Military Video Games, computer games - Air Force Times

Expand and conquer

Like catapults and mounted cavalry before them, the days of paper targets are officially numbered.

The future holds something infinitely more impressive — combat simulators that play like living video games, complete with human opponents and live ammo. It is a concept so bizarre that it’s rarely discussed in anything but abstract terms, mostly using references from sci-fi movies and comic books.

Except that now the simulators are coming soon to an Army post near you. And when — not if — it succeeds with soldiers, the idea is likely to spread across the military faster than design-your-own cammies.

Success is almost a foregone conclusion. The only thing the “America’s Army” team hasn’t shown a talent for is failure.

Nearly five years after the Army-funded video game project launched in 2002 to boost recruiting among the Internet generation, the team is celebrating its milestone birthday in grand fashion. Soon, the “America’s Army” brand will be everywhere — on cell phones, in arcades and pizza parlors, and on tour at some of the nation’s top sporting events and air shows.

Some lucky troops will even apply it at work, using real bullets to “shoot” at one another.

It’s all part of a huge push from the design team to expand the game’s role in recruiting and training alike. After five years, “America’s Army” shows no signs of slowing.

Consider this a wakeup call for military dinosaurs who think video games are just a fad.

It’s in the game

Ever since its introduction July 4, 2002, the free, downloadable PC version of the “America’s Army” game has become nothing short of a phenomenon.

Boasting more than 8 million registered players worldwide, it easily qualifies as one of the most popular video games ever made. By Valentine’s Day, nearly 50,000 new players had registered in February alone.

These virtual recruits form up for basic and advanced military training mirroring that of Army recruits. Real-world missions follow, pitting player versus player in simulated combat.

The only way to understand Army life better is to enlist.

Yet it seemed ideal as a platform for Army combat simulation as well. These days, “America’s Army” forms the basis for a variety of live training, such as mastering the Talon Explosive Ordnance Disposal Robot, in use in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The next step on this path has much broader implications. The new Live-Fire Virtual Targetry Program could eventually take the game further — ultimately, it could change how combat marksmanship is taught to every soldier in the Army.

“We’ve been shooting at paper targets for who knows how long,” said retired Army Maj. Chris Chambers, deputy director for “America’s Army” and a longtime team member. “There hasn’t been much technology applied to the training.”

Enter the new marksmanship program, in which life-size, computer-generated enemies roam the walls of a live-fire shoot house. Thermal cameras connected to a computer system record where and when the soldiers’ bullets hit.

The system makes pulling a trigger the same as clicking a mouse in the computer game. The computer knows whether a soldier hit the enemy and the enemies react to the gunfire according to artificial intelligence programming.

“It’s almost akin to a live, hostile force,” said Col. Casey Wardynski, director and originator of the “America’s Army” program. “And they’re doing it with live ammo.”

One such trainer was converted from an existing shoot house at Fort Bragg, N.C., for about $400,000 and is now being used for advanced urban combat training.

Three modular training units — large, climate-controlled trailers designed for the live-fire training — are on the way, coming this year to Bragg, Fort McClellan, Ala., and a third as-yet-undetermined Army post. Counting the three modular units, the pilot program cost about $1.5 million.

“The modular unit is probably better, if it’s a viable solution,” Wardynski said, adding that finding room for new structures might be a problem at some posts. “We can rapidly deliver any number of missions and scenarios.”

The shoot houses will be connected over the Internet, possibly as early as this summer, to further enhance the training. Using Radio Frequency Identification and other monitors, digital depictions of real soldiers in one building can be displayed on the walls of a separate building.

Attacking soldiers would be wired up, as well, their images displayed on the walls of the first building, allowing both teams to compete in head-to-head, live-fire battles for the first time. Similar to training already conducted in mock towns with laser engagement systems, the new system will have the added bonus of using real bullets with real recoil to improve the training value. A buzzer or other indicator will alert soldiers on both teams when they are hit.

It sounds almost too futuristic to be ready for prime time, but the “America’s Army” team insists that the idea is no longer just theory.

“We know it can all be done,” Chambers said. “We know the technology exists.”

Have guns, will travel

Even as the tactical training applications expand, using “America’s Army” as a recruiting tool remains a priority. On Feb. 12, designers launched their new Virtual Army Experience, a traveling exhibit scheduled to make stops at more than two dozen popular venues this year. Running through late November, the tour began with the Super Bowl of NASCAR events, Speedweeks at the Daytona International Speedway.

“For 20 minutes, you’re part of a military team in the war on terror,” Wardynski said. “The experience is designed to show the role of a soldier in the context of a team.”

Inside the massive, 10,000-square-foot inflatable exhibit tent, 40 players are divided into teams and receive a video introduction from real soldiers about Army life. Players then move to a joint operations center for an intelligence briefing about the upcoming mission, a ground assault on a terrorist compound.

The briefing complete, teams then move into the mission simulator area. Here they fall in on six Humvee simulators, complete with realistic weaponry and two overwatch positions featuring small arms and anti-tank missile simulators. The weapons are wired to laser engagement systems similar to existing computerized marksmanship trainers.

