Cloud Strife is the Greatest

WARNING: THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR FINAL FANTASY VII and REMAKE. DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU There’s a moment in my life that I think about almost every day. I was finishing up my student teaching in winter of 2016, a pretty turbulent semester at a middle school with a thankfully tolerant group of kids. […]

Response to Hold Back to Block – Everything is a “Product”

I watched a video the other day, from a group that I’ve enjoyed a lot in the past – Hold Back to Block. If you haven’t seen it, they created a killer documentary on Killer Instinct that is almost required viewing if you’re a fan of fighting games. This is in addition to a ton […]

It Is That Deep

It is the ubiquitous phrase you see used across social media whenever someone posts about something that offended them: “It ain’t that deep.” Naturally, it implies that whomever was offended is simply looking way too far past the intent of whatever was posted and is overreacting. The most common place you’ll see this is on […]

Insert Coin to Continue

I heard a great story once: It’s California in the late 30’s. A lawyer, fresh out of Duke University School of Law, is trying his first case in the Los Angeles Municipal Court. It’s nothing too serious – a civil case over some money owed. But what should be simple turns sour when the lawyer […]

The Continued, Puzzling Elevation of Infiltration

A few years ago, I was living with my brother and his wife, and it was difficult for me and my sister-in-law to connect. She was born and raised in the Chinese province of Sichuan, living in its biggest city, Chengdu, right up until the prior year when she and my brother moved to the […]

The Slippery Slope Arguments About FGC Issues Are Pointless Punditry

When did everyone become a pundit? I don’t mean the strictest definition, which is a so-called expert in an area giving their opinion to the public; I mean more so in how every argument is longer about defending or arguing for anything on principle, but defending or arguing for what the reaction would be by […]

Fighting the Rot in the Fighting Game Community Pt. 2 – Star Players and Power Imbalances

A couple weeks ago, I published the first of multiple blog posts which looked to examine how the fighting game community (FGC), as a whole, was uniquely served to set up situations of abuse and harassment, largely in response to a wave of incidents that have come to light in the recent month. The initial […]

Fighting the Rot in the Fighting Game Community Pt. 1 – Cronyism

Last time I wrote for the blog, I was covering my trip to the Evolution tournament in Las Vegas and the positives and negatives of that trip. As I was writing that piece, I found myself having to frequently amend it as the days went on because it seemed like there was a new scandal […]

Road Diaries – For Evo, It’s Always a Step Forward and Two Steps Back

Evolution 2019 was, as usual, the biggest tournament of the year so far, and once again I made the trip up to Sin City and the Mandalay Bay resort/casino in order to participate. Ever since I was first aware of the greater fighting game community, I always recognized Evo as it. The I-Ching. The sum of […]

Road Diaries – The Hardcore, DIY Spirit of Combo Breaker

“…This is the place?” As our vehicle pulled up to the MegaCenter of the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois, which has been the site of the past few Combo Breaker tournaments, I have to admit that my initial reaction was less than enthusiastic. I was attending the event for the first time, and I […]