Canon Fodder

Community

Alex Wakeford

Issue 130

Canon Fodder: Cutting Room Lore

Community Update

Games

Alpha Avenue

Issue 129

Canon Fodder: Eklund’s Ensemble

Community Spotlight

Welcome to our debut Community Corner blog!



<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/spotlight-july-7-2022" target="_blank">In our last Community Spotlight</a>, we announced that this particular offering will be expanding and there will be three “spotlight” blogs in rotation on a bi-monthly cadence.



<ul><li>Halo Spotlight: the spotlight you know and love, slightly shorter by default now to make room for these additional features.</li><li>Community Corner: a new blog series dedicated to spotlighting and interviewing individual members of the community.</li><li>Spotlight Evolved: a new blog series dedicated to different aspects of the Halo franchise and its connections with different communities.</li></ul>



We want to celebrate the Halo community and everything it’s got to offer, and this triptych will enable us to give a regular “broader picture” of fan creations, speak more closely with individual creators, and spotlight various communities and topics that stand as pillars of the franchise and fanbase.



For our first Community Corner, we are joined today by UberNick for a discussion about his history with Halo, his journey into streaming, what wisdom he has to impart to those who might be looking to follow a similar path, and more!



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Hello, Nick! Thank you very much for giving us some of your time for our debut Community Corner, why don’t you introduce yourself? Where can we find you online?



Hey! I’m Nick and I have been a massive Halo fan since 2008, I began creating content online in late 2009 and I’ve been obsessed ever since. I am also a content creator for the HCS partnered team Spacestation Gaming!



You can find me on <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/UberNickYT" target="_blank">YouTube</a>, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.twitch.tv/ubernick" target="_blank">Twitch</a>, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/UberNick" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/ubernick/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>—all with the tag @UberNick



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1080" src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/Nicktana.jpg" alt="UberNick in a truly astonishing Cortana cosplay" class="wp-image-42453" srcset="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/Nicktana.jpg 1920w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/Nicktana-300x169.jpg 300w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/Nicktana-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/Nicktana-768x432.jpg 768w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/Nicktana-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/Nicktana-1568x882.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption> An iconick look while raising money for the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://gamersoutreach.org/" target="_blank">Gamers Outreach charity organization</a>.</figcaption></figure>



Tell us about your Halo origin story. Where did this great journey begin for you and how has it progressed over the years?



So, as I mentioned above, I started in 2008 with Halo 3. I actually hated it the first time I played it as I was on Legendary difficulty and, being a total noob, I was very frustrated… Turns out starting on the highest difficulty might not have been the best idea!



But being the little achievement hunter I was, I went back to it later, changed the difficulty, and fell in love from there.



I’ve loved every Halo game since. They all offer me something that I enjoy, even the likes of Halo Wars—which is a totally different genre—has taken many hours from me.



I got into making videos with the Bungie Pro service that allowed me to render my Theater mode clips into actual videos that I then used to make some simple videos. From there, I upgraded my equipment until I no longer needed that service, and the rest is history.



Ah, I remember those days! That was the origin of a lot of incredible creativity in the community, we saw so many different groups spring up in the wake of how strongly they were empowered to create and share content.



How did you end up deciding to go full-time with streaming? Was there a moment that, looking back, changed the trajectory of your content creation journey?



I was working an office job I really disliked when, one day, I was called into my boss’s office and told I was being let go due to a shortage of work.



It was at this moment I thought to myself “I either dive head-first into trying to make content creation work, or I give up the dream.”



So, I gave myself three months to make something happen. Luckily, at the end of those three months, I uploaded a video that blew up and completely changed the direction of my channel forever, so I just rode that wave and it has worked out so far!



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1080" src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/NickChamp.jpg" alt="Image of UberNick holding a BTB Bonanza belt" class="wp-image-42467" srcset="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/NickChamp.jpg 1920w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/NickChamp-300x169.jpg 300w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/NickChamp-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/NickChamp-768x432.jpg 768w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/NickChamp-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/NickChamp-1568x882.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption> UberNick assumes the Mantle of Responsibility (colorized).</figcaption></figure>



As the Master Chief himself once said, we made our own luck. What was your first goal when you first started streaming? Did you aspire to get to where you are now?



