It had to happen, right? Art–in the form of video games that imitate life (sort of)–being used to train the kinds of soldiers that the games were based on in the first place.
Video games, including commercial, first-person shooting games–are going to play a bigger role in training the Canadian military. Or then again, maybe they won’t.
Of course, this being the military, this will not happen without a fight.
A tug of war is underway. Sceptics say the videos are simply a cost-cutting tool. Soldiers say they welcome the simulated videos–such as Call to Duty–as a big plus in their training.
National Defence says it is looking into the ways computer-generated scenarios can boost ordinary training. The department says its the first time it has considered their use in mission rehearsals.
Everybody involved says the use of videos would be complementary to the traditional way of preparing for battles during which troops carry out rehearsals to test the strengths and pitfalls of various plans.
Supporters of the video use say computer simulations have reached the point where dozens of troops and even pilots can be linked in a virtual world–a world that includes realistically rendered enemies looking exactly like they do in real life.
No decision has been made.
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