From Sun Tzu to Xbox: War and Video Games

The Military-Nintendo Complex Revealed

File this under the stuff-I-wish-I-found-in-time-to-put-in-my-book department.

Dave Grossman notoriously claimed that the Army used Nintendos to train soldiers in the early 90s, but somehow I was never able to find out his source for this claim. Here's a quote from Grossman's post-Columbine article "Trained to Kill" (PDF), first published in Christianity Today in 1998 and subsequently republished many times:

Is media violence really so harmful? Are these video games really dangerous? Could they really be partially responsible for these tragic crimes? The U.S. Marine Corps has licensed the game “Doom” to train and prepare their Marines for combat. The U.S. Army has taken the basic “Super Nintendo,” replaced the plastic pistol with a plastic M-16 and modified the software a little. They call it the MACS: Multipurpose Arcade Combat Simulators. When the military uses these “games,” they are combat simulators. When kids use them, they are murder simulators. We have flight simulators that can teach you to fly without ever touching a real aircraft, and we have murder simulators, whose major social characteristic is to teach kids to commit murder.

And more on this from Grossman's recent book On Combat:

Violent media games are murder simulators, except when police  officers and soldiers use them for training, in which case they are combat simulators. Remember that old point-and-shoot Nintendo video game called Duck Hunt? It was such a good marksmanship trainer that the United States Army bought several thousand of them. They replaced the plastic pistol with a plastic M-16, and instead of ducks popping up on the screen, the Army changed them to man-shaped silhouettes. The game was renamed the Multipurpose Arcade Combat Simulator (MACS). Of course, the troops were not fooled by the name; they just called it “the Nintendo game” since it has a big Nintendo stamp on it. By whatever name, it was a powerful and effective combat simulator for our men and women preparing for battle.
                        
(It is interesting to note here something that when I testified before committee hearings held by both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives after the Columbine school massacre. When I said that a modified version of the “Duck Hunt” game was used by the U.S. Army, the lobbyist representing the Nintendo Corporation stood up and said that Nintendo has never sold anything to the U.S. military. No, they sold these games to a subcontractor, who then sold them to the Army.)

This led author John Naisbitt to coin the term "Military-Nintendo Complex" to describe the collusion between the videogame and defense industries. I can't remember the source, but during my research I remember some other writer claiming Grossman's claim about "Duck Hunt" was hooey, and I think that led me to drop further research in that direction. Perhaps the above quote was a direct response to that claim.*

GameSetWatch recently featured the very MACS system Grossman decried: apparently, parts of it were on sale on eBay! According to GameSetWatch, the auctioneer (no longer available) wrote:

The front of the cart has a sticker that says "MACS Multipurpose Arcade Combat Simulator version 1.1e copyright 1993 Sculptured Software, Inc. .. These were [produced for the Super Nintendo] for use in training the United States Military Shooting Specialist and to improve their accuracy rate.

There's more info at Gamers Graveyard too.

*(If anyone knows who claimed that Grossman's military-Nintendo link wasn't true, please post a comment! My memory of it is that the dispute may have been about whether Nintendo themselves produced the units, which appears not to be the case. Somehow I vaguely recall a scenario in which Grossman reported that he saw "Nintendo" on the boxes, and then allegedly couldn't back up his claim in some public forum, which may have been the congressional hearing he describes...)

Link: GameSetWatch - SNES Moving Target Simulator Go Boom.

Bush ignored warnings of 1999 war sim

Here's food for thought for Americans going to the polls today: a 1999 secret gov't war simulation theorized that 400,000 troops would be needed for the invasion of Iraq and its post-invasion administration. That's almost three times the number that are there now.

You can access PDFs of the report at the National Security Archive's website.

The report's conclusion: "There was consensus that the United States would not intervene without coalition support except under the most dire circumstances such as WMD use or catastrophic humanitarian disaster."

Retired Marine General Anthony Zinni, who lead the project in 1999, attempted to stress these findings to current leaders with no success: "When it looked like we were going in, I called back down to CENTCOM and said, 'You need to dust off Desert Crossing.' They said, 'What's that? Never heard of it.'"

From AP via CNN (via Water Cooler Games):

And even then, the games showed, the country still had a chance of dissolving into chaos.

In the simulation, called Desert Crossing, 70 military, diplomatic and intelligence participants concluded the high troop levels would be needed to keep order, seal borders and take care of other security needs. [...]

