When you say “good game” to someone from Bungie Studios, the eponymous phrase carries with it a double-edged meaning:
1. You played well, and we enjoyed playing you.
2. Thank you for this fantastic platform for interaction.

On the Wednesday that fell on February 6th, at long last, a delegation from the Official Halo Clan of Tied the Leader had the chance to partake in this privilege. When posed with the question of who [among 118 TTL Gunslingers] would challenge the creators of our favorite virtual warzone, we selected some of the members that had a hand in founding our [perhaps not so] humble band of gamers.

On the other side of the match-up, adorned with crowns wrought from flame, were some gamers whose careers we had followed with great interest. We knew all all the news [that was fit to print] about their trials and tribulations in keeping us occupied and entertained. Until the evening of our challenge, we had been waiting for an opportunity to show them how much fun we have playing their game.

As the dance card suggests, our team was not engineered to bring home a resounding win. Such was not at all our concern. This was not our wrecking crew, any more than this was a grudge match. We fielded a welcoming committee. This was our entourage of ambassadors. If you crave the results from the scoreboard, you are welcome to peruse them at Bungie.net – along with the most colorful of commentary, provided by Lukems.

For the Gunslingers, this was our chance to rub elbows [and swap lead] with the people who enable us to enjoy the experience that is provided to us by playing Halo 3 via Xbox Live. Being a clan in the Halo Nation has added friendships to our lives. It has enriched the time we have logged ridding the couch. It has given us an outlet for our creativity.

It’s hard to shoot at someone that you appreciate for those reasons. It is with mixed emotions that you read words like “You killed Thug Larz”. You almost don’t want to extinguish those flames.

Almost.

Bungie, we say thankya.
Thanks for the games.
Thanks for the game itself.

Further to the point of creativity, check out the panoramics from TTL’s resident auteur El Burritoh. If you want a truly unique keepsake from a challenge, always field an artist.

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Posted by XerxdeeJ

Tied the Leader would like to take a moment and humbly thank anyone who voted for us as their choice to represent the Xbox Live Community as their favorite [nominated] team.

Of course, the accolade was only made possible by the curious podcasters at Gamertag Radio. We thank you – and them – not for the victory, but for the vote of confidence.

The Gunslingers don’t play games in an effort win an award. We game because we enjoy doing it. We are glad that is apparent. If our love for the game rubs off on some other people we cross on the paths of the grid? Well, that’s an unexpected bonus.

Any award given to us has to be shared with the entire Halo Nation. Without so many passionalely interactive people with whom we can swap ordnance, there would be no Clan of Gunslingers. There would be no need to explore the politics of multiplayer.

This blog exists for not many other reasons than to lure people into our midst to play the game with us. We like the people who engage us through titles like Halo 2, Halo 3, and Call of Duty. If it weren’t for them, we would be fragging AI in endless combinations of isolation.

The Game is the thing. We just want to play it the way it was meant to be played. If that means we get an award, we will just keep doing that.

It’s business as usual at Tied the Leader. We deal in lead. All we need are some worhty volunteers to come and collect.

Again. Say Thankya!

Posted by XerxdeeJ

It is our profoundest pleasure at Tied the Leader to report that the Clan System is once again alive and well – and thriving on Xbox Live. Prior to the most recent Xbox Live Dashboard Update, there were rumors spreading throughout the gaming community about what enhancements were slated for automatic installation.

When the news became official, as was expected, a Clan List to augment one’s Friends List was not included.

Then, a whisper campaign started… Something about the ability to see Friends of Friends on Xbox Live. It was puzzling, but it held promise. Would we be able to send Game Invites? Or just Friend Requests?

As is with all things, the TTL Gunslingers count on nothing until it is installed and working on our machines.

Since the update, we are using new tools for networking among gamers to better unite what was our Halo 2 Clan. Actually, the potential for uniting gamers into cohesive teams, groups, or communities under this system has far more reach than the extra friends list was “cheated” into the code for Halo 2.

