Asandir's interviews with Newgrounds forum users
This week's interview features the user D-Nightmare.
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When did you find Newgrounds and why did you join? Why did you choose the username _Spawn_ and why did you change it to D-Nightmare?
"This all happened while I was a huge fan of Soul Calibur 2, also during that era of Newgrounds when underscores and dashes could be put into usernames. After seeing the comic book character Spawn's appearance in one version of SC2, I wanted to base my username off of him. Moreover, someone had already taken the name "Spawn" (without underscores), so I improvised.
Later on, I changed it to D-Nightmare because I wanted to avoid having potentially demonic imagery with my username, since Spawn got his powers through dealing with the devil. In any case, I decided to use the character Nightmare instead because he was my main character in SC2, mostly because of how easy he is to use and how popular he is with many players.
As for the letter “D” in my username, that originally stood for “Der-Nightmare”, as a reference to the Rammstein song “Der Meister”. I saw a video of a live performance of the song, which struck a chord with me; enough to change my name, and make a reference that I hoped people would catch. Over time, I noticed that that didn't work, so I decided to simplify it to my current username, making it roll off of the tongue more easily and having a decent ring to it."
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Do you think that you changed over the time you were here, as user, or also in real life?
“Yes, I have changed considerably over the time that I've been here (11/28/2004 – 08/25/2014), with respect to both Newgrounds and my personal character in the real world. When I first signed up, I thought that joining Newgrounds would make me automatically cooler on that principle alone.
I soon found out that actual achievements would have to come first before I would earn any respect at all, such as making full use of depositing leaving helpful reviews. Later on, I became familiar with the Blam/Save system, the other sections of the site besides the Games; TomFulp's games, with their emphasis on gameplay and quirky humor, especially caught my attention.
Over time, I would obsess over how people thought about me. This came to a peak between '05-'06, when I was most active on the Forums. That's a part of my life that I've long since left behind, in favor of just being myself. Back then, I would try and imitate some of what the populars would do, trying too hard to get a reply out of the authors of different movies and games, being a try-hard on the Forums in order to get some kind of reply that would boost my ego, being socially abrasive to other users, be a show off about the things in my life (mostly by lying), and saying unrepeatable things that would make a Gen X-er shake his head in shame.
Nowadays, I put no stock in other people's opinions of me. I do my best to not make false assumptions about other users, so that they're not overhyped and drawing attention that they're not interested in seeking, nor drawing that kind of attention that would result them in getting picked on. That's because what they think about what might be spread around subjectively true is not necessarily what is objectively true, since anyone can learn a lot of information about someone, but not know them at all. In that case, a free gift of the heart form one to another, with due discretion, is in order. In other words, I went from looking out solely for myself and overhyping some of the big names on here to looking on the brighter side of things and bearing in mind that my merits benefit on how well I treat other people."
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Are there any other users that you like, and how do they affect you?
"I'm pretty fond of some users here, yeah. I like Sense-Offender, since he has communicated with me in the past a number of times, and he makes some pretty cool posts that we both can relate to. The same goes for Viper and Urban-Champion. Another users that comes to mind is WadeFulp. Since he's pretty consistent about the site's rules, is fantastic with follow-up, and is a pretty friendly guy."
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Are there any users that you would consider enemies or that you just don't like?
"No enemies come to mind. Also, disliking someone is a thing I only save for someone who does something truly contemptible, but I'd still be good and civil to them in spite of it. I don't make it a point to have enemies on NG, plus I've noticed that a lot of users don't take things all that seriously."
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What is your opinion about the forums? Is there one forum that you prefer? And is there another forum user that you want to see getting interviewed by me?
"I think that the forums of today are better than in recent years, mostly because every other topic is not only not some discussion about sex, but also because there's a pretty good assortment of topics. When there are topics with interesting news stories, questions about the little things in life that strike a chord, or something as simple as a good photoshop thread."
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I guess that you have an opinion about the moderators of Newgrounds. Do you think that they do a great job or not?
"I think so. There aren't a lot of threads that break the rules these days, not to mention fewer trolls. I sometimes wonder whether more users leave if the mods started to get super-strict."
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Would you like to become a moderator on Newgrounds? If so, what kind of moderator?
"In my better judgment, the only good answer to that is if Wade decides that I'm fit to be a moderator, whether it's for the forums or for reviews. If I were appointed, I would thank him for the honor and be a strictly by-the-book kind of moderator, making sure that things go harmoniously through consistent application of the rules, having a good relationship with the other mods, and not and being connected with users. As a side-note, I look at stafffighter's example as sources of inspiration for the way that I'd be a mod, mostly because I like how stafffighter offers good commentary on fun stuff and is helpful on pointing out a better direction on where to go with a difficult topic of discussion, plus he's fairly quick to catch on to when a topic gets out of hand. I'd like to be at least that good.
