Community Corner: Alyek
It's January 2024, which must mean that it's time for a new issue of the Community Corner—the blog series where we spotlight and interview some of the fine folks in the Halo community.
Last time, we had a fireside chat with GCustomsCreations about the incredible custom, hand-sculpted Halo figures he makes.
Kicking off this year, we're joined by Halo Grassroots member and streamer Alyek to learn about her personal journey with the Halo series and memorable moments at community events.
Welcome, Alyek! Thank you very much for taking the time to kick off 2024’s first issue of the Community Corner with us. For those who may not know you, please introduce yourself—who are you, what do you do as part of the Halo community, and where can we find you online?
Exciting, thank you for having me! Hi I’m Alyek, I’m a full-time content creator on Twitch and I love Halo.
I'm currently part of the Halo Grassroots Program so you’ll see me on multiple playdates. You can also find me honing my hosting skills with LVT during Halo events, and when on my own stream I love running matchmaking with the community. We’ve been loving the Squad Battles and Halo 3 Refueled playlists a lot, but I always set some time down for ranked. Although, I often mix it up and play a variety of games too.
Oh and you can find me on twitch.tv/alyek and @alyekly on all socials.
How did your great journey with Halo begin?
It all started when my mom randomly walked into our living room with the Halo: Combat Evolved box because some guy at a store said it was really good and she wanted to play with my brothers and I (yes, my mom is a gamer too!)
I remember thinking the green guy on the box was weird and thought I wasn’t going to like it, and man… was I in for a treat! After that, I’ve never really stopped playing. There are a lot of core family memories thanks to Halo.
Are there any specific areas of the series that you really gravitate towards—campaign and story, multiplayer, expanded universe stuff, Forge, etc?
I love both campaign and multiplayer experiences! I’m a huge fan of the old campaigns and right now I'm definitely more of a matchmaking kid—I crave winning games in ranked and just messing around in social and/or customs with people and friends.
I know you like to dabble in cosplay as well. Which Halo characters have you cosplayed and who would you love to suit up as in the future?
Yes! I love making characters come to life! I cosplayed Cortana for the Halo Infinite launch and Miranda Keyes just recently at the Halo Worlds Championship 2023 for the Halo-ween Showdown.
In the future I’d love to cosplay the Weapon and play around with her fun, youthful energy. Hoping I get to see myself in a Spartan suit one day.
Who are some of your favorite Halo characters and why? (I know that we both share a lot of love for the underappreciated Miranda Keyes!)
Were it so easy. Yes, Miranda Keyes is so cool, plus I find her voice very iconic to Halo. I really wish her story would’ve continued.
My favorite character though is definitely the Arbiter. I loved being able to watch his arc in the early campaigns. I loved the idea of humans and “aliens” (the Covenant) being enemies, but end up working together. I also found his eventual friendship with Master Chief so awkward, unique, and hilarious at times.
What’s your favorite helmet in Halo and why?
My favorite helmet is probably the Halo 3 Recon helmet. It’s what my spartan would be wearing right now in Halo Infinite if I could.
I also love the ODST helmet, I can’t look at it without hearing the glorious Halo 3: ODST music…
I had the pleasure of meeting you at the Halo World Championship last October—hard to believe that was already two months ago! What does the esports side of Halo mean to you?
Wow yes, time does fly by! I grew up with Halo as my competitive shooter. It was also the game that made me discover esports even existed.
Once upon a time, I desired to compete, followed MLG, and I did play in local LANs at the time, but now I just enjoy watching Halo and learning from the pros for fun. There’s nothing like watching Halo. I’d love to continue to combine my passion for entertainment and Halo in a professional setting; I’ve been loving hosting on LVT broadcasts recently and want to continue evolving this new skill, it’s been pretty addictive!
Halo has fans all over the world, with talents ranging across the creative spectrum. As a member of the LATAM community as well, are there any fellow Spartans you'd want to highlight here?
Yes! The LATAM community has so many content creator gems I’d love for you all to check out.
ExtremeBreaker, the funniest Spanish-speaking stream I’ve ever tuned into.
iBlodreina is insanely good at Halo. She even got Top 4 placement in the MX HCS region! She’s super fun, genuine and so competitive. I have so much to learn from her!
ArturBlodshot, part of the Forge Council and LATAM Community Ambassador.
And let's not forget, Beautoria! She’s so good at Halo and is so fun to hangout with on stream. She received Twitch Partner last year, and also shares my love for DragonBall Z!
Others to check out: MATAFIED Gaming and NoblePrimado, but there’s so many more I'm definitely forgetting and so many more I still need to meet!
What are some personal highlights you’ve had over the years as a member of the Halo community? Between the creators' panel and meeting Keith David, I imagine last year had its share of memorable moments.
Honestly, standing on the mainstage and playing at the Halo World Championship surrounded by amazingly talented hosts, casters, and creators was so crazy to me. As a kid that grew up watching Halo events, talk about full circle! I loved it so much and felt so ready for that moment!
Also, meeting the voices of the Master Chief, Cortana, and the Arbiter all in the same room backstage had my little girl self dying inside (I maintained my composure as best I could… I think).
Being a part of the Creator Panels is so special to me, I love being able to teach and share what I’ve learned on my wild ride as content creator so far. I’d also love to stand on that stage as a host one day.
Tell us a bit about your journey as a streamer over the years. How did you get started and how have things evolved for you over the years?
I landed a full-time job as an entertainer before I started streaming, it was one of my first auditions ever. I quickly fell in love with it and decided to combine my passion for entertainment and acting with my love for gaming.
I hadn’t played video games for a few years and missed the gaming community so much at the time. I started with chill games like Stardew Valley, then Warframe came along and that community adopted me so quickly—the team at Digital Extremes and the Warframe community hold a special place in my heart.
I always knew I wanted to play Halo again in the future, so when Halo Infinite came out I fully made the switch.
What advice would you give to folks out there who may be starting their own journey with content creation?
Streaming and content creation is such a rollercoaster career. One minute you’re having the most amazing day of your life… and then the worst financial month of your career the next! You learn to work through it because you love it.
Starting and maintaining consistency is always the hardest though. Make a schedule, stick to it, but also try to be creative with the time you spend live. It can get easily tiring to do the same thing every day. The content creation space changes quickly, so it’s always important to be flexible and adapt new trends to yourself and your content. If you want to stand out, recreate trends that inspire you with your own unique voice and creativity.
Oh man, I could go on. I’ll just leave this for now. On a future panel, ask me everything you want haha.
What’s your favorite Halo game in the series?
Halo 2 for campaign. Halo 3 multiplayer. And I think Halo Infinite is the best since Halo 3 and Reach.
Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.
I love languages and daydream about doing food and lifestyle travel content. I'm fluent in English and Spanish, and I taught myself to read and write Korean. I also took Mandarin, Japanese, and Italian in school, but don’t ask me to speak them because I already forgot…
Thank you again for giving us some of your time to chat, Alyek! Do you have any parting words to share?
Honored that you thought of me for this interview! Thank you and the Halo community for being so supportive of me in my adventure as a content creator and entertainer, I’ve seen all your comments in the chats.
I’m so excited to keep growing as a creator and hope you all join me for it. Excited to meet and say hi to any new peeps who read this blog!