Allow us to provide a case study for how we are using this new pearl of functionality. We have even drafted some network diagrams to tell the story in pictures…

That is a TTL Gunslinger. Isn’t he adorable? He’s a good gamer, but he needs friends. That is why he joined a clan, after all…

In Halo 2, our hero [The Gunslinger] could sort his Allies and his Clanmates on two lists… One for his Friends, and One for his Fellow Gunslingers. It worked well for him. He could rely on his Fellow Gunslingers for solid covering fire and planned strategy, but still had Friends among the gaming community at large. In a hostile zone like Xbox Live, after all, one cannot have too many friends.

When Halo 3 launched, the clan list that had always been home to his Fellow Gunslingers vanished like a spent bullet casing. The gamer who wrote the blog for Tied the Leader was being really obnoxious about making sure that The Gunslingers had each other on their Friends Lists now. The Gunslinger had to say goodbye to some of his more casual friends. His clan had grown beyond the reach of his Friends List, so he even had to lose some of his Fellow Gunslingers as well. This made The Gunslinger sad.

After the most recent Xbox Live update, however, the Staff at Tied the Leader announced the implementation of something called “Peering Points”. Apparently, they were silver gamertag accounts that existed for no other purpose than to allow The Gunslingers to find one another in a specific game.

Using the newly arrived “Friends of Friends” feature, The Gunslinger was able to access lists that served as active rosters for all of his favorite games. To join his Fellow Gunslingers in a game, all he had to do was look at the people on the Friends List for the Silver Account that was named after said game. This cleared a lot of space on The Gunslinger’s Friends Lists for some of the Friends that he had been missing. This made The Gunslinger happy.

Not only that, but the gamer who wrote the blog for Tied the Leader could organize The Gunslingers into clusters for all of the titles that they were playing. This made the gamer who writes the blog for Tied the Leader happy.

Say thankya!!!

Posted by XerxdeeJ

As the lights came on in Halo 3, the community surrounding Tied the Leader faced a quandary that confronted many established gaming communities: “What do we do with our Clan?” Rather than complaining about the lack of an extra friends list built into our new favorite game, we set our sights on solving the problem for ourselves.

The result is an Xbox Live Status Report that allows us to view the 100+ gamers that we recognize as Gunslingers. With the development of Halo 2 and all of its various networking tools, Bungie Studios taught us all how to form up into gaming clans. As we migrate our respective fighting forces to Halo 3, it falls to us to maintain that sense of teamwork and oneness that we learned in the halls of Colossus.

For over two years, the TTL Gunslingers used Halo 2 as a foundation to grow slowly and carefully into a unit that spilled over the confines of our Clan List. On Launch Day for Halo 3, there were 117 gamers who wore the gunbelts of the official clan of Tied the Leader. That’s right. 117. Weird coincidence. Rather than downsize to the 100 gamers that could more easily be tracked on one Friends List, we created a means of tracking them when they are online.

Using our XBL Status Report, we can employ an online resource to identify the gamers that should be on our friend lists at any given moment. We can send them Friend Requests and Private Messages from our desktops, to be received while they are at the controls of Xbox Live. In essence, we turned our Friends Lists into vehicles that could carry a never-ending assortment of gamers – rather than a permanent record of who would back us up in combat operations via Halo 3.

Why are we telling you this? To brag about something that we have, that you do not? Nay, friends and worthy adversaries. The doors to this functionality have swung wide to you as well!

A version of this application has been made available to the allies who comprise our community. In Halo 3, it is the goal of Tied the Leader to be more than a blog – more than a clan. We seek to be a network of gamers who share our social ideals for recreational gaming. We are creating a hub on our forum to enable any worthy gamer to find valuable allies that will lay down covering fire for them. Tied the Leader is a potential source for opponents who will respect you, and teammates who will stand by you. That is our offering – same as it ever was – only slightly more inclusive.

This is your call to action to join the Tied the Leader community on the MidWorld Forum. Petition us for status as a TTL Ally. Enter your gamertag into the information that we compile in your Profile.

Have a clan? Send us your emissary.

Need a clan? Get acquainted with affiliated communities.

Crave a challenge that is worth your time? We still answer those, as do many of the gamers who represent their own virtual army on our boards.

At Tied the Leader, we believe in the quality of a good game, and the strength of community. With our network, we are sharing that with as many gamers as we can bring along for the ride. The table is set, and the menu is packed with fresh souls that travel the path with like minds and willing guns.

