Training Killers: Serious Games are Serious Business
No, this article is not about how videogames cause violence – a ridiculous idea anyway – but how games can be and are used to teach soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines how to do their jobs. The military has always been interested in ways to simulate combat effectively to provide a realistic training experience. At the top of the scale, joint exercise simulations like Unified Quest help keep the Chief of Staff thinking analytically. The Air Force has been using various flight simulators since World War II – the latest versions differ from reality only in safety, cost, and g-forces! The Navy has also been at the forefront of simulation development, particularly since, as with the Air Force, using actual vehicles and weapons can be both dangerous and prohibitively expensive. Ground forces are just starting to catch up.
As ground-based combat systems have become more computerized, the ability to provide simulation-based training in that arena has also increased. Computerized fire control systems and GPS-based tracking systems like Blue Force Tracker naturally lend themselves to simulations for training on those devices. Newer systems, such as “DARWARS Ambush”, the Engagement Skills Trainer (EST) and the Virtual Convoy Operations Trainer (VCOT), teach combat skills and decision-making to junior soldiers. A simulation called “Tactical Iraqi” teaches them rudimentary language skills. Large-scale exercises are held for commanders at all levels with a game called “UrbanSim” using virtual soldiers and covering issues like dealing with civilians, mission planning, terrorism, and logistics. Video games are even used for recruitment, as exemplified by the ever-popular “America’s Army.”
Although this game was originally intended to bring military-minded gamers into the Army’s fold, it has spawned virtual training systems for antitank weapons, air defense platforms, and bomb disposal robots.
Interestingly, the sharing of technology has sometimes passed in both directions. “Full Spectrum Warrior” was originally conceived and developed for training small-unit leaders in the art of ground combat and is still in use in that role in the Army. Rumor has it that the Army is also considering a massively-multiplayer online game (MMOG) as a virtual “military world” where soldiers could train online remotely with soldiers from all over the world. Virtual world games are also being used to help combat veterans in therapy to understand and resolve issues related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Probably the largest proponent of the video game training concept is the Army, with the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO-STRI) website listing over 100 simulations under their banner. PEO-STRI is responsible for deploying 70 gaming systems of 52 computers each in 53 locations in the United States, Germany, Italy and South Korea. In these simulations, soldiers can drive virtual vehicles, fire virtual weapons, and pilot virtual unmanned aerial vehicles in a virtual battle space as large as 100 kilometers by 100 kilometers. Among their current projects is a virtual reality simulator that allows trainees to walk around in a closed environment with a training weapon and goggles designed as interface devices.
Although older systems were custom-made for the military, at a phenomenal cost in taxpayer dollars, newer simulations use commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) applications as their starting point. This saves the military time and money over the development lifecycle and lets developers use tools they already know. With an estimated investment by the military of several hundreds of millions of dollars in this area over the next few years, it’s a potential revenue stream for any game studio and another tool in the box for any game designer or developer. With so many military video games already popular enough to spawn numerous sequels – “Call of Duty”, “Battlefield”, “Medal of Honor”, and “SOCOM”, just to name a few – there is no shortage of game engines available.
If your studio is interested in developing in this field, my recommendation is to find designers with real-world military experience who can grasp the training needs and jargon of the target audience. If you would like to work as a designer in this field, my advice is to learn everything you can about modern military operations from veterans, history books, and manuals – avoid movies, TV shows, news articles, and using other games as research. Play some paintball, take flying lessons, visit a reserve unit, or shoot some guns at the local range. Get yourself into their shoes as deeply as you can without getting shot at. It will add remarkable depth to both your understanding and the authenticity of your work.
Chris Keeling is a Game Designer and Writer credited on several video games, including “Panzer Elite”, “America’s Army”, “Twilight War”, and “Order of War”, and has also designed tabletop games. He is currently nearing completion of an MFA in Videogame Production and Design at National University and is a combat veteran with over 20 years of military service. To learn more, please visit his online portfolio at: www.chriskeeling.com
