Sparth is an amazing concept artist whom I’ve featured on HFFL several times before. He post a couple more renderings of the Forward unto Dawn with some differences.
Awesome stuff as always!
-Sal
Author Archives: Sal
I like Pie or wait Pi…Happy Pi day 3.14 (3/14)
Yes, it’s not Halo, but I couldn’t resist posting this.
So have a piece of pie today or whatever.
Pi is the number needed to compute the circumference of a circle…or Pi is the ratio of circumference to diameter of a circle or, a Halo ring….So THERE is the Halo reference!
-Sal
343 Spotlight: Jessica Shea, Community Manager (aka BS Angel)
This is the first of a possible new series of articles featuring employees and personalities of 343 Industries. First up is the ever popular Jessica Shea, aka BS Angel, Community Manager. I say possible because I’m going to gauge responses to this article to see if I will continue the series.
The following is a repost of an interview done of “Jess” on comicsbulletin.com. (I want to preface this by saying that I chose the color Pink for Jessica’s name in the article as an homage to her former blog.)
Jessica Shea: More Than Just a Hawty in the Halo Fan Community
A game interview article by: Laura Akers
In 2009, after an extended bout of unemployment, something wonderful happened to me. I was hired to work on Halo Waypoint as their editor. It was the strangest interview of my life. From the team leader’s incredibly laidback style and the fact that everyone wore jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie to being asked to play Halo 3: ODST in front of them (during which I spent most of my time running like hell from a Hunter—oh, the shame!), you’d think I should have had some insight into what this job would be like.
But nothing prepares you for working at 343 Industries. Nothing.
There’re the full-size Spartan statues everywhere. The guys who turned their work space into a machine-gun bunker, complete with camo-netting and machine-gun turret (plastic full-size gun attached to a file cabinet). The unbelievably intense arguments over every geek show/comic/movie/book/meme/etc. out there. The way homemade food left in the kitchen unleashes a Flood-like frenzy (hardly surprising considering the sheer number of young, unmarried men at 343 who, apparently, can’t cook). And you’re working on Halo. There is nothing better.
But the best part of all of this is the people. When I started at Halo Waypoint, there were just a handful of us. There had never been anything like Waypoint (a website-like presence on a console), and none of us really had much experience creating daily content. But there was a love, a drive, a work ethic unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It was like being constantly in battle-mode in the war of fun. Long nights and living in each other’s laps, trying to get content out to the world at midnight every night: we were manic, stressed, and having the time of our lives.
Working together like that reveals a lot about those involved. And the one thing we all had in common was passion. Some of us were fans who were excited about working on Halo in any capacity. For others, it was, and continues to be, the culmination of years of devotion and hard work. Over the next few days, I am sharing interviews with three of those superfans who helped to build Halo Waypoint. Two have moved on to other important positions at 343. One has stayed precisely where she belongs. All are my friends, my fellow soldiers and Spartans, and people whose love of and passion for Halo still takes my breath away. And I wanted to share them with you.
Jessica Shea, Halo Waypoint’s Community Manager, is the conduit between fans and the franchise. She works tirelessly (often 10-12 hours a day) to make sure that fans don’t merely feel heard, but are heard. While everyone at 343 cares about what the fans want, she is the one who listens most carefully and gives them voice in the studio.
Laura Akers for Comics Bulletin: What did you do as aHalo fan before coming to 343?
Jessica Shea: Before I came to 343, I started (playing) the franchise in the days of CE, although I only played Campaign back then. When Halo 2launched, I started playing it on LIVE. I got really into it. Around the launch of Halo 3, I got so into it that I started two websites: a fan-site and a screenshot site. I did both of those for about three to four years. The main one was more of a personal video game blog, and while I covered all video games, I ended up having somewhere around 1,300 Haloposts, which was approximately 60% of my content. That’s not counting the screenshot site, too.
CB: And you were known as?
Jessica: I was known as “Hawty McBloggy”, which I should mention I did not come up with that name!
CB: I think it’s the best name ever. Who came up with it?
Jessica: My husband came up with the name. One afternoon I said, “I want to start a blog. What should I name it?” and his response was, “Hawty McBloggy, that’d be so funny!” I thought to myself, “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” And then, an hour or two later, I sat down, opened up WordPress to start my blog, and the very first field you have to enter is the name. You can’t even get past that screen without entering a name, so I literally spent two hours staring at a blank computer screen. Then I typed in “Hawty McBloggy”, and off I went. Haven’t looked back since.
CB: So you did screenshots. You did blog posts. What is it about games that really got that much interest from you? What’s your attraction to games?
