Army Sets Up Videogame Studio

Ralph Lee writes "Is it time to enlist? Wired News is reporting that the US Army has set up a video game studio to model training and recruit soldiers on the heels of the successful America's Army title: 'The America's Army Government Applications office was quietly opened in January in Cary, North Carolina, with a team of 15 video-game creators, simulation specialists and ex-Army personnel. Many of the studio's employees come from local video-game companies like Interactive Magic, Timeline, Vertis, SouthPeak Interactive, Vicious Cycle Software and Red Storm Entertainment.'" It's also noted that "the office is working with a team of 24 video-game creators in Monterey, California, on the latest edition to its main franchise, America's Army: Overmatch, which will be released in March 2005."

Am I alone...?

[SimianOverlord]

Am I alone in feeling somewhat disquieted in the military in this country associating itself with the entertainment industry? Is this the thin end of the wedge?

The apparatus of state is separated from the church, because it is harmful. It should likewise be seperated from the entertainment industry, because of the propaganda possibilities, shaping the next generation of Americans.

Re:Am I alone...?

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

They've been at it for years. The pentagon is probobly the most skilled crowd of propagandists there is.

What worries me is that "traditional" propaganda has always been subject to (some) constraint. You couldn't run around screaming "YOU'VE GOT TO KILL OUR ENEMIES!!! WHAT ARE YOU!!?!?! YELLOW!?!?!" without someone calling a halt.

However video game propaganda is more subtle. Because the player is so involved, they will be more succeptible to whatever you throw at them. On top of that, they are immerrsed, a propagandists dream.

I wouldn't be surprised to find that in 10-20 years time these games will have affected a generations outlook and attitudes towards patriotisim and the army in general.

Why else would the pentagon invest so much money and then give it away for free?

Re:Am I alone...?

[gl4ss]

well, think about it.
clubs for boys have been usual in getting people to join up for the military later on in their lifes, when they're young it's easy to put some 'ideas' into their heads or at least push them to 'right direction' so that their lives can 'have a meaning'.

yvan eth noij

there was this one club in germany once that was more than effective.

I'm not saying that armies are useless and so on, just that if you're fighting conquering wars you need to have some kind of extra motivation for the lads - for something you can wrap up as defence the motivation is much easier to build up. I've done the mandatory military service/training for my nation... real military sucks balls, in games you can just concentrate on the fun part of it.

Re:Am I alone...?

[Draxsr]

Perhaps your right in saying that we should leave entertainment to the entertainment industry. Yes, their propaganda is much more palatable and should remain in the household. I'm glad to only have subjects like auto theft, murder for hire, drug wars, drug use, adultry, rape, and all the other topics that keep the entertainment industry guiding our moral compass. Seriously now, it's a shame that a message of 'Serve your country' is pigeonholed as propaganda.

Re:Am I alone...?

[Planesdragon]

The apparatus of state is separated from the church, because it is harmful. It should likewise be seperated from the entertainment industry, because of the propaganda possibilities, shaping the next generation of Americans.

Wrong. I mean, wrong from the get-go.

Seperation of church and state is to protect the church from the state, not the other way around.

The military is entirely withing their fair and right avenue of action to try and influence the attitudes of the next generation of Americans. If they weren't, they wouldn't have a recruiting program.

Re:Am I alone...?

[LGagnon]

I agree with you on everything except your question of why it is free. It's free because our tax money was spent on it. You and I already own it, because it was created with our money (whether we like it or not).

Re:Am I alone...?

[CompressedAir]

Eh? It's a recruiting tool for the U.S. Army. They never claimed it wasn't, so anyone who chooses to play it is willfully submitting themselves to "propaganda".