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The Army Game Project – Creating an Artefact of War

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Tero Pasanen Master´s Thesis UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ Department of Art and Culture Studies Digital Culture January 2009 UNIVERSITY OF JYVÄSKYLÄ Faculty Department Faculty of Humanities Department of Art and Culture Studies Author Tero Pasanen Title The Army Game Project – Creating an Artefact of War Subject Level Digital Culture Master´s Thesis Month and year Number of pages January 2009 119 (+ 8 p. appendices) Abstract In recent years the U.S. Army has struggled in attracting high potential prospects into the service. These difficulties have forced the Army to widen its horizons when it comes to strategic communication and recruiting initiatives. In 2000 the MOVES institute, aligning its research directions according to 1997 National Research Institute report, started to develop a free Internet-deployed first-person shooter game, America´s Army (AA ). The impetus behind the overall game project, the Army Game Project (AGP), was to convey awareness about the armed service and reshape the negative perceptions produced by other media sources . This rationale also introduced the concept of serious games into the official U.S. Army game. This thesis will analyse various elements and components of the game project from an interdisciplinary perspective. The AGP will be situated to a larger context of the military- entertainment complex, which refers to cooperation and common research agendas between military and private industry. The treatise will also deal with game-related webs ites and brand extensions. In addition the persuasive and educational functions of the game will be thoroughly analysed. Furthermore its themes and key messages will be compared to other Army advertisement campaigns, launched to boost recruitment. The verisimilitude of virtual warfare will be analysed through mission settings, character physic s and predictability of simulated combat. In this connection the topical subject of media violence will be discussed. The treatise will also treat with explicit and implicit in-game communication from the perspective of level design, representation, political context and objectification. The present Master´s Thesis will provide multi-dimensional look on the development of an advergame from a strategic communication tool into a technological platform, which acts as a basis for military and civilian computer applications. Keywords game studies, America´s Army , first-person shooters, advergames, serious games, recruitment Depositor y University of Jyväskylä Additional information JYVÄSKYLÄN YLIOPISTO Tiedekunta Laitos Humanistinen tiedekunta Taiteen ja kulttuurin tutkimuksen laitos Tekijä Tero Pasanen Työn nimi The Army Game Project – Creating an Artefact of War Oppiaine Työn laji Digitaalinen kulttuuri Pro gradu -tutkielma Aika Sivumäärä Tammikuu 2009 119 (+ 8 s. liitteitä) Tiivistelmä Viime vuosina Yhdysvaltain armeijalla on ollut vaikeuksia värvätä korkean potentiaalin omaavia uusia sotilaita palvelukseensa. Nämä vaikeudet ovat pakottaneet armeijan l aajentamaan näkökulmaansa strategisen viestinnän ja värväysohjelmiensa suhteen. Vuo nna 2000 MOVES Instituutti aloitti kehittämään ilmaista verkossa jaettavaa FPS –peliä, America´s Army (AA ). Virike Army Game Project (AGP) -peliprojektin takana oli levittää positiivista tietoa asepalveluksesta, sekä muokata median luomia negatiivisia mielikuvia. Nämä pyrkimykset toivat myös ns. vakavien pelien konseptin osaksi Yhdysvaltain armeijan virallista peliä. Tutkielma analysoi AGP:n erilaisia osa-tekijöitä ja elemen ttejä tieteidenvälisestä perspektiivistä. Peliprojekti sijoitetaan ns. sotilaallis-viihteelliseen kompleksiin; termi viittaa asevoimien ja yksityisen sektorin yhteisiin tutkimusohjelmiin uusteknologian saralla. Tutkimuksessa tarkastellaan myös AA :n erilaisia verkkosivustoja sekä brändilaajennuksia. Työssä perehdytään pelin moninaisiin tehtäviin mainonnan, propagandan, sekä sotilaskoulutuksen näkökulmasta. Pelin teemoja ja avainviestejä verrataan Yhdysvaltain armeijan muihin mainoskampanjoihin , jotka on luotu tehostamaan värväystä. Virtuaalisen sodankäynnin näennäistodellisuutta tarkastellaan pelitehtävien lähtökohdista, pelihahmojen fyysisistä ominaisuuksista sekä simuloitujen taistelujen näkökulmasta. Työ ottaa myös kantaa ajankohtaiseen keskusteluun väkivaltaviihteestä. Lisäksi tutkimus analysoi AA :n eksplisiittistä ja implisiittistä viestintää. Aihetta käsitellään muun muassa kenttäsuunnittelun, poliittisen kontekstin sekä objektifikaation perspektiivistä. Tämä pro gradu -tutkielma on laaja-alainen katsau s mainospelin kehityksestä strategisen viestinnän välineestä teknologiseksi alustaksi, joka toimii pohjana niin sotilas- kuin siviilisovelluksillekin. Asiasanat pelitutkimus, America´s Army , FPS -pelit, mainospelit, vakavat pelit, värväys Säilytys paikka Jyväskylän yliopisto Muita tietoja TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. PREFACE TO WAR ......................................................................................................... 1 2. THE ARMY GAME PROJECT ........................................................................................ 4 2.1 From Koenigspiel to the Military-Entertainment Complex ......................................... 4 2.2 Development of the Army Game Project (AGP)....................................................... 11 2.3 America´s Army – The Official U.S. Army Game ................................................... 13 2.3.1 The Game ........................................................................................................... 14 2.3.2 The Web ............................................................................................................. 19 2.3.3 The Brand Extensions ......................................................................................... 23 3. FUNCTIONS OF THE AGP ........................................................................................... 29 3.1 The Persuasive Function ............................................................................................ 30 3.1.1 America´s Army: Advergame ............................................................................ 31 3.1.2 America´s Army: Propagame ............................................................................. 36 3.2 The Educational Function .......................................................................................... 39 3.2.1 America´s Army Platform Technology .............................................................. 41 3.2.2 Question of Aptitude .......................................................................................... 45 3.2.3 VIRTE and ARI Research Projects .................................................................... 47 4. VERISIMILITUDE OF WARFARE .............................................................................. 50 4.1 Engaging Realism ...................................................................................................... 52 4.1.1 Gameplay Setting ............................................................................................... 53 4.1.2 Weaponry ........................................................................................................... 55 4.1.3 Character Physics ............................................................................................... 59 4.1.4 Predictability of Combat ..................................................................................... 62 4.1.5 Levels of Strategy ............................................................................................... 65 4.2 Representation of Violence ....................................................................................... 68 4.3 Representation of Warfare ......................................................................................... 75 5. SENDING EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT MESSAGES ................................................... 78 5.1 The Belligerent Parties .............................................................................................. 79 5.1.1 U.S. Army ........................................................................................................... 79 5.1.2 The Opposing Forces .......................................................................................... 83 5.2 The Synthetic Theater of War (STOW) .................................................................... 86 5.3 Political Context ........................................................................................................ 89 5.4 America´s Army: Simulacrum................................................................................... 95 iv 5.5 Themes of Recruitment ............................................................................................. 97 5.6 Spoils of War ........................................................................................................... 102 6. CONCLUSIONS: THE ARTEFACT OF WAR ........................................................... 105 REFERENCES: Literature ................................................................................................ 112 REFERENCES: Filmography ........................................................................................... 118 REFERENCES: Games ..................................................................................................... 119 APPENDIX A: Version History ........................................................................................ 120 APPENDIX B: Training Simulations ...............................................................................
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