While quite a few of the original staff have left, there are still a number of us that have stayed (mostly because no one else will take us) and have been here for long enough to gather a reasonable roster of memories. And because we're getting older we thought it was time we bored you all as we ramble on about what it was like when we were young, and whinge about how you've all got it so easy these days... no, not really, but here's some of our thoughts on the site, its history and what it all means to us.
Luke Van Leuveren - General Manager
I've been with PALGN since the end of 2003 where I posted up my first review; Need for Speed Underground. As with anything, there have been upsides and downsides for me on PALGN, but today is a celebration so I'll focus on the upside.
It may just seem like PALGN became a success overnight, but it really is thanks to the staff of 2003-2005 that the site has become so popular. When we post a news article now it is not rare for the article to get 4000 views within a week, back then we used to hit 100 after a week, reviews used to settle on about 400 views and now they hit five digits. If it wasn't for the hard work of those staff posting news for 100 views and reviews for only a little more then the publication never would have gotten going.
PALGN is now the longest running Australian multi-format publication, we have over 1100 archived reviews, over 10,000 articles and over 10,000 members on the forums, the site has seriously gone from being a small community site to a big website.
All the staff are very proud of the site and proud of what we've achieved. In every article there is a sense of pride, from our very popular Australian release list through to the Spudgun, there are things that you just won't find on any other publication.
So. Happy 5th Anniversary PALGN. Here's to another five more.
Jeremy Jastrzab - Promotions Manager
I've been very fortunate through out my time at PALGN. I don't know whether it was coincidence or luck, but I happened to stumble upon a position at PALGN just as the site was on the way up. Unlike a few of the more experienced members, I missed out on a lot of the hard times but hey, it built character for them, right?... Right?
Anywho, a good memory is the first press event that I attended was at Microsoft HQ to have some multiplayer hands-on time with Conker: Live and Reloaded. We were chauffeured from the city and forced to drink dodgy scotch if we came last in a round. It was the first time I met another PALGN member, it happened to be James and I was left red-faced when I failed to realise that he was the one who built PALGN in the first place...
Another treasured memory was when Ubisoft sent me (and a bunch of other of course) to San Francisco last May. The beauty about this, was that up until this trip, no one took my work at PALGN seriously. Despite the fact that a pile of work waited once I got home, it was not only one of the best experiences I had at PALGN, but one of the best experiences of my life so far.
Over the years, the reviews and articles have piled up and it's easy for a lot of the good ones to have sink around the bad ones. And where were the automated releases when I was doing them... However, one that stands out is knowing the ending to Halo 3 a day before the rest of the world. Now that could have led to some serious fun... Still, it was a sweet, sweet feeling. If there's one thing that I'd still like to do, it's review a game that will eventually be awarded a 9.5 or 10 (though I'd settle for a 0.5 as well).
Probably the best part of being a part of PALGN has been meeting all of the people that share an interest in games. I've never had many friends very interested in games but PALGN has given me the chance to meet some great people and gamers. To meeting Luke and James and helping build PALGN even more, to heading to meetings and events with David and sooking about the time it takes to get there and complaining about how games ain't what they used to be, meeting Tristan and working on the Podcast with Evan and Neil (briefly) and finding out that forum member Frozencry and I worked in the same shopping complex for AGES, then to find that we have such a common ground in gaming and aspects in life.
PALGN has had some great times over the past five years, and I'm sure there are many, many, many more to come.
Classic.
Tristan Kalogeropoulos - PALGN Writer
We all get the occasional impulse from time to time and, although most people have been conditioned via a decent upbringing to resist them, it was via one of these thoughts popping into my mind during the last five minutes of one of my working days in 2006 that I discovered PALGN. As I typed out the letters spelling ‘games writers wanted’ into Google little did I know that just around the next corner of the internet's corridors that I would discover the little blue and grey site we all know as PALGN.
A huge testament to the quality of the site was the welcoming nature of the staff and this is probably the reason it has such a fantastic the community built around it (well most of you anyway). Working here has been an interesting journey. I’ve got to admit that when I began I had very little idea of what I was doing, but with some hand holding and butt kicking PALGN has come to feel like a bit of a second home.
From chatting to gamers in the know, and being asked if I made Rez at eGames to getting see games that I might not have otherwise seen it’s generally been a hell a lot of fun. One of my biggest memories has nothing to do with gaming at all, but instead was triggered by one of those same impulsive thoughts that led me here in the first place. Taking a one man road trip from Melbourne up to Sydney to hang out with David, James and Jeremy for a night was great, especially having the tour of David’s gaming collection (there’s a reason he knows almost all there is to know about games, even titles the developers have forgotten about).
Luke says here’s to five more years of PALGN. Let’s hope it's much longer. Happy birthday young fella.
David Low - Executive Editor
I began my time with PALGN in 2004 as a forum member, and got into quite a few heated discussions with Mike (Obsolete) and Leon before joining the staff in early 2005. Over my time with the site I've watched it evolve from a great little fan site with a strong (although relatively small) community, to a fully contained, constantly updated near-professional multi-platform publication.
So much credit for PALGN's success has to go to those who put the time in back when we were small-time. Of those I have worked with and know are still around on the forums, Chris-Leigh, Matt and Mark made major contributions that helped build up our reputation. Of those still on staff, Brendan drove the place for a long period, and Luke has produced a staggering amount of content over the years. John, Tom and James have also been working for years on the non-text aspects of PALGN, for little more then the satisfaction of a job well done.
There have been some crazy times too. Flying to Perth to cover the GO3 conference seemed pretty surreal. Not only was it almost like real journalism (ie hard work), but it was just so far beyond trawling obscure forums to source news. Going to publisher events with Jeremy (and sometimes James) has been fun over the years, particularly the discussions afterward as to who will do the write-up! Taking over as editor six months ago has been quite a challenge as well, as it meant taking responsibility for all content, not just my own.
Going forward, I hope PALGN can continue to improve and evolve. I think we've got a fantastic team, so I hope you'll stick with us on the next leg of the PALGN journey!
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Now it's your chance to reminisce. Give us a taste of your fondest memories of PALGN in the forums.
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