Posted by XerxdeeJ

Last Monday, I had the pleasure of being invited to attend a Halo 3 Launch event in Seattle. I was flown in to Sea-Tac and met up with other community people in the airport. We checked into our rooms, then migrated to a local sports bar for some football and wings. After our stomachs were full, and our bills were paid, we made our way to the local Best Buy, where in about 16 hours from then, mobs of Halo fans would grace the sidewalks and streets awaiting their copy of Halo 3. We scoped out the place, and saw the first 3 people in line. Photo op!

It was almost eerie to see the inside in such a state of calm. We all knew what was happening the next night; you could almost see the employees’ hands shaking.

We made our way back to the hotel, and were greeted by Tony and Chris from the Gamerscore Blog. We told tales of our own sites/communities as we sipped our drinks and relaxed. As things started to come to a close, Nelson Rodriguez, the newest addition to the Gamerscore Blog crew, showed up and went out to eat with a few of us to bar and grill called Joey’s. The massive burger and refills of Sprite were a nice end to that day; we found our way back to the hotel and no one had any trouble sleeping that night.

The next morning everyone met down in the lobby and were carted off to the Microsoft campus for a ‘Halo 3 Lock-In’. The anticipation was building. Everyone was eager to see what changes had been made since the Beta build, and we all wanted to sink our teeth into some Forge and Campaign.

The Front of Building B, Our Destination. If You Look Close, You Can See A Dood That Rocks.

This Was On the Secretary’s Desk. Who Needs Paperweights When You Have Spartan 117?
We were ushered into one of two rooms and greeted by LCD screens that were displaying the Halo 3 menu. We found our stations, and began chugging along in Campaign; some opting for co-op, while others going ‘lone wolf’.

As we met for lunch and relaxed, we decided to try our hands at Forge. Sandtrap was the map of choice for my room, since everyone wanted to play around with the Elephants while still have plenty of room to fly around and blow stuff up.

George (Aeropause) and I Talk to Tony About Plans For Multiplayer That Afternoon

Kiki kat (The Blue Skittle) and Myles (Grunts R Us) Dive Into Campaign Together

Everyone Has Their Eyes Locked On the TV
As we finished up our sandwiches and soup, both rooms prepared for some multiplayer glory. Each room had a theme; it was the UNSC room versus the covenant room. For eight and a half hours we played various custom games pitting each room against the other. We would play a few games, then swap some players in the rooms, then play a few more, and swap some more. By 8:30 that night everyone had played with and against everyone else there. As the multiplayer came to a close, we loaded up on swag to hand out, hopped on the bus and headed over to the big launch event at Best Buy. As we got there, we were greeted with “Bungie! We love you! OMG, its Bungie!!!” The Halo mob then realized we were not Bungie, so there was a moment of disappointment. That didn’t last for long when they realized we had a ton of free stuff to give away.

This Was Just the Start of the Line. It Stretched Around the Corner, Down the Side of the Building, and Through the Parking Lot on the Side
At one point, we got a chance to go inside early (essentially reserved for press or celebrities) to take some pictures and see what was going on. We found out the store was more than prepared for that night. Game discs were pilled up in huge stacks. Controllers and faceplates and anything else Halo were in mass number as well. Oh, and they had a couple Halo 3 Xbox 360s, just a couple…

All In All, There Are a Bunch of Bricks 360s In That Wall

Hundreds and Hundreds of Game Discs Ready To Spin in Your Tray
Also while inside, we got introduced to various sports stars. Pro athletes had been showing up hourly to play against people in line. Mariners’ and Seahawks’ players were hanging around with controllers in hand.

This Was the Gaming Station Set Up For Fans to Match Up Against Celebrities
We got introduced to retired NFL star Warren Moon and Microsoft Vice President of Global Marketing, Jeff Bell. It was all so exciting to hear the rumble from fans outside, and see the motionless stacks of games awaiting them on the inside. The store was empty essentially. It was the extreme calm before the most extreme storm that was headed our way.

As we went outside, we heard news of a surprise guest. It was still not confirmed to us, and many didn’t even know about it, so it is safe to say that everyone else in line had NO IDEA who was showing up. We waited at the front doors, cameras ready, and saw fans go pale in the face as Bill Gates came out of Best Buy and went around shaking everyone’s hands. He stuck around and signed the game for the first person in line, and really seemed like he was as thrilled about it all as everyone else.