Jessica: I think for me, I really like Halo, and on top of that, I really like what people do–above and beyond the game–with Halo. So I loved when people cared so much about the franchise that they got a tattoo, or they made a cake, or they made a video, or they wrote a song. I just really like that above and beyond, because it’s that above and beyond that really shows just how passionate you are and how it’s more than just a video game to you. So I think that drove the vast majority of the content…just being attracted to the passion behind it, and all the different ways people express that. It’s so fascinating seeing people’s hobbies and how they morph Halo into them. I have always been impressed with that.
CB: So how has it been being a very public female in a really male world? The really maleHalo fan community?
Jessica: I try to not focus on that as much as possible. I try to pull gender out as much as I can, and really focus on the people because, quite honestly, I don’t see how gender is relevant to playing a video game. It doesn’t make me get more headshots; it doesn’t make me get less headshots. It doesn’t make me play smarter; it doesn’t make me play dumber. I’m going to play how I play because of who I am and that’s not related to my gender.
CB: So that’s what you do.
Jessica: That’s what I do.
CB: What has been your experience, you know, in terms of how you get treated as a woman when you play or go to cons?
Jessica: That is an incredibly complicated question.
CB: Yeah, but if I asked it when I interviewed Jacob [Benton; interviewed here], it wouldn’t have made any sense.
Jessica: [laughs] Yeah, yeah. I would say sometimes I probably get treated differently. Sometimes it’s in a good way, and sometimes it’s in a bad way. So I do believe that it all evens out.
CB: So what was your reaction when you were first approached by 343? You’d already been working with Waypoint, for quite some time [High-profile fans and fan groups are occasionally approached to contribute fan content to Waypoint. Jessica had been working with Waypoint in this capacity for months before she was hired], but when they said “Hey! Come on in an interview,” what was that like?
Jessica: It was exciting, and it was frightening, and I wasn’t sure it was something I wanted to do and take on for a job. It’s completely different than when you have it as a hobby, and I had lovedHalo for eight or nine years before I had it as a job. So part of me, that instant it was offered, was all “Oh my god, yes. Best dream job ever!” The realistic part of me really had to sit down and think, though, was this something I wanted? I never had any aspirations to be in the video game industry, so it’s not as if it was something that I’ve always been working toward. It was something that just happened. Now that I’ve done it, it’s crazy. I compare it to a roller coaster: it’s this insanely awesome ride, and I’m just going to ride it for as long as it’ll have me. That’s been my philosophy the whole time. Didn’t expect to get on this ride, don’t know when I’ll get off, but here I am, enjoying every second of it.
CB: So what were your first impressions of life at 343?
Jessica: My very first day…I started on the day that Reach launched. So of course, I came in and there were tons of launch events, both internal and external. I spent my first week doing nothing but launch parties. I found myself thinking, “Wow, this is pretty much the greatest job ever! Party, party, party!” Another thing that happened was when I started, nothing game-wise had been announced. All that was known was Reach.
So I came in, and the first thing I heard about was Anniversary. I about pooped my pants. The next thing I heard about was Halo 4, and so then, of course, I definitely pooped my pants. My head exploded so many times on that first day!
As far as the studio goes, I think what was apparent in the early days was just how much everybody loves Halo, and I think that’s one of the coolest things about 343. Bungie created Halo. They created this legacy, and they did such an incredible job, and we got the honor of continuing it. So when people come here, they’ve come here to work on Halo. They haven’t accidentally stumbled upon it. Everybody that’s come here, this is what they want to do. They want to do Halo, so I think it’s very unique in that regard where the passion runs incredibly high for what everybody’s working on.
CB: So you’re a very public part of Halo, but people’s perceptions based on your public persona, it’s not really an accurate reflection of what it is you do here. So what is your job title, and what do you do in any given week?
Jessica: My job title is Community Manager, and if you ask the community what I do every week, they will tell you I have a five-minute work-week, four minutes of it spent looking at cat pictures, and one minute of it spent posting on Twitter.
While I do probably spend four minutes looking at cat pictures, I spend much more time posting on Twitter (LOL). I also manage anything having to do with the community and everything that it entails. So that’s everything from social media, to blog posts, to the content on Halo Waypoint, to all of the behind-the-scenes stuff. I go to meetings about the website, where we discuss everything from how it’s being redesigned to if it’s having issues, and how to fix those issues. The website, the forums, the console app, the game–for every experience a community member has, I am in the relevant meetings. I am a part of those decisions, and my job is to represent the community. I tell various teams what the community thinks, what they want, what’s okay, what’s not okay, and basically fight for them when needed. That involves a whole lot of fun stuff, and then that also involves more of the daily grind.
