Manuel Guillen
Military institutions
require openness to new ideas and explore new technologies in order to stay
ahead of “enemies.” Many innovations originate from this as well as new uses to
other inventions also can stem from this practice. The internet is one of the
most prime examples of the military’s innovative ideals. It is with this
tradition that the military adopted video games early on and found uses for
them. From the very foundations of video games in the 1980’s to current
recruitment centers using new, high definition graphics, the military
incorporates video games into various aspects of their institution. The drones is
the culmination of the merging between the virtual gaming and warfare, that is
the player/controller and the in game character/real life drone.
In
this discussion, the term “real” is the physical space in which the gamer,
operator and drone inhabit. The “virtual” is, for video games, the world within
the screen and for the drone operator, it is what the drone “sees” and the
intermediate steps where what the drone “sees” is translated into coding that
is then translated back into a visual representation for the operator. The
purpose of this isn’t to seek an answer – as even with plenty of research there
is no clear cut “truth” – but rather to present the issue and try to direct you
to questions that must be considered.
There
are of course major differences between video games and real life warfare, such
as the consequences of taking lives, but the overlap between the two is so much
that certain skills in one can transfer between the virtual and the real. In
order to do this, first the way the drone and the video game functions with the
controller/player must be explored. Then, the parallels are clearly detectable.
Lastly, inferences can be drawn once the parallels are understood.
A drone is a device that is remotely controlled. In this
case, the drones in question are remote controlled aircrafts that are employed
by the army to eliminate threats without having to send in soldiers. The pilots
of these vehicles operate them from a distance where they only see what they do
through a camera. The missions they are assigned is what dictates different
details such as the number of targets and how long they follow a particular
target. This means that even though there is a huge physical distance, there
are still cases of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that still occur. The pilots
maintain communication with superiors and other soldiers feeding the operator
of the drone orders on nearly every step of the process leading up to and
continuing after the attack. The set up for the operator’s system consists of
multiple monitors and controls similar to the one on planes called a
side-stick.
This aerial view from the drone is similar to the aerial view used
in older games that were based on tactics and strategy.
The drones have cameras on them to allow the operator to
see from the point of view of the plane. This aerial point of view is
replicated in video games. Video games that portray war utilize real locations
and functions in order to do the same. The Call of Duty franchise has two
subsets that take place in modern times. These series are “Call of Duty: Modern
Warfare” and the game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.” These games have in-game
drones that the player controls and flies over the map allowing an aerial
assault onto the target.
These
examples lead to the historical interweaving of borrowing between video games
and warfare. Earlier arcade games have third person point of view. For example,
“Raiden Fighters” is an arcade game in which the player controls a plane and
shoots rounds at obstacles that are on the ground or in the sky. In the game,
the player sees the plane they control. First person point of view existed early
in gaming with such games as the first person shooter “Wolfenstein 3D” in 1992.
Between games like “Raiden Fighters” and “Wolfenstein 3D,” video games
approached the visual aesthetic of operating a Drone. Drone operations are
similar to that of the controls of video games – particularly the airplane
simulators. Then with drones coming into the public eye, the aesthetic of the
games came to imitate the real life drones. This sharing of details is
something the military does in order to advance and try to stay ahead, while
video games do such in order to maintain a large enough demand for their
products.
Drones are the current zenith of this blend. The
aesthetic is similar to nearly the every minute detail. The current repertoire of
games that follow suit of military video games imitate the black and white,
grainy appearance that real drones had or for the newer ones, color with grainy
look.
It is through this appearance that certain skills are
transferrable. There are games where communication and teamwork is key and the
ability to lead and respond accordingly to new situations are important, but
when it comes to flying a drone, the changes come in the form of a new set of
controls to master and a strict set of guidelines and chains of command that
must be followed. Regardless, the similarities are so strong that army
recruitment centers use video games in order to test potential recruits. This
particular recruitment tactic is controversial as there are large groups that
believe it is another form of brainwashing the subconscious mind of the youth. Despite
this, the primary concept that must be considered is whether a person
There are already plenty of references where if a person
thinks that their actions is limited to the virtual realm of a video game and
has no consequences in the real world, then they will play through and do so
without guilt and play through until it’s game over from failure or success. However,
this can be simplified by the psychological test of how much authority a person
has over another. In the original experiment, the subject was told by an
authority to shock a stranger. This was to continue until the subject could no
longer follow through with the order. The reason this concept has a higher
value in this topic is that the concept of not knowing would mean that any
person would play and think there are no consequences, but what if that player
decides that it would be fun to fire a few rounds of friendly fire? With the
authority experiment, this gets applied to both the gamer and the soldier. The
soldier is trained to follow orders and that doesn’t always lead to pleasurable
results. The gamer tends to have the option to ignore the commands, but by
doing so progression of the game ends, defeating the purpose of the game. It is
for this reason that exploring the authority over a person is more important as
even the drone pilot must follow orders, even if they are aware that drone
attacks tend to cause more civilian casualties.
