From the Battlefield

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A Message from our Commander-in-Chief People need leaders, period. It‘s simply part of our nature. We need leaders when times are good and we need them even more when times are challenging. As TAW marks the end of its first decade of existence and begins the next decade more leaders are needed. Not only do we need quantity of leaders but we need healthy developed leaders. Unfortunately though the cream of the crop doesn‘t just rise to the top, quality leadership is the result of a coherent strategy in both selection and development.

ROG Rampage III Black Edition motherboard delivers extreme gaming performance

Our TAW leadership team will continue to work this year to ensure TAW has the leaders that it needs. Also as part of our leadership development strategy all members of the Central Command team will be taking part in at least one TAW University Presentation. Our goal is to continue to influence both our community and the upcoming leaders of TAW. For more information about leadership opportunities, development or the TAW University you may contact your Chain of Command.

GEN5 Hook Commander in Chief of TAW

It is the responsibility of leadership to provide opportunity, and the responsibility of individuals to contribute.

- William Pollard

The ROG Rampage III Black Edition motherboard is an evolution of the award-winning Rampage III Extreme, which set

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Women of TAW MGN LaraCroft [CC 2CC] I've always been a fan of games from being a child, mainly restricted to the board games back then (lol) card games or sports. It's the fun-factor about them that I love. The competitive side to games is a big part of the 'drive' that makes us all want to keep playing but for me .. I'm used to 'coping with losing' well at FPS anyway! Having a good giggle in the process always takes the sting out of a poor score.

The first 'computerized' game I played was through a TV 'PONG' Progressed to an Atari ( Space Invaders) ..onto a Sega console and then Play station.

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The Tides of Warfare—From Fox I joined TAW right around Christmas 2002-2003. At that time TAW had a roster of approximately 300 members, and knowing what I do now I would estimate there were about 150 real members back then. TAW was the equivalent of what is now a small Corps and was lead by essentially one man, Omega, with a few others like Bones helping out when they could. TAW had recently become a multi-game community through expansion into Ghost Recon (TAW’s longest standing division), and Battlefield 1942.

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Why your next computer upgrade should be an SSD Over the last two years, solidstate drives, or SSDs have been emerging into the mainstream. Although the concept of using memory to store all of the data on a PC has been around for a long time, the last two years have gradually seen SSDs become affordable for mere mortals, and the issues from previous years' models have been ironed out in recent products.

It has been said that getting an SSD is the single best upgrade a person can do to improve the experience of using a computer. Why is this?

With fast CPUs and RAM, things move really quickly on newer PCs. Hard drives, however, remain a major bottleneck and have not significantly increased in performance in the same way that processors have. You have a platter that rotates, and heads that have to move into place to locate data - a process which takes time (known as access time). Thus, accessing many small files randomly is not quick on mechanical hard drives. A hard drive that can read 75 MB/s will see a tenth of that speed during system boot or loading software.

SSDs, however, are purely flash memory and have virtu-

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I Corps Spotlight—MANDATORY READING FOR ALL STROGG The Macron have deemed you worthy to read this - for your eyes only genetically tailored propaganda.

Quake Wars division have now a new DC. His name is Stealthmist, and he UK northener with the expected northern soul. He was previously the DO of QW and knows the ropes of division running. The Macron is pleased with his progress, as long the rocket kill ratio is higher on the side of his team. We also have a new DO of QW. His name is Hanarambi, and this golden boy comes from the 1st battalion (NA). He is known for his friendly attitude and good sense of humour. The Macros expect great things from this spawn.

Under the threat of reprocessing...

On a last note, we wish the previous DC, Feanor good luck in the Vanguard. Although now so far away, the Macron have deviced long range drones to reach him.

BGN Dogstar [CC 1CC]

At the last TAW University I interviewed three levels of the Army Chain of Command.

That interview gave us insight to see how these three levels of command interact with one and another. I had Lucky the Division Commander of Arma; Laracroft, the II Corps Commander; and Hibernator and Bravehardt of Army Command. They all agreed that communication between each level of the CoC was very important. They also mentioned how they drew on their earlier experiences in TAW. Each one stated that at every level of command, from DI to their present position, they learned unique skills that prepared them for the next job. Looking back at the interview the most common aspect for each one of these members is, they all started with the position of Drill Instructor. Have you ever thought about being a DI? As a Drill Instructor you'll be the first person for new comers to TAW. I still remember my first Drill Instructor and contact in TAW. His name was SGT_Griff. A lot of people have come and gone in TAW but Grff left a lasting impression on me. He guided me through my in processing steps and team speak set up. He also made sure I felt at home in TAW. The basic starting position of Drill Instruction is a great way for you to giving back to TAW.... That's right I didn't say serve TAW or starting position in TAW. I said give back to TAW. Think about it...If your stepping into a position of responsibility where there is no pay, no compensation then the only thing left is you are giving back to better this organization.

The Drill Instructor position is a great way for you to enter servant leadership in TAW. GEN_SoonerOKC [OS SDC] TAW University Commander

Timegate Studio‘s latest creation is a follow up to the 2009 game, ―section 8‖ Section 8 Prejudice is to be released May 04 and features all new weapons, ammo types and vehicles, as well as some of the familiar ones from the original. With more than 50 weapons ranging from your incendiary machine gun rounds to pulse cannons that fire off shield depleting rounds, pistols and shotguns you can defiantly get your blood fix. The new ammo types, weapons, upgrade modules and equipment certainly allow a player to expand upon your favourite play styles.

And if the new weapons and ammo‘s wasn‘t enough, not only do you still have your tanks and mechs, Timegate now introduce the HOVERBIKE! The bike is a fast moving vehicle with boost and jump features and also packs a minigun and rockets. Your also able to mow down your enemies by running them over, tail spinning them or crushing them into nearby structures or terrain. We are also given all new fatalities!

As for game play modes, you can play a 5 to 6 hour single player campaign mode which explains the history if Section 8. Conquest is a multiplayer mode with 2 teams playing against each other with up to 40 human players, SWARM, which is a 4 player co-op mode where you defend a single CP from waves of enemy bots that get progressively harder, and of course, you have your offline modes of each of these where you can play by yourself against bots.

Conquest has some of the original DCM‘s (dynamic combat missions) such as the outpost, bomb and intelligence, but they have also included some new ones such as a sensor jammer dcm and wreckage recovery.

The work Timegate has put into the maps is truly stunning, and to sweeten the deal Timegate is self publishing this piece of work as a download only title for $15 or 1200MS points! This new title uses the unreal engine 3 and has complete controller support, even as far as recognising a 360 controller connected to your computer and changing the on screen prompts for those of the controller. Timegate claim that Section 8: Prejudice will include more content than any other store brought retail game! Making this sound like a VERY sweet deal indeed. And from what i have seen from the closed beta, we are defiantly in for some tasty treats. TGS will also be continuing to support the original Section 8 community but are going to be providing incentives for the original‘s players to make the change over to Prejudice.

And if that was not sweet enough, Timegate will ALSO be working on additional DLC for Prejudice as well as all new game modes as well. So it would appear that Timegate has alot in store for Prejudice, and at $15 its got to be worth it.

A scrimmage between TAW and AOD can be watched by going to the section 8 forum on TAW.net/forums and clicking the links in the thread ―TAW vs AOD scrimmage‖. This scrimmage was played on EDEN in prejudice.

Written by LCP SecretReeve [S8]

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(Continued from page 2) The Tides of Warfare

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―IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH...‖ I joined TAW while recovering from a serious illness. During that Christmas season I had pneumonia and spent many days laying on the couch or in the recliner watching television. That was (and still is) something I rarely do, but the really great thing that came out of it was I saw the advertisements for Battlefield 1942.

Since my early FPS PC gaming experiences with games like Doom and X-Wing, I dreamt about a game that incorporated combined arms action. I was a hardcore military strategy board game enthusiast.. [a grognard for those who know the term ;) ] I really wanted to play a game where infantry, armor, and air units would converge and bring massive devastation to the field and I wanted to be the guy, in first person form, delivering the punishment. And, while laying there I saw my dream brought to life and available in the form of BF1942.

I quickly bought a used copy off of EBay and eagerly awaited its arrival. My anticipation was palpable and as I waited I thought about my experiences to date with gaming teams. From 1999-2002, I had run an adhoc gaming team for the Delta Force series of games.

We were totally unorganized, but the main purpose of the team was to create and release my maps, Rock‘s Close Combat Maps, for which I had a website and a regularly hosted server. While waiting for BF1942, it dawned on me that to be really fun I had to find an organized team to play with that was very different from what I had already done. I had recently read The Art of War for enjoyment and did a Google search on that term and found TAW. SETTLING IN I will spare you the nitty gritty details of my first days in TAW, because if you‘ve spent any amount of time on a gaming team you will have been a part of or lived through something similar to my first experiences in TAW. It went like this: Someone-A wanted to make a decision or have their way, Someone-B above them in the chain of command felt differently, then Someone-A decided to take their ball and go play elsewhere. When I joined the BF1942 division, it had a roster of 65 and two 64 player servers, but after two or three weeks in TAW it was down to 12 with no server.

At that time, there was not the support network nor the gamecommunity ―science‖ we have now. There was Omega. Thankfully, he assigned us to Lowflyer as our Commander and we began re-building the team. At the end of the BF1942 cycle (Just before the release of BF: Vietnam), we ended up winning a season in CAL-O, got invited to play in CAL-I, and many great friendships were formed in that crucible.

