This year my new major is programming. Programming has been my hobby ever since I got my first graphic calculator and now I ended up learning all the details about it. I'v already learned so much, I decided to make an old-school RPG.
It's a reallygood challenge so far and it should keep me busy for a long time.

I've also made up this riddle for my game. Let's see if anyone can solve it. Also, please rate the difficulty. I want my game to be a really challenging RPG, so I have to put this riddle somewhere appropriate.

One by one we ascend from ground zero.
In the four corners of the world we await a hero.
A century of war and a century of death,
one fought 'till his very last breath.
He split an army of millions and cast away three demons.
And then he wavered, only once.
With his leftover strength he fired a blast.
He fell and died, but killed the last.
From the grave we tell you this tale.
Without our help you'll surely fail.
From the twilight, five will rise.
Find the five numbers and claim your prize.

I was once the leader of the Kazuya Mishima Union, but I transferred it because I had important things to do. When I finally came back, the leadership had been transferred again to the original leader, who was bandodging all the time. So I thought to myself: "why am I even trying? I had helped the union for a while only to find it dying again."

If I could, I would gladly take control again, but I can't be around all the time. Being a leader of a union is tough. You need to have a goal in mind for the union, you need to have fun things for members to do and you need dedicated officers to help you. Keep your union 'fresh' and inspiring, then it will prosper.

Being a leader is hard work. It can be a very rewarding experience though. You learn new things about yourself and you can see you union flourish. On the other hand, it's tough to see your union crumble, but if you are determined to save your union, then a good result will be even more pleasing. Of course it can't hurt to ask for help. It takes more than a king for a land to be a kingdom.

With that in mind there is nothing your union cannot overcome. Have faith in yourself and your union, try hard, but don't stress yourself and your union will be what you want it to be.

After not having played Tekken for years, I decided to get a new fighting game: Soul Calibur 3. So I bought my very first Soul Calibur game and I must say that I'm very pleased. Even my brother, who's not a big fan of fighting games, likes this game. It took me some time to get used to the controls, since they're different from what I'm familiar with, but I'm getting the hang of it now. Though I don't play fighting games very often, because I've switched to RPGs, I wil enjoy Soul Calibur a lot.

So, any tips so I can start dominating? LOL :D

Today, I cleaned the lens of my ps2 on my own. The nearest stores (3 km away and 10 km away) refused to fix my ps2, because they were to busy. "You'll have to wait a month, then we'll accept your ps2" they said. So I bought some cleaning alcohol, screwdrivers and started to take my ps2 apart. Buying the screwdrivers took me longer than fixing the playstation. I searched for a video on Youtube that could show me how to disassemble my ps2. I watched the video, turned my playstation inside out, blew away the dust and cleaned my lens and guess what: it worked. It cost me about 20 dollars and I was busy all day going from store to store, trying to find the smallest crosshead screwdriver available. It only took me 15 minutes to disassemble, clean and reassemble my ps2. In the end, I have a clean, working ps2, a cd/dvd polishing kit + cleaning alcohol, and I saved a lot of money and visits to those stores where they drain your wallet for cleaning your console. Thumbs up for DIY!

To clean your ps2 you need:

• a small, flat screwdriver
• two crosshead screwdrivers (1.5 mm and a smaller one)
• lens cleaning liquid (special oil or alcohol)
• q-tips
• a guide (Ps2 disassembly, Ps2 lens cleaning, Ps2 reassembly)
• patience

Keep in mind that if you try it yourself, you have to take responsibility, because you chose to do it yourself. If anything bad happens, blame yourself for it.

I won't be online for at least a few months. You've all been great friends, but it's time for me to take a long time-out. All I can leave behind is this classic quote:

"I'll be back"

I have done several requests and I got compliments. Here's a collection of the things I made. http://www.gamespot.com/pages/unions/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=24921016&union_id=9092

And you'll find some more in this thread.

I take requests here. Note that this thread was made recently, so please don't say "I don't see any requests".

I'm starting a new career here on GS. I'm going to be a designer. If you want to make a request, go to the Xtreme Action Union. There you'll find me and the rest of the crew making banners, sigs and lots of other pics. Here's a tag I made.

I thought "lets keep it simple".

It's not done yet and I still can't get the lightning effect to work, but it's a start.

So, what do you think?

Full size: http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/3729/newbannerconceptjpggh7.jpg