One last message before I step back

[PadeMoNiuM Prods]

Hey everyone,

I wanted to make one last post here, not with a new video this time, but with a link to the work I’ve already shared over time.

There is already a lot available: themes, videos, ideas, templates, collections, concepts, and different pieces of work I’ve posted since I’ve been part of this community. I think it gives a good idea of what I tried to build, share, and bring to the scene.I won’t be sharing everything, and I think that’s fair. A lot of this work represents years of creation, testing, editing, rebuilding, improving, and trying to push cinematic themes and frontends a little further.

https://forums.launchbox-app.com/profile/244237-pademonium-prods/content/?type=downloads_file

Over time, I’ve already shared a lot, probably more than many people realize. I’m genuinely happy if some of it helped, inspired, or motivated people to create something of their own.But honestly, I’m tired. Not tired of creating. Not tired of LaunchBox, Big Box, retro games, or this culture. I still love all of that deeply.

I’m tired of the atmosphere around sharing. When every post can turn into a debate, an accusation, a suspicion, or a trial about what is or isn’t allowed to exist creatively, the joy slowly disappears. And when the joy disappears, sharing publicly no longer feels right.So for now, I’ll be stepping back from Reddit, and I’ll also slow down a lot on the forum. I’ll leave what is already there. There is already a lot available, and I think it gives a good idea of what I tried to build and bring to the community.

I’ll see how the forum evolves over time. I sincerely hope it moves in a more positive direction, because I still care about this community and what it can be when the spirit is right. Maybe I’ll come back and share more one day.But for now, I feel like the mindset has changed too much. The atmosphere has become too heavy, too suspicious, and too far from what made me want to create and share in the first place. And when sharing starts taking more energy than it gives back, sometimes you have to step away.From now on, I’ll focus more on my own spaces, my own audience, and the people who actually understand the spirit behind the work.Because at the end of the day, this was never about ego. It was always about memory, passion, atmosphere, preservation, and trying to bring back something many of us grew up with: the feeling of discovering a game, a cover, a console, an interface, a collection, and being transported again.

So I’ll keep creating. I’ll keep improving Nostalgic Bedroom. I’ll keep making cinematic themes, collections, interfaces, and experiences for the people who understand the intention behind the project.

Just not everywhere anymore.No hard feelings. I just need to protect my energy, my time, and my motivation for the right things.At the end of the day, I’ll leave you with a sentence from the old retro sage RetroxO, who once told me something that I think says everything:

“I don’t have the time for negative people. Every minute I spend giving them attention is a minute I’m not spending being happy or creating new and better things for my project or my community.

And honestly, that’s exactly where I am now.Sometimes, you just have to stop firing bazookas at flies. It doesn’t help anyone. Better to save that energy for building something beautiful.

Take care of yourselves, and thank you to everyone who supported, encouraged, downloaded, commented, or simply understood the spirit behind what I tried to share here.

See you around.😉

Pad / Pademonium Cinematics

For anyone who wants to follow my work outside of Reddit and the forum, here are the main places where you can find me.

For artworks, icons, visual concepts, covers, and all kinds of graphic experiments, DeviantArt is probably the best place to follow me:

DeviantArt: https://www.deviantart.com/pademonium

For cinematic themes, game themes, trailers, previews, and video-based work, you can find me on my YouTube channel:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PademoniumCinematics

I also create a lot of wallpapers and visual resources, but I don’t share that link publicly with everyone. There are many resources there, so I prefer to share it privately with people who have been around for a while or who genuinely support the work. If a brand-new empty profile comes out of nowhere asking for access to a rich resource folder, I’ll probably say no. Nothing personal, just common sense.

For the rest, Patreon will become more active again. It was more or less closed on purpose for a while, but if you want to follow the evolution of Nostalgic Bedroom, cinematic themes, collections, updates, and future releases, Patreon will probably be one of the best places to do it:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/padcinematic_prod

 

And of course, the Nostalgic Bedroom website will continue to grow over time with updates, previews, information, and more structured content around the project.

