Maybe you've heard of him, maybe you haven't... but around Microsoft, Mr. Jukes has established a name for himself as a tireless, hardcore and fanatical player of Halo who isn't too shabby in the video production department either.
Over the last few months, Jukes' logged an incredible (bordering on inhuman) amount of games through the internal Alpha and Beta tests for Halo 3 and he was just as involved in the first ever Halo 2 online tests as well. In addition to playing the games, Mr. Jukes also became known for his entertaining videos - most of which focused on jumping. Yes, jumping. It doesn't sound like much but some of the jumps and tricks he pulls in the games had to be seen to be believed.
I asked Mr. Jukes a few questions to help us get to know the man behind the controller and pass along some of his insights into the Halo 3 beta....
When you're not playing Halo 3, what do you actually do at Microsoft?
Mr. Jukes: I am a developer on the Windows Core User Experience Team. I was responsible for the Start Menu that shipped in Vista and am busy working on the next version of Windows.
How did you get started making wacky jump videos for Halo?Jukes: During the Halo 2 Beta I found a couple of jumps on Zanzibar that really opened my eyes to the tactical possibilities of taking the less obvious route. I showed them to some of my friends and they thought the jumps could come in pretty handy. From that point on, I was always on the lookout for alternative ways to reach a destination. I had fully explored most of the maps that shipped with Halo 2 and found a lot of useful jumps by the time it went public so I thought it would be cool to set up a site and make some videos to share with the community.
Why do you love jumping so much?
Jukes: I enjoy the social aspect of playing a custom game with friends where we aren't trying to kill each other. I also enjoy the challenge of completing a really difficult jump after many failed attempts. I am totally psyched for the (Halo 3) Saved FIlms feature. This video was made with a very early and basic version... I can't wait to see the videos people will end up making with the full feature. Never again will I miss a shot because I didn't have my capture device recording!
What was your fondest memory playing the Halo 3 internal beta?
Jukes: (NOTE: His real answer was too secret to reveal, so here's his backup answer) -- Playing until 4 a.m. with some friends while trying to break the leveling system. In the process we lined up some sweet Spartan Laser kills and had some fun with the Trip Mine and Fusion Cores.
How many games of Halo 3 do you reckon you've played thus far?
Jukes: If you include the Halo 3 Alpha and Beta, I think I logged about 1,100 games.
What advice would you give to the rest of world as they prepare to play Halo 3 for the first time?
Jukes: Have fun and don't be a douche.
Oh, and one more thing... is it true that you can destroy New001 at Halo 3?Jukes: Oh man... a chance to bash New001 in a public forum with no recourse for retaliation. It feels like Christmas. In all honesty, I don't think anybody involved in a game with New ends up winning in the end... no matter the outcome.
Before you check out Mr. Jukes' Halo 3 video debut, please keep in mind that this video was produced using the internal beta version of Halo 3. This means it's a bit older than what the rest of the world will start playing in the next few days. It also means that it has all sorts of debug text all over it - this won't be in the version you get your hands on. And, this was fully sanctioned and approved by Bungie - unlike some of those other "leaked" videos that have ended up online.
Check out Mr. Jukes' Halo 3 "Betalicious" Video HERE! (WMV) (right click, 'save-as')
We hope you enjoy it - we did. And a huge thanks to Mr. Jukes for putting this together for our amusement.
See you online soon!