You know what time it is?? (Contrary to what you funny guys are oh-so-cleverly thinking, it's not time for me to get a watch...) If you guessed interview time with our supreme overlord Insane54 hosted by yours truly, then you are correct! For some crazy reason, Insane voluntarily decided to take a seat in the HaloCustoms dunk tank for you all to violently hurl questions at him like he was the school's new science teacher, failing everyone for not trying hard enough. And hurl questions you did! So let's stop this silly banter and get to it, shall we?
Dax: Hey Insane! I don't think you need much of an introduction these days, so I'll skip the small talk and get right down to those juicy questions! Ready?
YEAH!
Dax: Good to see some enthusiasm! You're going to need it for the impending inquiries...
Parker Melnyk: What do you think of destiny (both bungie's and the custom game) and will the site have a games forum for it if there is one?
We are already working on a new site - DestinyRaids.com. Right now it's just a teaser intro page, but more information will be released as Destiny gets closer! I will be managing both sites, but HaloCustoms is my focus, even after Destiny is released. I have very high aspirations for this site's influence in Halo's future as 343i continues the series - this site is only a success in my eyes if we make a lasting impact on future Halo titles.
CooliestRap: Why don't you seem insane, Insane. And what in the world does 54 stand for?
I guess it depends how you define insane... 54 is the number of edges in a Holt Graph: all vertices are equivalent, and all edges are equivalent, but edges are not necessarily equivalent to their inverses.
SOLIDSNAKEee: Can I have a dancing potato with a crown smilie for the lord of all potatos ? On a serious note though how do you think that Halocustoms has helped the community grow and how do you feel about it?
For the former: no. For the latter: I absolutely think HaloCustoms has helped the community grow and I think its awesome! When we released the site, we were very clear that we wanted to help grow the community and make it bigger, awesomer, and more connected, and I absolutely think we succeeded in doing that. I feel like the Halo community is slowly meeting other people out of their little niches, and we're making some impact on the fragmentation in the Halo community. In the long run, I think HaloCustoms will grow in activity as well as more communities will be coming here to break that fragmentation. I think its great to see everyone coming together, it's really what Halo is all about. Small groups of people in small communities that doesn't interact with anyone else is going away, we're getting closer to how it was in older Halo titles, where people just played together... It's very exciting!
Shiralai: What's been your hardest challenge so far with this site?
That's a good question... It's really hard to say, but I think my biggest challenge has populating our resource with as much activity and diversity as much as I'd like. I really want all of those niche communities to be able to come here and have people join in... it shouldn't be "this is my Grifball clan", it should be "hey, we're playing some Grifball in a couple hours". That way, the person who isn't really into it can say "that sounds like fun, I think I'll join", even if they're not in that Grifball niche, or even if they're not particularly into it. I want to involve all of the small communities, and I really want people to come, use our resources, and have fun! We've been very successful thusfar, but I'd love to see more games, more maps, more niches, and more variety, and it's been the biggest challenge (thusfar) to this site's success.
iws27: I saw another site administrator early on, what happened to him, Insane? Awesome new color scheme, though.
The admins here are myself and Bigstack, who you can thank for the professional server and backend work! He's usually working behind-the-scenes so you don't see him around a ton, but he also runs the fantastic OnRespawn Podcast!
Tedium: My question for Insane: HOW DO WE GET HAIL SATAN?!
Watch this very carefully for hints!
ArmdNinja547: If you had a chance to go back in time to change or just observe something again, when would it be and why? More importantly, what's your favorite food?
Hmmm, that is a good question... if I could observe something, I think it would be the Apollo 11 landing. I'm really obsessed with space (if you can't tell by my current avatar), and that moment is practically magical to me. I've been to the control room in Houston, but being able to actually see it would be super amazing!
Favorite food: Ughhh so hard to decide... I'm going to say that a well-made burrito beats all, but I'm a fan of basically all food, I eat a ridiculous amount
General Sarbina: What Halo armor from Halo 3 or Halo Reach do you miss and wish to be implemented in Halo 5?
This is an easy one: Mark V helmet from Halo 3. It was by far my favorite, it's a classic, and I really hope it comes back in Halo 5. There's just something about the simplicity of that helmet that makes it a great piece of armor, it's like a defining part of what Halo is.
MelnykMachine: If you could saddle and ride any animal of your choosing, what animal would you ride?
This one.
PandaMan:
1. What's the craziest thing that you have ever done?
2. Pudding or Jello?
3. Can I have a smiley too?
4. Why not?
5. Can you help me tame my Great Eagle so that I can fly easily and drop rotten eggs on people that I don't like?
1. The craziest thing I've ever done was pick up and suddenly transfer to a different university in a different state. It was a last-second, almost spur of the moment decision, and its costed me in debt, but it was also one of the best things I've ever done!
2. Pudding!
3. No.
4. Because.
5. That... sounds like fun, actually. Let's do it!
WhiteWolfLegend:
1. So Insane, how has life been treating you?
2. Will YOU be doing any custom game lobbies in the future?!?! Cause it was fun last time.
3. Can I haz a cookie?
4. What is this Hail Satan?! I don't know!!
1. Quite well, and yourself?
2. I'm unfortunately usually quite busy while I'm at school between working on the site, homework, personal projects, and a social life. However, on breaks I do love to host custom game lobbies, so I think you can expect to see me hosting lots come May!
