(AWG) was born in late 1998. The team was founded by Snowwolf(AWG) who is presently known as 2112(AWG). The original squad consisted of four people who all worked for same company, which was AT&T Wireless Groups, which simply broke down, became the acronym AWG. Snowwolf along with Berretta, Goofy, and Panama Black kicked things off by playing (AWG)'s very first official title from Novalogic called Delta Force. A game series which would become very familiar to the team as we would later represent six out of seven titles in the series. Voice communication software had not quite seen the light of day. In order to have the ability to talk live the founding member's conference called one another on their company's cell phone service. It soon became apparent that (AWG) would grow into something much larger than just some co-workers gaming together.



The next chapter of (AWG) would be written in 1999 with most of the original members moving on from Delta Force to the next installment of the series Delta Force 2. Being that most of the members had rather slow computers which didn't run Delta Force 2 as good as the previous title it soon became obvious they enjoyed playing the former title more as a group. The decision was made to revert back and to drop the more recent title from their line up. The title would be revisted by Snowwolf(AWG) in the year 2000 with the purchase of his new rig at the time which sported a Intel Pentium II chip.

With that choice came a new commitment to providing a fun place for like-minded public players to join them in battling in a cheat free, clean, and honorable battlefield. Thus began a new chapter for (AWG) in which they set standards for what was to later turn into their rules of engagement for its members and for those public players who would venture into their server. With these new standards in place the (AWG) server became a pretty popular place for people to play. Night after night regular public players would bring their skills and honor to take on other like-minded players from around the world. These standards would later become (AWG)'s Code of Conduct. It is something with which every member of our team agrees to play under before wearing our tags.

As the year ended things starting looking pretty bad for (AWG). All the original members had given up representing the squad except for the founder Snowowlf(AWG). Panama Black moved onto playing a new title called Swat 3 and was done with the Delta Force series for a while. Both Berretta & Goofy moved away from gaming and focused their free time on family matters. Snowwolf kept serving a public server for Delta Force and wondered what would become of the team. No doubt as the weeks and months past things were not looking very good for the team. With only one member remaining Snowolf(AWG) wondered how long the team would survive with only a single member left representing. The fall of 2000 opened a new day not only for gaming but also for (AWG).



November was marked with Novalogic once again releasing the next installment of the Delta Force series. Delta Force Land Warrior brought modern day graphics to the battlefield along with the play style of the first two titles. Novalogic had out done their previous work by creating the best Delta Force game to date. With this new beginning Snowwolf saw hope in his team and in a community that was all but dying before this release. With this exciting new change came the thought of also changing his player name and dropping the name he had worn for the first two years. Snowolf(AWG) the player name was left behind and thus 2112(AWG) was born. Being that his other hobby was listening to the rock group Rush he felt this new name marked a positive change and called for a re-birth of (AWG).

2112(AWG) played alone through the holidays of 2000 and began rebuilding the team in the beginning of 2001. Most of the work was spent trying to find new members. Novaworld stat servers were a prime location for recruiting new blood for the team. Playing along side the public and observing who played with honor, respect, and skills were his first choices. Some of the first members to join the team were Sgt. Rock(AWG), Dampy(AWG), AgEnTsMiTh(AWG) and Caesar(AWG). As the team grew so did the amount of work it took into running it. Sgt. Rock was promoted to second in command and MP(AWG) was hired to run a Euro division of our team. As the team begun to take shape with having a good membership so did the amount of practice into refining their skills. With a standing record of four wins for every loss we felt we were doing quite well. We formed friendships with other squads as well and also watched a trend of many disappearing through out the years. This would be something we would see through out the various communites we would become involved with. It soon became obvious that (AWG) had the staying power to survive long past the life expectancy seen from other squads.



What did (AWG) stand for was the new running joke by many of the crew. As originally the name meant AT&T Wireless Groups and yet no one on the team even worked for them it was time to find a new meaning for the acronym. So the search went out.... What does AWG stand for was the question to the members. Many responded with great choices. Many of the team still joke around that on Friday evenings it stands for Alcoholics With Guns. But indeed the true meaning of AWG was voted upon to become the Art of War Gaming. One thing we did notice was we were known by most just by our acronym and that the need for a true meaning was very secondary. To this day most still know us first bu our team tag rather than the true meaning.

With the team growing in size and the need for a home battlefield came one of our members stepping up to the plate to help out. True Gamer(AWG) provided the team with a dedicated Delta Force Land Warrior server for over a year at his own expense. (AWG) indeed made great use of the server to no end. Both using it to host a great public room where night after night people came to enjoy an honorable battle and also giving our team a place to hold official matches versus many other quality teams. We also hosted many custom maps made by our various members and some of the community mapmakers. TrueGamer(AWG) goes down as one of the team?s great members and will never be forgotten for his service to our team.



The team broke new ground in 2001 with two new titles. Ghost Recon & Medal of Honor both were voted in as official titles that our membership wanted to represent. Medal of Honor didn?t last very long as after further review and play time it was determined not offer the game play that we were accustomed to having with Novalogic titles. Ghost Recon however did quite well as a title and lasted many years with the members who were playing it fulltime. As the team grew we soon found that our present command staff was spread to thin between two titles. Dragon(AWG) was promoted to command the Ghost Recon division and shortly there after the new division took off. With new members joining both the Delta Force division and Ghost Recon division things really were rolling.

