“America’s Army,” a video game version of real army missions, has released the newest version of the popular game.
“Firefight” offers virtual environments in which the player can team up with other players online and complete combat missions, using real United States hardware and training tactics.
Maj. Christopher Chambers said the game, which is available to download for free at www.americasarmy.com, is mostly a strategic communications tool that the Army uses to connect with young people.
Chambers also said the game is primarily an information tool for people who otherwise would have no contact with the Army.
The “America’s Army” website also states the game is a useful tool for showing civilians what army life is like.
But Stacie Furst, management assistant professor with a research interest in virtual work environments and resistance to technology, said “I liken it to giving someone who wants to be in the NBA a copy of ‘NBA 2004.’ That doesn’t give a feel for what day-to-day life is all about. [Conflict] is only a small part of what the Army is all about.”
Chambers said that more than half of the game is non-combat action — including medical training and teamwork tactics training.
He also said the game has nearly 4.7 million registered users and more than 70 million hours of play time logged on their servers.
“We know that there is a lot of interest in this game, and therefore in the Army,” Chambers said. He said the information is not used for recruiting purposes.
“It’s at the very tip of recruiting,” Chambers said. “But, no recruiting, per se, is going on.”
Maj. Victor Todd, enrollment officer for LSU ROTC, said the game has not been a driving factor in recruitment at the University.
“We really don’t use it very much for recruitment of ROTC cadets,” Todd said.
Chambers said the Army co-hosts several gaming tournaments in conjunction with Cyberatheletes Amateur League, as well as other leagues. He also said the game is available on CD at most recruiting stations, and that PC Magazine has included the disc in an issue.
The latest released update for the game, “Firefight,” was aimed to make tournament play easier, Chambers said.
Chambers said the game also has made the leap to training simulations. He said the game has sparked the realization that games provide a different spin than regular training simulations, and the Army has started to utilize that.
“The games provide a lot of flexibility that can add to the outputs of the training cycle,” Chambers said.
He said this “first foray” of the government into the commercial game sector has been met with great success.