Joe Epstein Email & Phone Number

I took a winding path from arcade fighting game tournament competitor/organizer (long before the term 'esports' existed) to being one of the most prolific professional guide authors for Brady/Prima Games (in particular, writing more official English-language fighting game guides than anyone) to designing characters, kits, and mechanics for video game combat.I'm passionate about gamefeel and input, and the different approaches taken by designers to empower players (like in, say, Marvel vs. Capcom or Bayonetta) or to disempower and constrain them (Soulsbornes, obviously, or a descendant like Tunic) in compelling ways. I've probably owned 25 joysticks going all the way back to MAS behemoths, and don't know why I still have several now that I mostly play on a Snack Box Micro. I love combat games, is what I'm trying to say, fighting games in particular, and have a knowledge of the history of video game combat that stretches back to Karateka.I'm also a lead-level writer, having done all kinds of professional writing, including narrative design and scriptwriting, articles and copy for marketing use, literary journal essays, and fiction editing and beta reading.