I even went into business with one of my team mates and we made a

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ally no latency like hard drives do. They are thus capable of far greater speeds than traditional platter-based hard drives - in some scenarios, perhaps as much as fifty times greater.

Sounds pretty incredible, right? So why doesn't everyone run out and just swap out clunky old hard drives with SSDs? Cost and capacity.

For $130 it is currently possible to purchase a 2,000 GB desktop hard drive which is enough space for almost anyone to store a massive library of files. For that amount of money, you can purchase a low-end 60GB SSD. That's around thirty times the cost per gigabyte! The cost of SSDs has fallen substantially over the last year, however, and will continue to do so as competition in this market increases, and SSDs become mainstream.

Aside from the expense, early SSDs had a number of shortcomings. There were problems with mixed reads and writes that would result in relatively slow performance - including extreme "Stuttering" that would result in complete freezes for short periods of time. There is the potential for degradation in performance over time once a drive fills up. Also, each memory cell can handle a finite number of writes before they 'wear out'.

Fortunately, these problems have been all-but resolved in the new generation of SSDs, but I point these out to underscore the importance of understanding a product when spending such a substantial amount of money on a computer part.

Is it worth getting an SSD? The short answer: Yes! SSDs are so much faster than hard drives that they will make a faster computer feel like it's from the future. Your operating system will boot in seven seconds instead of a minute. Applications will launch almost instantly. Multitasking will have a degree

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Hardcore War: Watch me play ArmA 2 with proper tactics

This month in Vanguard [VG] This month saw many changes in Vanguard. Since February, almost the entire staff has changed. Feanor moved from Quake Wars to take over as the Division Commander of VG with Kingcheese as Feanor‘s secondin-command serving as VG Division Officer. TheGame has joined us from Operations Support and is the new North American Regional Officer. Kazumi stays on as the Oceanic Regional Officer.

Toxyn from League of Legends joins VG as the new European Regional Officer.

Fresh to the front lines...

In addition to the staff changes, TAW saw the launch of a new Vanguard unit: Homefront Launched March 15th. Homefront already has several new recruits and transfers,. and is growing fast. The game is a First Person Shooter that mixes infantry and vehicles on large maps.

The team sizes are 16 vs 16 allowing for 32 players per server. There are two game modes to choose from: team death match or control point.

The Battle Commander point and XP systems reward players for actions that help the team and prevent ―rambo‖ loners

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Excerpt reprinted with permission from PC Gamer Evan Lahti 17/03/2011 18:20pm There are tactical gaming communities that engineer ArmA like mad military scientists–they meticulously create custom maps, apply rigid rules of engagement and proper radio protocol to produce precise, elegant war cooperation. Legion of Sparta is one of them. Last week, we wrote about the group‘s project to remake Ghost Recon: Island Thunder in ArmA 2. I joined their most recent

session–deftly captured and edited by community member Fatal Papercut. Men died. Airplanes blew up. I‘m the one with the beard and the high explosives.

Continue Reading at: www.pcgamer.com/2011/03/17 /hardcore-war-watch-me-playarma-2-with-proper-tactics/

"There is no type of human endeavor where it is so important that the leader understands all phases of his job as that of the profession of arms."

- Major General James Fry

Operation Support It's been, and will continue to be, a very busy time for all of the Operations Support teams recently: The TAW.net 2.0 team recently lost the regular input of one of our main coders, Marudor, due to real life, so we have been on the hunt for additional help. Much to my amazement, we received a great response, and are currently working through them all to find which will be able to help out the most. I'd like to thank the following for putting their names forward: Click (CD), Dreadmon (LL), jjosh (CD), Louderthanu (AM), Malefactor (TF) Nimitz (AM), Nomadman (AM), PerfeKt (QW), Wordpad (SC), Drakoles (AO) We're at a stage with the site now where most of the core functionality is in place and are beginning work on the permissions. Our designer is also working on putting together the graphical side, and all in all the new site is coming together nicely!

TAWcast is currently in the middle of a relaunch, in the hope of generating more interest both in terms of listeners and contributors. If you think you have the voice, the technical, or organizational skills that are needed to help run the show, then please head along to the meetings, beginning Sunday 10th April at 2pm PDT/5pm EDT/10pm BST. Finally, the TAW Shop team is busy with a variety of work, the usual T-Shirt designing aside - as part of our 10 year anniversary they are working towards redesigning the TAW logo, as well as putting together a TAW wallpaper.

(Continued from page 5) of fluidity that you have never experienced before.

But the long answer is that it depends on how much you can afford to spend, and how much storage you need. Also, an SSD won't turn an ancient computer around - you will need a pretty recent computer to take full advantage of the speed such drives offer.

Look at your boot drive the one that contains your OS (such as Windows), and all of your programs and determine if you can fit it all into less than 64GB or 128GB of space. This is what you want to be running from an SSD. If you have room in your computer, you can use an additional, cheaper hard drive to store large, infrequently accessed files like libraries of music, photos and videos. This way you can have your cake and eat it too, so to speak.

If you want to take the plunge, just make sure that you plan ahead and understand how you are going to reinstall your OS and transfer your software and data from your old drive onto your new one.

Sometimes this can be a difficult process.

(Continued from page 5) The Tides of Warfare moderately profitable business together over the course of 2 years never having met each other! Of that original team only two members remain in TAW, myself and Oilburner.

GROWING WITH THE TIMES Since those chaotic first days of TAW, we‘ve learned a whole lot about many things.. about the reality of living on and thriving as a community, that games come and they must eventually go, about the psychology of gamers and their motivations. We learned about how little value people‘s word is actually worth, and about thousands of broken promises and thousands of volunteers who never showed up when they said they would. Which, in turn, lead to a deep understanding about finding the ―1-percenter‘s‖; those rare individuals with talent for organization, people skills, leadership, a servants heart, and who actually back it up consistently over and over with action and words.

We learned about how vitally important it is being connected as players from the top echelon all the way to the newest recruit, and how sitting on the sidelines barking orders only leads to idleness and rampant in-fighting. We learned a great deal (repeatedly) about how people‘s love for their fellow gamers and TAW can be twisted into something much less meaningful through a mental state of entitlement.

We learned about true sacrifice for people whom most of us will never meet, about forming real relationships with people whom we only know through the written word, shared game-play, and their voice. We learned that the leadership of a ―clan‖ can change hands without crumbling down like a house of cards like happens so often to so many other clans.

MAGNUM OPUS The culmination of so much ―learning‖ came to fruition in 2007-2008 when Omega and I worked together on a division spinup (for the first time) to create the Quake Wars team. It was like a micro-cosm of TAW all wrapped up in one..

We had many exciting-good things happen and of course ran into a lot of knuckleheads along the way. We had a laser focus that we were going to create a team that contained all the principles we had learned together: Omega through his field leadership (still the best in TAW, period) and me through my organizational ability.

We set out to change the culture of TAW for the better, to take all the heartache we experienced trying to create fun and massive teams, and make it into something good and real. I remember during that time one member likened us to Patton and Eisenhower because Omega is indeed all Blood and Guts, and I am indeed all smiles and paperwork.. I think the results speak for themselves. We can only take credit for a little of the success of that team but our foundational grand-strategy for the team has paid off in big fat dividends for all of TAW. THE PROMISE OF THE FUTURE I‘ve often heard it remarked that it is amazing The Art of Warfare remained to-

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III Corps Spotlight —League of Legends division To begin, our North American battalion remains our largest battalion. We just came to the conclusion of a 3v3 tournament in which the winning team received one $25 card for each of them to redeem for skins in the in-game client store while the running up team received one $10 card each. The winners of that tournament were Yummyramen, Pheonixs and Slacker.

Our European battalion is in the midst of an ESL tournament but people have been dropping off and out of the battalion which is making it hard for people to remain committed to the team.

Our Oceanic battalion has been one of the more exciting battalions. With an active commanding officer in place, they have more than tripled there numbers over the course of three months and are in the middle of a point-based tournament in which members of the team must communicate, show leadership and work together to get the most advantage out of the tournament. It has proved to be a great tool in bringing them all closer together and communicate as a unit wonderfully.

Fox’s Maxims: 2. Wear the rank appropriate for the position.

In the Scope P.I.O. Interview with GEN Bones The purpose of the Member‘s Spotlight is to honor and showcase TAW Members who have risen above the norm, be it through acts of Meritorious Service or through acts done on the Battlefield. This month as part of our anniversary issue, we interview GEN Bones...a guy that‘s been around the bush....

Did you admire a famous person? What made them admirable?

Sun Tzu. How many other people wrote a book that is relevant 1,000 years later. I hear he is thinking about joining TAW. What are the goals you are still working toward?

This one seems like a good excuse to plug the Security Awareness Badge.

I'd like to see all TAW Officers and anyone else who is interested complete it.

This is a moving target since we are always getting new officers. Here is the link: http://taw.net/forums/t/7232.aspx Tell me how you first got involved in with TAW . . .

Well, back in the 70s....Ok, maybe it was 2001. I was playing Delta Force Land Warrior online. At that time TAW had 20-30 members and played only one game. A guy named Parsley invited me to join TAW which he said was an 'all Medic' squad. I never saw Parsley again, but I signed up and met Omega and Wedge and joined in the fun.

What was your first impression of TAW?

