The State of the Art in Commercial Wargaming ICT Immersive Training Workshop 27 JAN Christopher Lawrence Stranger Entertainment LLC

 World of WarCraft  Wii Fit  Millennium Challenge  National Training Center 2 1.Games and simulations share a continuum 2.Both assume basic design abstractions 3.Teaching potential is equal “Pure” Game“Pure” Simulation

3  US consumers spend $11.7 billion annually on video games*  Over 1000 video games are released annually (all platforms)  The top 50 games collect over 50% of the total sales …and over 4 out of 5 games lose money  AAA-title development costs: $50 million and beyond  Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 budget: - $50 million in development costs - $200 million in marketing and distribution costs (*Entertainment Software Association, 2009)

 EVE Online – Iceland  Lineage – Korea  Age of Conan – Norway  9 th Company – Russia  Special Force 2 – Lebanon 4

5 20 million players world-wide Source: et al

 68% of American households play video games  Average gamer age: 35 However…  Not every Soldier is a gamer

However…  Not every Soldier is a gamer  Game-based trainers must work for both Note: Numbers are unscientific polls of US Army enlisted personnel (E1-E5) and officers (01-03) conducted by Stranger Entertainment LLC

 USC-ICT, Stranger Entertainment, Quicksilver Software, Inc. (2008)  Teaches 72-hour distribution management cycle, familiarity with BCS3 Battle Command System  US Army Training Modeling & Simulation Award

 Phase I – proof-of-concept demo  Research  Conceptual design  Some back-end development  Phase II – playable prototype  Production  Live testing with Soldiers  Playable final deliverable 6 months 12 months

10  Who are we training?  Rank  Role  What are we training?  Learning objectives  False assumptions  Why are we training?  Why is this significant?  What isn’t working with current training?  “ How ” is the last thing you should ask How? Why?What?Who?

11 Game-based trainers aren’t “one-size fits all”  How are we training?  Cognitive vs. Skills  Single vs. Multiplayer  First-person vs. third-person  Real-time vs. turn-based  Classroom vs. Standalone  How does this support/enhance current training? How? Why?What?Who?

12  Turn-Based Strategy  Traditional game format  Player as commander  Action occurs in measured phases  Real-Time Strategy (RTS)  Player as commander  Action never stops  Resource management  Action/Shooters (FPS)  Player as individual warfighter  Action never stops  Least time-intensive

Final Design SMEs/CTAs Instructional Designers Software/Game Designers

14 Immersive game environments  Expected details are present (e.g. jargon, TTPs)  All elements internally consistent (i.e. rules are rules)  Players ‘fill in’ the rest Suspension of disbelief is the goal  Deters from meta-game thinking  Players learn from the game experience rather than from exploits

15  Learn via tutorial (“boot camp”)  Provides teaching of specific functions and skills  Allows repeat training  Allows players to begin with full understanding of game  Learn via mission arc (“on the job training”)  Gets players into the game immediately  Teaches by story or mission arc  Masks training with gameplay

16  Fun and learning are not mutually exclusive  Rewarding play (game rank, privilege, score) encourages repeat play  Repeat play allows for greater exposure to material  Tangible and intangible benefits  Context  Improved job satisfaction

17  The Tools  Map editors  Import tools  Mod-friendly code  Scorekeeping and “ladders”  The Results  New content  Emergent TTPs  Motivated players  Extended longevity End users provide community, competition and content

18  Hezbollah (2007)  2006 ‘July War’ against IDF  Special Force s old over 100,000 in Lebanon, Syria and Iran “This game presents the culture of the resistance to children: that occupation must be resisted and that land and the nation must be guarded.” - Hezbollah media official Sheikh Ali Daher. “The features which are the secret of resistance's victory in the south, have moved to this game so that the child can understand that fighting the enemy does not only require the gun. It requires readiness, supplies, armament, attentiveness, tactics.”

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