Hey everyone who's interested, we are still going through the the short stories and are getting closer to being done! It's been hard tho because you guys have done such a great job!

Hello writers!

A while back, I started a project called Make It Count with the goal of creating an open-source sci-fi universe for aspiring artists, writers, and musicians to build on for fun (similar to how SCP was initially handled).

We’ve had many talented artists and musicians join in, and had a brief but strong sprint of idea workshopping and concepting… but hit a dead end, as we found that in order for it all to work, we really need a strong writer at the helm—alongside the artists.

We are looking for someone who is passionate about world-building and characters, and who also enjoys sci-fis like HALO, Half-Life, Gundam, or anything else that is remotely sci-fi, to help steer this universe in the right direction.

To see if you have the gumption and talent, we want to judge via a short story contest!

We will also give you money!

(1st place $70, 2nd place $40, and 3rd place $20, you must have paypal to qualify)

The Deets:

1. The story has to be at MOST 6,500 words and at least 1,000 (if you wrote like 978 or whatever, that’s fine—we’re not teachers)
2. The story has to be a snapshot of two characters in a sci-fi setting
3. The setting has to be new — no Star Wars, no Metroid, all new!!!
4. It cannot be a utopia — there needs to be war of some kind (whether the war is happening on-planet or somewhere else, it has to be a factor)
5. Your target audience is 15+
6. Horror, drama, and adventure are recommended but not required (you can make a romance or a comedy, but they’ll be uphill battles…)
7. No ChatGPT usage
8. No re-using a story you already made, this has to be a brand-new story

The Judging Criteria:

1. Worldbuilding, originality, and attention to detail
2. Writing style
3. Overall quality of storytelling (was it a good read?)

Deadline and Submission:

• Deadline: June 16th, 2025
• Submit by sending a Google Docs sharing link to me via DM here on Newgrounds
• (make sure “anyone with the link can open” is enabled)

We are at 14 members now!

Please consider applying to our group to help us with the effort of creating a well-crafted open source scifi universe!

What we have so far...

On an alternate Earth, history changed forever with the Great Splintering—a cataclysmic event where a massive seemingly alien ship teleported into the atmosphere and shattered, scattering its fragments across the planet. Centuries later, humanity has entered a spacefaring renaissance, with thriving cultures built around the remnants of the ship. Each society reveres different mysteries: ancient AI constructs, cryptic traces of a precursor alien race, or humans who harbor an inexplicable vendetta against an alien species yet to reveal themselves in this universe. As the past collides with the future, the truth hidden within the wreckage threatens to reshape everything

Here is some awesome art

By: Hanstonin

by: Yaisobog

by: dogmuth-behedog

by: ForgeFrog

We are looking for WRITERS and MUSICIANS and ARTISTS (in that order).

Do you want to join and help cultivate a community and create a new universe full of lore and concept art for a scifi universe like StarWars, Warhammer, Halo, or other such things? Please read the collab post here below!

Building a SciFi Universe

CHECK OUT THIS COLLAB I AM HELPING WITH

Remember those lil plastic toys from the 2000s and early 2010s? No? That’s fine! This collaboration is for everyone that can draw! Don’t think you’re good enough? Doesn’t matter! You can still participate!

The end goal is a giant collage of Boi the Gogo super fan’s collection! Each person will draw one crazy bone and save it out as a 512x512px transparent PNG and DM it to @forgefrog on Newgrounds.

To claim your character to draw, click here

List of characters if you are unfamiliar (there is no lore, they're just plastic toys)

DUE DATE: December 8th 2023

Inspiration:

Pixel Pal's GoGo's A-Go-Go

GR1MP Gogos Crazy Bones Nostalgia

BackupMissingNo's Gogo's Crazy Bones B-King

 LeviRamirez's Little Go-Go Thangs

Note: If you aren't scouted in the art portal, you probably aren't getting in, sorry!

Note2: I am not here to help troubleshoot for you! :)

I came to the meetup a bitter, jaded, and frustrated young man who felt excluded from the human experience. When I got to the BnB, I was immediately washed over with love from friends I have never met but have talked to for years. I felt that I was finally accepted somewhere in this world, not a freak to hold to extreme standards, not a robot made to do as I am told, but a human being who can love and be kind like everyone else.