My first impression was that the leaders were working hard to provide an environment that would be fun for their members. You could tell that they weren't doing it for themselves, they were focused on what the members get out of it. This is something that holds true to this day. Everyone in TAW is a volunteer and people work hard at all levels to make it what it is today. Be sure and thank those in your unit that are working hard behind the scenes to setup events and make practices fun.

What has surprised you most about working with TAW? I still get surprised by amazing things that TAW members do to help out the TAW community. Members make large donations or develop new programs like the TAW Store, TAWCast and now we even have a guy doing a newsletter. Cool stuff.

What's the best/worst thing to happen since you started working with TAW? I thought one of the coolest things was when we secured the taw.net domain name. How many other gaming communities out there have a 3 letter domain.

The worst things are when a group of members breaks off due to some dispute. Typically, nobody is happy when those things happen. But, TAW has always endured and will continue to do so.

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(Continued from page 2) ROG Rampage new world records in overclocking. Everything that made the Rampage III Extreme so great is back, but with a stylish blackthemed design, plus many hardware and software improvements.

Most notable is the supplied ROG ThunderBolt expansion card that enhances both LAN and audio performance. This incorporates an award-winning Bigfoot Networks Killer E2100 networking platform that automatically classifies and accelerates online game traffic for maximum networking performance. Classleading XONAR audio technology also provides increased sound quality and a built-in headphone amplifier with adjustable impedance settings — perfect for getting the drop on the competition w h e n g a m i n g .

Combined, these two technologies provide gamers with a superior online gaming experience that will overwhelm the competition. Better yet, the ROG Rampage III Black Edition also comes with the ASUS GPU TweakIt utility that is upgraded feature combined in ROG Connect and allows gamers to modify the graphics card settings for greatest visual impact.

TAWcast RSS Feed http://taw.net/Show/TAWcast.xml TAWcast is the beginning of an all new generation of TAW Media Entertainment. The goal of TAWcast is to bring the aspects that make TAW great into a media environment for everyone to see. Striving for Quality and Entertainment, TAWcast Staff hopes everyone enjoys each episodes as much as we enjoy creating them.

(Continued from page 8) In the Scope When you last volunteered, made a donation, etc., how did that make you feel?

It feels good of course. I think knowing that there are a lot of other people donating and volunteering alongside you helps.

If you could change one thing about TAW, what would it be?

I'd like to see more use of the forums. Some members make great use of it for discussing game features and tactics. Others get good advice on buying the next gaming rig. But, it seems like a large part of our membership doesn't use the forums much.

Tell me about some of the people you've met while working on TAW? I'm impressed by many TAW members. Just generally speaking there are a lot of people that put in a lot of hours. I hope they are appreciated by the rest of us.

What would you say are some of your strongest beliefs about TAW? Friends Firsts.

No Cheat.

Treat Everyone with Respect.

Leaders are here to Serve the members.

What might someone be surprised to know about you?

I completed the Kessel Run in 11 parsecs beating a long held record.

What would you tell someone who is thinking about donating, volunteering, etc.?

Donate if you can. Definitely volunteer and contribute something to your unit. You will get more out of it than you put in. Be careful though, if you keep volunteering you may end up being CO, DC or even CiC. What do you think will change about TAW over the next five years?

The next 5 years will be amazing. SWTOR will be the first 500 member unit. The TAW community will reach 10,000 members.

What else can you tell me about the TAW? TAW is a great community. If you like playing games online and want to do it in a family friendly repectful environment. Check TAW out. Join one of the public servers and come on to teamspeak to meet the TAW members.

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Cheesers, Pullers, and Glitchers: The Rhetoric of Sportsmanship and the Discourse of Online Sports Gamers

by Ryan M. Moeller, Bruce Esplin, Steven Conway Originally published in ―Game Studies— the international journal of computer game research volume 9 issue 2 November 2009 ISSN:1604-7982 Republished with permission Introduction Recent probes by the US Congress into steroid usage among professional sports players and reports of murder cases involving overzealous parents of athletes have increasingly brought into question the traditional notions of sportsmanship in the United States and across the world. For example, Dave Sheinin‘s piece on the recent congressional hearings on steroid use in baseball cited historical evidence spanning players‘ entire careers, claiming that history should determine what is natural or right for athletes today (Sheinin, 2005). Numerous other stories of parental violence at childrens‘ sporting events, including reports filed by ABC News (2005) and Heather Hegedus (2000), question the state of sportsmanship today. Hegedus‘ piece - written for a publication aimed at students - concluded with the following solution: ―In order for kids to participate in organized sports, parents have to sign an agreement to face the same penalties as their children for misconduct, such as being banned from games for poor sportsmanship‖ (Hegedus, 2000, n.p.). Moreover, Denham (2004) made the case that media coverage of these events influences policy-making (Denham, 2004). While mainstream media coverage of these probes and reports have raised public consciousness about ethics and sportsmanship, we see a more interesting and substantial discussion taking place on the online message boards associated with sports games. These online discussions not only explore what constitutes good behavior and victory conditions in sport, but they also push the boundaries of what is considered ethical or sportsmanlike in a medium where testing the boundaries of an environment and the limits of the rules is encouraged and expected. Additionally, these discussions help stimulate innovation in game design. For example, players‘ online rankings are currently penalized in Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Konami, 2008) if they quit the game early, where previously, the quitting of a game early might be a tactic employed to maintain rank.

These tensions between players, groups, and communities stem from the two forms of conflict apparent in multiplayer computer games[1] (and sports more generally). As Smith (2004) clarified, there are ―two main types of conflict, intra-mechanic conflict (a direct consequence of the game rules) and extramechanic conflict (a consequence of multiplayer games being social spaces)‖ (p.2). Here we are most interested in the three types of extra-mechanic conflict prevalent in games: cheating, grief play, and local norm violation (Smith, 2004).

Cheating can be characterized as anything used to give an unfair advantage to only one party; for example, using aimbots (a program that automatically targets the opposition avatar‘s head) or wallhacks (allowing the player to see through walls) in CounterStrike: Source (Valve, 2004) would be obvious cheats. Grief play is when a player sets out to cause discomfort to another player or group through either ludic or verbal harassment. Thus, such practices as spamming offensive messages within Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) or constantly shoot-

ing one‘s own teammates in a first-person shooter (FPS) would be considered griefing. This behavior is most comparable to what Bartle (2008) exemplified by the ―spade‖ player: ―only in the knowledge that a real person, somewhere, is very upset by what [the spade player has] just done, yet can themselves do nothing about it, is there any true adrenalin-shooting, juicy fun‖ (n.p.).

Lastly, and most controversially, there are local norm violations, which arise when a player breaks an extramechanic rule or convention agreed upon by a group.

Local norm violations are often the cause of the most intense debates in player communities. For example, the practice of kill stealing is seen as the violation of a local norm. Kill stealing is where a gamer steals credit for a kill - whether this be score, experience points, and/or items - when another player/group performed the majority of the labour contributing to the kill. Camping, or keeping one‘s avatar in one particularly advantageous spot for an entire round/map/ session, is another local norm violation that causes much debate in first-person shooter communities.

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(Continued from page 10) Since camping is seen as cowardly and against the fair play of the game, a camper is often viewed with contempt as being unsportsmanlike.

The etymology of the term ―sportsmanship‖ certainly brings to mind the exclusionary practices of Anglo male sport culture and its attendant notions of the gentleman and the sporting man. Simons (2003) questioned white, mainstream reactions to ―verbal and non-verbal behaviors exhibited by football and basketball players, such as trash-talking, taunting, celebrating, dancing, etc. that are penalized and heavily criticized by the athletic officials, coaches, the media, and fans‖ (p.5). He argued that sanctions against such behaviors support white, mainstream culture while the behaviors themselves represent African American resistance to white male hegemony. That sports reflect and maintain existing systems of social inequality by way of socialization is a perspective that Attali, Saint-Martin, Liotard and Capron (2005) advanced regarding the social power of sports: Owing to the values to which every player must bow to, at the risk of being excluded from play, sport possesses the virtue of perpetuating social inequality and hierarchy, and make it desirable. The whole strength of sport resides in this capacity. (p.156) The notion of sportsmanship thus represents no small amount of contention over rules and behavioral etiquette. Nowhere are these better exemplified than in Steven Potter‘s 1950 satirical guide to winning, The Complete Upmanship: ―For the student must realize that these two young men were both in the highest degree charming, well-mannered young men, perfect in their sportsmanship and behaviour‖ (Potter, 1950, p.13). In this example, sportsmanship was exhibited by males who are more charming and well-mannered than they are athletic or particularly skilled at the game in question. Instead of these problematic depictions of sportsmanship, in this article, we seek to explore the concept within computer game contexts that present all participants with the same ethical dilemmas, regardless of ability, race, class, and gender.[2] We use the term sportsmanship not to give credence to its patriarchal origins, but instead to explore the concept‘s manifestation in the world of online sports gaming.

As indicated above, in this article we conceptualize sportsmanship in online gaming communities as a system of rules that govern game play (extra-mechanic), as opposed to rules defining victory conditions (intra-mechanic). Just as the rules of sport supersede the rules of everyday life in order to guide competition (McIntosh, 1979, p.83), the rules of online games similarly define a new reality governed by the game designer‘s moral systems of regulation and by the discourse community made up of other gamers. As Schott and Kambouri (2006) argued, ―The culture of gameplaying involves the ongoing social construction of an 'interpretive community'‖ (p.121-122).