CB: So what have been some of the challenges from somebody in your position, in these months leading up to the release of the new game, 343’s first entirely original creation?
Jessica: My biggest personal challenge was when we made the very first Halo 4 announcement at E3 (in 2010), and then how long we waited before we shared any information about it. It’s really hard to stay quiet about something, especially when the fans are clamoring for new information, and then not being about to give it to them because there’s a greater plan in place.
There were numerous dates set up for all the various announcements, we had very special things planned, and we had a very special cadence to make the biggest impression possible on everybody, and to just give them this really great experience. Of course, when you’re on the other side, when you’re a fan, you don’t know any of that is going on. When you want more information, that’s all you want. You don’t care about the rest. So it’s really hard being that middle person, and me knowing all the great things that are coming, them not knowing all the great things that are happening and will happen, and trying to balance that.
As a studio, I think our biggest challenge has been following in Bungie’s footsteps. They are, in my eyes, one of the most beloved developers out there, and I know millions of people that feel the same way. So trying to follow them is a very big challenge. I’ve been very proud of 343, as far as how far we’ve kept the very core of Halo intact. At the same time, we haven’t been scared to take it to the places that we believe it should go.
CB: How is being a wife and a mother impact what you do, and how does this job impact you being a wife and mother?
Jessica: That’s a big, loaded question. I would say being a mother has been a big benefit to this job, because I kind of see our community as this great collective being that I just want to take into my arms, hold them close, and take care of them. So it’s very much a nurturing thing for me. I care about what they think, and I want to take care of them, and I want them to be happy. So I imagine those two roles are really similar. [I can testify to the truth of this. Jessica has been a passionate and very successful advocate for the fanbase. She goes to amazing lengths to take care of them and represent their concerns and desires, and she does it out of love.]
CB: And you occasionally have to discipline.
Jessica: [laughs] Occasionally. Maybe.
As far as the other side goes, I think if there were awards for being the coolest mom ever, my children would probably grant me a few of them. They are very excited to see me do something that I’m so passionate about. How many people get to do a job that they love, that is pretty much their dream thing? I understand that every day, and I wake up every day, knowing that, and knowing, walking through these doors, that I’m very, very blessed.
CB: What are you most excited about in relation to the game or the launch or both?
Jessica: I am most excited to be able to play the game with my friends that I’ve had for years. It’s a blast playing with people in the studio. We have play tests all the time, we trash talk, we have a great time, and we also work, of course. [laughs] I should probably say that we work.
But I’ve been on Xbox LIVE for six years now, and I’ve had the same people on my friends list since Halo 2. So I cannot wait for the day that I can go play it with them. So I’m very excited about my own personal social aspect, and being able to play this game with the community, the very people that have been waiting so long to play this game.
CB: So can you tell us about a fan moment that has really impacted you?
Jessica: I’ve had numerous incredible experiences with our fans. Halo is very blessed with its community. It’s so big, it’s so passionate, it’s so vocal, it’s so talented. Some of my most special moments have been with the Make A Wish kiddos that we work with. We work with them a lot, and that’s always difficult, but incredibly special. Kind of like how things are with life in general. I think the most special things are often times the most difficult.
Then I also have just super great moments with specific fans. There is this one person who I’ve come to know over all of the conventions, and every time I see him now, he brings me a bag of chocolate-covered espresso beans. Just because I’m always talking about how much I love when they fill up our food troughs–I get so excited when they give us chocolate-covered espresso beans. So every time they do it, I go on Twitter and say, “Oh my god! I have chocolate-covered espresso beans! I just ate ten of them!” and I’m all hyper and excited.
It’s the little things like that where I feel like I’m not just a person in a job, but I feel like people really take the time to get to know me as a person and the things that I like outside of Halo, and I think that’s when I’m touched the most. And it goes both ways: I enjoy when I get to know people the same way. When I see someone and I can say, “Hey, how’s school going?” “Did you get that promotion you wanted?” “How’s the wife and kids?” That’s what I really like.
I love getting to know everybody on a real level outside of Halo. ‘Cause we’re all people. Everybody that’s behind a controller is an actual person, and I want to get to know every single one of them.
/End Copy/Paste
This next part is from Jessica’s own blog. It’s her final post and it relates to her position with 343.
