havingtocarrya rifle,dealwithstoppages,identify
hazardzones,usethebattlebuddysystem.There’s
notenoughinterfaceina videogametobeableto
teachthat.”
TheseareconclusionsechoedbyPaulSulyok,
CEOofPCretailerGreenManGaming,whoserved
asa captainintheBritishArmy’slightinfantry
duringthe1990s.Sulyokidentifiesthreekeyaspects
ofbeinga soldier– administrative,personaland
anawarenessofhowyourunit’sactionssupport
yourcommander’sstrategy,inwhichyoumayonly
bea decoy.“Soldieringcanbea verytechnical
occupation,”hesays.“Howdoyougetsomething
fromA toB?Theadministrationandthechallenges
aroundthataresignificant– ‘I’vegotthe
followingresources,I needtoput
themoverthere,thisis howto
doit’.Thesecondelementof
soldieringis thepersonalone.
Peoplearefatigued,people
arefrightened,peopleare
people.Youcanhave
theabilitytoallocate
yourresourcesfroma
technicalperspective,
[muchasyou]could
bethebestresource-
managinggamerinthe
world,andstillnotbe
abletoleada blokedown
thestreet.Letaloneinto
combat.”Videogamescan,
andhave,engagedsuccessfully
withtheacademicortechnical
aspectsofbeinga soldier,inSulyok’s
view,buttheyareill-equippedtoportray
themyriadstressesofbeingpartofa groupof
infantryinthefield.“Whenit comestodownto
resourceallocation,theacademicsideofsoldiering,
youcanverymuchemulatethat.Butunlessyou’re
runningupanddowna hill,andyou’resoakedtothe
bone,andyouhaven’teatenfor 24 hours,andyou
haven’tsleptfor 48 hours,thenyoucan’treallyuse
gamestorecreatea combatenvironment.”
If theyaredubiousaboutsimulationsofcombat,
ourintervieweesidentifyoneareawheregames,or
simulations,mighthelpsoldiersnavigatescenesof
conflict– communicatingtherulesofengagement.
These refer to the circumstances and conditions in
whichyouarepermittedtouseforce,andthemanner
anddegreeofthatforce:theyarethecriteria,inother
words,thattheoreticallyseparatea “justwar”from
indiscriminatemass-murder.Thenatureofthoserules
differsfromcountrytocountry.InGermany,a country
thathasservedasaggressorintwoworldwars,the
rulesarerelativelytight,thoughhowscrupulously
theyareobservedis anotherquestion.“There’sa
rowofcheckswe’resupposedtogothroughfor
ourselves,”Thomassays.“Isit rightthatmysuperior
is orderingmetoshootthatperson?Technically
you’resupposedtogothroughallthat,butI think
manypeopleshutthatout,becausethey’vebeen
desensitisedinsomeway.There’sa Germanwordfor
“blindlyfollowing”,kadavergehorsam,and
that’sthetypeofpersonthat,let’scall
them‘humanresources’,don’t
wantintheGermanarmed
forcesanymore.”
Thesearequestionsthe
creatorsofmilitarygames
mightexplore,bothfor
thesakeofa powerful
storyandtoprovidea
publicservice.Thereare
precedentsinmilitary
simulationtech.Little
recallsusinga lightgun-
stylesimulatortoexplore
rulesofengagement,for
example.“YouhaveanSA80
A2[assaultrifle],whichis
theweaponsystemweusedin
theatre,andtheyhavea screenin
frontofyou,andtheyhavea set-piece.
I thinktheoneI wasonwasa vehiclepulling
up,turningthecorner,comingtoa stop.Andyour
jobwiththisthing,thereweretwoofyou,wastopull
thetriggerif andwhenyouthinkit’sappropriate.”
Trainersthentooktheirchargesthroughthefootage,
rewindingeachshotandaskingwhetherit brokethe
rules.“Ifsomebody’sgoingtoshootatyou,you’re
withinyourrightstoshootthem.Moreimportantly,
if youthinksomebody’sgoingtoshootyou,youare
fullywithinyourrightstotakethemout,andsay,‘I
genuinelythoughthewasgoingtoshootme’.That
beingsaid,if somebodydoesn’thavea weaponand
comesrunningatyou,youcan’tjustshootthemin
the face, because it’s like, how much damage could he[YOU]COULDBETHE
BESTRESOURCE-MANAGING
GAMERINTHEWORLDAND
STILLNOTABLETOLEADA
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