As evidence of these interpretive communities, we turn to the 2K Sports Forums‘ online message boards. 2K Sports is the developer of several mass market game titles in several sports, including snowboarding, basketball, football, baseball, hockey, and tennis. Citing the results of a recent IGN poll, Jon Robinson declared 2K Sports as definitively more popular among sports gamers (by 64% with almost 200,000 votes) over Electronic Arts (EA) Sports (Robinson, 2006, n.p.). We found that players use the 2K Sports Forums to negotiate and police their online play behaviors for their chosen game. This seems to be a developer-sanctioned activity as players who enjoy exploring and testing the software system‘s limitations, or spade players (Bartle, 2008, n.p.), often discover glitches in the games, exploit them (or not), and discuss what to do about them (e.g., they will discuss whether a particular glitch counts as a hack or a cheat or an acceptable play). In this way, players take an active role in defining reasonable behaviors for gameplay, or sportsmanship, by constructing their own local norms (Smith, 2004) through community debate and consensus.

Ethics and Gameplay Before we approach the specifics of sportsmanship in online sports games, we want to define several important terms and situate our argument in relation to existing literature about computer games and social organization. As a rapidly transforming site of technological, commercial, and social exchange across the globe, the phenomenon of worldwide, networked computer gaming calls into question traditional modes of behavior and belief. In Game Work, Ken S. McAllister argued that computer games ―construct meanings that shape minds, bodies, and cultures‖ (McAllister, 2004,

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p.9). For example, computer games constitute a ―mass culture force;‖ that is, they have globalizing and homogenizing effects as consumer products in a mass market (McAllister, 2004, pp.9-12). Games are a form of mass media, representing real-world events such as wars, battles, and even specific sports teams and statistics for a given season. This information is often included within games in such a way as to go unquestioned as fact (McAllister, 2004, pp.13-14). Computer games likewise exert an economic force, both in terms of their presence in the economic sector as an entertainment commodity, and as a cultural artifact whose internal economies and victory conditions represent those found in the world (McAllister, 2004, pp.18-24). For example, many sports games offer ―Manager‖ or ―Owner‖ modes that require the player to deal with salaries, concession stand inventory and prices, ticket sales, and other aspects of the business of sport. For us, the importance of computer games as educational tools lies in the fact that the games themselves teach players how to interact within clearly defined, rule-based environments; consequently, games teach players the ethics of gameplay.

In their guide to computer game design, Rollings and Adams (2003) defined the ethical dimension of games as the rule-based system a player must negotiate and ―adopt‖ in order to play a game and be successful. They explained: ...when [designers] tell a player that he must perform certain actions to win the game, we are defining those actions as good or desirable. Likewise, when we say that the player must avoid certain actions, we are defining them as bad or undesirable. (Rollings and Adams, 2003, p.77) And yet, even while Rollings and Adams admitted that the ethical dimensions of games rarely map directly onto those within a given culture, they argue that richer games are those that prompt players to make complex choices within the game environment.

So, the point of computer gameplay, to a large degree, is to discover a game‘s ethical dimension by testing the limits of the rules established by the game. The more complex and versatile the rules are, the more interesting the gameplay. Games such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (Rockstar Games, 2005), Black & White (Lionhead Studios, 2001), and even Sid Meier‘s Civilization (Microprose, 1991) and the Sims (Maxis, 2000) to a certain degree, are compelling and interesting because the games are designed to respond to the ethical choices players make while playing the game. It is not uncommon, on the other hand, to find sports gamers mashing buttons on their controllers to capitalize on every possible advantage within the game environment.

Interestingly, we have found that sports games in particular claim to present players with the most realistic or authentic gameplay. As Scott and Ruggill (2005) put it, ...Sports games such as FIFA Soccer ([EA Sports,] 2004), ESPN Major League Baseball ([Blue Shift Games,] 2004), and NHL 2004 ([EA Black Box Studios,] 2004) claim at once to authentically represent both “sport” and the commodification of sport, or

rather competition and how that competition is packaged in and by the media (Scott and Ruggill, 2005, pp.63-64).

Scott and Ruggill argued that this promise of authenticity goes mostly unfulfilled as no computer or franchise can capture the complex minutiae that comprise real-world sports - including luck, player superstition, inclement weather, and so on. Because of this, sports games operate essentially as any other computer game, with ethical dimensions that approximate the rules and dimensions of sports. We argue that what are left out of this approximation are what online sports gamers must explore, exploit, and negotiate based upon the one guaranteed rule of computer games: whatever a player can do within the environment of a game is allowed and is therefore good.[3] The problem with this rule becomes apparent when more than one player is immersed within the game environment at once. Suddenly, a play tactic such as quitting a game at the last moment to avoid a loss on one‘s record becomes more complicated when consequences for such actions exist outside of the game environment. Friedl (2002) argued that, for online multiplayer games, the player faces the challenge of analyzing complex game mechanisms, and playing the game expands to deconstructing the player community. To succeed in the game, [s]he has to understand the multifaceted social system that accompanies the game; the inner workings of a virtual community that follows rules and principles not 12

(Continued from page 12) known in [her] real social life. (p.37) Many sports gamers have begun playing online against one another as a way of increasing the level of competition and, as they describe it, the ―reality‖ of the games. As a consequence of this additional level of reality, they are beginning to police one another publicly according to rules that extend beyond those in the game environments in which they play. They appear to be appealing to a lost art of sportsmanship.

For example, Gxanthis (2007) wrote: dream teams, glitches, 9 defenders, keepers holding the ball for 20-30 minutes at a time without me being able to do anything, and most of all these [Removed by Adroit - swearing] hacks celebrate with the SHHHHHHH celebration when they score one piece of [Removed by Adroit - swearing] goal. ive had enough, anyone will know if you've played me i am a VERY FAIR PLAYER. . . . no hacks, no corner glitches, no half way glitches, no dream teams, NOTHING! these hackers have reached new lows . . . ive had enough, thanks EA for a bugged piece of [Removed by Adroit - swearing], it was the most demoralising game. it promoted hackers, and they got away with every single [Removed by Adroit - swearing] thing. i play honestly, and what do i get? Personal messages from the dream team hackers saying "HAHAHAHAHA BYE BYE!!!! AHHHHH I WIN YOU LOSER" Notice Gxanthis‘ appeal to fair play, which includes not exploiting programming glitches or otherwise unfairly hacking (fixing) his team by trading for only the best players. Later in this article, we will deal more specifically with what Gxanthis refers to as hacking and glitching. In a less emotional post, RockyTopTNVOLS (2008) wrote: I noticed everytime I play online and get a big lead the connection is lost. Most of the time after I make a 3 or big play to go ahead a lot. I do not get a win. Why? This is stupid. Players can just quit when they are losing. . . . Has anybody else noticed this?

In this post, RockyTopTNVOLS appeals to the larger gaming community to explain the rules of behavior guiding online play, rules that extend beyond the programmed rules of the game. In the next section, we look at the difference between sportsmanship and game ethics.

Sportsmanship and Game Ethics Traditional sportsmanship can be thought of as a rule-based system also: adherence to a body of written conventions and unwritten local norms (Smith, 2004) shared by athletes, officials, and spectators that serve as guides to ideal conduct in and around a sport. In Loland‘s (2002) terms, acceptable behavior in sport is determined by notions of both ―formal fair play‖ and ―informal fair play‖ (p.16). As adherence to these norms of fair play cannot always be enforced, one's choice to play within these expectations is often voluntary (Fraleigh, 1984, p.70), requiring a player and/or fan to police his/her individual emotional response and game strategy. Intended for the benefit of not only other athletes but also for society, these behavioral norms are seen to reflect an ethical, even perhaps moral, sense of duty and personal discipline (Fraleigh, 1984, pp.17-18). This notion of self-policing and governance is compounded by online sports games, whose rule systems extend beyond the game environment and the rules surrounding the sporting event itself to include entire communities of players who interact with one another through the medium of online gaming. There is an obvious tension or multi-layering of rule-based systems here, and online sports gamers have begun to define a sportsmanship of online sports gaming: * Respect other gamers, unless they have somehow wronged you first. * Adhere to the programmed rules of the game without using computer hacks and cheats.

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(Continued from page 13) * Play to the conclusion of a match.

We should also point out that sportsmanship should not be confused with gamesmanship or gaming ethics.

While the concepts are not mutually exclusive, their fundamental differences bear mentioning. In Fair Play and Sport, Loland (2002) characterized sport as a competition guided by rules that expand on the ―social logic‖ of games (p.15). Involving interaction between player, spectator, and official, sports follow the logic of games while attaching additional systems of regulation; sports become more complex activities than games.

Fan participation at the stadium, for example, constitutes just such a dimension that extends beyond the basic mechanics of games. Spectators help determine the significance of the sporting event and at times, even influence the action itself. They must be policed: if they do not refrain from throwing objects at opposing players or entering the field of play their team will be penalized. The spectators, also, must be required to adhere to the ethics of sportsmanship. Similarly, martial arts tournaments such as K1 or the Ultimate Fighting Championship also provide opportunity for fan-player interaction: spectators‘ call for bloodier, more action -packed fights often pressure the athletes to assume riskier fighting styles. US football fans who watch the Super Bowl on television or soccer fans who follow the World Cup and discuss the game‘s action and ads the next day at work also determine the sport‘s cultural significance. By sharing in a game‘s rules, action, and spectacle, sports fans ―have become play-fellows and choose to be so‖ (Huizinga, 1950, p.49).