Nostalgic Bedroom website: https://nostalgic-bedroom.com/ ( currently under maintenance for a few days.)

So yes, even if I’m stepping back from sharing everywhere, the work continues. I’m just choosing more carefully where I put my time, my energy, and my best creations.

Edited Tuesday at 02:59 AM by PadeMoNiuM Prods

[ninja2bceen]

Totally get it, take care of yourself, this stuff comes in waves and can totally relate. You are a very talented person

[Tsik]

Take care, and hope to see you again anytime soon. You are such an amazing artist. Thank You 😉

[PadeMoNiuM Prods]

Oh, thanks guys, that’s really nice of you!

Just to clarify: I never said I was leaving. There’s a difference. I said I was taking a step back. I’ll still be around, watching with a curious eye, but I won’t be actively participating for the moment.

When a community becomes verbally aggressive, sometimes downright surreal, and it feels like you need a safety helmet just to post an image, then yeah… it’s probably time to take a breath.

To help you understand where I’m coming from, here are a few examples of the kind of replies I’ve received.

 

These are just a few of the “softer” comments I received.

This is not about being unable to accept criticism. Constructive criticism is fine. But here, we’re talking about a climate where some people are not even responding to the actual content being shared anymore. They are just trying to belittle, discredit, or attack the person behind the work.

Recently, on Reddit, I came to share a pack of around 50 templates from different communities. Some were made by me, others by completely different creators, and of course I would have credited everyone properly.

It was meant to be a treasure box for the community: 3D boxes for all kinds of systems, mockups, templates, the whole package. Something useful, free, and collected over years.

And instead of talking about what I was actually sharing, people either answered completely beside the point by saying it was AI, when it was not, or they directly insulted me and attacked me personally, with no real connection to what I was sharing.👀

 

First comment:

Using llm (we need to stop calling it ai, because it's not) is not creating.

Basically, the guy is using a fire extinguisher for a candle. He wants to make a big definitive statement, but he forgets that modern creation already uses tools everywhere:

Photoshop, After Effects, Blender, 3D engines, asset libraries, plugins, presets… Nobody creates in a cave with a piece of flint and a banana leaf.

 

Second comment:

I see AI I downvote simple as that

This guy clearly did not understand anything, but he was happy to downvote. We were not even talking about AI here. He just downvoted a free resource pack that took me years to collect, and the worst part is that people upvoted his comment nine times.-___-

 

Third comment, probably the most hurtful one, and completely unrelated to the subject. It was just there to bring me down and make a personal attack:(wtf)

If they look anything like the Zelda picture you showed here a few weeks ago then they will still all suck, no matter how many posts you make about justifying what you do 🤷‍♂️

 This was in reference to the artwork in question.=

At this point, we are not even talking about the templates or the shared resources anymore. The person brings up an old Zelda image, says that “everything will suck,” and adds that no matter how many posts I make to justify my work, it will not change anything.

That is not constructive criticism. It is not a technical remark. It is not a discussion about the content I was sharing. It is simply a personal attack disguised as an opinion.

 

The real question for me is ( illuminati mod 😂) why would people devalue their own frontend, their own community, and disrespect people who are sharing free resources?

Because at the end of the day, who benefits from pushing away people who are trying to help the community?🤷‍♀️👀

 

[ojed4r]

Sorry to hear that, man. It's disheartening to see people who belittle all the hours of research and effort you invest into a project, as if everything is done in a few clicks. I've also experienced that personally.

The work you've done for this community is invaluable. Take all the time you need and don't stress out. Keep it up!

Edited Tuesday at 10:28 AM by ojed4r

[PadeMoNiuM Prods]

 

 

I’m posting one last themed playlist tonight!

Pick one!

A Street Fighter Collection V3 theme,
a Survival Horror theme,
a Fatal Fury theme,
a Capcom Play System 2 theme — it’s been a very long time since there was anything new on that one!
or the Mass Effect Collection theme…

There can be only one, as the poet Christopher Lambert once said.

