America’s Army Goes Tony Hawke
Real Heroes, fake war.
From Game Politics:
Sports games endeavor to include accurate player rosters and game adaptations of movies try to use real actor voices and likenesses whenever possible. So it should come as no surprise that the U.S. Army is using real soldiers as characters in its America's Army game.
"The America's Army Real Heroes program puts a face on some of the exceptional Soldiers who are at the forefront in defending our freedoms. With Real Heroes young adults can learn about the accomplishments of some of the heroic men and women that make the Army the world's premier land force," said Colonel Casey Wardynski, Project Director.
Setting aside the fact that America's Army is, as far as first-person shooters go, a decent game, I have to say that I'm very un-enamored with games being used as implements of recruitment. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about people joining the military. Not me, obviously. That simply would not do. I mean, I think it's important for people to put their lives on the line in defense of freedom, just as long as one of those lives isn't mine. (For starters, I can't pee outside. Tried. Can't.) But I do think it's important that those other people understand, to the extent possible, what they're getting themselves into when they "sign on the dotted line." (I'm fascinated by this phrase. Why dotted? Why not dashed? Or striped? I think a striped line would make loopy signatures look skinnier.)
Anyway.
Besides tastelessly turning our soldiers into digital celebrities, a whole other host of issues come into play. Ken at Branded Newb put it best:
What if one of those real soldiers is KIA? War is death's playground. Pixels never die, real soldiers do. Will the US Army acknowledge a death in the game? Because if they did, wouldn't that clearly break the spell they're trying to cast? If they didn't acknowledge it, wouldn't that be grossly disrespectful of their "heroes"?
Furthermore, what happens when we find out that one of those "Real Heroes" beats his wife, has a Sweet Valley High addiction, or is caught playing Horde? (I don't have to tell you, gentle reader, that terrorists play Horde.) To say nothing of the grodiness we can expect from the skin mod community.
What do "Real Heroes" buy the Army that they're not already getting with the game anyway? Are potential recruits truly that much more likely to identify with a "Real Hero" than a fictional NPC? I'm prepared for the answer to be "SIR! YES SIR!" but does anyone know for sure? And is it worth the potential downsides?
September 27th, 2006 at 8:02 am
I’m all for making celebrities out of some of the front lines military (not the idiots like rumsfeld, but the infantry, or the medical chopper pilots or something). These guys deserve some recognition for the tough job they do very well. Putting them as faces in a video game though? So half of the players are shooting at these guys? They deserve more respect than that.
September 27th, 2006 at 8:33 am
If they really want to make that video game realistic, they should fix it so if the player does get killed in action, the game shuts down, deletes itself, and is never able to be started again by that player.
September 27th, 2006 at 8:43 am
Bug, if I understand this correctly,
then the “Real Heroes” will be NPCs, and not killable targets. Of course you can’t discount modders who might figure out a way to make them killable. Yet another reason why this is such a bad idea.
September 27th, 2006 at 8:48 am
I would rather have evolving types of recruitment than mandatory two-year service. As for featuring real soldiers, it doesn’t bother me, and if a soldier dies it’d be appropriate if they mentioned it in the game, but their role in the game should be left intact unless the soldier chose otherwise. Soldiers turned criminal? Yea, that’s the downside, I’d remove them from the game, the chances of that happening won’t be high, and plenty of other deserving soldiers.
September 27th, 2006 at 9:22 am
*sigh*
Do I have to do everything myself?
UP, UP, DOWN, DOWN, LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT, B, A, CONSCRIPTION-START
Unlimited lives. Problem solved.
September 27th, 2006 at 3:57 pm
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about people joining the military. Not me, obviously. That simply would not do. I mean, I think it’s important for people to put their lives on the line in defense of freedom, just as long as one of those lives isn’t mine.”
It is always the ones who won’t lay down their lives for freedom that are the most critical of those who will. You have no problem with self promotion but would deny those who put their lives on the line their chance in the sun and then you cloak it in humor so that you won’t be called out on it. Well I’m calling you out. I may not like how the war is being managed any more than you do but unlike you I support our troops. I honor them instead of seeing them as a butt of a joke. Putting our heros in front of potential recruits only honors their sacrafices and you should be proud of them instead of ridiculing them.
September 27th, 2006 at 8:11 pm
I think the main draw of this issue is that so much can go wrong. Something like “ZOMG th4t 6uY 1n tHat AMRY gaame is Agian5t WWIIII !1!`1~!” I haven`t played the newest version of AA, but I remember that you could discharge your weapon a hit the instructor. That is another possibility. If I were one of the army guys featured in the game, I would not want to be put in the same room with a random armed stranger on the net.
Then again (I got this from a female friend), those with a military fetish could do what most (read that as all) males do in a FPS where there is a female love interest in the story. (Yes this also applies to WoW… oh so much so…)
September 28th, 2006 at 4:24 am
Hunter said:
Don’t hurt yourself thinking about that one, I know it’s a shocker!
September 28th, 2006 at 7:01 am
Wait a minute for who’s freedom are they giving their lives?
It would seem American freedom has been lessened, while “Operation Iraqi Freedom” doesn’t really fit into the scope of a Department of DEfense. However, if we had a Department of OFFense I would concede the argument.
September 28th, 2006 at 7:36 am
I’m sorry, but combat boots after labor day? They’re practically begging to be ridiculed.
September 29th, 2006 at 10:21 am
For one thing, the army sure as hell should get informed consent from a soldier before including him/her.
Assuming they’ve done so, then the soldiers should know and approve of the policy should they get KIA. And also that asshats may shoot at their virtual, computer-controlled, image.
I don’t think the criminal thing is that big a deal. Not many soldiers are going to be criminals, statistically. And that’s a risk in any game where real people are used.