Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye!

[Cody Giunta]

Well I've held on for as long as needed and I've done my duty to the last. It's time for me to bid a farewell, for I am here to officially announce that I am resigning from my position as a PALGN Staff Writer. I'm turning the lights out. Forgive me if the following seems a wee bit rambling, disconnected and otherwise all over the place. I may come back and add things later on. I have always strived to conduct myself on here with some dignity. To that end, I'm going to finish up here with some dignity, like a true gent – maybe even Laytonesque. To that end, as I type this up I sit here with some tea and crumpets. You'll say pics or it didn't happen, so here you go, if it will actually let me post:



I started off on this site as as a normal user – if you're ever wondering what ever happened to that guy friend-o or were curious about whoever it was in IRC that went by friend-o, fido, fiendo or any other derivative, then now you know. I lurked on PALGN long before I actually joined though, so in some ways I feel like I've been a part of the place for a much greater amount of time, and if you go back through my posts you'll see it was the forum that inspired me to sign up. Even so, I still can't believe that a grouping of editors at the time felt that I was worthy enough to actually have the opportunity to start writing here a couple of years ago. I'd like to sincerely thank the editorial team of Jeremy, Adam, Anthony, James V et al for thinking that I had it in me to write for the site and for always being professional and courteous with me. Thank to to the staff who paved the way before me to make PALGN as good as it was. I'd of course also like to thank my fellow staff writers across the time I've been here: Adam Guetti, Denny, Bev, Cian, Andrew, Jarrod, Kim, Jahanzeb (many apologies if I've left someone out) – we've been through a lot and I know that I've learnt a great deal from every single one of you. The design and tech guys also deserve some praise too for their efforts in whipping up outstanding feature images whenever requested.

Of course, as it's already been read and said many times before me by other departing staffers, PALGN is nothing without its readers and users. If any one of my pieces stopped you from buying a complete dud of a game or convinced you to buy a game that you ended up loving then I feel that my time as a writer here would have been a success. If one of the gaming bargains listings helped you save a few dollars or if a Nintendo Store Update convinced you to not worry about logging into the Wii Shop/DSi Shop or you jumped at glee when a long-awaited game finally made its way on there then I also feel like I've done what I came here to do. And it's been a true joy to do it, believe me.

More importantly to me though, you guys have influenced my own tastes in so many areas. There are so many games to mention that I would never have had the chance to try were it not for various recommendations from the community here – The World Ends With You, Cursed Mountain, Disaster Day of Crisis, No More Heroes, Shadow of the Colossus, Chrono Trigger, Eternal Darkness and more. I really, really could go on. It's also thanks to PALGN that I've expanded my tastes in TV – Breaking Bad, The Wire, Boardwalk Empire, The Prisoner – they now rank amongst my favourites of all time. I may have heard about all these games and shows from other places first, but it was the groundswell of goodwill and passion towards them on PALGN that has made me dive right in and stick with them. You've also reaffirmed the love I have for other games and shows like Hotel Dusk, Lost, a plethora of Zeldas, Metal Gear Solid 3, The Shield and even a few nods here and there to the game that really started it all for me: Shadow Warriors II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (known as Ninja Gaiden II in other parts of the world).

Thank you to the craziness that is the forum in general – the amount of extreme lulz and insanity have always be a treat to be a part of, and it's here that I feel the community has truly lived. Thank you most of all for your understanding through this time and the clear loyalty that you have all shown to myself, the writers and the all too-often neglected mods, who deserve a lot of praise for their years of hard work. I really mean that guys – getting a glimpse into your world has been astonishing. You all have true grit. It really has been heartwarming for myself and the rest of the staff to see all the support and goodwill from mods, users and the rest. Thank you to the IRC crew, who always embraced me when I stepped inside the absolute madness there. And thank you all of those that I have met in person since joining PALGN, and I know I will see many of you again soon and hope to meet more PALGNers as well some day.

While I may be done here on PALGN, as too have the rest of the staff writers, I have been...training for...something rocket, which comes this way, you might as well say, and more, which will be revealed at a later date.

I thought a long time about just how to finish this post, and in the end I decided that there was only one possible way to do it. I wanted to go out on a high. Go out with a smile, a positive, with maybe even a bit of inspiration thrown in, to reflect what's happening now and what will happen in the future. And only one thing can do that – a Rocky montage!

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[Frozencry]

God King Cody. See ya on the other side bru Times have been good!
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[Jarrod]

[A13x]

Put your hand here:


High five dude, looking forward to a bright future
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<3

[Crank]

I have no words, so I will let this song do all the talking.

Thanks for the memories, Cody.

[Jahanzeb]

Cody, thanks for finishing the fight for all of us!

And...I will see you at Wrestlemania!!!
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Now Playing:
Sonic Generations

[Esperino]

All the best Cody

I guess now is as good of a time as any to tell you I was your Secret Santa in 2010. Now that the secret is out, I can finally sleep.

[thebigm]

Design staff will do though as a mention

[Vervain]

God Cody, the faster Something Rocket is set up and I can see you writing again, the better.

If there was anyone I was happy to have taking over Guilty Pleasures when I left, it was you.
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http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-6u9h.html

[Cyph]

Cody, good work champ.

[Anthony]

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[Joseph]

You'll always be my favourite doggie to play fetch with!



Good boy Fido!
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[admeister]

I always wondered what happened to friend-o. Turns out I was reading his work all along! Congrats on being a great writer Cody, and I'd like to wish you good luck in the future!
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"The first person to prove that cow's milk is drinkable was very, very thirsty." - Fact Sphere.