 

Edited Tuesday at 02:11 PM by PadeMoNiuM Prods

[Tsik]

Oh my God...! They are all amazing... I could never choose one because they are all excellent!
"Choisissez-en un !" {easy for you to say} 😅😅😇.
I say "Le choix vous appartient."/"The choice is yours".
{I hope I didn't mess it up.} 😋

Edited Tuesday at 02:19 PM by Tsik

[goofers]

3 hours ago, PadeMoNiuM Prods said:

 

 

I’m posting one last themed playlist tonight!

Pick one!

A Street Fighter Collection V3 theme,
a Survival Horror theme,
a Fatal Fury theme,
a Capcom Play System 2 theme — it’s been a very long time since there was anything new on that one!
or the Mass Effect Collection theme…

There can be only one, as the poet Christopher Lambert once said.

 

I would go for the Capcom mate

[PadeMoNiuM Prods]

 

2 hours ago, goofers said:

I would go for the Capcom mate

Yes, you're right @goofers, I think it will please more people! 

@Tsik, News stuff of this type are rare 1) because you have to find the resources /a idea for create them and 2) especially finding a hook and managing to make something that grabs people's attention is a whole other ball game!

I hardly ever see them anymore! We had loads of authors 5 or 6 years ago: retrohumanoid, James Baker, There are fewer of them today .I think Ctrl Alt  also made someone very nice.! I'd really like to see @Suhrvivor on a platform theme one day, I'm sure it would be very good! @sucramjd who makes very good ones in After Effects! Short and well-paced! Go check out the official servers, there are still some great things there!
In 10 years I've made 3 versions of each CPS. I try to refresh them every 2 or 3 years because I get tired of the atmospheres.

i don't share much outside of the contributor community because that's really what makes your setup unique.

Edited Tuesday at 06:57 PM by PadeMoNiuM Prods

[Suhrvivor]

Godspeed, hope you find peace, dealing with people, specially on the internet can be extremely unhealthy sometimes.

19 minutes ago, PadeMoNiuM Prods said:

I'd really like to see @Suhrvivor on a platform theme one day.

Hey I've done some work with platforms (Nlash  missing platforms and some mini console stuff for Hyperspin back when they were popular, There's already a lot of content in the platform department, i try to focus in other lacking areas).

[Tsik]

Great to know all of you guys, I once wanted/tried to and make a video myself for BigBox startup and it was a disaster! 🤕
Also some time ago was struggling to create a theme using CTC but that went down as well.. 🫠 
That said and knowing how hard this could be I just want to say that I really admire everyone's work/contributions in addition with everyone's will to share it for free with all of us is the best example of community and collaboration.
I wish some day I could "pay you all back" with something I create and share.

There is only this thing that makes me a bit "worried" is that the last couple of months there are many contributors/great members like all of you stepping-back/out or even living the community, I don't know if this has always been the case (members come and go along the way) or if something has changed recently that has discouraged some of them/you from continuing to be actively participating... maybe some of the older members here know why. (Or simply we will never know because there is nothing in particular about it)

Anyway, cheers to all ☺️
 

Edited Tuesday at 08:44 PM by Tsik

[PadeMoNiuM Prods]

Phewww… I just watched 20 minutes of gameplay from the next God of War: Laufey and damn… it’s an absolute banger. Chills everywhere. This is exactly why I keep going! lol

A really varied conference too: the return of Rayman, a supercharged Wolverine, and ILLS, which looks completely insane… and Onimusha is back  !

Some seriously heavy stuff!

@Tsik Nothing particular i think man ... just the life ...

Some people leave, some simply get tired, and others have different priorities in life.

And the industry itself needs to reinvent itself too. Sometimes there are little slow periods, little moments where everything feels a bit flat… but then you see PlayStation coming back with an old-school-style conference, and honestly, it puts some warmth back in your heart.

That’s the kind of thing that reminds you why you still love all this.

Edited Tuesday at 10:25 PM by PadeMoNiuM Prods