Meet the Staff: Delriach

Q: Apart from fighting many enemies in the world’s greatest tournaments, what do you do for a living?

A: I’ve actually only competed in a handful of tournaments. Most of which have been online. Later this month I’m competing in my very first major tournament in Chicago against some of the best around. I’m quite nervous about it, actually. I doubt that I’ll do that good, but you never know.

As for what I do for a living. That depends. I do promotional stuff for video games from time to time but it’s a rare gig. Other than that, I’ve been doing stuff for Chicago elections for over five years now. In high school I was heavily involved with politics and that stuck with me as I grew older. Only difference is that I actually get paid to do what I do now. That’s always nice.

My goal is to do something related to gaming on a professional level. I’m huge into gaming communities. Talking about games, getting people interested, providing insight in exciting new ways, making things happen. For now, I’m interested in looking into gaming culture as a whole, with a specific focus on fighting games. Don’t be surprised if you see some content that goes in depth sometime soon. I find it quite amazing and you don’t see much appreciation for the passion the fighting game community has. It’s quite amazing.

Q: When you first joined TSA, Isaac, I couldn’t help wanting to call you Clarke, but that’s not a rubbish nickname. Have you been called any other (good) nicknames?

A: Thankfully, I’ve never had any sort of nicknames. Not insulting ones at least. A few of my friends call me Del thanks to my online screen name. That’s about it.

Q: Are your close ones any good at games or can’t they even master a 2-hit combo?

A: My brother is still a gamer but he doesn’t have as much time anymore. A few of my friends are pretty good as well, so there’s at least some level of competition. Unfortunately, I end up passing them in skill relatively fast. It seems like they just never try to evolve their play style over time while I’m constantly trying to improve and learn new techniques and strategies. That’s usually why I stick to online gaming as of late. I do enjoy teaching friends how to play and giving them hints as to what strategies they can use in battle. I try to be as constructive as possible. I’m nowhere near the best but I think my insight is helpful.

Q: Well then, how did you find TSA and what made you stick with us?

A: I had always browsed TSA every now and then. I remember signing up in 2009 but I didn’t really get involved until very recently. There was an article on TSA in January about expanding that really got me thinking. It pretty much reinvigorated my desire to write about games again. I talked to Kovacs about the things I wanted to do and he introduced me to ColossalBlue.

I’m truly grateful to be a part of the team. I absolutely love the community here and I couldn’t be happier. I can only hope that I’ve brought something interesting to TSA.

A: The original Sonic trilogy (and Knuckles) will forever be some of my favorite games of all time. I can always go back to old school Sonic and enjoy every second of it. The same goes for the Metal Gear series. The music, the story, the characters, the gameplay. It’s all just so good. I’m also a huge fan of Suikoden, Final Fantasy VII, Silent Hill 2, Kagero: Deception II, and so many more. I don’t really have a single game that I’d rate the highest amongst all the classics. I rather just list a bunch of awesome games and go from there.

Although, I do think that Alundra is one of the best games ever made. I’m really glad that MonkeyPawGames brought it to the PSN in North America. It’s an under-appreciated gem from the PSone days. Definitely check it out if you haven’t.

Q: And as the finishing move: would you like to share anything with the readers? Anything.

A: I’d like to thank everyone that has read and replied to my articles. I know my fighting game reviews are stupidly long but I like to add insight that you’ll never find elsewhere. The community response has been so positive, it’s actually a bit overwhelming. I don’t always agree with everything that’s said, but that’s the nature of discussion and I’m glad to be a part of it. I really couldn’t be writing for a better website. There are so many other gaming sites around. It gets redundant really fast, especially when you look at aggregate sites like N4G. I think what sets TSA apart is the fact that the content is thought-provoking and it actually serves a purpose. That’s not something you see often.

A special thanks goes to Lee Cash (Kovacs) for being the reason why I’m still writing about games today. I was really drained at the end of last year but things are so much better now. You’d be amazed at how much energy this takes out of you. Without a great community and staff to keep you going, it’s really easy to give up.

Some heart-warming words, some funny words and lots of words about fighting games from Isaac, there. Mainly, though, there were a lot of words and they managed to hold our interest… much like his reviews. Thanks to Isaac for taking part and diving deep into his answer drawer to pull out the best ones possible. I echo his statement about the community and staff keeping us going – thanks everyone!