State of the Coalition

What is 9 to UGC? I am sure the first thing that comes to mind are the 9 stars on the UGC flag. Well if that didn't come to mind first, who cares. It is what I am talking about. Those 9 stars represent 9 names. Those names were BlewByU, Eliminator, Jena_blist, Lonestar, Oldman, Redbeard, Sharkpool, SS2, and Thorn. Those 9 names are the names of the ones who decided it was time to put together a gaming group for friends who wanted nothing more than to have fun. Long before those stars were put on that flag, those 9 laid the foundation to something great. They did not know at the time that what they had started would grow and eventually others would join them on their quest for friendship, fairness and fun.

So I mentioned the stars on the flag. This day, our 9th birthday, is a great day to go over the flag. The UGC flag came to us during our 4th year. I had made a video of our 3rd anniversary and in it had mentioned that the video was dedicated to all those who had ever flown the UGC flag. One problem; we had no flag. Through ideas and discussions, a member named Lynx presented a design that is very near to our current flag. A few tweaks and UGC finally had a flag and I must say that I was very impressed and I am still impressed by it.




Look at it closely. Each part of the flag has a special meaning. I already told you that the 9 stars represented the founding members. Notice the background of the entire flag. It is a map of the world on a circuit board. That symbolizes the connection of UGC through the wonders of the internet.

The two swords symbolizes our committment to be the best. Most of the time we are in combat games and we always strive to be the best warriors online. Those swords reminds us of our desire to be great.

In the center is the globe. With the circuit board we symbolized our connection through the internet. With the globe, we symbolize that no matter where we are from, we are one, we are UGC.

If you notice, there are 3 rings around the globe. Each ring is part of our official motto. The first ring is the interior ring which is yellow. This ring symbolizes fun. This ring is around the globe and is the symbol that all of us are here for the fun. The middle ring symbolizes fairness. This ring connects the inner ring of fun to the outter ring. That outter ring touches each of the 9 stars and that ring symbolizes friendship. For it is friendship that brought the 9 founders together, it is friendship that is connected to fairness that allows us to have fun and it is friendship that encircles our UGC globe and keeps everything intact.

Now you see why I have such a strong attachment to the UGC flag.

This 9th birthday of our gaming community is a day to remember that we have been together for the purpose of friendship, fairness, and fun. We have strived to exemplify the ideals of friendship, fairplay, honesty and hard fought competition. We have had our ups and we have had our downs. Through it all, we can proudly say that after 9 years we are still here and we are still going strong. Although the number 9 brings to mind the 9 stars on the flag, the best way to answer my question of what is 9 to UGC is to look at it this way. 9 is considered less than 10. 10 is considered perfect. A perfect 10. UGC is not perfect, but we can say that we are great. So UGC is a 9; less than perfect but still great none the less.

Happy birthday UGC. Happy birthday to all the members of the United Gamers Coalition.

Game On!

State of the Coalition

We are rabidly closing in on our ninth anniversary. That's right, the United Gamers Coalition has been here for nine years. There is another United Gamers Coalition and to be honest I wish they would change their name. We built something special here and it pains me to see another group us the same name we have. There is so much history within UGC that it seems right to say that no one else should be allowed to use our name. It matters not, for we know who we are and we are the originators of Friendship, Fairness, and Fun. Notice however, that our motto does not say which of those three words is more important than others. Sure friendship is first on the list because it would be impossible to put all three words at the front. All three of those words are just as important together as they are alone. I bring this up because I saw a motto on a Battlefield: Bad Company 2 server that said Respect is 1st, Fairness is 2nd. What does that mean?

Speaking of Battlefield: Bad Company 2, our server is still chugging along. It has hit some highs and lows but we believe that we have found a balance that will allow us to use the server for fun and for recruitment in the months to come. BC2 is a fun game and there are plenty in UGC that play it. It has truly become a UGC classic just like Call of Duty and Medal of Honor.

Call of Duty. CoD 5 that is. No, Call of Duty: World at War. Yeah that is the name. It seems that Call of Duty 4 was the last of the numbered when it comes to Call of Duty. Even Call of Duty 4 had a subtitle. It was Modern Warfare. Then there was Modern Warfare 2 and now they are coming out with Call of Duty: Black Ops. Yet, it is Call of Duty: World at War that is the only CoD game that is played regularly now. In fact, Modern Warfare 2 was never added as a UGC game. Some believe that Black Ops will be treated the same way. The funny thing is, it is the zombie part of CoD 5 that is the main draw for UGC members. Gone are the days of Medal of Honor, is Call of Duty about to become the next Medal of Honor? Once we are done with CoD 5, will CoD be laid to rest in UGC? Only time will tell.

Those are the main games of UGC right now. Sure some still play World of Warcraft or Age of Conan, but the most still hold a rifle and head into war. No matter what the game is, the United Gamers Coalition still remains a place to come and play with friends. UGC is always adapting to new games and sometimes to a new look.

The United Gamers Coalition had a big update with the website some months ago. Pages were added and the ribbons made a return. New things are added as they are needed. Recently, the UGC forums got a much needed upgrade and things are running smooth. UGC has come a long way since the first website back in 2001. Our look has changed several times but we have remained the same. I will post more about our history in July during our ninth anniversary. Until then ...

Game On!