Hello everyone, and welcome to another installment of GI - er....Community Joes! This time I got to chat with two people instead of just one, both of them involving #Dragons. That's right, this time around I got to interview the man, the dragon, the dragon-man, Helveck and his #1 fan The New Helveck. First question: who the hell are you people? [quote]H: I'm Helveck, one of many proud Bungie.net Community Members. Beyond that, I'm just your average guy. I've been gaming since 1993, and a Bungie fan since 2002.[/quote] [quote]TNH: I'm The New Helveck, I have basically spent my bnet life dedicated to studying Helveck.[/quote] So one of you is Helveck and the other is a follower of Helveck? Interesting. How did you discover Bungie.net? [quote]H: When I was gifted Halo: CE back in 2002, and it only took the opening sequence to make my jaw hit the floor. It was pretty clear this game was ahead of its time, and after I finished getting through it, I was pretty hopeful that I'd might see more of this "Halo" universe down the road. I Googled "Bungie", found this site, and since then I've continued to visit pretty regularly. I only joined in on the social aspect in 2006, and it's a decision I'm super happy I made.[/quote] [quote]TNH: I was surfing the Internet world looking for somewhere with only intellectual people. Sadly, it is impossible, but I came across a man named Helveck who was simply the most intellectual guy on he Internet, so I followed him to bnet.[/quote] Helveck, you seem more interested with the community and Bungie while New Helveck seems more interested in you. In your opinions, what makes the community as awesome as it is? [quote]H: The people. Plain and simple. The variety of people in this place that come from all different walks of life, yet meet in unison under one banner is just something that I find to be quite amazing, especially when you have the pleasure of befriending a lot of these people. Coming here and interacting with people is great. Getting together online and sharing in gaming adventures is amazing. Doing this repetitiously over several years, resulting in the building of concrete friendships, that only now exist because we all came here to discuss Bungie/Gaming related things, is downright -blam!-ing wicked and also something I'm very thankful for. I hope everyone here is fortunate enough to build at least a few solid friendships while during their stay here on Bungie.net.[/quote] [quote]TNH: Helveck.[/quote] It seems like forging solid friendships is important to you, Helveck. What advice could you give someone to find some great friends? New Helveck, what advice could you give someone to be as awesome as Helveck? [quote]H: Finding people to befriend here is actually pretty easy. A lot of people I got to know in my early days were just regular posters who I felt I identified with. They shared a lot of the same interests and opinions as I did, so over time interacting with them just felt like talking to any friend I might know in real life. It wasn't even something I aimed for, it was just a naturally occurring thing that was actually rather unexpected. I'd never come here in search of building friendships or camaraderie and I don't think people necessarily came here for that specific purpose either. Now times have changed and it's sort of funny because it appears as though Bungie has witnessed this site truly evolve, and spread outward into more than just a mass of individual players. Many of us truly consider ourselves part of an online Community that is important to us. It seems that now, one of Bungie's primary goals (even more so now than it has been in the past, which was already a lot) is to really drive the encouragement and nourishment of developing that "Community" feel, with how they're shaping Destiny. So with this constantly evolving Community, if you wish to enjoy your stay here I would only recommend one simple thing... Engaging people with kindness and respect makes you approachable and likable. Do this and you'll be able to build acquaintances that may develop into friendships over time, who may in turn then serve as your Destiny fire team that you'll have a blast with for years to come.[/quote] [quote]TNH: Well first off I'm sorry to tell you this, but that is simply impossible. Though here are a few key things you should do, be a ladies man, be a mans man, and be a animal man. You gotta be able to subdue the women, befriend the men and control the animals to be as awesome as Helveck. But Helveck is the one and only Dragonborn. No one else can master the art of dragons except him.[/quote] Truer words have never been spoken (or read!). Where do you guys see the Destiny community in 10 years? [quote]H: Wow, that's quite a long way off! I'm sure I'll look back in 10 years and say, "Where the hell did the last ten years go?" as these years flash by as quick as the last ten have, but I'm incredibly optimistic about the development of our Community here on Bungie.net. I think the population will increase quite a bit, and that many of the people you see here now will likely stick around for the long haul just as many people here did with the Halo series, while others will continue to join over time. Now I say this with a bit of doubt, but I'm hopeful it comes to fruition... It is my mere speculation that the loud voice of the vocal few that like to be problematic and counterproductive during the development process as well as after release, won't be as bad as it has been in the past. Bungie does a great job of being patient with their less than patient user-base and they always do well in educating individuals to help answer or resolve apparent issues that arise. When they do this, I think it really helps bring to light their reasoning for certain actions and decisions so it's easier for fans to understand the motivation behind certain moves. If they're consistent in keeping this dialogue open over the next ten years, then I would assume that the result would be more of the population is aware why complaining like a screaming child, or providing insults instead of constrictive criticism is silly and as I said before, very counter productive. Oh and then less people would have to use the mute button as well. That's nice too.[/quote] [quote]TNH: Well it depends, if Helveck is still around I imagine by that time Achronos will have handed over the overlord position to him. If not, then I will have taken control over the personality that is "Helveck". I will use his magic powers to convince people that I am someone who is funny and who is respectable. Then I will use that to personally gain authority in the community until I eventually become the overlord. By that point I will be living in a mansion, smoking Cuban cigars and hanging with European bikini models.[/quote] Damn, Helveck. Do you think you could handle the power of being the overlord? One can only hope that the complainers of our community understand why Bungie does what they do over time, eh? Alright, one last question for you guys: When the time comes, would you introduce your children to bungie.net and Bungie's amazing games? New Helveck, will you introduce your kids to the glory of Helveck? [quote] H: I've discussed with my wife a few times how I hope that our future children will be interested in video games, and how I look forward to being able to have a hobby that no matter how old I get, I could always relate to them with. As long as they are doing well in school, and not a social hermit, then I would happily introduce them to certain games. I actually really look forward to the day when I can tell my kids stories from games like Halo, and to hopefully catch their intrigue so I have an excuse to go back and play all the classics with them. As for Bungie.net, well I would at some point - not entirely sure when - likely introduce them to the Community and explain why it has been such an awesome site to go to for such a long time. I mean, if your kid is going to be visiting a website on the Internet, at least it's a site where you will know to tell them what they should be filtering as well as observing their behavior so they don't turn into one of those anonymous tough talkers who hides behind a computer screen.[/quote] [quote] TNH: Well hopefully by that time Helveck and me will not only be best friends but we'll be neighbors. I will teach my kids the way of the Helveck so that they don't make Helveck's kids look lame. It is really hard being such a lame person, and I have been trying to get rid of that. I can't, so I will try to make the future better for my kids.[/quote] Thank you guys for the great interview, you're awesome folks. One last thing, any shout outs you'd like to make? [quote]H: No problem, it was my pleasure! Thank you for the opportunity, and to those of you that decide to read through my long-winded replies and ramblings. As for shout outs... Well, I've gotten to know a lot of you over the years, and as I've pretty much stated multiple times, I've made some incredible friendships and met some awesome people. You know who you are, and there are quite a few of you... To the rest of you, I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve. Cheers.[/quote] [quote]TNH: I'd like to shout out to Helveck. You are my best friend and always will be. Even if it is only a one sided relationship.[/quote] That wraps up another segment of Community Joes, thanks for reading. Questions, comments, or concerns? As always, feel free to leave them below. [url=http://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post?id=61111903&groupId=15804]Be sure to keep nominations coming![/url]