About
I've been a games industry tester, journalist, community manager, marketing guy, you name it and I still love video games.
Email: jared[dot]rea@gmail[dot]com

Art by Kat Smith
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    Monday
    Aug232010

    My Skateboard Will Go On

    DateMonday, August 23, 2010 at 7:51PM

    I, like many other unfortunate friends of mine, have been without gainful employment for roughly the past 8 months. Freelance, contract work and consulting offers are great fun, but when you've been without reliable income for as long as I have, it doesn't quite stack up to anything I'd consider gainful.

    This is something I've struggled with for a few reasons, some obvious, some not, but I'm finally starting to see something of a light at the end of the tunnel. That said, it's been a time for serious self improvement and so I wanted to share a few of my pursuits. Pursuits that aren't Street Fighter. Shocking, I know.

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    Friday
    Jul232010

    PROTIP: How to be a Better Fighter

    DateFriday, July 23, 2010 at 1:28AM

    Much to the constant aggravation of my girlfriend, I talk A LOT about Street Fighter. Whether it's the state of my mix-up game, how I totally mind-fucked some poor sap online or how planning is going for the next tournament, half the words that spill out of my mouth on a daily basis have something to do with virtual fisticuffs. This endless brain dump of Street Fighter minutia spills over to Twitter where I find not only another outlet to annoy my girlfriend, but spread my love of the game to you as well.

    The one question I get asked most often on Twitter is an obvious, yet at the same time, very odd one: "How do I get better at Street Fighter IV?" Obvious, because who doesn't want to improve their game, and odd because, while I consider myself a great player, I also think of myself as average compared to the company I keep. There is no answer to that age old question and "Stop sucking" isn't exactly helpful.

    So while I don't have a magic formula to help people out, I can share some tips that have come into play constantly as I've leveled up my play over the past few months.

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    Thursday
    Jul152010

    EVO 2010: Jared in Real Life

    DateThursday, July 15, 2010 at 3:16PM

    "Is this real life?"

    After consuming roughly 8 beers, two shots and a yard-tall margarita, things do begin to seem a bit fuzzy to say the least. The night before EVO 2010, my good friend Haunts of iPlayWinner decided it was a good time to take in all that Vegas has to offer. Apparently, that meant a whirlwind tour of every single bar within a 2 block radius. In San Francisco, that'd be no problem -- just a few, really. In Vegas, it's a few dozen.

    My friend grabs my shoulder and gives me a shake, her eyes wide with genuine anxiety.

    "Jared," she says. "Is this real life? Did shit just get real?"

    My gaze spins about, unable to focus on the beer in my hand. Behind the counter, there's a man on a cell phone calling us a limo to god-knows-where to see god-knows-who do god-knows-what with no clothes on. I turn back to my friend.

    "Yeah. Shit just got real."

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    Monday
    Jun072010

    Fresh T-Shirts Just for EVO 2010

    DateMonday, June 7, 2010 at 4:46PM

    Are you ready for the hype? EVO 2010 is only a month away and I'm already feeling all swirly in my stomach just thinking about boarding that flight to Vegas. It's not even all about Street Fighter! It's Melty Blood, it's Jackie Chan, it's all-you-can-eat seafood buffets and being able to smoke indoors, and I don't even smoke! EVO is my favorite weekend of the year (suck it Memorial Day!) and to celebrate, I whipped up two t-shirt designs for those who enjoy wreckless play and making John Choi feel uncomfortable.

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    Monday
    May312010

    Super NCR Intro Video Madness

    DateMonday, May 31, 2010 at 4:07PM

    When I talked to people online about the previous NorCal Regionals, more often then not they mention the NBA-style intro video to the stream. It was cheesy for sure, but it brought the hype like none other. So for Super NorCal Regionals I decided to step it up a bit and aimed for video intros to every game represented at the tournament. My friend (and NorCal boxer) ILLiterate helped out a lot with the the brainstorming and script writing process, but to tell you the truth the collaboration went a lot like this-

    ILLiterate: I have a dumb a idea!

    Me: And I know how to make that idea even dumber!

    When you're editing video all your lonesome until 4AM every night with little to no oversight, you tend to surrender yourself to your creative processes regardless of where they seem to take you. That's about as best as I can explain the utter insanity we at iPlayWinner subjected the audience to with these intros. Overall they went over pretty well and John Choi didn't punch me in the face for all the Sandstorm, so I'll put this one down as a win.

    So here they are, all the intro videos as seen at Super NorCal Regionals, minus one: Capcom vs SNK 2, of which I'd like Switcher to upload that one himself.

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