Moving forward from the psychology of the gamer and drone
pilot, consider the concept of entertainment against the concept of war. What
is it that has so many gamers gravitating to Call of Duty, sometimes even
becoming possible addicts to video games? There is a fetishism of war that
comes along with the game, an obsession to the act of killing virtual-people
that are either controlled by the coding of the game or by another player via
internet. Is it some sort of left over inherent drive to want to survive that
gets summoned in these games? Perhaps it comes in the form of conquering over
someone else’s online avatar? If this is the case, then maybe there is no
brainwashing taking place by the video game designers and the desires and
entertainment that comes with getting that winning kill is already within each
individual waiting for that moment in which we take the lead and earn bragging
rights among strangers playing the game online as well.
At
an even deeper level, the campaign mode (story section) of Call of Duty games
involves playing as a “good guy” which is always American or on the side of the
Americans. This National Pride extends through all sorts of media, but in video
games, the player is allowed to be the person who takes Berlin in World War 2
Germany or the player gets to stop a group of fictitious Russian terrorists who
successfully attack Washington DC. So how does this translate unto the gamer
seeking to join the military? Does the National Pride follow them into and
through the recruitment process?
Part
of playing with others in video games is trash talking. How does this go into
the recruitment process or being in an actual war? Would a soldier hijack enemy
radio in order to trash talk them? One of the most offensive acts that an
online player does to another online gamer is to have their avatar crouch and
stand multiple times above a dead body in order to make it appear that the
player is being T bagged. Does this offense act also get carried over to real
war?
Ultimately,
warfare is becoming more and more remote. It is no longer the one on one
honorable fight that existed between samurai or in a duel. There is less of a
physical tie to it. Where will this take us? Will warfare become so impersonal
that civilian casualties will be ignored entirely? Will our soldiers end up
being replaced by the stereotypical online gamer?
In
the end, the larger concerns people tend to have is with the children
playing these games. To the concerns of such parents, these are simple counter
arguments to three of those concerns.
Concern
1: My child shouldn’t play violent video games or they will be violent.
Suggestion:
Why not take part in your child’s life by being aware what games they play as
children and purchase games according to the recommended, age appropriate
rating system that is in place. It exists specifically for this concern. Additionally,
make sure that the child is learning more than internet lag is leading to their
poor performance. Make sure they are aware it is just a game and there are real
consequences. Many people I know received violent games from their own parents.
Clearly this is easily averted by parents educating oneself before purchasing.
Concern
2: My child will get fat.
Suggestion:
Firstly, health isn’t established by whether a person is obese. A thin person
can still have high cholesterol or diabetes. If you feed your child, get
education in nutrition for both of you from an early age and stop feeding them
crap. Otherwise, they can be an incredible athlete that eats junk and still
gets diabetes or heart disease regardless of what they do with their leisure
time. In other words, video games alone will not make a person unhealthy, it is
their lifestyle as an entirety.
Concern
3: Child is playing video games instead of other activities such as homework or
going outside.
Suggestion:
As the parent, you should set the rules. Be fair, but enforce rules to make
sure that your child has a balanced life. Video games can be a distraction but
like many other activities, they can become an unhealthy habit. Just like
shopping, alcohol, even exercising to an extreme can be considered unhealthy;
video games are no different and moderation is important.
Bibliography
· Talmadge
Wright, Boria, Eric, and Breidenbach, Paul. “Creative Player Actions in FPS
Online Video Games - Playing Counter-Strike.” Game Studies 2.2 n. pag.
· Manovich,
Lev. “Lev Manovich | Essays : The Mapping of Space.” URL. http://manovich.net/TEXT/mapping.html
· Thomson,
Matthew. “Military Computer Games and the New American Militarism - What
Computer Games Teach Us About War.” n. pag. URL http://etheses.nottingham.ac.uk/672/1/Matt_Thomson_PhD_Thesis_Pdf.pdf
