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Video Games and the Warfighter
20 Years Military Service
Combat in Iraq Peacekeeping in
Bosnia Airborne Infantry Military Intelligence Special Operations Senior Drill Sergeant
Panzer Elite America’s Army Twilight War Order of War Sturmtruppen Military Games Editor
at www.gamersinfo.net
MFA in Video Game Production and Design (pending thesis)
1 – Kriegspiel A brief history of wargames
2 – Modern Wargames Civilian wargame development
3 – Simulations The development of military
games 4 – Training Can Be Fun
The advent of game-training 5 – Future Force
Turning wargamers into warriors
CONTENTS
A Brief History of Wargames
Go (Wei-Hei) Chess
Based on the Indian game Chaturanga and used to teach royalty to think tactically and plan ahead
Koenigspiel A larger version of chess with more pieces and
spaces Kriegspiel
Divided into two types, the original with clearly-defined rules, and the later “Free Kreigspiel” which used a referee to arbitrate and interpret
Used to train German officers through the end of the 19th century and influenced Wells’ “Little Wars”
Civilian Wargame Development
Little Wars Written by H.G. Wells on the eve of World War I Started the concept of miniature soldiers for games
The First Nerds Hobby wargamers painted huge armies and used
them to play large battles from the 30’s onward Modern Miniatures Games
Interest in miniatures games was generally not affected by the introduction of the PC for wargaming
There are many more miniatures gamers in the US than board wargamers
Tactics First board wargame by Charles Roberts in 1953 Avalon Hill created the board wargame industry
Simulations Publications Incorporated Turned wargame design into a system Churned out hundreds of games in the 1970’s
The End of an Era The introduction of the PC in 1980 killed the market Board wargames are now a niche market (~10,000) As a consequence, board wargames are now
generally larger, more graphically appealing, easier to learn and play, and much more expensive than before
Gaming the World Wars Generally used the “Free Kriegspiel” model Numerous flaws and deficiencies when modeling
anything larger than a single battle Operational Research
First started in World War II to improve conduct of operational and strategic warfare
Initiated the analysis of historical battles to define modern tactics and constants of warfare
Mechanical Simulators Focus on operator simulations such as fighter
cockpits
Personal Computers First computer wargames are similar to board
games Computers also make flight simulations available
Types of Military Games Turn-Based Strategy Games Real-Time Strategy Games Warfare Simulations (Tanks, Planes and Shooters)
Multiplayer Games Hot Seat Wargames Multiplayer (head-to-head) Wargames Massively-Multiplayer Online Wargames
First-Person Shooters America’s Army Armed Assault Battlefield Call of Duty Counterstrike Delta Force Ghost Recon Medal of Honor Operation Flashpoint SOCOM
Strategy Games Axis & Allies Close Combat Combat Mission Command and
Conquer Company of Heroes Endwar Men of Valor Order of War Panzer General World in Conflict
The Development of Military Games
Focus is on controls and engineering Pilots, astronauts, drivers, and equipment operators
Limited feedback You’re either doing it right or crashing and burning
Limited realism Controls are authentic but scenarios are not
Cost They must be custom-made at great expense
Specific to model Once your hardware changes, your sim is out of date
Simulate anything Convoys, tanks, drones, leadership, and diplomacy
Immediate feedback Realistic results are provided through “soft”
endings Custom-tailored
Scenarios can be designed to fit user needs Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS)
Cheaper and faster to build and maintain Upgradable
Software can be updated for new equipment
The Advent of Game-Training
Pioneered by the US Marine Corps America’s Army: Operations
Developed as a recruiting tool to get target audience interested in the Army. Its sister project, America’s Army: Soldiers, was designed as a roleplaying game to teach players about army life, ethics, and training.
Engine also used to develop training simulators for Javelin antitank launcher and bomb disposal drones.
Full Spectrum Warrior Originally designed for training squad leaders, then
used as the foundation of a popular videogame.
DARWARS Ambush! Convoy team trainer using PC with 3D graphics and
realistic scenarios with multiple vehicles managed by human observer-controllers.
Engagement Skills Trainer (EST) Shooting skills training using video scenarios and air-
powered weapons with focused light emitters (FATS) Virtual Convoy Operations Trainer (VCOT)
Realistic crew stations with authentic vehicle controls and weapons and video panels for displaying the combat environment; designed for small teams
Tactical Iraqi Uses the Unreal Engine (same as America’s
Army) to teach Iraqi Arabic to soldiers deploying to theater by evaluating their speech in conversation with “locals”
UrbanSim Simulates an urban environment and simulates
major events such as terrorist attacks, elections, and civil unrest, forcing the players to make decisions that will impact the groups involved
Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation
Maintain over 100 applications in which soldiers can drive vehicles, fire weapons, and pilot unmanned aerial vehicles in battle spaces as large as 10,000 km2
Responsible for deploying 70 systems of 52 computers each in locations in the United States, Germany, Italy and South Korea (yes, over 3,500 Army gaming PCs!).
Among their projects is a virtual reality simulator that allows trainees to walk around in a closed environment with a training weapon and goggles as interface devices
Turning Wargamers into Warriors
Still recruiting gamers America’s Army expanded to consoles and still going
Treating soldiers with PTSD Using training tools to stimulate responses to events
Training tools becoming real tools Console controllers adapted to operate drones
Massively-Multiplayer Online Training The Army is working on an interactive training world
Combat texting Blue Force Tracker uses a game-like map and icons
along with the capability of texting other units
Game development is not a glamorous profession Developing games doesn’t mean playing games You must be a hardcore gamer to develop them Educate yourself – classes and outside reading Stay current on new trends and technologies Join the IGDA and other game-centric
organizations Network – conferences (GDC), LinkedIn, SIGs, etc. Leverage your outside skills and experiences Military training simulations are an expanding field
PEO-STRI peostri.army.mil
DARWARS darwars.org
Game Production Svcs gameprodsvcs.com
Raydon raydon.com
America’s Army americasarmy.com
Gamasutra Gamasutra.com
Creative Heads Creativeheads.net
GameDev gamedev.net
Game Career Guide Gamecareerguide.co
m Tom Sloper
sloperama.com/advice