The documents came to light Saturday through a Freedom of Information Act request by George Washington University's National Security Archive, an independent research institute and library.

"The conventional wisdom is the U.S. mistake in Iraq was not enough troops," said Thomas Blanton, the archive's director. "But the Desert Crossing war game in 1999 suggests we would have ended up with a failed state even with 400,000 troops on the ground."

Further:

The war games looked at "worst case" and "most likely" scenarios after a war that removed then-Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power. Some of the conclusions are similar to what actually occurred after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003:

"A change in regimes does not guarantee stability," the 1999 seminar briefings said. "A number of factors including aggressive neighbors, fragmentation along religious and/or ethnic lines, and chaos created by rival forces bidding for power could adversely affect regional stability."

"Even when civil order is restored and borders are secured, the replacement
regime could be problematic -- especially if perceived as weak, a puppet, or out-of-step with prevailing regional governments."

"Iran's anti-Americanism could be enflamed by a U.S.-led intervention in Iraq,"
the briefings read. "The influx of U.S. and other western forces into Iraq would exacerbate worries in Tehran, as would the installation of a pro-western government in Baghdad."

"The debate on post-Saddam Iraq also reveals the paucity of information about the
potential and capabilities of the external Iraqi opposition groups. The lack of intelligence concerning their roles hampers U.S. policy development."

"Also, some participants believe that no Arab government will welcome the kind of lengthy U.S. presence that would be required to install and sustain a democratic government."

"A long-term, large-scale military intervention may be at odds with many coalition partners."

Army launches line of action figures, adds real soldiers to video game

(Associated Press)

Move over, G.I. Joe. The Army has found some recruits in its latest effort to enlist soldiers.

In a campaign targeting teenagers, the Army announced on Thursday a new version of its ''America's Army'' video game, incorporating digital likenesses of eight actual soldiers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

''We're trying to put a face on soldiers so that kids can relate to them,'' said Col. Casey Wardynski, director of the America's Army project. ''It's hard to relate to a big green machine. This is a chance to get to know some of them who have done really outstanding things.''

The ''America's Army Real Heroes'' program will also include a series of $10 action figures, based on the same real soldiers, in store shelves by Christmas, Wardynski said.

The program comes after the Army fell short on recruiting last year, the first time since 1999. As of last month, the active-duty Army had signed up 72,997 new soldiers, nearly 3,000 above its year-to-date target. The Army National Guard was about 200 below its target of 63,240, while the Army Reserve was almost 2,000 below its year-to-date target of 33,124...

Link: Technology Review

Army Theme Park?

The Washington Post reports the flap underway regarding a proposal for a military-themed amusement park on land controlled by an Army military base near DC. The proposed park would be built near a future Army museum at Fort Belvoir, and would help fund the museum through the Army's partnership with a private company.

A Florida developer has submitted an unsolicited proposal for a military theme park that would include the "Chateau Belvoir" hotel and an entertainment district with bars like the "1st Division Lounge" and several "4D" rides. "You can command the latest M-1 tank, feel the rush of a paratrooper freefall, fly a Cobra Gunship or defend your B-17 as a waist gunner," according to the proposal by Universal City Property Management III of Orlando.

Today, the Post reports that the Army is distancing itself from the proposal, though it may explore entertainment opportunities that it would consider  "appropriate and tasteful."

The comments represented a shift, coming a day after the Army declined to disavow the theme-park-like proposal it received in 2004 from Universal City Property Management. They also differed somewhat from an account of the museum discussions given yesterday by Marc A. Watson, Universal City's president, who has vast experience in the theme park industry.

Watson said Army officials approached him at Universal Studios in Orlando in 2003 for ideas on how to use simulation technology to attract more visitors to a planned museum. He continued to discuss the museum with the Army, which gave him a tour of Fort Belvoir in 2004 to inspect sites for what he was proposing, he said. Watson said he has not been told that his plan has been rejected.

"They said, 'What would you all do to the museum to make it more relevant to today's audiences? How would you breathe life into it?' " Watson said, describing the Army's visit to Orlando.

Army spokesman Dave Foster said yesterday that the Army did approach Universal Studios, but only for information about using "so-called 4-D experiences" within the museum. The subsequent proposal from Universal City was "grander in scope than what the Army thought appropriate," Foster said. Universal was welcome to submit a future proposal, but "in no event would any proposal containing what might be characterized as an 'amusement park' be . . . seriously considered," he said.

[...]