(AWG) hosted it?s very first public tournament and named it (AWG)?s 1st Annual Turkey Hunt towards the fall of 2001. The event ran for several weeks and a squad named Crosshairs won the title. CH grew to become quite the Delta Force squad and was later face by (AWG) in a semi final round of a tournament in which (AWG) finally toppled them for unexpected win. No doubt one of the team?s strongest victories and one that will be remembered by those who played in the match for years to come.

As 2002 came around so did a newfound feeling that our main stay title Delta Force Land Warrior was becoming boring and rather stale. With the so many hours spent playing the same maps over and over it started wearing on our members. Custom maps were even starting to get rather boring and the title was seeing its age. Novalogic luckily brought out an expansion for it called Delta Force Task Force Dagger which would extend the life of the series. The title provided enough entertainment until a much bigger title came our way. News of Novalogic working on an updated title with new graphics was being developed and we counted the days until its release.



Towards the end of 2002 (AWG) voted in another brand new title to our official title list. It was more than time to try another type of online first person shooter style of game. Digital Illusions brought out a new online war game called Battlefield 1942. With it came a style of game play which involved vehicles and not the normal run and gun style we had grown so comfortable with using. Until now the team had leaned on its use of heavy gunners and the run and gun style of game play. Battlefield 1942 had opened our eyes to a new style of game play that involved tactics and skill. Now our team had to contend with an enemy who could fly aircraft, drive vehicles, and so much more. No doubt it took us a while to shake our style of game play we had used for so many years and learn a new way of playing online warfare titles.

As 2003 started so did the feeling that (AWG) had lost something from breaking into three separate directions. With three titles currently being played by our membership the difficulties soon became apparent. Slowly issues started to arise between the various commanders not agreeing with policies. The Battlefield 1942 division soon went their own way. Not very long after so did our Ghost Recon division. Dragon(AWG) dropped his tags and formed his new team. With their departure came a new name for the team and would be known as Combat Gaming Inc. with their team tag being =CGi=. They had a great run while gaming in the Ghost Recon community and later went onto to other first person shooter titles. Sadly the team dissolved towards the end of 2004. During the time the two divisions left it was decided to get down to basics and to what made (AWG) the squad it was. Indeed the teams name was well known in the Novalogic community and with a new Delta Force game upon us it was time to show them once again who we are.



Delta Force Black Hawk Down came out towards the end of the first quarter of 2003. Although the release was a breath of fresh air it came with the same issues that had plagued the Novalogic community games since Delta Force. Cheating players were encountered both in public battlefields as well as in match play. This soon wore on our crew as we fought those who would ruin our community and tried hard to show that playing with honor in a cheat free environment is a lot more fun for everyone. We held a petition to ask Novalogic to let a new anti-cheat software company help us in the fight against cheating. With the petition came 7135 signed community members asking Novalogic to please let Punkbuster help code against the various hacks of the title. Sadly Novalogic would not hear our argument and the petition was for nothing. With very little support on fixing some of the large issues that ruined our experience we starting thinking it might be time to start looking for another title to move our squad into.



Luck would have it that Sony Online Entertainment offered us a chance to beta test a new online FPS product they were coming out with. We agreed to start testing the title and soon found ourselves really enjoying a new style of game play. With being a massive multi play game it also broke us into playing with many more players on a battlefield than we had ever seen before. Thus was our entrance into MMO games. Something that would come full circle later in our history. Most of the team was enjoying the new style of game play without the fear of encountering cheaters. On May 16th 2003 we held a team meeting where ninety percent of the squad voted to move on fulltime to Planetside. On that evening we also lost some valued members of ours who made the decision to not move on with us into the new title. It was both a great night and a horrible night as we said goodbye to some valued friends.

(AWG) had recovered from leaving our roots and blasted into our new community full force. Mike(AWG) soon became very busy with hiring tons of new teammates. Before too long we found our team?s roster reaching 130 members, which was the largest, we had ever seen since founding the squad in 1998. (AWG) took on thousands of players from the other two factions in the game and helped many raids that our Terrain Republic were involved with. We soon learned many new skills and started dropping our normal run and gun style of game play. The title provided us a glimpse of what the future holds for online warfare in titles yet to be released. Sadly as time went on things starting showing up which upset the entire team. Sony had an excellent community base built up but did very little to support it. It appeared that although there were people responding in their forums to the various issues that were being found that in reality no one was fixing items of concern fast enough for peoples liking. Soon the in game bugs and also cheating surfaced on the battlefield and we were back to square one. Only thing which made things worse was that we were being charged a monthly fee for issues we use to get for free in Delta Force Black Hawk Down.

