PEOPLEWHODIDN’TPLAY
VIDEOGAMESTYPICALLY
HADA MUCHHARDERTIME
FINDINGTHEIRPLACE IN
A GROUPglareofa fantasyRPGwithshotsofprofessional
troopsperformingnighttimemanoeuvres.
Theadcampaignis provocativenotjustfor
implyingthata healthyK/Dratiomightprepare
youforcombat,butforresurrectingtheclichéof
‘gamers’asanostracisedgroup– a “misrepresented
generation”of“timewasters”,inthewordsofan
accompanyingeditorialintheUKArmy-backed
LockerMagazine.AsJosephDeLappe,professorof
gamesresearchatAbertayUniversity,notes,thisis
a poorreflectionofthepopularityofgamestoday
acrossmanyagebracketsandbackgrounds.“To
targetgamersforrecruitingpurposesis almostlike
targetingeverybody.Especiallyteenagers,it’s kind
ofpartoftheworldforthem.”Thenew
adsarethussomethingofanexercise
incircularlogic:theydefine
playersofvideogamesas
misunderstoodandcloseted
inordertorescuethose
playersformilitaryservice.
IntheeyesofGerman
airforcemechanic
Thomas,whosename
hasbeenchangedforthe
purposesofthisarticle,
pitchingtoplayersis
moreaboutreaching
youngpeoplethan
tappingintoanyskillset
videogamessupposedly
teach.IntheUKArmy’scase,
thereis a pressingneedforan
injectionofnewblood,whether
partialtoDiabloIIIornot:theforceis
sevenpercentbelowitsrequiredstrength,
atthetimeofwriting,aftermissingrecruitment
targetsforsixyearsstraight.TheUSArmy,similarly,
hasstruggledtolurerecruitsasthenation’seconomy
hasrecoveredfromthe 2008 recession,missingits
targetslastyearforthefirsttimesincetheoutbreak
oftheIraqWar.“They’retargetinga youngeraudience
nowsimplybecausethecurrentgenerationserving
is mainlybaby-boomers,”Thomasobserves.“And
they’restartingtogetoldorsick.Froma human
resourcespointofviewI thinkit’singenious,because
gamesarewhatyoungerpeoplerelateto.Froma
moralstandpointI thinkit’skindofquestionable,
because it doesn’t convey the actual field of work.It’skindofdishonest,really.”
Sois thereanytruthatalltotheclaimthatplaying
gamesgivesyouskillsapplicabletomilitaryservice?
Theansweris “some”,butit’simportant,giventhe
timeandmoneyspentfloggingtheideaofthegame
asa trainingdevice,tohighlightthelimitationsof
theseportrayals.Tobeginwith,videogamesdoinstil
managementandteamworkskillsthatcanbeuseful
tosoldiers.“WhatI experiencedinNCOtrainingwas
thatpeoplewhodidn’tplayvideogamestypicallyhad
a muchhardertimefindingtheirplaceina group,
analysingtheirowngroup’sparticularskills,and
establishinga leadershippositionthanpeoplewho
are playinggamesmoreregularly,”Thomassays.
“Theyhada mucheasiertimeidentifying
skillsthatcouldbeuseful,andlistening
totheirteammatesortheir
subordinates.”Shootersand
actiongamesmayalsobe
helpfulbackgroundfor
roles,suchassignalling,
thatrequiretheability
toreadandinterpret
stimuliquickly.Onthe
otherhand,“justbecause
youplayshootersand
aregoodataiming,
doesn’tmeanyouknow
howtoshoota gun.”
Indeed,asabundantas
firearmsareinvideogames,
virtualshootoutsarewoeful
preparationforthereality.“You
don’tgettheimpulses,youdon’t
getthesmell,youdon’tgetthesound;
youdon’tgetthefeelingofthevibrationsin
theair.”
TheDivision’sDarkZoneaside,CassidyLittlehas
a fewwordsofpraiseforCallOfDuty:Ghosts,which
featuresa camouflagesystemandtutorsplayersin
theusageof“deadground”– areaswithinrangeofa
weaponsystemthatareuntargetablethankstoterrain
factors.“Theprinciplesofwhyyouareseencanbe
appliedtoa videogameandthereforeviceversa,I
wouldhope,”hesays.“So,youcouldtechnicallyput
togetheraneight-manfireteam,andbreacha building
ina PvPcontext,andhopetheydon’tshootthe
civilians.Youcouldusethatasa learningtool,sure.
But that doesn’t help with physical muscle memory ofPLAYTIME