MILITARY GAMES About Me 20 Years Military Service Combat in Iraq Peacekeeping in Bosnia Airborne Infantry Military Intelligence Special Operations Senior Drill Sergeant Panzer Elite Americas Army ID: 487490
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Slide1
Video Games and the Warfighter
MILITARY GAMESSlide2
About Me
20 Years Military Service
Combat in Iraq
Peacekeeping in BosniaAirborne InfantryMilitary IntelligenceSpecial OperationsSenior Drill Sergeant
Panzer Elite America’s ArmyTwilight War Order of War SturmtruppenMilitary Games Editor at www.gamersinfo.netMFA in Video Game Production and Design (pending thesis)Slide3
1 – Kriegspiel
A brief history of wargames
2 – Modern Wargames
Civilian wargame development3 – Simulations The development of military games4 – Training Can Be FunThe advent of game-training
5 – Future ForceTurning wargamers into warriorsCONTENTSSlide4
1 – Kriegspiel
A Brief History of WargamesSlide5
Go (Wei-
Hei
)
ChessBased on the Indian game Chaturanga and used to teach royalty to think tactically and plan aheadKoenigspielA larger version of chess with more pieces and spacesKriegspielDivided into two types, the original with clearly-defined rules, and the later “Free Kreigspiel
” which used a referee to arbitrate and interpretUsed to train German officers through the end of the 19th century and influenced Wells’ “Little Wars”Historical WargamesSlide6
2 – Modern Wargames
Civilian Wargame DevelopmentSlide7
Little Wars
Written by H.G. Wells on the eve of World War I
Started the concept of miniature soldiers for games
The First NerdsHobby wargamers painted huge armies and used them to play large battles from the 30’s onwardModern Miniatures GamesInterest 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 wargamersToy SoldiersSlide8
Tactics
First board wargame by Charles Roberts in 1953
Avalon Hill created the board wargame industry
Simulations Publications IncorporatedTurned wargame design into a systemChurned out hundreds of games in the 1970’sThe End of an EraThe introduction of the PC in 1980 killed the marketBoard 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 beforeBoard WargamesSlide9
Gaming the World WarsGenerally 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 warfareInitiated the analysis of historical battles to define modern tactics and constants of warfareMechanical SimulatorsFocus on operator simulations such as fighter cockpits
Military WargamingSlide10
Personal Computers
First computer wargames are similar to board games
Computers also make flight simulations available
Types of Military GamesTurn-Based Strategy GamesReal-Time Strategy GamesWarfare Simulations (Tanks, Planes and Shooters)Multiplayer GamesHot Seat Wargames
Multiplayer (head-to-head) WargamesMassively-Multiplayer Online WargamesComputer WargamesSlide11
Popular Military Games
First-Person Shooters
America’s Army
Armed AssaultBattlefieldCall of DutyCounterstrikeDelta Force
Ghost ReconMedal of HonorOperation FlashpointSOCOMStrategy GamesAxis & AlliesClose CombatCombat Mission
Command and Conquer
Company of Heroes
Endwar
Men of Valor
Order of War
Panzer General
World in ConflictSlide12
3 – Simulations
The Development of Military GamesSlide13
Focus is on controls and engineering
Pilots, astronauts, drivers, and equipment operators
Limited feedback
You’re either doing it right or crashing and burningLimited realismControls are authentic but scenarios are notCostThey must be custom-made at great expenseSpecific to modelOnce your hardware changes, your
sim is out of datePhysical SimulationsSlide14
Simulate anythingConvoys, tanks, drones, leadership, and diplomacy
Immediate feedback
Realistic results are provided through “soft” endings
Custom-tailoredScenarios can be designed to fit user needsCommercial Off The Shelf (COTS)Cheaper and faster to build and maintainUpgradableSoftware can be updated for new equipment
Virtual SimulationsSlide15Slide16
4 – Training Can Be Fun
The Advent of Game-TrainingSlide17
Pioneered by the US Marine CorpsAmerica’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 WarriorOriginally designed for training squad leaders, then used as the foundation of a popular videogame.Modern Training GamesSlide18Slide19
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
Modern Training Games (cont.)Slide20Slide21Slide22
Tactical IraqiUses 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”
UrbanSimSimulates 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
Modern Training Games (cont.)Slide23Slide24
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 km2Responsible 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 devicesPEO-STRISlide25
5 – Future Force
Turning Wargamers into WarriorsSlide26
Still recruiting gamers
America’s Army expanded to consoles and still going
Treating soldiers with PTSD
Using training tools to stimulate responses to eventsTraining tools becoming real toolsConsole controllers adapted to operate dronesMassively-Multiplayer Online TrainingThe Army is working on an interactive training worldCombat texting
Blue Force Tracker uses a game-like map and icons along with the capability of texting other unitsWhat’s Next?Slide27Slide28
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 readingStay current on new trends and technologiesJoin the IGDA and other game-centric organizationsNetwork – conferences (GDC), LinkedIn, SIGs, etc.Leverage your outside skills and experiences
Military training simulations are an expanding fieldSo You Want To Make Games?Slide29
Useful Websites
PEO-STRI
peostri.army.mil
DARWARSdarwars.orgGame Production Svcsgameprodsvcs.comRaydon
raydon.comAmerica’s Armyamericasarmy.comGamasutraGamasutra.comCreative HeadsCreativeheads.net
GameDev
gamedev.net
Game Career Guide
Gamecareerguide.com
Tom
Sloper
sloperama.com/adviceSlide30
Chris Keeling
chris@chriskeeling.com
Questions?