The
Interrogation
of
George Norberg;
AKA
Nak3d Eli
And
Creator of the
YouTube Channel:
Nak3dHalo
Hmmm, let’s see here. Where to begin? I mean everything happened so fast it was like…Whoa! Well, I guess the beginning is as good a place to start as any other. You see, Massaikur and I were doing this exceedingly boring, yet, necessary task called Inventory. And to make things a bit more interesting we decided that testing the equipment would help, you know, complete the inventory list. Sooo as we were innocently minding our own business, testing our weaponry, we suddenly run into this Heretic! Errr, I mean this Heretic runs into us? Whatever! I mean he was, dare I say it…Nak3d! Hee,hee,hee, Nak3d Eli, that is. Anyway, the result was that he startled us and we can not be held responsible for what transpired after! And no! It wasn’t that! So get your heads out of the gutter. Gosh, what would your mothers say? You know what, just read the interview…
1. George, can you please tell us a little bit about yourself?
I’m 22 and I have been playing video games since I could fit my hands around a Nintendo controller. When I was 5 I could beat “grown-ups” at arcade games like Mortal Kombat. Since then I’ve developed a passion for console FPS starting with GoldenEye, then Perfect Dark, and finally Halo CE/2/3/ODST/Reach.
2. When did you first start playing Halo?
I never had an Xbox so I always went to a friend’s house to play the Halo: CE Campaign on Legendary Co-op, back when the game shipped. I rarely played multiplayer b/c I loved the campaign so much.
3. Of all the Halo series games, do you have a favorite, which one and why?
I think every Halo game is amazing and brings something new and positive to the table, and they get better every time. So Halo: Reach is my favorite at the moment with its epic campaign, diverse multiplayer experiences, and incredible forge, leading to some of the most enjoyable custom games of my life.
4. What are your favorite UNSC and Covenant weapons to use?
Rockets and Fuel Rod Gun, Boom! Boom! 🙂
5. Do you have a preference for any multiplayer game types?
Big Team Battle is always a blast with its crazy vehicular combat and gigantic play-spaces, making teamwork even more crucial and exciting to execute.
6. We noticed that you were able to unlock the haunted helmet, how long did that take you?
11 months
7. How much Halo do you play on a daily basis?
Four hours per day on average. My record is 20 hours in one day.
8. How much dedication is required to become a world record holder in the halo community?
It’s not easy, everyone wants to be #1 at something and every niche is filled with a plethora of diehard Halo fans gunning for that top spot. I have world records for Challenges, speed runs, and matchmaking K/Ds, win ratios, etc. I’ve always believed anyone could have a record if they put in the time and effort.
9. What are your thoughts on ATLAS?
It looks fun, but I don’t have a compatible phone to test it out. I doubt the advantages given to people who use it will outweigh the cost of taking your eyes off of the screen.
10. When did you first become interested in speedruns? Anything you credit for providing inspiration?
I remember having trouble with Halo CE Legendary Solo so I did a Google search and found High Speed Halo’s incredibly fast runs using glitches and tricks that fascinated me. Silent Cartographer in 3:54 by Insidious was truly inspiring to me and at least one other speed runner whom I know.
11. How long have you been doing Halo speedruns?
About 2 years now. I started with Cortana SLASO against the SLASO god Pahis, and we battled for weeks beating each others’ times until I came out on top with 7:45. I’ve been snatching records ever since.
12. Is there a specific process that you use when plotting out a speedrun?
I always watch the standing Legendary and Easy records first to analyze routes and see how enemies influence the run. Then I map out my own optimized routes and practice until I can get through with less than 4 deaths consistently. Then it’s a matter of determination to get a run with no deaths.
13. From start to finish on average how long does it take to do a perfect speedrun?
Since I only do the most difficult types of speed run, that is Legendary, SLASO, and Zero Shot, it can take 10-20 hours to get a close-to-ideal run.