Whereas sportsmanship governs the way sports are played in relation to larger societal expectations and values, game ethics describe adherence to the rules governing fair play within games played by only a few participants or those sports with minimal impact on the larger sporting culture. As Huizinga (1950) stated, ―A game of chess may fascinate the onlookers although it still remains unfruitful for culture and devoid of visible charm‖ (p.8). Similarly, Backgammon and Parcheesi are examples of games that lack the social and cultural significance of larger team and individual sports around the world, at least, while still sharing similar systems of ethics and fair play.

Based on this reasoning, online sports games also fall under the rubric of game ethics. While these games might appear only significant to those that play them, the increasing self-consciousness of gaming communities with emerging codes of conduct indicate that online gaming has become more than just a convenient means to arrange anonymous matches: there is a larger, growing social significance to this group play. Specifically, the public negotiation of online games‘ simulated rules by concerned users on the 2K Sports Forums‘ online message boards demonstrates that gamers are thinking beyond a game‘s baseline programming and perceive its increasing interplay with existing ideas about sportsmanship.

Cheesing, Pulling, and Glitching Online sports games differ from other computer games in one important respect: the rules of game intersect with the rules of sport. Specifically designed to simulate the rules of real life sport, these games encourage players to associate their input with the rules of the actual sport, not the computer game‘s technology. However, as most gamers find, the limitations on programmed responses cannot compete with the randomness and spontaneity of real life: a true overlap of the two rule systems is not yet possible.

For example, in the competitive world of online football games (e.g., the Madden NFL and ESPN 2K series), where players spend hours accruing online statistics and win-loss records against human opponents, winning online has appeared to become a far more rewarding experience than succeeding in standard single player simulations of NFL football. Poole (2000) argued, Videogames allow for, are often specifically built for, a form of social play activity. Indeed, a great many gamers, including me, find videogaming at its most pleasurable in such a context. . . . the social aspect of board games and certain sports is multiplied innumerable times in the burgeoning phenomenon of online videogaming. Now there is a possibility of social play that is greater than at any time before in human history.

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(Continued from page 14) (pp.166-7) Similar to real sports, the pressure to win publicly online results in a stretching of the rules on all sides. Just as athletes utilize deceptive strategies such as feigning injury for a timeout or intentionally fouling opponents (see, for example, the Portland Trailblazer‘s foul-based strategy in the 2000 US National Basketball Association Playoffs), sports gamers similarly push the limits of acceptable play by exclusively drawing on plays that exploit programming weaknesses.[4] Some online players simply disconnect their game systems when they are not winning; depriving their opponent of victory. In an online message post, Zepol (2003) complained that ―‗Plug-pullers‘ are those dudes who while getting their butts whipped disconnect their internet connection instead of taking a loss like a real man or at least quitting the game‖ (n.p.) When sports gamers draw on such tactics - tricks that exploit strategic technical possibilities of the gaming system - some gamers argue that they are detracting from the game and exercising poor sportsmanship.

Notice in Zepol‘s post a call for an idealized, masculine system of rules to guide behavior and etiquette (i.e. that the losing player should ―take it like a man‖). Outraged gamers police the community according to their own standards of sportsmanship, going so far as to warn future opponents of such players, known as pullers, by posting their screen names on message boards. In one such post, Shanahan (2004) offered advice for avoiding pullers: ―All you have to do to avoid cheesers is look at their stats . . . 50 quits, don't play 'em‖ (n.p.) Evident in these assertions is a curious interplay between traditional notions of sportsmanship and the specificities of online game play: players want to regulate what can be done beyond the programmed rules in order to simulate the game more realistically.

Basic technical structures in football simulators like NFL 2K5 (Visual Concepts, 2005) and Madden NFL 06 (EA Tiburon and Budcat Creations, 2006) provided the foundation for such conceptions of sportsmanship. For example, default settings standardize game length and gameplay settings, conditions players must agree upon before each game. Thus, players can expect an equal experience in regards to computer artificial intelligence and level of difficulty. Default team rosters and restrictions on team choice also prevent gamers from dominating the game by importing custom-built rosters. Finally, online play can also include an equalizing function designed to eliminate the lifelike advantages of more dominant sports teams, though we have observed that this function is rarely used.

These baseline structures help establish the fact that the game will be played according to a simulation of professional sport rules.

Yet for many gamers, these rudimentary controls still do not provide an adequate level of competition, and players find ways to exploit the system. Players who exploit weaknesses in programming and technical limitations of online play are labeled cheesers, a catch-all term for players who bend the rules. Much like Huizinga‘s ―spoil-sport,‖ who in his conscious flouting of the rules ―reveals the relativity and fragility of the play-world in which he had temporarily shut himself with others‖ (1950, p.11), cheesers destroy the illusion of playing real professional sports, shattering the magic circle. In a message posted on the NFL 2K5‘s online message board, The Last Ending (2005) defined cheesing as any ―unnecessary‖ or ―unrealistic‖ play compared to real NFL games (n.p.). Others, like Raynman, claimed that all such unrealistic plays can be stopped: ―Everything you guys cry about can be countered. You‘re just too lazy to figure it out‖ (n.p.) The volume of complaints accusing specific players of cheesing reached such heights that in October 2004, 2K5 Sports forum administrators abolished such accusatory posts on all of its message boards (Guest, 2004, n.p.). Despite this prohibition, similar posts still appear with great frequency.

Like The Last Ending (2005), many gamers argue that cheesers destroy the fun of playing sports games by ruining the feel of simulating a real, professional game, and by extension their suspension of disbelief. Typical cheesing might consist of using the same play over and over by repeatedly throwing to the same receivers or switching lineups to put star players in unexpected positions (e.g., using NFL all-star wide receiver Terrell Owens as a tight end or halfback, or Manchester United‘s striker Wayne Rooney as defender due to his high aggression and tackling statistics). In most other computer game genres this would be perfectly acceptable as the ―preferred performance‖ of the

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game (Dovey and Kennedy, 2006), the constant repeating of the most effective maneuvers within the gameworld to achieve optimal results.

from dominating matches. The vehicles are diverse: ranging from armors and light trucks to helicopters and tanks. The game uses the Unreal 3 Engine and allowsfor user-end dedicated servers. A modding and mapping SDK kit is expected to be released shortly which will allow for user-created custom maps and game mods.

Yet due to the existence of a real-world referent, players complain these behaviors violate the promise of the sports game (the faithful simulation of real life play [Scott and Ruggill, 2005]), even though there are real-world referents for the substitution of unlikely players into unexpected positions: the Chicago Bear‘s occasional use of lineman William ―Refrigerator‖ Perry as an offensive back is a well known example,[5] as is the practice of playing defenders as attackers in soccer, such as Chelsea‘s use of centreback John Terry as a striker in desperate scenarios. While ESPN 2K5 allows for limited switching among offensive players, restrictions exist to prevent the more unrealistic player switches.

Perhaps what is at work here is a break between the abundant historical details of a sport and its simulation as an abstract concept, a phenomenon examined by international relations scholar J. Der Derian (1990) in the realm of war gaming: ―in the construction of a realm of meaning that has minimal contact with historically specific events or actors, simulations have demonstrated the power to displace the ‗reality‘ of international relations they purport to represent‖ (p.301). For gamers opposed to such substitution, the fact that William Perry played different positions multiple times throughout his career - even to taunt opponents - figures little into their conceptions of player substitution as an aspect of sportsmanship. Rather, gamers imagine sportsmanship as an idealized concept divorced from the actual history of professional sport. This notion is readily reinforced by sports computer games and their designers; who, seeking to achieve the right balance between accurate simulation and enjoyable game play, still root their virtual world in the idealized representations of the rules, statistics, and players in professional sport.

In addition to controversial play calling and unconventional player substitution, glitching is another maligned playing style that involves the use of rapid button mashing combinations and exploitation of control glitches to a player‘s advantage. The most common example is where a player finds a glitch or problem with the game and uses this to his or her advantage. Because these tactics work every play, some glitchers rely on them throughout the entire game.

One of the more extreme ways to express frustration at glitching (or even losing) is the simplest form of protest: pulling the plug. Akin to flipping over a chessboard at the decisive moment, shutting off the gaming console or pulling out the network cable immediately terminates a game. In the early days of online gaming, this was a common, frustrating experience for the winning player. As mentioned earlier, to combat this behavior, many online games have begun to log the number of quits a player accrues over time. For example, EA Sports logs every player‘s ―Did Not Finish‖ percentage: DNF stands for Did Not Finish. Basically, this is a measurement of

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From the trenches....

-Bloodline Champions [BL]: As a successor to League of Legends, Bloodline Champions is a free-to-play game that is best described as a cross between a Real Time Strategy, a Third Person Shooter/Slasher and a MMO. In many ways it is like a more refined version of Diablo. This month has seen many changes in the VG BL unit such as the addition of new officers. The new people leading the drive for Bloodline Champians are our Executive Officer RevelStrike and our new Staff Officer Depiction for the North American side.

Across the pond we have Zcuron for the European group joining us as a Staff Officer. All three of these fine gentlemen are working hard everyday to make Bloodline Champions a great division.

-Company of Heroes [CH] is a real-time strategy game developed by Relic Entertainment and is set in World War II. You can play the Axis or Allied team in the single player campaign mode or the 2 to 8 multiplayer match mode. There have been various expansions and mod maps that have helped to keep this classic game fresh.