My goal was—and still is—to create a fun environment for people to come and relax in. They don’t have to worry about their IRL problems as they just sit back and have a laugh with me on my stream. I’ve always just tried to be that friend you watch play Halo while having nothing but a good time.



I also always dreamed of being part of an incredible gaming organisation, In September of last year I was asked to join Spacestation as their first Halo content creator which has been incredible so far.



That’s actually such a wonderful way to put it! Whether it was a sibling or friend, I think a lot of us can relate to having someone who we either watched or watched us play Halo on the couch back in the day—and now we can gather online to share that experience together.



What advice would you give to younger UberNick at the start of his Halo journey—and to other folks who are looking to get into streaming themselves but may not be familiar with some of the challenges?



Just focus solely on what you enjoy doing. Don’t worry about what other people are doing as it becomes very obvious when you’re trying to replicate someone else’s success instead of creating your own.



I fell into this trap a lot in the early days, it’s very easy to do, but eventually I started digging my way out and found myself being a lot happier and having a lot more success because of it. Find your voice, your unique “thing.”



It also takes time. A lot of it. I’ve been full time with content creation for five years and I still learn something new on a regular basis.



Naturally, we have to ask the big question: what’s your favorite Halo game and why?



Halo 3.



Maybe it’s my nostalgia talking, but when I think of Halo 3 I’m just filled with pure bliss. Getting home from school and playing customs with my friends, or Lone Wolves trying to raise my rank, or even playing the campaign over and over never got old to me.



Halo 3 represents a very happy time in my life, and it always will. 



Which Halo character do you feel you relate to the most?



My favorite character is Jorge. I’ve always felt this strange connection to him ever since I first played Reach.



I always have tried to look out for everyone around me in my real life and the sacrifice Jorge made—not only for the rest of Noble Team but the entire planet of Reach—really struck a chord with me.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1080" src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/JorgeNick.jpg" alt="Screenshot of Jorge-052 from Halo: Reach alongside UberNick" class="wp-image-42481" srcset="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/JorgeNick.jpg 1920w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/JorgeNick-300x169.jpg 300w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/JorgeNick-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/JorgeNick-768x432.jpg 768w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/JorgeNick-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/07/JorgeNick-1568x882.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption> “Better get going, Nick, they’re gonna need you down there!”</figcaption></figure>



What are some of the things that you love about the Halo community?



The amount of incredible talent within the Halo community is a joy to watch. Whether it’s artists, or YouTubers making incredibly fun videos, the Halo community is filled with some of the best people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.



I also love the passion. Halo fans don’t agree on everything, but we all want the same thing: the success of Halo. I have never seen a community just as passionate as ours.



As a fellow member of the Forerunner Council for Halo Infinite, what did that mean for you as such a big fan of the series?



It was the biggest honor to be invited to the Forerunner council. At the end of the day, I am just a Halo fanboy, so getting to play even a tiny role in Halo Infinite’s launch was a dream come true.



What’s a random fun fact about you?



I am 6ft 4” 🙂



Pineapple on pizza, yay or nay?



Yes, but I would never order it personally. (I’d always steal a slice though.)



Are there any exciting things coming up that we should keep a lookout for on your channel?



I’ve had a very busy year with plans of moving to the US, so for now I am just going to be getting my YouTube content back on track and continuing to create the best possible stream environment I can!



We wish you all the very best with the move! Lastly, are there any folks out there you want to give a shoutout to?



Big shoutout to the Halo community, we all have different opinions but we all just love Halo.



And also to my girlfriend SJ (OathxX), we met because of Halo which I think is pretty darn cool!



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Be sure to go and check out Nick’s channels for some top-quality Halo entertainment. As a reminder, you can catch him on <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/UberNickYT" target="_blank">YouTube</a>, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.twitch.tv/ubernick" target="_blank">Twitch</a>, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/UberNick" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/ubernick/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>.



Huge thanks to Nick for taking the time to join us for this first Community Corner piece, we can’t wait to speak with more of you and learn about your great journeys with Halo!

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