Watson, an engineer with expertise in simulation technology, objected to the "theme park" label, saying his proposal is a serious attempt to acquaint those of all ages with the experience of the U.S. soldier.

"What's important is to engage guests . . . so they can get a real feel for what the life of a soldier is like," he said.

I'm not surprised, really, that this is all linked back to Orlando. As I note in the book, there's a great deal of synergy going on there between the military simulation sector and the videogame / theme park / entertainment sector. In some cases the same companies developing simulation technologies for training are big names in the business of virtual reality rides for theme parks.

And the "real feel" for soldier life hearkens back to the mission of America's Army, ("accurate" portrayal=positive) not to mention the deals done between Hollywood studios and different branches of the military.

Link: Army Ponders Amusement Venue, Hotel At Ft. Belvoir.
Link: Army Shuns 'Theme Park' Proposal.

Post-Traumatic Gaming Therapy Pt. 2

In Wired, Jay Dixit adds to the coverage of video game treatment for Iraq veterans with PTSD:

Then there’s the smell machine: a TiVo-sized box containing eight pressurized chambers loaded with small capsules. A compressor shoots air into the chambers, fans create a breeze, and the scent wafts in. Rizzo and his team licensed seven smells from perfumeries: garbage, weapons fire, cordite, Iraqi spices, diesel fuel, burning rubber, and body odor. (They’re hoping to add cooked lamb.) [...]

“Do you have the smell of burning flesh?” someone asked.

“Not yet,” Rizzo said, making a mental note.

 Link: Wired 14.08: The War on Terror.

Post-Traumatic Gaming Therapy

Guardian Gamesblog points to a recent Businessweek article on the use of virtual reality and Full Spectrum Warrior as experimental treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder in American soldiers. It's part of a study going on at the Virtual Reality Medical Center in San Diego, and funded by the Office of Naval Research.

Businessweek: "Full Spectrum Warrior's designers have taken their game and meshed it with the VR hardware experience of Virtually Better to make an emotionally stimulating program incorporating the sounds, visuals, feelings, and smells from Iraq. 'Evoking emotion in a simulation, even in training, is a fairly new idea for us,' says Shilling. The simulation uses VR headsets to immerse the patient in the world. It also uses bass shakers that rumble the patient's seat and a smell machine that can create scents."

Guardian: "It will be fascinating to see if this therapy provides new insights into bringing emotional resonance into games. Videogame designers have learned a lot from war - what, if anything, will they be willing to learn from its psychological aftermath?"

There's more info, as well as some video, in a 2005 NPR segment on the same by Xeni Jardin. She mentions that the project is in collaboration with the Institute for Creative Technologies, which developed Full Spectrum Warrior.

Link: Videogames help Iraq veterans from Guardian Unlimited: Gamesblog.

America's Army Interview

Serious Games Source checks in with Chris Chambers, Deputy Director of the Army Games Project, who offers his thoughts on the successes of America's Army so far. Some quotes from Chambers:

On America's Army's goals:

The Army started this project as a means of connecting with America, using pop culture as the medium. Originally, the mission focused entirely on the successful development and launch of the PC game product alone. Today, the brand has been extended into a variety of additional products, all of which establish new touchpoints with young people.

Embedded in the original mission was a concept that continues to drive the project still, namely to create an opportunity to provide young adults and their influencers with virtual insights into the range of Soldier experiences. The game uses online technology to place a great deal of information about the Army into a voluntarily consumed popular culture medium and thereby reduces the information search and assimilation costs for information seekers...Since its launch, the game has placed Soldiering front-and-center within popular culture.

On the game's global reach:

Clearly, the internet is a global forum. So, internet based games are also global, causing us to always factor in the potential messaging implications involved with foreign audiences. When foreign gamers play America’s Army, they see that American Soldiers operate within a value-laden organization. This aspect of the Army message is very important for global, as well as national, strategic communications purposes.

In other news:

ABC News (April 2006): Army Guard, Reserve Recruiting Falls Short:"All of the active duty services met their goals last month, including the Army, which is heading into some of the most challenging recruitment months of the year. That is in part because the Army lowered its goals for the first months of this year from levels of a year ago."

ABC News (July 2006): Army on Course to Meet Recruitment Goals: "Pentagon officials attribute the turnaround this year to the presence of more recruiters and more financial incentives. An additional reason for the Army's success so far has been the lowering of monthly goals for most of the recruiting year and the signficant increase in the monthly goals for the summer months, which have historically proven to be the most successful recruiting period."

