Eric Van Allen's saved articles

I’m impressed that you mentally retconned that event into having been an SFIV tournament. Really speaks to how unpopular SFV is! Or how “hammered” you were? Anyway, maybe if we’d picked SFIV, Compete would have survived. Read more

I wish! Who knows. Maybe someday.

RIP Compete. Read more

responding to you repeatedly trying to own me has taken time out of my day that could otherwise be spent working. i cannot, and will not in future, take the time to personally explain to each and every person the things i literally already wrote in my review, which you read. i will respond to one more thing, though.
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You’re free to like a thing I dislike. That’s fine. What’s weird is your insistence is that I don’t “get” it, which probably makes you feel better about liking something I dislike. Cool stealth edit on your original comment to accuse me of elitism, by the way! Read more

it’s really not Read more

no i got it, i just think it’s stupid. Read more

on one hand, I agree. on the other, there’s an entire other ecosystem largely divorced from the world of traditional reporting that’s *actually* keeping him relevant, and I doubt that this post’s existence has much bearing on that. so in this particular instance, I figure why not make fun of this extremely 2018 farce… Read more

It started out rough, got better over time, was fantastic in the middle, and peaked with the Dr. Franxx flashback explaining absolutely everything. It’s a shame that once each side character got their 1 episode and the main couple got together, all character agency went out the window. The end felt like a less… Read more

I’m sensing you think this should have been two posts, not one. You might be right. Would have really hit the second-phase idea more effectively.  Read more

To me, a (potential) interesting avenue is developing something akin to Fangraphs or Football Outsiders WPA (Win Probability Added). Read more

Great article. Really shows off the importance of data and analytics especially in a game like Dota where the pros seems to be getting better all the time. That makes differences between the T1 teams razor thin edge and they are always looking to expand the current understanding of the game. Read more

This expansion is probably the most satisfying gaming experiences I’ve had in a while. I usually don’t care much for difficult games, but the challenge in this is some of the best tuned difficulty of any game I’ve ever played. Difficult, but usually not tedious or too frustrating, and incredibly satisfying to clear… Read more

The best part are the memes that come out of it:

They all seem so happy and nice. Saebyeolbe would be one of my favorite players no matter what, he’s so cute about his wife. Read more

They also seem to function well because they LIKE each other, they mesh. They seem like incredibly sweet, kind dudes who take care of each other because they want to, not just because of the game.

That goes a really, really long way in Overwatch. Read more

They have extremely talented damage dealers like Pine and Jonak but more importantly, they support those players so they can do what they do best. That’s the magic of a team-based game like Overwatch.

I used to think Boombox was the best Zen in the world. Jonak is the DPS Zen we all wish we could be. Read more

This whole sequence still makes me laugh my ass off:

Yeah, that picture *is* really really good. Read more

Empty jump, low. The bane of all fighting game players regardless of skill level. Read more

Best thing is the dude yelling: “he knows the match up!” Read more