3. Sure!
4. Hail Satan? What? Where?
Fiesty Fedora: Insane do you ever want to ban as many people as possible, from the feeling of to much power going to your head? Or do you just scream into your pillow, to let it all out? Also have you ever played Clue? Another question I have is how does one become a staff member?
I've never had that urge, hahah
I've been doing this kind of thing for a long time, and working on this site is really fun and relaxed! It's the best site I've ever worked on, that's for sure.I have played LOTS of Clue, and I love it.
One can become a staff member just by being a chill, helpful, active, cool guy. The staff collectively handpicks members right out of the community, so when we see someone who's cool and helpful and active, and if we need a new staff member, we promote them basically out of nowhere!"
Shore Jesus: Q: So, Andy Samberg avatar, I see. What's your favorite TLI song?
Q: Do you love me?
Um.... that's actually me, not Andy Samberg.... but my favorite TLI song is definitely "Jack Sparrow". And yes, I love you Jesus
Mags II: My Dear friend Insane it was 5 years ago you sent me a random friend request on xbl asking me to check out this new word press blog. One which was soon to be making very big waves in the Halo community, but those waves settled yet your heart still sought adventure. Several months ago you sent word of a new website to my ears, and upon my arrival my eyes gazed upon a vast emptiness but unknown to me you planted a seed. A seed that would sprout and grow into the next great Halo community you took a risk going up against your predecessor which you helped create and for that I thank you, but what made you choose such an adventure?
What a poetic post hahah... to clear something up, I'm not going up against ForgeHub whatsoever, actually! The site is meant to be a companion website, so I fully encourage the people here to check out other sites, find niches they like... just come here for your customs fix rather than limiting yourself to a niches! Ironically, I decided to do this after complaining to ForgeHub about adaptation; I had a lot of ideas about how they needed to evolve, they didn't take them, so I decided to go do it myself. However, it really looks like ForgeHub has started to pull itself together again, and I wish them the best of luck in becoming relevant again!
Tomtris: Insane... can I haz modz plox.
Yes!
The Zoid: What do you think will become of the site, what will happen, how will it grow?
I obviously have VERY high plans and intentions for the site! I think the site will really become a big hub for the community, a way to organize customs for thousands of Halo players, as well as offer great resources for maps and other topics related to custom games. I'd love to see the number of custom games increase from 50-100 to 500-1000! There's going to be a lot of challenges as we grow, but we will grow, I believe that we're in a position to be helpful to every single person who owns a Halo game! If people tell their friends, advertise, use the site... we'll continually get bigger and bigger, and get closer to our goal of unifying the Halo community
mazdak26: Marry/fuck/kill: Didact/Johnson/Chief.
Ugh, great question... I think kill Didact is the obvious first step, I can't see marry or fuck being an option here. So we have marry/fuck Johnson/Chief... given that, I'd go with marry Johnson, because he's awesome, and also "Oh, I know what the ladies like!". Fuck Chief, because in Halo 6 it will turn out Chief was a gender-confused girl named Johanna all along, in a super-dramatic, shocking, Metroid-like plot twist.
Drizzy_Dan: Why are you so awesome? That is my question.
I'm bi-winning!
NinetysBorn: Why did you choose the name Insane54? Simple I know lol.
I'm going to pull this from an interview I did with 343i.org.
Fuzzle: If you coded too much or you are simply sick of sitting in front of the computer what are you doing to cool down and to relax?
Code too much? What's that? No, but really, a lot of people say I have workaholic tendencies... But anyway, I like to relax with some games (League of Legends!), go out for a beer, hang out with friends, or sometimes do a little reading. Nothing too exciting, but I get my relax time when I need it!
Spades N AZ: On our affiliates 343I.org site we have a Member of the month announced every month. Their name changes to another color in the shoutbox among other special privileges. They get to tell a little about themselves in a interview, so that the community knows who they have been talking to and playing with. Any chance of doing this here?
It's possible! I always recommend that if you've got ideas, bugs, thoughts, etc, to just put them in the bug thread in General Discussion. By doing that, I have a place where I can access bugs and ideas when I have time to access them -- without doing that, there's often a good possibility that I'll forget your suggestion while I'm working on something else!
Tomtris:
Q: How long did the Maps Feature take to Create?
Q: Any previews of the next website holiday?
Q: What to you think of the Community this website sprung up?
Million Dollar Q: Hail Satan. How get.
1. Not that long, actually! I had a really solid plan of what I wanted to do, and had it all planned out on paper and in my head. Once I got to the actual coding stage (the easy part), it took less than a day until it became the product you see here.
2. Unfortunately not, but rest assured, we'll have a good time. We love doing holidays!
3. I love the community, its exactly what I hoped it would be. I certainly hope we continue to pull in people from all of the Halo community and continue growing our community even more!
4. See above!
X51000: Why are you so awesome?
It's the cinnamon sugar swirls in every bite!
Dax: And there you have it, folks. The key to awesomeness - a good ol' bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Insane, thanks again for taking the time to chat with us, and we look forward to seeing that beautiful Andy Samberg face of yours in the Shoutbox soon!
Absolutely, I'm the BAWS.
Aaand now that I've regained your attention, you may proceed.
Last time we had you ask questions for Insane in the same thread as Fuzzle's Q&A, but that turned out to be a little on the confusing side, so we're switching things up! From here on out we'll be separating the question-asking and the question-answering into two different threads. So be on the lookout for the next Staff Q&A soon!