Bill Gates and Warren Moon Standing Inside best Buy
As fans were rolling in to get their games, you could see all sorts of Bungie people roaming the crowds. They had arrived by buses to the event and were signing all sorts of Halo merchandise that people brought up to them. I got to meet and listen to Marty O’Donnell as he talked with Foo Mo Jive and JVB from Podtacular. It was amazing getting to see him first hand since I have a lot of admiration for him and the music he has done that makes the Halo series what it is.

Marty and JVB Posing In Front of Best Buy
As things began to settle down, we all made our way back to our bus, and eventually back to our hotel rooms. I think “tired” would be an understatement as we all found our way to our beds rather quickly. My roommate, DoodiRock from 2old2play, and I chatted about our sites and bit, then knocked out for the night. (Editor’s Note: Anyone else see the irony in a Timmy, since I am under 25, rooming with a guy from 2old2play?)

Those few days were one of the most fun and exciting experiences I have ever had. It was so amazing to be able to attend the launch event that night and see that many Halo fans first hand. JVB and I were talking about how much it meant to us to see ‘our people’ from the Halo community turn out in force like that. Beyond the launch, playing the game all day with great people that I admire so much was a blast. I have been doing various interviews here at Tied the Leader for some time now and being able to put a face to so many names, and shake hands with those I have talked and exchanged emails with before is the MOST exciting thing from that whole event for me.

Thanks so much Chris, Tony, John, and Nelson from the Gamerscore Blog for inviting me and letting me experience it all. Also, thank you reader, for showing up to your local store and grabbing Halo 3. Gamers brought so much attention to ourselves for the Halo 3 launch. Media and news really took notice. We broke many records with sales, and with that, many stereotypes as well.

For more information and accounts from others who were there, check out these sites:
Gamerscore Blog, Halo.Bungie.Org, On10, XBL 10k Club, Uncle Gamer Radio, Evil Avatar, Podtacular, Aeropause, Ace Attorney’s Pictures, and Grunts R Us

Posted by Dweezle

Earlier this summer, the TTL Gunslingers made good on a promise.

It was a promise almost a year in the making.

On Labor Day Weekend in 2006, Tied the Leader announced a charitable endeavor that would add to some weight to our interactions. The launching pad for this experiment was a LAN Party that we hosted in Chicago. The following November, that same announcement was followed by the inception of a charitable foundation under the Tied the Leader banner. The working idea was that a band of geeks could be of more use to the world, and to each other, than playing video games.

At Tied the Leader, we put forth a lot of efforts towards the glorification of violence – loud, visceral, bloody, smoky carnage and violence. If you are reading these words, it is likely that you are intimately acquainted with just the sort of mayhem that we practice. We thrive on it. Our adult constituency plays war games with all the voracity of which their inner-child is capable. While this imaginery battle wages against – and sometimes alongside – the citizenry of the Halo Nation, current events that shape our nation provide the starkest reminders that war is far from a game.

Every time one of our Gunslingers barks “Copy that!” into their Xbox Live headset, they are borrowing from the culture of the men and women that fight the real war. We sit, comfortably on our couches, dodging bullets and grenades like armchair warriors. The only interruption of our fun is the five seconds it takes to magically respawn on the battlefield; fresh and ready to continue – if not finish – the fight.

The Tied the Leader Foundation was created to give back to those from whose culture we borrow so very frequently. It’s a means of offering our humblest thanks to the people that make the safety of our couches their personal responsibility. It must be said that, at tiedtheleader.com, we save our politics for the game. We seek not to make a statement about the virtue of war – or the ones currently being fought. Instead, we seek to recognize the sacrifice of the people who march when the order is given, and to help them when they fall.

Months passed after we made our intentions known. We opened a store. Many a shirt found its way onto the back of a Gunslinger. We planned yet more LAN parties, bringing together the people who had become friends defending the same bases from attackers. Some of our members made private donations to drive the cause. Others donated their time, effort, and skills to make sure that the cause had momentum. People even started asking us for our story, but we had yet to put any money where our mouths were.

