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February 27, 2005
So, Is Killing Afghans Fun?
That was the question posed by Major Randy Zeegers, "who functions as a liaison between the Army and the designers," to the Time magazine reporter who was trying out some of the newest video games the Armed Forces is developing as a recruiting tool:
After I took part in a heated session on a combat simulator, dodging RPGs and blasting away at street fighters in a nameless desert city, Major Zeegers asked me, "So, is killing Afghans fun?" It was hard to tell whether he was joking.
These games are serious business as far as recruiting goes. The game "America's Army" is where many of America's young learn about the Armed Forces:
Since it was released on July 4, 2002, America's Army has signed up 4.6 million registered players, and it adds 100,000 new ones every month. According to an Army study, 30% of Americans ages 16 to 24 say that some of what they know about the Army comes from the game.
But don't you worry. These games teach you about the real life. It's not like you can die and just start over immediately. You have to wait until the whole game starts over.
Colonel Wardynski is quick to point out that in games generally, when you die, you magically come back to life right away. Not in America's Army, he says. "In our game, there are penalties. In our game, if you're wounded or killed, you're out till the game starts over. The level of casualties your team incurs or inflicts on noncombatants--all those things come home as bad things to do. We don't want them to think it's Rambo."
That should teach those kids what real war is like. Plus, you get points deducted for killing civilians.
Posted by zeynep at February 27, 2005 11:30 PM
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Comments
now, how are you going to teach kids what real war is like if you get points DEDUCTED for killing civilians?
if anything, everytime a civilian is killed, a conservative reporter should come on the screen and discuss how it was necessary to bring freedom to that civilian's family.
Posted by: george at February 28, 2005 10:30 AM
Yes yes, points deducted for killing civilians. *Phew*, good thing they accounted for that -- I was otherwise going to say it didn't seem realistic enough for me.
Are there points deducted for torturing but not killing civilians?
thanks for sharing that post with us. it's sickening to know that our country is hitting such lows with recruiting tactics.
Posted by: Anjali at February 28, 2005 12:23 PM
You don't just get points deducted, you get thrown in "jail" (an anctual prison cell) for the rest of the game. Do this often and get banned.
Posted by: guest at April 2, 2005 02:03 AM