War Gaming

One of the biggest selling genres of games are war games. People often wonder why war games are so popular. It's probably because people like the feeling of playing the hero and saving the world but in a modern context. Having fast paced action scenes gives players a great sense of immersion and enjoyment with explosions and bullets flying overhead.War games come in many shapes and forms but regardless these war and combat games seem to strive and pass out other genres of games.



We discussed Americas army in class and how this game was used to target certain ages groups to try and recruit them for the american army. The idea that they'll play this simulator over and over to prepare them for the army to me is a bit of a stretch. There's quite a difference between sitting in front of a screen and then being in that simulated situation in real life. When it comes down to it a lot of people who think by playing a game will prepare them for a combat situation and then actually being in that situation will suddenly realise the disconnect between simulated and real environments. However from my past experience ofgames it is easy to get drawn into a game for hours and be completely immersed in it and think you're a part of the battle with a group of soldiers and because of this games/simulators like Americas Army can cause people to be desensitized to this violence and potentially get them into the mind frame "it's like a video game". If companies are developing these game/simulators for the purposes of recruiting I think it's hard to judge the company it self. In one way it's wrong to be targeting youths in this way and making them think that this is what it's like to be in a war. On the other hand though to a software development or game development studio because for them it's just another game or project and they might not be interested in the application or intended use of the product.




The link below discusses America's Army and how it's being used to help soldiers and mentally prepare for war.



When we look at popular war games today like the Call of Duty franchise. and why they're so popular, for me I used to love the Call of Duty games. I loved the stories that they told and the way they immersed me in an action packed adventure. Nowadays people (including myself) mainly play Call of Duty for the multiplayer section. As I've become more of a ludologist over the past few years. I play Call of Duty primarily for the multiplayer to just relax and enjoy the game with my friends so I quite enjoy the social aspect. Call of Duty is one of the biggest games franchises in the world to date. Games and specifically war games are definitely having an effect on today's society. If you look at the scale the Call of Duty games go to in there marketing and launch events down to the games themselves which are trying to be as authentic as possible using army specialists.



Video games always come under a lot of scrutiny because of their violence and the worlds they portray. Often when attacks happen video games are generally blamed and there has been research done in both areas saying that video games are beneficial and there is counter arguments to say that games are linked to violence.



The first links shows research to show video games are bad for you, the second show a counter argument and the benefit of video games.
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