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| Unabashed Sharing + Sappy Shoutouts :) *long!* | |
| Posted By: SonofMacPhisto <sethjewett@gmail.com> | Date: 11/16/08 2:38 a.m. |
In Response To: Halo - a look back over seven years (Louis Wu) Se7en years since the release of Halo. Kind of snuck up on me, I'll admit. Challenges made me late to the party, but I played serious catch up in the end. Now, I run at the front of the pack. Story of my life, really. But you'll see what I mean in a few minutes. If you want to see the shout outs, and maybe what I said about YOU, skip to the end. :) ---------------------------- First off, the nuts and bolts. I discovered Halo my senior year of college, 2003-2004. Up until that point I was a PC gamer - Homeworld, Civilization, and Half-Life got serious, constant play time. My roommate at the time had an XBOX, and of course, Halo. We played often - co-op, multiplayer, single player, whatever we could get our hands on. To be honest, equal time was split between GTA, DOA, Halo, and LOTR themed games. Halo however, stuck with me the most. And by that, I mean I developed a voracious appetite for the fiction - devouring everything I could. That's how I found HBO. I probably read through every word of every page at that time, but had not yet the urge (or competence, really) to dive into the forums. Here's where real life comes in, and kicks me for a loop. Up until that time I had been heavily involved in a group of people. They are great people, and I am still friends with many of them. However, the belief system of said group was ultimately a significant drain on my happiness. Let me explain - throughout high school and college I had an very unique, fiery personality and intelligence. A snow flake, all that fun stuff. This group however demanded conformity to a particular set of behaviors and paradigms. To that end, Halo was pushed to the sidelines. It was just a game. Men don't play games, they have more important things to do. The, for lack of a better term, indoctrination of my then community came to a head with my marriage in spring of 2004. I'd begun a relationship with a woman, and we decided to embrace the bonds of matrimony. Unfortunately, there were significant flaws in our relationship we were unable to see. To make a long story short, she didn't like the way I was and wanted to change me. I wasn't mature enough to say no. Vicious cycle, and all that. It connects to Halo, and gaming in general, in this fashion: I was allowed a certain level of freedom. I 'won' an XBOX through a contest at work, bought Halo. My sister bought me Halo 2 (months after release) to 'piss off' my wife. ;) When Halo 3 came out in September 2007, I watched from afar as the community embraced it. Man, I played the shit out of those first two campaigns. But ultimately the most important part was this: I WASN'T MYSELF - I still became a shell of my former personality (a minor side note dear readers, don't be naive as to think it was because I couldn't 'game,' this is all a metaphor for much larger issues playing out within my psyche and relationships). Later, many friends would confess the pain they felt when they saw my wife and I together. We were both miserable, unhappy, and on the brink of a significant psychological break. Fortunately, thanks to modern morality we separated and divorced. Before this, we long left our previous community - in and of itself an important step into discovering how bad we had it. The whole thing had a happy ending, believe it or not. We are on friendly terms, and at peace with that life we shared together. Finally free however, my previous self quickly began to return. People could see it in my walk, my eyes, hear it in my voice. SETH WAS BACK! Here, Halo steps back in. I finally purchased an XBOX 360 and Halo 3 in April of 2008, and jumped right into all things Halo 3. More importantly, this summer I began to post on HBO - SonofMacPhisto joined the fray. Life changing event, to say the least. Never could I imagine a COMMUNITY of such quality, grace, and courage had developed around a video game. Plus, I could become apart of it! I don't know if any of you will understand how important this little corner of the internet has been in my journey back to happiness. To be short, I've made so many good friends and memoires, I still need to pinch myself once in a while to see if it's all still true. Then, there is Halo 3: Recon. Symbolically, I cannot overstate the importance of the next year leading up to its release. For the first time in my life I will embrace all the hype, all the excitement of a big game release with all my friends. On release day I'll be standing in line at 12a, picking up a copy only to rush home and play through the campaign for the first time. Again, brush aside any naivete. It's not about the game - it's about me fully being MYSELF, maybe for the first time in my life. I can't wait to do it, and share the experience with all of you. ---------------------------------- Now for the fun, and possibly weepy part. :) I'd been thinking about the individuals that have left a mark on me since joining HBO last summer, and I wanted to say a quick word about as many as I could remember. Don't worry, it's not that much longer. My memory isn't that good. ;) In a somewhat particular order: 1) First, Wu, Chavez, Jilly, and the rest of the crew at halo.bungie.org. You guys make this all possible. What more is there to say? There is a special place in heaven reserved for you. Oh, and Bungie's ok too. You guys DID make the game. :) 2) CaptainSpark, I've never met a more gracious person on all of XBOX LIVE. You are a gentleman and a scholar, and gaming with you is a distinct, nearly hedonistic pleasure. 3) bs angel, joining your community over at hawtymcbloggy.com (and this kind of goes for everyone over there) was one of the most deliciously random experiences of my life. Thanks for having me! Oh, and remember - I coup because I love! :twisted: 4) elpolloguapo, you are one of the sharpest, most gifted teenagers I've ever come across. Stay away from us, and you'll do well for yourself. ;) In all seriousness, you could be president. I'm not fucking joking. 5) ManKitten, confidence and individuality that is a personal inspiration to me, as you already know. vshields ash, you too. Originality is a rare trait, and you both have an abundance of it. 6) Spartan Jag, even though we've never played a game of Halo together, you are a pretty cool cat. That's not just because you play bass, but also because you like 'The Dark Knight' too. ;) 7) geekinabox and JDubb, the LAN was totally, totally awesome. Can't wait to do it again! (Oh, and geek... re: F3 - FIX YOUR SHIT! :P) 8) VVM, I won't pretend we all have a happy go-lucky relationship with you, but damn do you give a shit. That's just awesome, thanks! 9) Last, but most importantly: mendicantbias00 and Avatuer. You are both like brothers to me now - men after my own heart. mendi, the similarities are hilarious, and I'm still thrilled to have met you. Avatuer, you are full of win, that's all there is to that. I would take a bullet for you two, without hesitation. I love you both. :) Ok... I'll stop crying now. Thanks for reading guys, here's to another SE7EN!
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