Lär dig döda med videospel
24 augusti 2004 | 2 kommentarer
Två artiklar om militär träning och rekrytering via dataspel:
”The universe of online computer games is home to 200,000 players at any time. It’s also where you can find the newest innovation in military recruitement. Check out America’s Army, a state-of-the art computer game featuring 3-D graphics, surround sound and the most advanced gaming technology available. It’s as entertaining as current favorites Counterstrike or Doom, but there’s a different agenda at work. Unlike commercial games designed to make big money, the aim of this taxpayer-funded project is to generate Army recruits.
In 1999, recruitment numbers hit their lowest point in thirty years. In response, Congress called for ”aggressive, innovative experiments” to find new soldiers, and the Defense Department jacked up recruitment budgets to $2.2 billion a year. Hence we have America’s Army, one of a number of new initiatives designed to help the military reach America’s youth. The game consists of two parts: Soldiers: Empower Yourself, a role-playing segment that instills Army ”values,” and the more violent (read: entertaining) Operations: Defend Freedom, a first-person combat simulator where players engage in virtual warfare over the Internet. (…)
But there is a difference between realistic detail and actual reality, and as a depiction of Army life America’s Army is, to say the least, misleading. Despite the game’s neurotic commitment to accuracy elsewhere, the small detail about killing people is brushed over gingerly. ’We were very careful on the blood thing,’ says Boyce. There are no sound effects when players are shot; only a small red blotch appears, similar to a paintball hit. The sanitizing of violence also aids marketing efforts by earning the game a teen rating.
Players learn, in this army, that war is fun.”
The Nation: ” ’America’s Army’ Targets Youth (23 aug)”For the past three years, the military has been entertaining the surprising idea that video games, even those that you play on a commerical system like Microsoft’s Xbox, can be an effective way to train soldiers. In fact, the Army is now one of the industry’s most innovative creators, hiring high-end programmers and designers from Silicon Valley and Hollywood to devise and refine its games.”
NY Times:The Making of an X Box Warrior, 22 aug
Uppdatering: Se också Verklighetens födda mördare, Blind Höna 5 dec 2003
Kommentarer
2 kommentarer to “Lär dig döda med videospel”
Kommentera
augusti 27th, 2004 @ 01:50
Vidrigt men kanska logiskt. USA sänker sig till sina egna motståndares nivå. Då tänker jag på Special Force som utvecklats av Hizbollah. What’s the world come to?
augusti 29th, 2004 @ 20:00
Inte bara har USA förmågan att ”sänka sig till sina motståndares nivå”. De är också förutseende nog att göra det i förväg. För om vi nu skall vara litet mindre slarviga med fakta så kom USAs millitärs spel långt före ”Special Force”.
Se till exempel http://csmweb2.emcweb.com/2003/0403/p14s01-stct.html