Protocol Snow

Shortly after I finished my first artwork modification of the SF4 Tournament Edition arcade stick, I set about working on my second design last September. Because my second stick was located in my Los Angeles home, I did not actually complete the project until last week when I returned home for Christmas break. I am now a proud owner of these two beauties!

The concept for stick #2 was inspired by how Taeyeon’s military hat and M. Bison’s Shadaloo cap looked remarkably identical. Since stick #1 was predominantly white, I wanted stick #2 to be black for contrast. #1 is still my favorite design as that shows more aesthetic sense, whereas #2 is just two people plastered on either side of the controller. I contemplated #2 for awhile because I was not satisfied with the design. However, the continuation of the Taeyeon theme and the link between the hats were irresistible.

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People have voiced interest in photos of the Season’s Beatings 4 tournament so I’m dedicating a post to this. Instead of uploading photos to an online gallery, I prefer posting them directly into my blog because I don’t like clicking thumbnails to see photos one by one. This means longer load times but hopefully won’t be too inconvenient. You are free to use these photos on your own site however you wish as long as my watermark is present.

Warning: 5-6 MB of photos
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As I mentioned previously, Season’s Beatings 4 was my first ever tournament experience. I wasn’t expecting to play well for a variety of reasons, so I set a goal of beating just one person. There were 8 pool brackets in total with ~30 people in each. Aside from top players who were seeded so that they didn’t knock each other out early in the double-elimination tourney, the brackets were randomly generated.

Unfortunately for me, my first two matches were against good players who ended up advancing relatively far in my pool. I lost to both players and just like that, I was eliminated. Interesting aftermath: after my losses, I was rooting for both to win and go far in the pool so that I could justify my losses and not feel too badly. Funny how that works.

However, I primarily came to the tournament not to prove myself, but to watch some of the best U.S. Street Fighter 4 fighters battle it out in person. In that sense, this event was a massive success for me and I had so much fun watching the fights. The talent exhibited was breathtaking. I found myself shaking my head repeatedly, stunned by the tricks and clutch performances they delivered. The event was a showcase for the competitors to display the results of dedicated training. It’s hard not to be inspired by the pride and love these players have for their craft.

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This weekend I’ll be at Season’s Beatings 4, a large fighting game tournament that is generating a ton of buzz. Not only is there a ~250 person Street Fighter 4 tournament with some of the best players in the U.S. competing, but Justin Wong and Daigo Umehara will be playing an exhibition match, first to 10 wins. They are indisputably two of the best fighting game players in the world so the hype is through the roof.

This is my first ever tournament of any kind. While I’ve been trying to train sporadically, school prevented any serious practice. My goal is to beat just one person!

My second goal was to meet Daigo Umehara and get his signature. I wasn’t sure when he was arriving or whether he would be practicing in anything other than the exhibition match, so it was awesome that he showed up on Friday and entered the SF4 3 on 3 tournament. I approached him during a lull in the action and…

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I’m starting a new page dedicated to all the lovely rage-quitters on Street Fighter 4 who disconnect during the match while I’m delivering a beatdown. I actually look forward to these sore losers now because I can add them to my collection!

This screenshot is so perfect.

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On this 10th anniversary of the Sega Dreamcast U.S. launch on 9.9.99, I recommend reading this retrospective of the system by 1up writer Jeremy Parish. I don’t have much to add to that, except to say thanks for all the good times. Dreamcast is by far my favorite console that in the mere 18 months of its lifespan showcased such an unbelievable production of creativity by the industry’s finest.

One of these days I should rank a list of favorite Dreamcast games. It’s bittersweet to reflect on what Sega has become, but I’m merely stopping by today to pay my respects for the golden age. Echoing Parish: the Dreamcast was “a love letter to Sega’s fans, and to everyone who loves videogames.”

I begin my second rotation of Med 3 tomorrow: pediatrics. My first rotation from July-August was relatively light, so this is when the real work begins. I’m on call tomorrow night, which means my workday will be from 7 AM to 11 PM!! Next post will be a reflection of my first rotation (family medicine/ophthalmology). My schedule looks packed so I’ll hopefully have it online within a week…

UPDATE: I nearly forgot that I received an awesome Sonic the Hedgehog statue a few weeks ago. Never got around to photographing it, and if I had planned more carefully, today would have been the perfect day to show the statue. Stay tuned for that post as well.