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You were a member before the redesign 2007. Tell me how you experienced Newgrounds back then and what changes you liked about the redesign.
"Hah, that was back when NG had the slogan “The Problems of the Future Today!”. Users have already covered some of the more obvious ones like the spam groups and “Turd of the Week”, so I'll discuss a few other ways that the site was different. There was a lot more focus on lampooning pop culture than now, plus in-person parties were much more common, and NG was literally the summit of all sites involving cartoons and games. All those are pros, but one con that was always involved was that this site couldn't be browsed through for long due to malware constantly coming unscrupulous advertisers that Newgrounds used to host; having antivirus software was not an option.
Also, profiles had jet-black backgrounds, appeared only in pop-ups, and were much more cramped. As soon as the marquee “IN UR TANK. UPGRADING UR FEATURES” showed up just before the '07 redesign was fully implemented, I was taken off guard. When it gave way to the end result, I took it as a breath of fresh air."
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The last redesign happened 2012. Tell me what you think about it. What do you like and what is not so good?
"Performance-wise, it's fantastic. The site runs pretty smoothly even with the ads, plus the most popular and highest-rated games and movies from it's different categories are easier to search for. Aesthetically, I like the staff's idea of using some of the best artwork of different artists to mix things up a bit, but the graphics in the interface and buttons make things too busy for the eyes and are in need of streamlining. Having the interface rounded-off a little bit, as opposed to the strictly squared-off look, would be nice."
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Seems like you are a big fan of the games Castle Crashers and BattleBlock Theater. Which aspects of them do you like the most? Are you looking forward to the next game release from The Behemoth?
"In both cases, I like how the Behemoth puts accessible yet challenging gameplay before graphics and sophistication, making up a good chunk of the technical part of things work. In other ways, the art style and quirky humor helps to keep things interesting. I think that the best way demonstrate how they do it is with the Pudding Monster from Alien Hominid, where players fight something that our inner child might think up, disposing of it in a common-sense way with a fire hydrant."
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Venom is your favourite Marvel character. What do you you think about his portrayal in Spider Man 3? Would you like to see a movie where he has a more prominent role?
"Venom was my favorite at the time, mostly due to the anticipation behind Spider-Man 3, and how well he was written and portrayed in the 1994 animated series' 3-part story called “Alien Costume”. With that kind of clout, along with Topher Grace's eagerness to play the character, my teenage mind was looking for a lot in his portrayal in Spider-Man 3. I think that Topher Grace did deliver pretty well with what he was given, but it was less than 30 minutes or so of screen time, plus two other villians were crammed into the same film, making the whole thing so uneven that fans of the Raimi films would prefer a proper follow up in his style instead of Marc Webb's “Amazing Spider-Man” series.
My favorite character now is Captain America, not simply because I'm an American, but because he himself is compelled to work toward higher standers of personal character and leadership. Short, simple, and to the point with honest to goodness Marvel ideals and quality."
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Rocko's Modern Life is your favourite cartoon. Tell my readers what you like about the show.
"Haha, I'd love to. My main draw toward this series in the tongue-in-cheek approach, giving off a signature '90s vibe while cracking jokes and making references that are relatable to kids or adults. After all, garbage day is a very dangerous day. Also, a surreal and parodic adventure through a giant supermarket's 99% off sale is something any middle-class kid should experience if he wants to understand the need to live on a budget a bit more bearable because cartoons are a great way to appeal to wide audiences in that way."
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You are a fan of ice hockey, especially the team Detroit Red Wings. When did you start watching this sport and what was the most exciting match you saw?
"I remember watching this with my family around 1997, around the time that the Stanley Cup playoffs were near an end. Already being familiar with rivalry at that point, seeing the spirit of competition that the Wings players had, along with feeling the hype surrounding the whole thing, kind of set things in motion for my passion for sports in general because hockey is objectively more fun to watch than any other sport. What other sport can make the most out of playing either on ice or in the street, playable with official gear or with whatever's lying around in one's closet?"
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Every person has secrets. Can you tell one of yours or something else that we didn't know about you yet?
"I've always been strangely talented in appearing more slender than I really am. People who wonder how much I weigh normally don't believe it when I tell them my actual weight, with the actual figure being around 10 lbs (4.5 kg) more than what they figure. I never make any real effort in doing this, yet it's something that surprises even my doctor."
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What can we expect from you in the future, D-Nightmare?
"Better and more interesting posts, plus someone who likes to be generous. I would like to submit something to any one of the portals, but school and work takes precedence. Not sure which of the three will come first, but they're all something that I'd like to do. In any case, I'm going to make contributions that won't be a waste of time."
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Now you are filled with more knowledge about D-Nightmare, dear reader.Feel free to leave a comment here, saying what you think about the interview, requesting users to get interviews is also appreciated. Tune in next week :3
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