News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Newgrounds.com – A community of games, music, and art by rwol on Saturday October 03, 2026 @09:59AM (#49944331)
Newgrounds forums is where I first learned how to code. My early attempts at Flash games were so basic, but in such an endearing way. Such a good community surrounding the Flash games scene. I ran FreelanceFlashGames, if any game developers on here remember the site. Cool to see this surfacing on Hacker News.
Re:Newgrounds.com – A community of games, music, and art by hbn on Saturday October 03, 2026 @12:17PM (#49945538)
I learned how to “code” from Wario Ware DIY, a Nintendo DS game where you could build your own minigames. I would have been about 13 at the time.

I remember being absolutely stumped trying to use the game maker at first. But I followed in-game tutorials, and it finally clicked how it worked. It was mostly just creating sprites and setting logic on them, i.e. “if you tap this sprite, set a flag”, “if this sprite collides with another, do Y”, etc

But I do credit it with first opening my mind to the fun and possibility of making computers do things.

Re:Newgrounds.com – A community of games, music, and art by zabriel_goss on Saturday October 03, 2026 @01:33PM (#49946133)
Excellent game, just recently started playing touch for old times' sake!

I wonder if Mario Maker served similarly for the next cohort. Or even if Tears of the Kingdom, with such a flexible play style, encourages a similar spirit.

Re:Newgrounds.com – A community of games, music, and art by jayrobin on Saturday October 03, 2026 @11:34AM (#49945171)
I remember FreelanceFlashGames - used to work for Flashgamelicense in the early days as a game tester. Your book was a great help in getting enough money in sponsorships to pay for a couple of nice vacations, so belated thanks!
Re:Newgrounds.com – A community of games, music, and art by rwol on Saturday October 03, 2026 @09:03PM (#49949523)
Hey, no problem! Hearing that made my day. Glad you enjoyed the book. Flash Game License was really groundbreaking in providing a space for developers and sponsors to come together. A great way to get early feedback on games too!