About Us

SmashPad got its start as a commentary supplement to Gamer 2.0 (formerly Inside Gamer Online, which got bought over by an eSports publication brand called Amped News) founded by Amadeo Plaza and Anthony Perez.

Plaza and Perez recruited and built the staff under different brands, including Gaming-Nation, Inside Gamer Online, Amped IGO, Amped News, Gamer 2.0, and now SmashPad.

After struggling to get back on its feet as Gamer 2.0 continued to lose funding, the SmashPad blog eventually became the main outlet for the site’s editorial staff.

Now headed by senior staff Chris Selogy, Danreb Victorio, and Filippo Dinolfo, SmashPad has slowly but surely started to regain attention as a legitimate source in independent gaming journalism.

SmashPad doesn’t exist to report the news, which is seemingly the task of many other gaming blogs today. Our intention is to take a good look at the things happening in the gaming space and give a critical, and usually well supported, view on the goings-on that take place.

That said, although you will see it from time to time, don’t come to SmashPad expecting to see breaking stories.

Review Policy

Game reviews are among SmashPad’s most common written pieces to be published.  We use a 5-Star scale, ranging from 1 (a bad game) to 5 (a must-have game).  As a staff, we most often pick a staff member most fit to review a game in question in order to avoid judging a game unfairly i.e. we’re not going to have someone who primarily plays role-playing games review a first-person shooter.

In regards to how games are acquired for purposes of review, given our size, the greater majority of games SmashPad reviews are purchased or rented with a staff member’s personal funds.  At times, SmashPad will be provided with review copies or codes by publishers through their public relations teams.  As part of our policy, nothing is promised to the publisher in return for a review copy or code.

All games reviewed by SmashPad will contain a note stating whether or not the game was purchased by the reviewer or given to the reviewer for review purposes.

MASTHEAD

Executive Desk

• Danreb Victorio | Executive Editor
• Chris Selogy | Managing Editor
• Alex Quevedo | Senior Editor, Field

Staff Writers

• Josh Schwartzman | Editorial
• Ted Dedon | Features
• Jordan Elek | Editorial
• Christian Paraguya | Editorial
• Brandon Perkins | Editorial, Let’s Weekend Host
• Jon Yelenic | Editorial

Contributors

• Leigh Lamb | Commentary
• Patrick Mifflin | Commentary, Podcasts
• Kayla Owen | Commentary
• Anthony Perez | Commentary
• Theresa Samons | Commentary, Copy Desk

Alumni

• Sarah Aenerud
• Filippo Dinolfo
• Andy Giese
• Scott Gualco
• Carolyn Petit
• Amadeo Plaza
• Daniel Phillips
• Lucas Stephens
• Kevin VanOrd

JOIN THE TEAM

Have a passion for gaming? Can you type up your thoughts on this passion in ways that make sense? Then you just might be a great fit for SmashPad’s staff.

Take a look at these available positions you can fill.

Contributor
Contributors are writers and guests on the podcast on a limited basis.

Staff Writer
Staff Writers are the backbone of our content, as they write whatever they are assigned to write.

Copy Editor
Copy Editors are one of the most important members on our staff, as they’re the ones that keep our copy clean.  No article gets published on SmashPad without going through peer editing with a copy editor or two.

Social Media Specialist
While the Social Media Specialist probably won’t have too many bylines, they live and breathe SmashPad’s social networking culture, managing Facebook posts, tweets, and everything social media-related.

User Integration Specialist
We don’t have a lot of stuff on our page we don’t need.  Everything is to the point, and that’s what the UI Specialist is responsible for–making the site as easy to access as possible.  Are you a coder?  Do you like building websites?  Wanna work on a gaming site?  That’s what we need you for.

This is a purely volunteer gig, and nobody on the staff gets paid. There are, however, some rewards and great benefits to being a part of the staff, and it all depends on the work that you put in.

In addition to possible early review copies of the games you review, you’ll also instantly be a part of the gaming press, discovering, meeting, and networking with contacts of those in the industry. Many of our writers have gone and taken their talents to the next level by writing for such publications as GameSpot among others.

Send an e-mail to dvictorio@smashpad.com stating who you are, what current platforms you own and intend on writing for, as well as a sample piece up to 2,000 words long. Not everybody is taken right away, but those we see promise in will also be entered into our internship program where our writers can coach you up to become even better.