Underscores of Awesome.
Top_Gun_2021 is requesting a flyby. Hold onto your coffee while this Average Joe buzzes the tower.
Q. Who are you and what do you do?
A. My name is Dan; I am a sophomore at a college in the twin cities of Minnesota. I am studying math and art, trying to combine that into some sort of job. If that fails, my fall back is being a drum set player. I have been playing drum set and percussion for ten years, and I use that ability to play in one band and three ensembles at college.
If I am not doing school related activities, I am playing video games (really old to new), drawing, or practicing rudiments or jamming on my drum set. I recently have started drumming over Marty’s Halo soundtracks, which is really fun. I am also a good shot at billiards, so I play all types of billiard games on my home table. I used to caddie and be really active, but that has currently taken a hold after I had a life threatening blood clot in my leg in the summer. Not dying is a good hobby to have.
Q. None of that explains the username. Where'd you pick that up?
A. My first tag here was SilentStalker101, but I thought it was stupid, so I let that one die and made Top_Gun_2021. I chose Top Gun, because I am a huge fan of military aircraft. However, contrary to popular belief, Top Gun derives from the flight school and not the movie. So, shut up with the Tom Cruise, the Goose, and the great balls of fire. The 2021 comes from Sea Lab 2021, and it rhymed. Thus, I added it.
I don’t remember why I put in underscores. I think it was because I assumed, since other sites didn’t allow spaces, spaces were not allowed here. Apparently, user names can have spaces in them, but the underscores make my name unique.
Q. You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips. Er, uh...where can we find you hanging out here at Bungie.net should we want to serenade you?
A. I frequent the Community forum and the Flood forum mostly. I find the Flood forum absolutely hilarious sometimes, and if you have not noticed, I make a lot of polls. Who doesn’t like polls? I could probably be the poll czar or something like that. Polls are my favorite thing on this site. I like a good laugh, and I think that asking obscure and odd questions is a good way to have a chuckle. If you are wondering why I use ‘yay or nay’ instead of ‘yes or no,’ I was at Knights of the Round Table, and the king would only accept ‘yay or nay’ cheers instead of ‘yes or no’ from the audience. Yes, I do know that the proper spelling is, yea, and not, yay. Deal with it. Most of my ideas come from pop culture, movies, or random incidents and thoughts.
When I go to the community forum, I try to help people as much I can with their issues. I’ll sneak peeks in the game forum once in a while, but those are not my main thing. Once the game comes out I start to visit them more to talk about the game.
My favorite part of this community is the groups. It is a great way to get to know other people better.
The best fanfic of all time is, Halo – Halos in space. It moved me to tears.
Q. What about gaming gets you all emotional?
A. I have been playing games since the early 90’s. I remember the good times of simple controls and fun characters. I am all over the board on what games I like. I play things from Roller Coaster Tycoon to Halo, and I enjoy both multiplayer and single player. My rule to gaming is: If I am having fun while playing it, it is a good game. If I am not having fun, it goes to the glue factory. I play games to relieve stress and to have a good time.
I tried gaming with my dad and that never turned out well. I guess the learning curve from Pong to Space Jam was too much. I grew up playing with my brothers, friends, and cousins. Those sleepovers playing Mario Party and GoldenEye were good times. My brothers don’t play anymore, so I usually game with my cousin, and my friends.
Q. What was the first Bungie title you played?
A. It was way back in 2002 during Christmas time. I was visiting a cousin, and my mom gave me an Xbox. My cousin told me about this game called, Halo: Combat Evolved, which was supposed to be good. We bought it and we played co-op campaign at his house. I don’t remember how far we got together, but it was my favorite co-op experience of all time. I played the campaign by myself, since I never really had anyone to play multiplayer with. Whenever I got with my cousin, we would boot up Halo and play co-op. I remember having creative strategies to beat sections on Legendary. We have a pretty bad track record of purposely killing each other. So, I can blame Halo for my team killing skills.
What struck me was the interesting art style, and how it was so different from different games, and so shiny. It was the first time I ever played a FPS campaign with another person, and it was always fun.
Q. So now you've gone from playing with other people to participating in a huge community. Does that surprise you?
A. Not really. I usually give up on online sites if there is no change. I am the type of person who likes to experience different things often. The community here changes quite a lot, and I like that. There is always something new to talk about, new people, and new ideas. The cool people I have met here are also a plus.
Q. Do you visit any other online spaces on a regular basis?
A. I visit Drummerworld.com and Cracked.com frequently. I also visit Brothers-brick.com and LEGO.com. I am still a huge LEGO fan. LEGO > Megablocks.
Q. Well, obviously. Make some noise.
A. I would like to thank Bungie for giving me a fun game to play, and to provide this wonderful haven.
My cousin, Otter61987, for those funny threads he makes, and those good times on Halo, DISP0SABLE H3RO, Nuclear Murderer, GameRiddler, SuburbanJoker, everyone in BUNGLE, Mythic Members, The Marty Army, #moap, #bungienet, and anyone who has answered one of my polls.
Boom Shakalaka!
What, we're doing NBA Jam now? I can't keep up. Top Gun, NBA Jam, the drums...it's just too much. I need some time to clear my head. While you wait for my return, hit the discussion thread attached and let Dan know how awesome he is, even if you did spill your coffee.