Christian Science Monitor (July 2006): Army upbeat on recruitment numbers: "Army officials attribute the turnaround to 1,000 additional recruiters on the street and bigger bonuses for new enlistees. But critics contend that the Army has also begun to lower its standards, letting in less-qualified recruits as well as gang members and extremists."

America's Army Marches On

Probably everyone reading this blog knows about America's Army, the recruitment game, but not as many might know about America's Army, the training platform. America's Army is being refashioned into a game to train the Secret Service, a TASER trainer, and more. (Since the offical AA Projects site is a little out of date, I wonder how many of these were actually implemented?).

Defensetech looks at an America's Army mod that trains CROWS gunners, while this Seattle Times article talks about how commerical company Zombie Studios (better know for games like Special Ops and Spec Ops) worked with the Army to develop an America's Army convoy trainer. Seems like Zombie's up to more than just that.

The New Spartans

Interesting article from last February's Washington Post about how video games may have prepared the current generation of servicemen for combat.

A quote from Retired Marine Col. Gary W. Anderson, former chief of staff of the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab:

"Remember the days of the old Sparta, when everything they did was towards war?" says Anderson, now a defense consultant. "In many ways, the soldiers of this video game generation have replicated that, and that's something to think about."

Whether experience with commercial games actually improves soldier performance remains debatable. What's clear now, though, is how video games have provided a way of thinking about war for these guys--a useful, visceral metaphor for understanding their experiences.

One blistering afternoon in Iraq, while fighting insurgents in the northern town of Mosul, Sgt. Sinque Swales opened fire with his .50-cal. That was only the second time, he says, that he ever shot an enemy. A human enemy.

"It felt like I was in a big video game. It didn't even faze me, shooting back. It was just natural instinct. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! " remembers Swales, a fast-talking, deep-voiced, barrel-chested 29-year-old from Chesterfield, Va. He was a combat engineer in Iraq for nearly a year.

Like many soldiers in the 276th Engineer Battalion, whose PlayStations and Xboxes crowded the trailers that served as their barracks, he played games during his downtime. "Halo 2," the sequel to the best-selling first-person shooter game, was a favorite. So was "Full Spectrum Warrior," a military-themed title developed with help from the U.S. Army.

"The insurgents were firing from the other side of the bridge. . . . We called in a helicopter for an airstrike. . . . I couldn't believe I was seeing this. It was like 'Halo.' It didn't even seem real, but it was real."

and...

"The very first time I fired my rifle" -- it was an M249 squad automatic weapon, a machine gun -- "I was scared. I had never shot my gun before at an actual person. But once I pulled the trigger, that was it, I never hesitated," says Crippen, 22. He's now a sophomore at Virginia State University, studying computer engineering, trying not to get so distracted by his Xbox. "All I saw was the street where the RPG [rocket-propelled grenade] came from, and I just fired in that direction, maybe 20 rounds at most, and it felt like I was playing 'Ghost Recon' at home," referring to a Tom Clancy game.

and ...

"You just try to block it out, see what you need to do, fire what you need to fire. Think to yourself, This is a game, just do it, just do it, " says Trevino, 20, the baby of the group, recalling his first shot at a human enemy

The last quote is perhaps the most striking: thinking about killing as "just a game" helps him block out other emotions.

It also reminds me of war writers who describe the experience of live battle as unreal--as moments of disassociation. In other generations, they might have thought of it like a movie, or a dream, or even theater. Or think of the way we thought 9-11 resembled a blockbuster disaster movie. According to Paul Virilio's War and Cinema, American WWII soldiers joked with the phrase "we're off to the movies" when they knew they entering a heavy battle. Virilio provides this chillingly beautiful quote from Ernst Jünger's Storm of Steel describing his experiences as a German WWI soldier:

In this war where fire already attacked space more than men, I felt completely alien to my own person, as if I had been looking at myself through binoculars...I could hear the tiny projectiles whistling past my ear as if they were brushing an inanimate object...The landscape had the transparency of glass.

gamer targeted ad

                                       

From the current (June 2006) issue of GAME INFORMER, inside back cover full page ad. The Army has been advertising in this same spot for a long time now. On closer inspection, its quite difficult to tell how much of it is a computer-generated image versus a real photo that has undergone a great deal of digital tweaking (although I'm pretty sure most of it is the latter). Also, speaking of things that are strangely unreal -- that's quite some plucking this dude has had on his eyebrows.