Doesn't have yellow teeth.
If there's one thing you absolutely, positively have to know about Tom T 117 it's that he has good hygiene. And he's not going to be doing any keg stands in the near future. And...you know what, how's about you just read the stinkin' interview yourself?
Q. Who are you and what do you do?
A. Hello, my name is Tom, I’m a full time student, which I guess brings a connotation of drinking? Well, I’m not too much of a party guy; embarrassing scenarios involving terrible dancing (recorded for recurring annoyance) have prevented adoption of the stereotype. I’m also a proud British citizen (our politics have drama) and no, I’m not a fan of tea and I don’t have yellow teeth.
As a student I am surrounded by people with terrible misconceptions about what makes a great game. Of course, plain out-nerding doesn’t fair well if you want to have friends and, sadly, girls don’t care how big your K/D is (but we all know size matters). However, even without a Bungie t-shirt (meaning little to no chance of subliminal messaging), a few coverts here and there from the blue ray fridge and I speak from experience when I say you haven’t really experienced Halo until you’ve played system link.
In my studies I’m currently pursuing an interest in history; I won’t bore you with the specifics or spout off random dates to sound intelligent but at the end of it I have a vague plan of going into teaching, writing or law. So I’ll open books, write for books or throw books! My main "non-nerdy" interest is karate. If you don’t like me very much you’ll be pleased to know that I get my rear-end kicked periodically. But I guess if I try and take on an army of ninjas to steal the job of a content monkey (not Bungie, one word: Jerome) I’ll be well trained.
Q. "Lashing Roundhouse" kick is on my resume. No lie. But let's not fight. Instead, regale us all with a rousing tale of your username's genesis.
A. I wish I could come up with an interesting story but… first name + first letter of surname + Master Chief’s service number = My name is lame. To be fair to myself, I wanted to play Halo 2 on XBL as soon as possible and I guess limited thought went into the process. Since then I have tried many times to think up a better username but I am attached to it, so I guess I can’t complain.
Q. What forums have you become attached to?
A. I surf most of the public forums to ensure I keep in touch with the community but my most visited is The Community Forum (The Septagon). It is a great place to meet like-minded community members and I know all the inside jokes; I feel it provides a nice cross between private groups and the more manic forums and it often has something interesting to captivate my interest. In my frequent visits I do have a few observations that I hope you don’t mind me sharing, urk. ;-) There are a fair few that visit, usually new guys, and spout off memes at every opportunity or make threads that have been created before in the hope of getting noticed. I started out fairly similar, a mother joke here and a blame stosh there. Just a few words of wisdom, be your own personality, nobody likes a copy cat, and you’ll be integrated in no time.
Now I’ve got that off my chest, what keeps me coming back to the community isn’t the inside jokes, it is the variety and the people. Many older users always talk about the good ol’ days when everyone was friends, the moderators removed spammers instantly and the Bungie employees posted honey coated goodness in every single thread, answering every question, always. I don’t buy it. In the time I have been here I’ve only seen this community get bigger and better. People create things I have neither the patience nor the skill to create. Honestly all of you guys are awesome and keep me coming back for more!
Q. What keeps you coming back for more gaming goodness?
A. I guess the greatest pull factor for me in the ability to escape from daily hassles and stresses and immerse myself in a different world. There is nothing more satisfying that getting home after something has pressed my rage button and sitting down on a comfy sofa to kill random stuff (particularly if it screams over the microphone). It really is quite therapeutic.
In the short term I would say the story is most important, you need to connect with the characters and the moment. Then it’s the gameplay and the variety. I am also secretly very competitive, not so much on XBL but with my real life friends (shock-horror). It is important to not give them the satisfaction of beating me. Amazingly we all remain sportsmanlike and play together when we can; it’s just another great dimension of gaming. Even more amazingly I’m not in a betrayal contest, I feel pretty left out and should probably get with the times.
