Ray Barnholt's farewell message

I'm not sure how I can make my thoughts on this subject any different from the others', because I'm still the tender, virgin game journalist.

Like most everyone else, I was a regular reader of the site, but not really a "fan"; you wouldn't see me writing into DA every day, and I even flamed one of the staffers for a review (because they scored a game too high). Nevertheless, I respected the GIA for concise coverage and exclusive news (the FFIX scoops really got my heart a-fluttering back in the day), and I would have rather written for them than some other select sites. Yet imagine my loud, wide-eyed surprise when a dinky, slapped-together review of a super-obscure Japanese game basically landed me a job. I'm just glad I didn't have any money on it.

This would have begun my sixth month at the GIA, so naturally it's with a bit of trepidation that I see the site off as part of the team. But in these few short months, I've met and made friends with some truly great people, and can unabashedly say I've been a part of something unique. And yeah, even treasured. It's been beyond awesome, and I have the world to thank.

- Ray Barnholt