The Future of Hawty McBloggy: A Website Announcement
september 9, 2010 by bs angel 460 comments
Over three years ago, on one particularly fateful day, I started this crazy, little website. I’ve always loved video games as well as the written word, so the melding of the two was a very natural progression. Because I’m frequently traversing the virtual world of the internet, I’ve happily shared numerous fan-made projects, entertaining videos, hilarious pictures, and pretty much anything video game-related that’s worthy of your time. I’m immensely proud of not only what I created but also the fact that I’ve always stayed true to my one main passion: Halo. It’s because of that love that I’ve decided to venture down a new path, one where my dedication to all things Master Chief will reign supreme. I’ve accepted a position with 343 Industries, and thus Hawty McBloggy, my baby that I will always hold near and dear to my heart, is officially closing its doors. I’m thrilled to be joining the likes of Frank O’Connor, Alison Stroll, Cocopjojo, Vociferous, David Ellis, and numerous others whom share my passion for the constantly-expanding Halo universe, and I’m beyond excited that my focus will be solely on community management. I adore each and every one of you, and you will continue to be my number one priority.
Some things are changing, and other things are not, so let’s start by addressing both.
Things that are changing
- I currently work with my ass firmly planted on my couch. I was told, in my new job, that I will be sharing an office with Master Chief. That’s why I accepted anyways, so fingers crossed!
- I have to be nice now. They put it my job description. I have a lawyer looking into potential loopholes, but none have been found thus far. I also think the F-Bomb is off limits. Fudge. x 2.
- In the near future, I no longer will be rubbing Frankie’s head for free. That’s right, soon I will be getting paid for it! It’s in the form of Mister Chief pictures, but payment is payment, right?
Things that aren’t changing
- If our paths cross in the vast world of matchmaking, I will still probably stick a plasma grenade directly upon your back. Last I heard, they don’t have any magic buttons to push that will improve my Halo skills. That will be my first request, however.
- I will still be spreading my inane drivel to anybody who will listen. I will still spread it to those I can successfully corner as well.
- My message, the one I’ve been passionately preaching for the last 40 months, is not changing. I have always loved Halo, and I will always love Halo. Until the Covenant get me anyways.
Whether you’ve been with me since the very beginning or you just found me last week, I’d like to thank you for spending part of your day with me. I’m so very honored you’ve found my content worthy of your time. The support many of you have given me means the world to me, and it’s something I will never forget. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.
I’d also like to thank Bungie for creating the very thing that drives my passion each and every day. The love and dedication you’ve poured into your product has been felt by many and appreciated by all. I’ve been tickled pink whenever you’ve carried one of my articles, deemed me worthy of being an official affiliate, or invited me to various amazing events. I look forward to working with you in a new capacity and carrying on your incredible legacy.
The transition will be a slow one, so for now you can still look forward to updates here. In the near future though, you’ll be able to find me exclusively on Halo Waypoint (and even before that, at the Seattle EMP launch party!). Please know that while I am switching locations, I am not leaving. You didn’t think you could get rid of me that easily, did you? 😉
/End Copy/Paste
So, I’m sure some of you are wondering why I chose Jessica over others at 343. Well, for one, she’s the voice of the Halo community at 343. She represents the go-between of 343 and Halo fans. She also by virtue of her position with 343 is one of the more well known personalities there.
I’ve had the pleasure to game with her twice. Both on Waypoint community playdates. I didn’t know much about her at first. At first I wasn’t a fan of her writing style. But then it dawned on me that I was pre-judging her based on my own style of writing. Once I allowed myself to be free of that way of thinking, I came to enjoy her musings and now look forward to them. She’s obviously a fan who is passionate about Halo and a person I’ve come to respect. Not just for her position with 343, but with the Halo community as a whole. She and the rest of the Waypoint team work hard to bring news and additional content to the HaloWaypoint Web site.
All too often fans and forum posters give her and her crew flak for what they feel is wrong with Halo 4. What I think many fans are not realizing is that she’s a tireless advocate for us all. She, Rukizzel (Rukari Austin) and now Bravo (Andy Dudynsky), among others behind the scenes put in many hours to ensure great content on Halo Waypoint as well as bringing the fans desires for matchmaking to the forefront of discussion in meetings at 343 that we fans are not privy to.
I applaud Jess in her efforts over the years, both before her time at 343 and now presently with them. I could only hope to follow in her foot steps in some capacity.
-Sal
The Halo Bulletin 3-13-13 (via Halo Waypoint)
Castle Map Pack news abounds in the first section of the bulletin.
“To make sure you are fully exposed to the Castle Map Pack before its April 8th release, we will be spreading our coverage out over the next four weeks. The week of 3/18, our studio visitors will be releasing gameplay videos and flythroughs of each map. The weekend of 3/22, the Castle Map Pack will be featured in a panel and playable on the floor at PAX East. The week of 4/1, we will be featuring strategy videos, the full list of achievements and a special pre-launch live stream.”