On June 29th, that changed. We made our first donation. On that day, $500 went to the Azalea Charities Aid For Wounded Soldiers. This money did not go into the hands of some government bureaucracy. It paid no one’s salary. It didn’t even pay for the server space that makes this conspiracy possible. The funds that we raised in the name of the soldier went directly to new arrivals at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Again, all politics aside, we were glad to see our proceeds go where they seemed to be needed most dearly.

We paid for clothing, electronics, and personal care items for troops who were rotated stateside to receive rehabilitation for wounds they received in battle. It then came to our attention that our donation was matched by another team who calls themselves the Redskins, essentially doubling the value of our efforts. We did some research to invite this team to a challenge against ours. Unfortunately, we were unable to find these noobs listed in any of the usual places where you find teams.

Over the course of the next month, we will host another LAN Party. One year leter, the Gunslingers return to the scene of the crime. Once again, they will find themselves in Chicago on what we hope will be another beautiful Labor Day weekend. On that occasion, no matter the weather, we will have something to celebrate – aside from the obvious accomplishment of remaining friends amidst the hostile environments of Halo 2. Pints will be raised and violence will be glorified while the pictures fly through the air.

Wanna go? Get yourself to our forum and start forging an alliance.

When all is fought and won, there will be a surplus of our hard-earned cash. There always is. That money will find its way into the hands of someone more deserving than any of us.

Will we change the world? No. We will not. But we will honor the people whom we admire most, even if we have to do it one soldier at a time.

Say thankya. Big, big.

Posted by XerxdeeJ

We would like to introduce to you a company of gamers. The members and the staff of this enterprise met in what has been called Cyberspace. More specifically, they likely met in a place like Lockout or Zanzibar, or some other hotly contested corner of the Halo Nation.

Just like you, they like to play war.

Playing war is fun. We all like to play war. Don’t we? It is doubtful that you, Constant Reader, come to TTL in search of fruitcake recipes. This site has been home to a number of battles, both friendly and flame-ridden. The mission has always been the same. We are all in search of a good game.

But a game war is not. Not really. There are members of the Tied the Leader community who know what war is like. The rest of us invest a lot of passion in celebrating the characters and legends that grow out of the legacy of the soldier. To them, we tip our hat.

This is our personal project. This announcement is not a sales pitch, as much as it is a window into our clubhouse. The TTL Gunslingers are not the first cadre of gamers to take up a cause. 2old2play has staged LANs to throw the weight of their community into the battle against cancer. The Cavegirls also showed us a way to make the world a better place by Fighting Like a Girl. Even Bungie Fought the Flood. With the TTL Foundation, we throw our hat into the ring.

Our aim is not to take a political stance, and our goal is not to exploit. Our only mission is to give back to the people who defend a world in which some of us possess the luxury to play at war. It’s easy to line up behind an agenda to support the troops. Some people put a magnet on their bumper. We would rather put a shirt on your back or invite you to a party.

Anytime TTL encounters the messy business of cash-flow, the Foundation will benefit. The commercialization of the TTL brand will enable gamers to express themselves in ways that have a positive impact on both the digital conflict and the real. Watch this space for tournaments, live events, and exciting merchandise solutions.

So said. So begun. Say Thankya.

Posted by XerxdeeJ

After deliberations with Constant Readers and current mates from the High Council of Overlords, it has been decided that our ranks will be reorganized under a new name.

Introducing [with pleasure and pride] the first Official Clan of ‘Tied the Leader’.

The TTL Gunslingers.

We are Ka-Tet. We are one from many. While Timmy may have forgotten the face of his father, we say thankya and speak our lessons true.

Enough obscure references for one paragraph? Perhaps. However, one does not have to be a fan of Stephen King’s magnum opus to reap the virutes of this Clan organization.

The first [of hopefully many] Clan Invites will be sent this evening. As this is the first [of hopefully few] clans to be conceived out of participation in this forum, ‘Tied the Leader’ will begin to lend some focus to coordinating the newest online combat entity for HALO2. Watch this space for readership polls on gamer availability, tactical discussions, and the usual kind-hearted rantings and ravings from our experiences playing on Xbox Live.

For those of you who need to improve your Clan experience, this is your call to action. However you came to this site, consider this an open call. ‘Tied the Leader’ is in search of fellow gunslingers with steady hands and cunning minds.

Sound off. Join up. List your XBL Gamertag in the comments forum and submit yourself to the trials.

19.

Posted by XerxdeeJ