With the before mentioned the team soon decided to go back to our roots and try the Novalogic style of gaming once again. With having played the titles for so many years it was only time before we had no choice to go back as we all missed the play style we had done for so long. Entering back into the Delta Force series on Sept. 16th 2003 we played through the holidays and prepared for an expansion pack to Delta Force Black Hawk Down. The expansion pack Delta Force Black Hawk Down Team Sabre came out in early 2004 and tided us over until the next product line soon came our way.



We started beta testing a brand new product for Novalogic called Joint Operations Typhoon Rising. This new title broke new ground with some amazing features yet to be seen in a first person shooter. Things like day and night cycles and the ability to drive vehicles in a Delta Force style of game play were just what (AWG) was looking for. The many hours beta testing the new product took the team back to the old days where community was important and people got along with one another. To top things off Novalogic was watching everything and with that said there was very little to no chance of cheaters ruining the battles. Also with this came the best community support to date. Playing with various members of the build team and employees from the company proved fun for everyone. Something which later turned out even better for (AWG) as we had the games producer Joel Taubel, programmer Trevor Walker, and admin Matt Botsford join our team and wear our tags. Indeed it was a special time for our team to have not only our existing membership but also three members from Novalogic who we had played their company?s titles for so many years.

The summer of 2004 marked a great time for (AWG). We had a quality title finally that pleased almost everyone on our squad. We also had promise of good things to come with a future expansion coming for Joint Operations. All was great until one day the powers that be at Novalogic decided to more or less dumb down the title. A patch came down the pipeline that more or less ruined a perfect game. The displeasure was immediate and felt by an entire community. With most patches there are always some who will complain but this one hurt everyone who played the title. After weeks of nothing being fixed many squads and individual players left the series and moved onto various other first person shooters. The good ole days were now gone and once again our team faced some very tough decisions.



With this came some choices for our membership. First being to play a first person shooter that was lacking compared to what it was before or to try a new game on the market with huge promise. The fall of 2004 marked two new titles becoming official (AWG) represented games. A new genre for our team was the forming of a World of Warcraft division. Unlike previous titles it took our members away from the more traditional style first person shooter and into the MMORPG. A style, which soon became many of the team?s favorite and still is actively being played to this day.

Our first person shooter core group decided to more or less stick with the Joint Operations series. With that came a new beta test for the future expansion to be called Joint Operations Escalation. Many hours were once again spent play testing the title. Although exciting as it had many new features such as dirt bikes, tanks, and attack choppers. It still was missing something that we first saw in pre-patched Joint Operations Typhoon Rising. Something that sadly never did show itself ever again. Once again (AWG) had to hunt for a new title, which would make the masses happy once again.

The beginning of 2005 was hard for most of our members. We more or less had no title to converge on. World of Warcraft pleased quite a few of the membership but the hard-core shooter crowd had nothing. The period was spent playing everything. Games like Tiger Woods, Neverwinter Nights, Rainbow Six: Raven Shield, and many more. Although none were considered official titles all were appreciated during this moment to kill some time until something was released which would get us back in the game.



As 2005 rolled on so did a title on our radar. The game was called Battlefield 2 and was being developed by Digital Illusions. The company had given us a title many years back in Battlefield 1942. This new game offered something, which excited us a great deal. Modern day warfare on a new engine designed for hard-hitting action and amazing graphics. As the summer came so did its release and (AWG) had quickly made up for lost time. It soon became very apparent that they had finally found a title, which would make almost everyone happy. The title did represent some issues for certain members and luckily we didn?t lose very many. With (AWG) having both World of Warcraft and Battlefield 2 there seemed to be a title for everyone?s taste.

The year went well for both divisions and was marked with many players reaching their level 60?s in World of Warcraft and Battlefield 2 players also ranking up their stats. Battlefield 2 was treated to its first expansion pack during the holidays and held the team?s interest in the title. The Battlefield 2 division also entered a World Tournament, which went on for nine rounds. They did very well being their first official event for the title and finished with a strong record. The year ended once again on a high note for both crews and a vision for a much brighter future.

2006 began with news that both divisions would be getting expansion packs. World of Warcraft would be getting a new add on named The Burning Crusade which will be appearing fall of 2006. Also on the horizon was the announcement of two booster packs for the Battlefield 2 series. The first being named Euro Forces and the second Armored Fury. Battlefield 2 Euro Force was released mid March 2006. Many enjoyed the booster for the first week but sadly it did not offer much staying power. As spring 2006 approached so did a sense of Battlefield 2 beginning to lose it's steam. During this time (AWG) was featured in a video series. Making The Clan was a video crew who filmed squads and tried to feature them in an in game interview type of setting. Both our Battlefield 2 & World of Warcraft divisions were shown in a fun filled two part series. Battlefield 2 Armored Fury was delayed until may 2006. Something which the team hopes will breath a little more life into the Battlefield 2 title before they say goodbye and move onto the next official title.



What?s next for (AWG)? Well the future is always exciting and is also unwritten. With titles such as Battlefield 2142, Huxley, Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, and many more the future does seem bright. However one thing is known for sure. (AWG) will always be around enjoying the friendships they have among the team and playing online war titles vs. others who have honor & respect for the game. No doubt most of the team will be grey haired and still playing Delta #? and above all continue the brotherhood they have today.