Three new screenshots are shown. Here are the links to each at 1920X1080 size:
Daybreak 1920×1080
Outcast 1920×1080
Peridtion 1920×1080
Next up is info about PAX East.
One of the not so cryptic news points is about “great anvils.” Which of course must mean FORGE, right??? Let’s hope so!!
Next is the Matchmaking Playlist Update.
More gametypes to come within Action Sack starting March 25.
Bravo (Andy Dudynsky) chimes in with some important matchmaking news.
“In the coming weeks, you’ll see some sizable updates to many of our existing playlists as we prepare to launch CSR next month. We are also in the process of finalizing the design of our FFA playlist and nailing down a plan on how to best bring objective game types to larger parties. There are a lot of decisions to be made for both of these, and they’re both on the way. Additionally, as mentioned above, the Multiplayer team is investigating how to best improve the various playlists. If you aren’t already doing so, now is absolutely the best time to post in the War Games Feedback section. While you’re there, be on the lookout for new weapon-specific threads, where you’ll be able to leave feedback on Halo 4’s weapons and sandbox. These threads will be posted in the War Games Feedback section tomorrow. As always, we look forward to reviewing your constructive feedback.
After the release of the last TU, we acknowledged there was more balancing to be done and more issues to address, and that we were actively working with the Halo 4 game team to investigate the feasibility of additional fixes. We can now announce that various teams across the studio have indeed been hard at work on an additional title update.”
As well he points out that the red “X” will be returning to matchmaking! HURRAY. One-Shot on my “X“ is BACK!!!
Finally BS Angel is back with an all new gallery of user created screenshots. These glorifying the Sniper rifle. To see them as well as the FULL bulletin follow this LINK.
-Sal
Forums for the Blog Interested? Would you participate?
So I’ve had a miniscule forums here before, but I didn’t like the user interface for it, so I cannned it. However, it has recently came to light for me about another forum option.
So my question to you all (blog members, twitter followers, and Facebook friends/subscribers), would you participate in the forums? Would you post on occasion?
I’m looking to have more interaction with you folks and I think this is one way to do that.
There is one big caveat to this though. I’ve applied for a position with a well known development company in Washington state. Should I get that position, this wouldn’t happen. However, in the event that doesn’t happen, I want to not only keep the blog active, but have even more of a presence on the interwebs.
This is a very important decision for me, so I really need and value your opinions on this matter. Please either reply to this article, tweet, leave a response on Facebook, or e-mail me at sal@halofanforlife.com.
Thanks as always for being part of HFFL in whatever way you are and I look forward to what the future may reveal.
-Sal
Man who had two strokes can now play Halo again!
Ah, the wonders of technology as well as those willing to help a fellow human:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjhCqUf4aNU&feature=youtu.be
Great going folks. And David, if you ever see this, I’d be more than happy to game with you!
We have a new Pope…?
This was just too good to pass up!
Thanks to @EnglishHaloBlog for posting this on their Twitter account.
-Sal
Shout Out to Mega Bloks customer service!
Recently I reviewed the Mega Bloks UNSC Mantis. At the time it was missing a few parts. I called in to Mega Brands/Mega Bloks customer service and asked for the parts that were missing.
I got them within 2 weeks. Much faster than the possible 4 weeks I was told it might take. All the parts I needed were included in the bubblewrap envelope.
Now my Mantis in complete!
THANKS Mega Brands for always having great customer service!
-Sal
HaloFanForLife.com community playdate! 3/17
I haven’t had one of these for awhile. So, I figured it was time to do this!
Since Master Chief is all about being green and having Luck, what better way to celebrate this than having a St. Patrick’s Day HFFL community playdate!
So this Sunday is the date. From 3pm-10pm (Yes indeed that long!) I’ll be hosting the next HFFL playdate. (times are Eastern US)
Playlists will includes Customs, Action Sack, Team Objective, CTF, Dominion, BTB and others. Participation/Party size will dictate what playlists we’ll go into.
I’ve set the playdate for 3pm to account for those who may be partying early for St. Paddy’s. Get your sleep after partying, sober up with a coffee and come on out for some Halo 4 fun with HFFL!
-Sal
My new Halo Project Announcement!
I posted the following as a page in my Spartan Ops episode 10 comic book. However, I wanted to show this specifically here.
I’m proud to present “MaC Rounds” a new ongoing Halo series featuring Fireteams Majestic and Crimson.