14. What are your thoughts on custom challenges?
They’re a great way for non-inheritors to rank up, although I wish they could be accessed via Reach itself.
15. Do you have any favorite speedrun videos, which ones and why?
Silent Cartographer Legendary Solo with its insane skip through the map room door, epic 3 story drop onto overshield, and flawless camo run to the pelican outside. I also really enjoy my first ever Zero Shot run on The Storm b/c it halved the time of the old record from ~20 min to under 10 min and you barely notice I wasn’t shooting b/c it moved so fast.
There are countless quality runs though that newcomers should check out like the Keyes shield bump, Metropolis Legendary getting to the scarab super early, Uprising Legendary sword flying, Tsavo Highway hog mastery, Floodgate box hammering, and my Pillar of Autumn LASO tricking on Reach.
16. Which speed run has been the hardest for you to make and why?
Sierra 117 Zero Shot is an absolute nightmare! You have to get past so many snipers without shooting; especially the jackal sniper forest and bridge run… luck plays a larger factor more than in any other mission. No one had done it, but I wanted to show that it was possible, and I became the first person to beat a Halo campaign on Zero Shot (Legendary, no shooting, no deaths).
17. How many videos have you made so far?
My YouTube channel “Nak3dHalo” has 64 videos currently. I started with Challenge tutorials to show people how to complete Daily and Weekly Challenges incredibly fast, then I expanded to high
level multiplayer gameplay, speed runs, analyses, and achievement tutorials.
18. Where did the idea for Halo: Reach Challenges come from?
As the world record holder, I developed many strategies, glitches, tips and tricks that I wanted to share with the community to help players rank up faster. So I started my channel when Bungie passed the torch to 343i and the Co-op Dash put challenges in the spotlight with 30,343 credits for only 4 minutes of work!
19. Where did the idea for tutorials come from?
I like sharing my knowledge of advanced gameplay mechanics with the Halo community b/c they’re fun and receptive, especially now that all the soft fans have flocked to other FPS games.
20. Will these series be continued when halo 4 is released?
My content will evolve to be based on Halo 4, with the only possible exception being speed running b/c Campaigns are always fun to go back to.
21. Is there anything you wish the Halo series had that it does not?
Dedicated servers to reduce lag and removal of the “Quit Game” option so that people would have to physically turn off their Xboxes if they wanted to leave their teammates.
22. Are there any old armors and maps from the previous Halo games that you would like to see in the future?
Armors should only come back if they tie into the storyline like Mark VI does. Maps are difficult to translate into new game mechanics, but I would love to see a ranked playlist of designer remakes of the best competitive symmetrical maps to give the hardcore community a space to shine. The Pit, Midship, Sanctuary, Zealot, Beaver Creek and Amplified are a few of my favs.
23. What are your thoughts on the rumors about a Halo 2 remake?
The secret 11th terminal hinted at this, and I would love to have all the Halo games on one console. However, if they decide a remake is worth it, I’m hoping they won’t split the Halo 4 population with a new online system. Master Chief will be the main character in Halo 4 so multiplayer can probably feel like Halo 2 given the right settings, unlike Reach where you are clearly Noble Six playing on old CE maps.
24. Do you plan on expanding your YouTube channel into the world of machinima or will you stick with gameplay videos?
I’m all about the gameplay 🙂
25. Do you plan on doing any Halo CEA speedruns?
I’m working on The Library on Legendary right now, but the standing CE record is so optimized that I’m forced to take some very risky routes to shed just a few seconds. This record hasn’t been broken for many, many years, so hopefully I can finally break it and the community will enjoy a new record in CEA’s HD goodness along with my “audible chocolate” commentary 😉
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*End Note: The interrogators of this interview,
Massaikur and PAraNoia817, are not sadistic people and we do not torture our interviewees (much)…George, Thank you for agreeing to do this interview with us and letting us share it with both our own fans, as well as, yours. Best of Luck to you!
you can find our other Interrogations here!!!
Smileanddealwithit.com 