The team spinning this game up have faced some extreme adversity. Originally spun up to be the Company of Heroes Online (COHO) team they suffered the frustration and disappointment of Relic announcing they were closing the COHO servers as of March 31s. This bombshell hit hard

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(Continued from page 16) and a couple of members decided to leave. The CH team could have died at this time but in true TAW style the rest of the team rallied and rose to the challenge. They transferred over to the original game and completed their first internal tournament. During this time of transition the staff were also reorganised with Hellduke stepping up as Executive Officer, as well as Vorwaerts and IrishSniper as Staff Officers. They are now pushing hard on recruiting while planning the second tournament for EU and the first for the NA team. These fine officers are why CH is coming back hard and not giving up without a fight.

-World of Tanks [WT]: This free-to-play World War II Tank MMO is still in free open beta. The game is quite enjoyable and is unlike any other game to come before it. If you like tanks and blowing other tanks up this is the game for you. It has changed the way we look at shooters and taken the human perspective out of it. This team is growing larger every day thanks to all the hard work from the Drill Instructors and the staff officer Shmeecow. We are also proud that we will have a new staff officer stepping up from the European side, DJBoss. The open beta ends April 12th, when the game is released. Download it and give it a try!

The game will also be free after it is released. However, if you want to up your game a bit, there are three preorder packages that can be paid for.

They will give you a premium tank: light, medium or heavy; and a big discount on in-game currency. Also, if you are just joining up in world of tanks, make sure to apply to the in-game clan list so that we can find you in-game!

On the horizon: Brink, the latest release from SplashDamage, the creators of Enemy Territory, is slated to release May 17th. The game is a new

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(Continued from page 16) what percentage of games a player did not complete. So if you quit, disconnect, reset, power off, or do not finish your game in some other way, it will increase your Did Not Finish percentage. (Dewiel, 2009, n.p.)

This ensures a player who regularly quits will be less likely to find a willing opponent. A less egregious infraction, pulling out the network connection cord, will also terminate the game. In some games, network disconnections are logged separately from quits so pullers do not lose as much credibility.

Despite innovative game mechanics and the rigorous self-policing efforts that limit cheesing, players still find ways to exhibit gameplay objectionable to the community. In NFL 2K5 (Visual Concepts, 2005), for example, automatic instant replays may be employed as a means of taunting or retaliating against an opponent by disrupting the rapid flow of the game. A typical scenario might go like this: One player, f00tball_gam3er, is forced to watch his opponent, gam3grrl, replay each of her own scoring drives numerous times throughout the game. This creates a frustrating wait time while f00tball_gam3er is forced to watch his opponents‘ accomplishments. One replay in particular features replay in slow motion and from multiple angles. After f00tball_gam3er retaliates with his own repetitive replay taunt following a score, gam3grrl ultimately responds with an extended replay of her game winning play. Frustrated, f00tball_gam3er finally pulls the plug.

Similar techniques include running down the play clock - regardless of the score - so that the opponent will have less time with the ball and will be forced to wait an extra thirty seconds on each play - an agonizingly lengthy period of time in the fast-paced gaming world. Such strategies do not easily fit into the categories of cheesing or glitching, being instead designated as valid or invalid (unsportsmanlike) dependent upon the community‘s previously agreed upon local norms (Smith, 2004).

Although much maligned, glitching and cheesing strategies challenge dominant notions of sportsmanship in computer games. Naturally, many gamers feel that such playing styles detract from the game and even violate its basic promise: faithful simulation of real sports games (Scott and Ruggill, 2005). They assume that the designers and marketers of ESPN NFL 2K5 (Visual Concepts, 2005), for instance, expect players to focus solely on the simulation aspect by imagining the actions of favorite players and recreating their moves. In fact, the design of the game packaging itself, featuring Terrell Owens reaching up to make a onehanded catch, emphasizes the reality of the simulation: gamers will have a chance to recreate the plays of their favorite players and beloved teams. While some players want to emulate their preferred star, others play for the competitive challenge that playing against another human provides. If those players in favor of true simulation were to completely ignore weaknesses in programming and control, the games they play would be lengthy, predictable affairs. As Vorderer, Hartmann, and Klimmt (2003) argued, ―competitive elements are considered the most important determinant of the enjoyment arising from playing computer games‖ (p.2). While faithfully simulating reality, the games would lack a competitive aspect: the very reason players choose online games rather than mere single-player games. The human factor engages and fascinates players with unpredictability and competitiveness.

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Conclusion While finding glitches and bugs in the software gives game developers the feedback they need to improve game design and develop new features, many gamers argue that it is those same developers who should be held responsible for not providing well-crafted structures and rules to govern play, not the savvy gamers who learn to exploit them. Most importantly, cheesing and glitching are not prohibited by games themselves: by the nature of being allowed, these are moral acts in game worlds. Attaching additional levels of regulation entails messy, subjective interpretation of the nature of sportsmanship by a host of players, all with different ideas about what constitutes appropriate behavior.

This is currently becoming even more complex as certain sports games have begun to integrate common forms of cheating in the sport into their games. For example, Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (Konami, 2007) added a ―dive‖ feature, mirroring the ―diving culture‖ (Manchester Evening News, 2006) of modern day soccer. If certain cheats are not only allowed by the simulation but specifically programmed into the game as a claim to authenticity or to becoming more real, can there ever be a clear demarcation between cheaters and rule-abiding players?

Thus, the dispute between die-hard simulators and cheesers over the purpose and nature of online sports games is not likely to fade away any time soon. Rooted in philosophical discussions about the purpose and nature of sport and games, these debates will continue to fill message boards as long as computer games continue to provide opportunities to reveal what games teach us about ethics and competition. Just as Huizinga (1950) draws on games and play to interpret developments in society and culture, online games can also tell us important things about human behavior, social interaction and sports culture in the information age.

What is Pando Media Booster (Pando.exe) A friend of mine has been telling me about the game League of Legends for quite a while now. I didn‘t realize League of Legends was a free-to-play game, but since I‘m always willing to play a Free game for a while, I downloaded their client and started the install.

Later that night, I happened to check my Task Manager and noticed an unfamiliar process (Pando.exe) running. Hrm. Like any unusual process running on my PC, I decided to look into it a bit. A quick Scroogle search later It was obvious what had happened…

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type of First Person Shooter for the developer, as it focused on small-scale infantry battles in urban settings. It will also be the last title released on the famed idTech4 engine. The title will play in 6 v 6 or 8 v 8 modes and will ship with eight maps at release. Userend dedicated servers will be available. One major pioneering feature for this game will be the new SMART system (Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain) which will allow players to move seamlessly over their environment with use of a single button which can vault them over walls or slide under tables--there is nowhere the SMART button cannot take you.

Star Wars the Old Republic: While the game has no official release date yet, it is expected soon, within the next two months. This epic MMORPG from the makers of Knights of the Old Republic promises to excite many fans of both Star Wars and MMOs alike. Many wonder if this is finally the game to take a stab at World of Warcraft‘s dominance in the MMO genre. Only time will tell, but one thing we all know for sure is that many people have waited to take up their light-saber and join the fight.

Will you join the noble ranks of the Jedi Knights to save the galaxy? Or will you revel in the oppression of the Sith and choke the life from the universe? The choice is yours!

In Vanguard the mission is two-fold: we build teams and develop leadership.

TAW continues to grow as new games are released, VG is tasked with creating new teams which will in time launch to mighty divisions to carry out TAW‘s purpose: being the premier international multigame organization adhering to honor, friendship, loyalty, and fair play.

Interested in joining Vanguard? Interested in bringing a new game to TAW? Speak with your chain of command or email feanor@theartofwarfare.net.

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(Continued from page 6) Operation Support I‘d also like to add congratulations to both Marudor and HeyManNiceShot – I‘m sure you are all aware of the recent Teamspeak 3 trouble, through either being there or reading the e-mails about it. They both gave up a large part of their Sunday afternoon to work towards restoring TS as quickly as possible, and for doing so we have awarded them both the Distinguished Service Medal, which is HeyMan‘s 3rd, and Marudor‘s 2nd, respectively.

-LGN Cutthroat

Book Review

(Continued from page 7) The Tide of Warfare gether this long, that certain people in charge at one point or another seemed to be the actual cause of the problems we had in the past. I was there and lived it, have devoted literally years to TAW. And, I say that we made it this far because of a very small minority, who‘s stubborn will to persevere despite all the challenges, despite all those who said we would fall, and especially despite all those who tried, for their own selfish whims, to destroy what we built.

I‘ve often told people, when discharging them, to ―come on back when you can because we‘ll still be here‖ and ―we‘re building this so our kids and their kids will have something special to come to and be a part of‖ I have personally felt very secure about this, knowing that there shouldn't be any doubt that it will be reality.

But, that thought produces a weak spot in caring for our team because one thing that is guaranteed is that someone or something is going to come along today, or next week, or maybe next year to try and tear TAW apart. That is the promise our TAW leadership are guranteed to be served up.

VALOR I am an avid reader. One of my favorite all-time authors is Steven Pressfield. He had this to say about the warrior recently in his Blog: Decorations for valor, from ancient days to modern, have seldom been awarded for raw bloodthirstiness or the brute act of producing carnage.

The feat that inspires witnesses to honor it is almost invariably one of selflessness.

Like Machiavelli's The Prince and the Japanese Book of Five Rings, Sun Tzu's The Art of War is as timely for business people today as it was for military strategists in ancient China.

Written in China more than 2,000 years ago, Sun Tzu's classic The Art of War is the first known study of the planning and conduct of military operations. These terse, aphoristic essays are unsurpassed in comprehensiveness and depth of understanding, examining not only battlefield maneuvers, but also relevant economic, political, and psychological factors.