Surrounding the trainers are walls of video screens that plunge players directly into the assault, where they attack a digital enemy force. After the dust settles, the teams move out for an after-action briefing on how they fared.

“It allows a civilian to become a member of the Army for about 20 minutes,” Wardynski said. “There’s never been anything like this.”

The Virtual Army Experience is scheduled to appear at more than a dozen air shows, nine NASCAR races and two National Hot Rod Association dragster events. The tour will also make stops for spring break in March at South Padre Island, Texas, and Panama City, Fla.

More, more, more

If the “America’s Army” team stopped there, 2007 would be a pretty full year.

But two new pay-to-play offerings are hitting the streets as well, targeting areas of the gaming world that the free PC game cannot reach.

The first, “America’s Army: Special Operations,” was released in January through a partnership with mobile game company Gameloft. For about $8, players can download the “America’s Army” experience to most game-capable cell phones.

The move follows a similar arrangement in late 2005, when mainstream game publisher Ubisoft partnered with the Army to release “America’s Army: Rise of a Soldier,” bringing the popular PC game to the Xbox console. The success of that game — average price about $50 — proved that the brand’s popularity wasn’t based solely on being free.

From its debut in November 2005 through December 2006, “Rise of a Soldier” sold 242,000 copies. The resulting royalties for the Army total more than $1 million.

In the cell phone game, players tackle 11 levels as Apache helicopter pilots, Stryker armored vehicle crewmen, infantrymen and snipers. The story is pretty simple: U.S. forces are attempting to liberate the fictional land of Liberty from an invasion by forces from nearby Corbalia.

Between each level, players are treated to famous quotations from Army legends, such as Gen. George S. Patton Jr. and Gen. Omar Bradley.

Unlike the PC version, which prides itself on acute attention to detail, the mobile game gives up some ground due to limitations in mobile gaming technology. Unable to replicate the immersive feel of the computer game, the mobile version plays like a side-scrolling action game from the ’80s, taking its cues from such classics as the Nintendo hit “Contra.”

Depending on the style of cell phone used, players move and shoot by pressing the number pad or arrow keys. It’s a straightforward game easily mastered by skilled players, yet evoking that “old school” nostalgia. It earned an average score of 8.1 out of 10 points by more than 450 players visiting the Gameloft home page.

The goal, Wardynski said, is to push the “America’s Army” brand deeper into popular culture without sacrificing values or standards. The new game is similar to mobile versions of such video game hits as “Call of Duty” and “Medal of Honor,” which also sacrifice substance for portability.

“The same things that go into our PC effort go into these things, as well,” Wardynski said.

Later this year, a coin-operated, light-gun version of “America’s Army” is headed to arcades, pizza parlors and the like, offering gamers an alternative to popular games such as “Silent Scope” and “Area 51.” As with those titles, players will draw a handheld weapon and take aim at on-screen targets.

The arcade offering is being produced by Global VR, Wardynski said, a company best known for turning console and PC classics such as “Madden NFL 2007” and “Need for Speed Underground” into arcade hits. Imagine stationing a recruiter inside every movie theater, shopping mall and rec center in the country — anywhere that young people gather to pop quarters into machines to pass the time — and the potential becomes clear.

“The arcade game allows us to reach a whole new demographic,” Chambers said. “Malls, bowling alleys, pizza parlors — the arcade game allows us to do that.”

The pair of pay-to-play offerings will also do something else: bring in cash. Aside from providing advisers to the companies producing the games (to ensure the Army’s message is represented), the government foots none of the bill. Instead, such games bring in royalties, which are in turn poured back into the program.

Profits from the new mobile and arcade games are expected to be substantially less, because of the lower price tags, but still are anticipated to be in the tens of thousands of dollars. Program officials are also pursuing additional console games with Ubisoft, but the details of those games have not been announced.

It’s not over

Surely, that’s all. A combat trainer, a high-tech recruiting tool, a couple of money makers — could there be more in store?

Hey, you only turn five once.

Beginning in March, game designers plan to release a host of new maps for the PC game to keep the online community thriving. The maps — designed by game development students at Southern Methodist University, Champlain College and others — will feature new multiplayer battles for the millions of “America’s Army” fans.

In April, the “America’s Army: Real Heroes” action figure line is expected to launch at major toy retailers worldwide. Based on a handful of soldiers who received combat awards in Afghanistan and Iraq, the toys “caught fire” at the Hong Kong Toys and Game Fair in January, Wardynski said.

In June, game designers are planning a new release of the “America’s Army” PC game, adding a digital version of the Virtual Army Experience to the PC game, so players who can’t try out the free-standing simulator can still get a taste of what it’s like. Screen shots from the digital VAE can be seen at www.americasarmy.com.

“We’re still growing and having great impact on behalf of the Army,” Chambers said. “It’s great. After five years, we’re a lot bigger.”

Related reading: Learn more about the latest version of the America’s Army video game, “Overmatch.”

C. Mark Brinkley, senior writer for Lifelines, still acts like he’s turning 5. He can be reached at (910) 455-8354 when he’s not paying to play.