Interests
This page is a collection of personal accomplishments and interests of mine. You may gain a better understanding of me by seeing what I like to do in my leisure time!
Fighting Game Competitions
This is a grand finals match from a local tournament of Super Smash Bros. Melee. I've been competing in fighting games for over 15 years, and have extensive knowledge of many different video game concepts in part due to the deep study and training required to improve at this craft.
Since the 90s I have invested myself in fighting games and mastery of them. I have played all kinds of fighting games, including Street Fighter Alpha 2, Vampire Savior, 3rd Strike, Marvel VS Capcom 2, Capcom VS SNK 2, and Super Smash Bros. Melee, among many others.
I am most proficient at Melee and am currently the only player to consistently win against top players with my character, and one of the few low tier players to do so period. At Apex 2013, the 4th largest Melee tournament, I was the highest placing low tier player at 49th out of 336 entrants. At EVO 2014 I placed 33rd out of 970 entrants and 9th in teams. This means I was only a few opponents away from making top 8 finals. I managed to do this with an arm injury.
I have won over 95% of tournaments in my local tournament scene in the 10 years of my residence here, and have been competing in Melee for 13 years.
I have learned a tremendous amount about video games through my years of competing in fighting games. Design, balance, risk VS reward, skill floors and ceilings, etc.
Speed Running
Another form of skill-based gaming. Speed running is the performance art of completing a video game from start to finish as fast as possible. It often requires a deep understanding of a game's inner workings, design concepts, and skilled execution.
"Routing" is the process of determining what paths and strategies are fastest, and often requires very creative thinking and tons of experimentation.
Optimizing a speed run involves revisiting what you've learned, continuously trying to learn more, and making refinements. Performing such an optimized run requires a lot of persistence and mental fortitude, as big mistakes (or lots of small ones) will make you lose too much time and force you to reset and start over from the beginning. It can get monotonous, but to continue in the face of frustration and failure is something all the greats develop an ability for.
The video above is the current world record for Tails in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. I also have 3 other world records.
Live Video Streaming
Streaming is a hobby of mine. I've been doing it for several years, and along the way I've learned technologies and software that traditionally required specialized training and skills.
Whereas most streamers are on Windows, I stream with software unique to OS X. This includes CamTwist, CocoaSplit, and Audio Hijack. I've mastered these and learned to produce high quality stream setups.
Beyond this I have compiled a large amount of information for Mac users on the SDA forums so that they might easily learn how to stream, record, and capture everything without having to go through the trials I did.
Alpha/Beta Testing
I am a volunteer alpha tester for GalaxyTrail’s indie game Freedom Planet. I have discovered countless critical bugs, and have offered design suggestions that have been adopted in the final game.
I also alpha test a Sonic hack called Sonic Classic Heroes, a game I’ve learned to speed run and whose creator has polished in part due to my many findings. I've worked with him so much that he frequently sends private builds just for me.
I’ve been granted access to test the new Audio Hijack 3 closed beta and quickly found several important issues to send feedback on.
I'm also frequent user of the public beta of CamTwist, and have reported many critical bugs that the author has since fixed.
Sonic Classic Heroes
Video Forthcoming
Arcade 1 Credit Completions
A 1 credit completion (1CC) is when you successfully finish a coin-operated arcade game without having to continue from a game over. Arcade games are traditionally balanced to be incredibly difficult, requiring no less than deep knowledge and lots of dedication.
Currently I am the only known person to have 1CC'd every version of Turtles in Time, including the amazingly difficult North American version (UAA). This took years of study, strategizing, and attempts to accomplish. You can watch a playlist of these 1CCs by clicking my YouTube channel link in the footer below.