Q. Nah, stick with good times. What was the first Bungie title you got some satisfaction from?
A. Like so many people my love for Bungie began with Halo: Combat Evolved. The level 343 Guilty Spark is perhaps my most memorable gaming experience. It was the first level I ever played solo, I can remember being strangely scared and excited, I was only 9 years old. The eerie quality, the flash backs, the music, the alien popcorn… Just epic.
The way I discovered it was… a little odd. At the time I had only recently gotten an Xbox for perhaps the stupidest reason of all time, so I could play the game Star Wars: Obi-Wan; you can look it up, it was undoubtedly dreadful. At the time I thought it was one of the best games ever conceived topped only by Tomb Raider. So, there I was with my big black box and sumo controller and I got into a discussion with a friend at school who also had an Xbox. He described this game called Halo in such a way that I thought, embarrassingly, it was going to be a platformer.
Upon purchase I read the instruction booklet and the very first thing that struck me was Cooperative gameplay. I was ignorant of such a game mode. Upon putting the game in my Xbox I fell in love. It was the first FPS I had ever played and it was better than I could ever have dreamed; I recall my dad saying it would probably be terrible “because they sell it in a package with the Xbox”, how wrong he was. First match I ever played was with my younger brother and my dad, Blood Gulch slayer. I sucked, we sucked, and somebody got a killing spree in an immobile warthog. But it didn’t take long for me to move ahead of the pack, we played co-op alternating lives, I got hooked on the story, the gameplay and winning. We used to play Sidewinder CTF with 3 people, 2 v 1 (I got to play Rambo). I was one mean 9 year old. Honestly 9 year old me would take current me to town. 8 years later and here I am, still completely infatuated with Halo.
Q. Are you surprised that you've stayed involved for so long?
A. I guess, when I think back to how I used to be on this site, I am very surprised. The endless time I have spent browsing the site would probably be a scary statistic. But I think that, when I consider how I feel about the site and the community now, it is not really that surprising that I continue to visit so regularly. I actually still feel there is more to do and more of a community to get involved with and explore.
Q. Explore any other online haunts?
A. Bungie.net was the first forum I ever joined. As a result of the unique layout the more retro, plain styles of other boards lacks the same appeal and seems strange and different. I’m more of an onsite group and sub community kind of guy. I post regularly in the bungie.net groups ‘Mythic Members’, ‘You are Not Welcome’ and ‘Gamers Anon’ and I also make a habit of trying to keep an eye on community projects; I’m currently following Grind Rider, a machinima produced by ‘First Class Pictures’ which looks to be released soon, I suggest people keep their eyes peeled. I’m also a regular of the #bungienet IRC Chat, it is almost always open on a tab while I’m on bungie.net, and it is a great way of getting to know community members as people rather than usernames. You might be able to get to know me ;-)
Q. Wanna make a shout-out to some of those people?
A. I would like to thank…
All the guys from #bungienet for giving me something to laugh at, I’d like to give a special mention to Primo84 who keeps it running (congrats and good luck on little Primo85!), Sy r b, who laughs at my bad jokes, Scapegoat413, who actually reads my long walls of text, CornettoGospel, fellow Britishman and all the OPs I’ve got to know, Halo_tru7h, True_Underdog, Primum Agmen and even elmicker. If I’ve forgotten anyone, I’m sorry, you have my thanks.
The guys at "You are not Welcome" who give me a healthy dose of drama.
The people that kept me coming here back in the day from my old group ‘Spartans Alliance’. I haven’t forgotten any of you even if time has moved on. Special mention to Bornswavia who I became good friends with and who needs to get off his PS3 and play some more Halo!
Finally, I’d like to thank all my real life friends if you’re reading this, you know who you are and I know if I don’t mention you I’ll have to answer to it later ;-)
And of course urk for the chance to give this interview and for all his efforts in keeping the frontpage fresh!
Pro Tip: Replace the Baking Soda once every three months to eliminate nasty odors. Mix with Hydrogen Peroxide for a handy and effective homemade toothpaste. Big thanks to Tom for sticking around for so long and making our forums a more personable (and now hygienic) place. Make sure you jump into the discussion thread and sound off with your own home remedies for removing odors. Oh, and say what's up to Tom while you're there.