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The hero (though virtually no recipient chooses to call himself by that name) often acts as much to preserve his comrades as he does to deliver destruction onto the foe.

In citations, we read these phrases again and again: “Disregarding his own safety . . .”

“With no thought for his own life . . .”

“Though wounded numerous times and in desperate need of care for himself . . .”

Selflessness. The group comes before the individual. [emphasis added] For those of you who have a desire to see our honorable community thrive and grow into the unknown future it will require above all, valor. Many have stepped into the ring against us (usually from within our own ranks) with the sole desire to destroy us, and I do not exaggerate... And we have sent every last one of them packing.. they forgot to bring a lunch.

But, we are still here and thriving most of all because we still want to play our games and be a part of something bigger than ourselves.

See you on the battlefield.

-GEN5 Fox

(Continued from page 18) Installing League of Legends also silently installed an application called Pando Media Booster without my knowledge (or at least it wasn‘t obvious that it was being installed. Perhaps it was in that ToS that no one can ever quite bring themselves to read.) With a name like ―Pando Media BOOSTER‖, how could it possibly be bad. After all, who wouldn‘t want their media boosted…!

Flashback: 2001

What is Pando Media Booster? (Thanks for Sharing Indeed!)

Pando.exe is a small application that is installed along with some freeto-use software such as League of Legends, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, NBC, etc… Pando.exe basically helps the company off-load the responsibly of sharing their media files, patches or installations directly by turning their user‘s machines into Peer 2 Peer clients. (Rather than having pushing you a 600MB update file, which actually costs the company money, the users might receive parts of the file from hundreds of other players.)

Is Pando.exe Bad? Pando.exe isn‘t inherently bad and is a valid way for a company offering free or discounted software or media to save some money in operating costs. ―Isn‘t inherently bad‖ is assuming that the company that installs this process on your machine has told you what it is and has given you the option of whether you want to install it or not. In my case, I had NO idea it was being installed and was just lucky to have found it the same day. (I‘ve recently had to switch to Qwest ―High Speed‖ internet and unfortunately have NO bandwidth to spare.)

And unsuspecting user that leaves Pando.exe running on their system is pretty much being forced to seed files to thousands of users ALL THE TIME (pando.exe has been reported by users to use up to 80+% of their internet connection‘s upload bandwidth.) For some users this could lead to their ISP throttling their connection and/or actually charging them extra $$$ for using more bandwidth than they knew they were using.

Conclusion Pando Media Booster isn‘t a virus but might well be considered malware depending on how it was installed on your machine, if you were aware of it and if you were given an option to install it or not. In any event, it is legit malware and getting rid of it is an simple as pulling up your Programs and Features (Windows 7) and uninstalling it. Just be aware that it might get reinstalled with future installations or updates to the product that originally installed it.

Then again, if you want to support the company and have plenty of upload bandwidth to spare… Leave Pando.exe up and running. I‘m sure they would greatly appreciate it.

If there is a game you are interested in and think it would work in TAW please fill out the following form.

January 15 – Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, launches on the internet.

January 20 - George Walker Bush succeeds William Jefferson Clinton as the 43rd President of the United States of America.

February 9 – The submarine USS Greeneville accidentally strikes and sinks the Japanese fishing vessel Ehime-Maru near Hawaii.

February 16 – Iraq disarmament crisis: British and U.S. forces carry out bombing raids, attempting to disable Iraq's air defense network.

July 2 – The world's first self-contained artificial heart is implanted in Robert Tools.

September 11 – Almost 3,000 are killed in the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City; the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia; and in rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania October 7 – War in Afghanistan (2001 –present): The United States invades Afghanistan, with participation from other nations.

On October 23 – Apple Computers publicly announced their portable music digital player the iPod, created under project codename Dulcimer.

October 25 – Microsoft releases Windows XP December 2 – Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

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(Continued from page 2) The Ladies of TAW I got into pc gaming around the same time as PS - and so began a new strain of games. Multiplayer was almost unheard of until connection speeds increased. The first one I attempted was when Command and Conquer launched an option back in 2003. It was slow and interrupted but as connections got better and software / hardware raced ahead with each other, here we are with an amazing choice of online multiplayer gaming communities at our fingertips.

So how did I get into TAW from there?

A friend of mine was playing FarCry and met a US player online who was in TAW and the rest is history. I remember replying to my boot camp invitation with the word 'Sir'. lol ! Joining a gaming clan / organization was all alien to me but I have to say how very welcome they made me feel. Apparently, so I was told by my CO at the time, I became the first female to join the FarCry game, globally! wow, as you can imagine that made me feel quite unique. Due to the fact I was completely clueless, I became famous for my 'blonde moments' ...many stories to tell about that! One popular question asked on the servers was : LaraCroft are you really a girl? my answer was : Yes, last time I checked ! lol The fun factor increased when another female (hoorah) decided to join - BorgQueen, or 'BQ' as she is known after I nicknamed & shortened it ( I do that a lot lol). We literally had to be separated in tournaments due to the attacks of giggles during matches! The guys were always good about it though, I think they enjoyed that giggling company and it just brought more fun to playing and being in TS. Sharing a good time works wonders for team spirit.

One thing we both commented on was the fact that no female character choices were available in the game and when Farcry 2 came out we were disappointed they still hadn't added any, even though it was posted on feedback forums and to the developers.

Later, I switched to Call of Duty division that was just being set up in the Euro Division by Shadzzz. Again no female player choice in the game but if they base these games on reality, I guess it's never been encouraged to put women on the frontline. Having said that you saw the film G.I Jane right? It is possible that women can walk that wire.

Ok so this is not going down the route of sexism or discrimination, it's just something for developers to think about with the growing increase of female players in the gaming world. It would be nice to have a gender choice that doesn't sport stubble and a six-pack - us girls have enough worries with the stubble on our legs without having to worry about it on our face!

The Tombraider game and the films that followed, brought us the character LaraCroft. Watching the film one night, my Mum (who is 84 but doesn't look or act it by the way) commented on 'similarities' mainly in attitude, temperament and patience traits (lol) and it's why I chose her for my call sign. Although I feel her in-game character was tailored for a male dominated market she had a certain empowerment for the female side. Ok so as the saying goes, women are from Venus and men are from Mars but maybe the gaming community is a spaceship ( lol cybership even) to visit each other's planets :') 360 No scope : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4MRo4QONQ4 The following are interviews with many of our fellow TAW members—the Ladies of TAW: LCP ButterlfyPixi (LL) 1.

Tell us a bit about yourself – Hobbies (besides gaming), Occupation, things you love/hate, animals you own, etc.)

My hobbies: Video Games, Shopping, Dance & Hanging out with friends. I own 12 fishes and one day I'd love to own a cat, bcuz I love cats, they so cute <3 :D I am a college student and I'm 19 yr old.

Things I love: Video Games, Fashion (Glam/Punk), Dance, Cute things, Animes, Snowboarding, Good Music, etc.

Things I hate: ... I don't know.

(Continued on page 22) 21

(Continued from page 21) 2.

Flashback 2.0: 2001 Top 10 Hits of 2001

How did you get into gaming?

It all started when I moved to Canada, my cousin had a playstation 2, I fell in love with it.

Since than, I have been playing PC Online games such as Maple story, S4 league, Cabal, Aion, Modern Warfare 2 etc.

3.

What was the first FPS game you played?

Socom 2, loved it, still love it! <3 Best game ever!

4.

Besides FPS, what other games do you enjoy?

I play fighting games, RPG games, and Snowboard/Skateboard Race/ Freestyle Games.

5.

How did you hear about TAW?

1. Hanging By A Moment, Lifehouse 2. Fallin', Alicia Keys 3. All For You, Janet 4. If You're Gone, Matchbox Twenty 5. I'm Real, Jennifer Lopez Featuring Ja Rule 6. Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me), Train 7. Let Me Blow Ya Mind, Eve Featuring Gwen Stefani 8. Thank You, Dido 9. Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!), Blu Cantrell 10. Independent Women Part I, Destiny's Child

I heard about it from my friend Sigmatt.

6.

What was your first impression of TAW?

I thought it would be cool to be in the same clan as my friend Sigmatt, I really loved it.

It was the practice games on Monday and Wednesday that made me get into taw. It's really fun.

7.

What do you like about TAW?

Friendly People, awesome practice games and much more, I just can't think of any :P 8. Have you belonged to another Clan? If so, do you feel TAW was a better choice of place to be? and why.

Well I have been in many clans, but TAW is just different, it's much more fun, because it is very well organized. The fact that Taw has practice games and etc on certain time and not just all the time. It's so much better than being online 24/7 all day to have a clan war when the leader feels like having one :P. === 2LT JAX (CD) 1. Tell us a bit about yourself – Hobbies (besides gaming), Occupation, things you love/hate, animals you own, etc.)

I'm a full time college student. I'm studying to be a high school history teacher with a minor in American Sign Language and Deaf Culture. I really enjoy shooting with my dad, reading and hanging out with friends.