I did things that made me learn so much about myself, I learned that I DO love loud environments, that I CAN handle awful airport situations on my own, that I CAN support others, and that I CAN talk to just about everyone. When going to the NG office, I was expecting them to be just people like every other talented person I have met and/or worked with, and I was right. What I didn’t expect was just how kind and caring everyone was. In the grand scheme of things- we are a bunch of degens from a weird old website (quote I actually got from someone outside of NG in the wild). With that, none of the people from the office had any ego, only love and respect for everyone there.

@TomFulp : It was so wonderful meeting you and telling you my journey from a four year old with a review copy of Alien Hominid to a professional artist in the games industry. Your amount of sacrifice and dedication to your life long hobby that has allowed us to thrive and meet friends is beyond what any normal human being can do. You are a one of a kind person and we are all unbelievably lucky that you do what you do. 

@Spazkid : Sleepy Cabin to the Cologne fiasco, I always thought you were just a super perverted dunderhead; but that’s what the internet paints you to be. Talking to you in person made me realize how genuine, down-to-earth, and passionate you are. Your genuine excitement and self criticism of your game made me realize just how much you care about your work. My outlook on you from years changed overnight from just a few simple interactions, I am so happy I got to talk to you!

@JohnnyUtah : Jeff you were pretty much exactly what I was expecting you to be, you and Tom came across as the adults of NG. Talking to you felt similar to the people I met from Bungie, oddly enough. You balance comedy with professionalism well, the Nightmare Cops team is super lucky to have your talent in it. I know I said this like a billion times before, but good luck, you guys are reaching a really difficult point in development and I am rooting for you the whole way. 

@PhantomArcade : Okay you are hard to talk about because you were very strange! You seemed to be having a blast and it was contagious. I love your careless attitude but I really hope it doesn’t affect your professional work, you won the lottery when it comes to marketing your game so please don’t waste it! Overall, you were a joy to hangout with and it’s clear you care for Newgrounds more than the majority of the site’s users. Rock on, Dave, you beautiful bastard!

@moawling : Moaw! I had no idea who you were before the event but I could tell by the way you carried yourself that you are a professional! It was an absolute joy and a breath of fresh air talking to you about stuff! You are super kind and have great charisma. You have the potential to kick ass as an art director due to your assertiveness as well as your empathy. Can’t wait to see your career grow!

@AmazinLarry : I am absolutely flabbergasted that I got to meet you. You can ask Dave, I was looking for you like day one. Please please please please please make cartoons more often, you make some of the funniest shit I have ever seen. My brother and I have been quoting ‘you can see the naughty bits’ for YEARS. Rock on Larry, you ARE amazin.

@IvanAlmighty : I talked to you multiple times but I still feel I didn’t talk to you enough. Watching top left corner muted Conan O'brien with you was probably one of my most braindead experiences in my life but IDC, it was funny. Lastly, seeing your character arc at the bowling alley from gutter balls to consistent strikes was a thing to behold.

@Bill : Bill, the way you murdered Shal with your bare hands in front of everyone was the most horrific thing I have ever witnessed and I think you need to pay for my therapy. Your singing was hilarious tho, I love you Bill. 

I have a lot more to say about everyone else I met but this is getting reeeeeal lengthy, can’t wait to talk to everyone more. Fuck yea, Newgrounds rules!

Do we like paw pads yea nay or eh?

A, B, or C??

Please vote on the characters you want to see more of! I plan on drawing all of them but I wanna know which ones you wanna see MORE of or if you wanna see the new ones asap!

Got an OC? I'll draw it if I like it! If I don't draw it, it's because I HATE YOU GRAAAAH!

(your design just didn't tickle my particular fancy sorry babe)

Here's the stuff from the last entries!

Helena Noguk by ForgeFrog on Newgrounds

Yeti Gurl by ForgeFrog on Newgrounds

Drawrings for some fellas by ForgeFrog on Newgrounds

Great One by ForgeFrog on Newgrounds