Monthly Archives: September 2009

The Update

Over the past three weeks we’ve been working on what you see now to bring back some of our ‘humanity’.

As you can see, no more Reviews or Gaming News Blog, having those features in 3.0 was primarily a result of ‘expanding’ into the general gaming industry, we’ve no interest in that, so I guess you can say we’re ‘contracting’.

On the other hand, we are pulling our act together and everything will be updated regularly, that means more than a single podcast every two months and the same goes for the news up top, finally the blog will contain anything the staff decide to stick on here.

So, onto the new look, we’ve changed things up a lot and some things may be tweaked in the not too distant future to make things even purtier.

Beginning with the homepage, you will notice the news box gained a little weight, there’s a reason believe it or not. As said above, we’re going to regularly update everything, that included the news box, there’ll also a be a few blog posts directly under the news box too, y’know because reading our rants every morning is all you guys live for right?

Secondly, the Real7alk News page, this is very similar to the homepage, except with the ancient news where the blog was.

Thirdly, the Staff Blog is exactly that, a place where we will post anything we feel like, don’t worry, we promise to keep it M Rated.

Then onto the Podcasts tab, the tab itself will lead you to the latest Podcast, though there will be a sub link to the archive where you can go back and treat your ears to the voice of Ryan and our guests.

The Forums, yep, new design for that too, as with the main site which has always been designed and coded from scratch, for the first time, this is now the case with the forum style too. This gave us a little more freedom to change things up a bit to not only keep the new Unique Real7alk look, but make everything as functional and user-friendly as virtually possible.

Q&A with Ryaaan14

Earlier this week Bungie interviewed Real7alk’s very own founder Ryan in regards to his below screenshot being printed onto the millions of Halo 3 Mythic Multiplayer disks around the world.

The interview is just below the screenshot if you haven’t already seen it on Bnet.

Q. Who are you and what’s your claim to fame?

Well, my full name is Ryan Wheeler, though most people will know me by my previous gamertag “a tuxedo cat” or my current one “Ryaaan14″. I’ve been actively involved with the Halo community since Halo 3 was released although I’ve been a longtime Halo fan. Some people may recognize me from the Halo 3 Forum’s “Screw Assassin Armor” thread where I Photoshopped a lot of obscure helmets on Spartan models, or the Photoshop Frankie contest where I lovingly placed Frankie’s mug on top of George Costanza’s body ultimately scoring me a shiny set of Recon armor. And of course, now being the person who captured the screenshot that is the face of Road to Recon and the ODST Multiplayer disc.

Q. What went through your head when we contacted you to ask if it was alright if we could use that screenshot as the disc art?

1. Uh oh, someone hijacked Brian Jarrard’s Bungie account.
2. Wait, this is perhaps legitimate.
3. How much have I had to drink today…
4. I need a new pair of underwear.

Q. We hope you got into some new skivvies by now. What originally got you into Halo?

Like I said before, I have been a hardcore Halo fan since Halo: Combat Evolved was released. It was always my go-to game when it came to having a blast with my friends. I still recall playing day-long LAN parties with my older college buddies when I was still in High School. Halo 2 got me through my wisdom teeth removal (I still have to replay the campaign to remember the storyline, I was so drugged up). And of course here I am now, a 24 year old guy living on my own in Chicago, playing Halo 3 and doing the most I can do to represent the community. It’s a beautiful representation of my life really.

Q. Are you a student of the art of screenshots or more of a casual photographer who happened to snap a sweet shot from the right place and right time?

Funny enough, I actually am a freelance graphic artist and photographer, although I think my Halo fanboy-ism is what got me hooked on the art of screenshots. It really brought a whole new element to the art of gaming. No one ever opened that door until Halo 3 introduced Theater Mode. You can go kick some ass in Matchmaking, then run back to Theater and capture a true masterpiece. The screenshot that made the ODST disc, funny enough, was one I had written off as mediocre. I normally invite a lot of trusting folks to a Custom Game, and give them direction as to what motions to do, where to look, etc. Then of course I spend some time in Theater looking for that perfect shot.

Q. Perfect. Did you get the care package we sent out?

Indeed I did. The team at Bungie was kind enough to pass around a gorgeous Halo 3 ODST poster, and have it signed by nearly 50 members of the team. I am not ashamed to admit that my eyes welled up just like a 10 year old boy opening up his Nintendo 64 on Christmas morning. It was really the icing on the cake of this entire experience.

Q. Want to sound off or make some shout outs while you’re drying up those tears?

First and foremost, I have to thank my pre-Recon, pre-Real 7alk, pre-ODST Disc friends who have always been there for me when I’m bored and feel like playing Social games. My community, Real 7alk, they are the best fansite members out there. My Real 7alk staff, Aaron (Vaisor), Bob (AusQB), and Dan (Predator5791), you guys are my bffs4l. Also, a huge thanks to the Bungie staff for somehow finding me in the plentiful haystack that is the Halo community. You guys always make my day, and I am going to continue to harass you for things, including helping me earn my ODST Vidmasters (and keeping me amused when I’m drunk and feel like playing Firefight).

Oh, and my awesome mom who is probably just as excited as me about this entire thing.

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Well that’s about it, keep your eyes peeled for more updates, we promise to keep it up.