Ritz and ending it with FNF, 2021 gonna be a good for you even if it will be stressful at times. This all gonna work out for the better in the end I knows it. Also I wanna surf lets surf hahaha

Make sure to get a follow-up post running once you descramble your mind, yeah?

neever forget ur day 1s dude lol > w< but really congratulations on all your success with fnf. don't forget to relax and take a day or two off every now and then. good luck in the future!!

love ya dude

Instant success like that can come with many emotions attached. So long as you keep your chin up and have a good grasp on your audience, than the "e-fame" won't get to your head. Never forget your roots.

As for the financial changes, always be wise with the money you earn. That money could go to all sorts of new avenues that can help you in the long run.

It's cool seeing a Newgrounds fan getting popular. It makes me hope this type of thing happens a lot more with Newgrounds. I got into checking this game out over a month ago on this site and it's cool to see videos of it go from the 10 thousands to the 100 thousands. It's even cooler seeing it pop up on Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Twitch, Instagram and Reddit more! It's thanks not just to your programming but the amazing art and music from the amazing people that made them. Good luck on your success.

Congrats! I appreciate the heartfelt post and look behind the scenes at this kind of success. Can't wait to see where you guys go!

love you man. please feel free to take a break anytime you're feeling overwhelmed and remember no one is owed a response from you. there's nothing wrong with missing some comments/dms here and there.

Congrats on your success with the numbers, and I hope you turn it into something financially successful.

I had a similar experience (though not on as large a scale) and some thoughts you may consider:

I've had a few games breach several million plays on a few sites. Also, the guys I worked with on Video Game the Game had Markiplier and Pewdiepie play them and those also had high view numbers. Plus the social proof of being associated with them produced even more publicity.

Someone along the line, my games' popularity went to my head. I thought I shit pure gold and I could do whatever I wanted and people would like it. The thing is popularity is temporary for most people. Going from free, ad-driven games to premium was a major wake up call. I thought several million views and making 5 figures a game was some MAGICAL PROOF I knew what I was doing (nope lol).

Then I spent 2 years on a game that fucking flopped on its face and cost more money to make than I earned. I was really having an identity crisis because my ego was just out of control. My ego viewed itself much higher than how reality was treating it. Failure was very humbling in the most painful possible way.

My point is: Just do your best and remember at the end of the day, your work is not your personal worth. Dont sweat it, just do your best. Making people happy and creating something fun for them to enjoy is a big deal. That being said, good luck and I really do hope you guys make a bunch of money. I think you have a great chance to succeed. Go for it!

Can't imagine what a crazy month this must've been. :) Though reading this it feels like you're both humble and introspective enough to not let fame change you for the worse, whatever happens, even if you keep growing and going and really become one of the NG GODS around here! With this pace it doesn't seem impossible!

Even if going viral might be more luck and circumstance than anything else, it really wouldn't last without a really good game to start with. Your work ethic's been inspiring to follow, always so many things going on at once, so it's really cool to see things getting as insane as it seems they have been! Well-deserved man! Do enough stuff and something's gotta go up!

Congrats! And Happy New Year! And hope all things do work out for the best//you don't get all too stressed out here/you don't get all too estranged either/you don't miss those potential big $$$ opportunities that might be coming up. :P All the best!!!

dale bro eso va, suerte

I know you've heard it 100s of times, but I hope you take it really easy dude! Your game gives me a bit of inspiration, its amazing to see something made from a small site starting to blossom into a big thing, and I'm proud to have made an account and see how the site grows! Don't find it selfish to support yourself before supporting others, either way you got a lot of people rooting for ya in many ways. [also happy new years LETS GOOOOO]

Dude, I was never really a part of the Newgrounds community when I was younger, mostly because I couldn't draw or make flash games, but at this point, that doesn't even really matter.

You got so many people back into Newgrounds-- AND introduced even more

Maybe if you want to be more confident, you should consider exactly what you want your goal to be

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