Some of things I love is my family and friends. Something I really hate is people who don't listen or have there idea so engraved that they don't want to listen to the other side. I own three cats, two at my mom's house and one at my dad's house. Hmm... some random information

How Much things cost in 2001 Average Cost of new house $136,150.00 Average Median Income $42,350.00 Average Monthly Rent $715.00 Cost of a gallon of Gas $1.46 Average cost of new car $25,850.00 US Postage Stamp 34 cents 1 LB of Bacon $3.22 Ground Coffee per IB $3.06 Loaf of Bread $1.82 Dozen Eggs 90 cents Popular Films              

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Monsters, Inc. Shrek Ocean's Eleven Pearl Harbor The Mummy Returns Jurassic Park III Planet of the Apes Hannibal A Beautiful Mind Training Day Monster's Ball Moulin Rouge!

(Continued on page 23) 22

(Continued from page 22) The Ladies of TAW about myself is I'm the oldest of 2 girls, I'm from the North Carolina coast. I have never left the contiguous United States, I hope to one day visit Ireland. I'm very much a tom boy I love baseball, American Football, and Lacrosse.

2.

How did you get into gaming?

I first got into gaming from my dad. One of our things together was to play video games on our Super Nintendo.

3.

What was the first FPS game you played?

My first FPS was Wolfenstien and the Original Call of Duty.

4.

Besides FPS, what other games do you enjoy?

Hmm another game I enjoy to play is Guildwars, though I'm not very good at it.

A friend of mine got me playing it.

5.

How did you hear about TAW?

I heard about TAW from Greasmen and Creative, when I played MW2 6.

What was your first impression of TAW?

My first impression what it was very structured, and easy to adapt to.

7.

What do you like about TAW?

I like that I've made so many friends across the world.

8. Have you belonged to another Clan? If so, do you feel TAW was a better choice of place to be? and why.

I've never been in another clan 9. Where did your callsign originate from?

My name originates from a book character in the Dark Series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. She was a strong women who was very much like me. But her name is Jaxon, but she to went by Jax. 10.What was your first experience like in a gaming community and in TAW also.

It was interesting, MW2 was the first game I had played online with people from all over the world. I did notice though that most of the guys didn't believe girls could play FPS and actually be good at them. So I dealt with a lot of discrimination if I alluded to the group I was a girl, or if I talked about how the game went. But since being in TAW I have not dealt with any of that. If anything a lot of the guys respect my ability as a girl gamer in a male dominated game. == SGT Charm (QW) 1.

Tell us a bit about yourself â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

hobbies are painting, travelling, philosophy, researching science/ astronomy. I work as a claims adjuster for an insurance company. I love animals, hot weather, my boyfriend( I actually met him in TAW), vegetables yummy. And groovy music. I hate bad manners, mangos, celery and above all people that respawn in battle- it should be a kickable offense. I have one kitty now, but I used to have a guinea pig, tree frogs, toads, anoles, geckos, fancy mice, and a 4 1/2 foot iguana.

2.

How did you get into gaming?

when I was a little kid we had a NES and a SNES that I used to play. So much so that id wake up in the middle of the night

(Continued on page 24) 23

(Continued from page 23)

Flashback 2.0: 2001

and sneak out into the living room to play more after my parents went to bed. I first played on an Amiga computer and played endless hours of breakout. it was the only game we had.

3.

What was the first FPS game you played?

duck hunt on Nes lol, golden eye on N64, Halo on xbox. wolfenstein enemy territory on PC 4.

Besides FPS, what other games do you enjoy?

RTS, puzzle, MMORPG. 5.

How did you hear about TAW?

played against TAW in a different clan.

6.

What was your first impression of TAW?

it seemed cultish lol 7.

What do you like about TAW?

organized matches 8. Have you belonged to another Clan? If so, do you feel TAW was a better choice of place to be? and why.

Yes, and yes I do feel that taw is a better choice.

9. Where did your callsign originate from? it is my real life nickname that originates from my real name charmayne 10.What was your first experience like in a gaming community and in TAW also.

Top 10 Hits of 2001 1. Hanging By A Moment, Lifehouse 2. Fallin', Alicia Keys 3. All For You, Janet 4. If You're Gone, Matchbox Twenty 5. I'm Real, Jennifer Lopez Featuring Ja Rule 6. Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me), Train 7. Let Me Blow Ya Mind, Eve Featuring Gwen Stefani 8. Thank You, Dido 9. Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!), Blu Cantrell 10. Independent Women Part I, Destiny's Child

How Much things cost in 2001 Average Cost of new house $136,150.00 Average Median Income $42,350.00 Average Monthly Rent $715.00 Cost of a gallon of Gas $1.46 Average cost of new car $25,850.00 US Postage Stamp 34 cents 1 LB of Bacon $3.22 Ground Coffee per IB $3.06 Loaf of Bread $1.82 Dozen Eggs 90 cents Popular Films  

My first experience in my first clan was hell, there was no organization and it was a fascist dictatorship. TAW is my 3rd clan, and has a much bigger community, but I think it‘s based too much on military ranking system and as a gaming community, we should develop a new system of ranking.

CPL Nyela (LL) I'm Nela a girl from TAW, I‘m glad that their are others girls too in this clan, I hope will be more:D, especially on League of Legends :P. I am from Romania, I am 23 years old (on 27.11 will make 24), I‘m studying economics (accounting) in University here in my country. One of my

           

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Monsters, Inc. Shrek Ocean's Eleven Pearl Harbor The Mummy Returns Jurassic Park III Planet of the Apes Hannibal A Beautiful Mind Training Day Monster's Ball Moulin Rouge!

(Continued on page 25) 24

(Continued from page 24) The Ladies of TAW hobbies is dancing. I‘m pretty good at it :D and reading. I have 1 hamster (is a she :D), 1 rabbit (is a she too :))), and a lot of flowers to care of :). I like the summer, i love to climb on mountains, I love also the sea and I hate the cold. I love animals and flowers and hate the people that hurt them. I have been in gaming for a while (like 12 years :d). I always liked the computer games but only the strategy games, adventure games..i don‘t like shooters.

About how I joined TAW: I know from a friend of mine, he is also in TAW (dunixi). I like this clan because is solid and serious. I feel good talking with the guys in here and I‘m glad they are respectful (being the only girl in League of Legend), and I learned a lot of stuff about the game. I was in another clan, but there was no fun, a lot of boredom and I quit...definitely TAW is a better choice. My call sign hmm..is a little dirty :)) is a whole story about my call sign.

My call sign in game is dirtiestbi*** because..first I wanted my name to be Nela..but it was not available. I tried a lot of nicknames..but none of that worked out and finally I got irritated and I put this name in and SURPRISE! this one worked :)) ..so I‘ve let it be. :P My first experience..in TAW was ..hmm..how to say..emotional..because I was a girl with a LOT of guys around me ... was fine anyway, I can handle some guys..nothing to worry :D but was an interesting experience and it still is.

MGN LaraCroft (CD) 1.

Tell us a bit about yourself – Hobbies (besides gaming), Occupation, things you love/hate, animals you own, etc.)

For the past 18 years I have been running my family's garage business, set up by my parents 38 years ago. Formerly a hairdresser and beautician. My hobbies revolve around my pc nowadays I spend alot of time online. I enjoy meeting people in general and for those who are foreign I like to learn about their countries and cultures. I like to travel and enjoy music (electic) Tv and films.

Love animals especially horses, been riding since I was 5 yrs old although sadly not anymore these days. I recently rehomed a cat called 'Cat' but he looks like a Felix so that's going to be his new name. I hate bad manners and bullying.

2.

How did you get into gaming?

Gradual migration from pre & post playstation days & through a friend.

3.

What was the first FPS game you played?

Farcry 4.

Besides FPS, what other games do you enjoy?

Farmville!! lol Games of all types pretty much, never tried MMO's.

5.

How did you hear about TAW?

Through a friend of a friend in the US who was a TAW member in FarCry (Phoenix).

6.

What was your first impression of TAW?

I felt like Private Benjamin ! haha 7.

What do you like about TAW?

I like the structure, that it encourages us to show good conduct to each other. I have made some great friends here

(Continued on page 26) 25

(Continued from page 25) Ladies of TAW 8. Have you belonged to another Clan? If so, do you feel TAW was a better choice of place to be? and why.

No. 9. Where did your callsign originate from?

Tombraider games & Films.

10.What was your first experience like in a gaming community and in TAW also.

Joining TAW for the first time I had no clue what to expect. Waiting to join TS for the first time and meet everyone in channel was like sitting in a dentist waiting room. But it was all good, I got the hang of things S-L-O-WL-Y lol one of my first training nights I joined the wrong server! and so the Blonde Moment was born.

Copyright © 2010-2011 TAW Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no FrontCover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.

All other trademarks, service marks, and copyrights are property of their respective owners.

Thank you Ladies of TAW for you time.

TAW at PAX PAX is a three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers. They call it a festival because in addition to dedicated tournaments and freeplay areas they‘ve got nerdcore concerts, panel discussions, the weekend-long Omegathon event, and an exhibitor hall filled with booths displaying the latest from top game publishers and developers. Even with all this amazing content the best part of PAX is hanging out with other people who know their stuff when it comes to games and gaming. TAW will be at PAX this year. We are in the process of putting together a gathering for all TAW members that can make it. For more information about PAX, click here. Get your Tickets early—they sell out quickly.

Support TAW and your division by purchasing our fine and highly fashionable goods. These products are completely non -profit, and every sale gives 3$ / 3€ in donation to TAW. If you buy a division specific item, then the donation goes to that division.

The TAWSHOP team: Dogstar - dogstar@theartofwarfare.net (Project Manager) DeadXOn - deadxon@theartofwarfare.net (Project Assistant) Jedi - jedi@therartofwarfare.net (orders/accounting)

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