A deeply unstable man once said “I got some bad ideas in my head.” I can identify with that, on some level. I’ve spent far too much of my time thinking about video games so I’ve decided I might as well share those thoughts with other people. But first, an introduction is in order.

Who are you?

My name is Noah Wallace. I live in Canada and have been playing video games for most of my life. It’s hardly a Dickensian origin story but it will have to do. You can find me on social media (primarily Bluesky these days) with the handle SmellyCandle42, a username I chose a long time ago. I would change it if I weren’t so stubborn. Please just call me Noah.

What is this newsletter?

Negative Edge is a newsletter where I’m going to talk about video games. Maybe “newsletter” isn’t the right word for it because I’m not really interested in talking about new releases, or news in general. Lots of people are already doing that. I’m more interested in analysis of games, but I suppose more general reviews are a possibility if I feel like writing them.

Why should I care about your opinions?

That’s a good question! I’d like to say it’s because I’m smart and my opinions are correct, but I’m a little biased, so I suppose you’ll have to be the judge of that.

What kind of games will you write about?

My tastes are fairly broad, but I’ll admit that I don’t care for most multiplayer games (fighting games are an exception). Expect an emphasis on single-player games. Aside from that, I could end up writing about anything.

Will you write about things other than games?

I’ll probably only write about other subjects if I can relate them to games in some way.

What is a “negative edge” anyway?

Negative edge is a mechanic in Street Fighter and some other games whereby both depressing and releasing a button count as an input for said button. This means that Ryu can cancel a crouching medium punch into a Hadouken if the player presses and holds the medium punch button, inputs the quarter circle forward motion, and then releases the medium punch button. Sometimes, an A press is only half. I like to think the phrase “negative edge” describes my acerbic wit.

I would like to pay you. How can I do that?

Reader, this is where you can probably guess why I never called this a “frequently asked questions” post. Nobody has ever said this to me. If you want to be the first, knock yourself out, but I’ll tell you right now that I have no plans to make this newsletter/blog/screed a source of income. I already have a job for that.

How often will you be posting?

As I said above, this isn’t going to be a job for me, so I’m not committing to any sort of schedule. I would certainly like to make at least one post per month, however.

I dislike you and your opinions.

Not a question.

What’s the greatest game of all time?

When posed with this question, the first game that came to mind was Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War. I’m not sure if I would say the same thing tomorrow but it’s hard to argue with it.

Are you done now?

Yep, I think that’s all I have to say for the time being. Stay tuned for more.