Navy calling on gamers to help with security

[alp227]

Source: The Washington Post

To combat Somali pirates, the U.S. Navy has relied on warships, snipers and SEAL teams. Now, it is turning to the heavy artillery: Internet gamers.

This month, the Office of Naval Research will roll out the military’s first-ever online war game open to the public, crowd-sourcing the challenges of maritime security to thousands of “players” sitting in front of their computers.

The project — named MMOWGLI (the acronym for Massively Multiplayer Online Wargame Leveraging the Internet) — is a video game for policy wonks. It aims to replicate a traditional military strategy session on an exponentially larger scale, bringing together a diverse mix of government and outside experts that would be impossible even in the largest Pentagon conference room.

Through virtual simulation and social media tools made popular on Twitter and Facebook, players will work together to respond to a series of make-
believe geopolitical scenarios set off when private ships are hijacked off Somalia’s coast.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/navy-calling-on-gamers-to-help-with-security/2011/05/13/AFRYiP4G_singlePage.html

[DonCoquixote]

1. Laugh all you want to

But some of the sharpest minds are in gaming.

[L0oniX]

4. Gaming has been the driving force for computer hardware since the 386 days.

I think Doom is what really got it going. Gaming created a demand for better sound, video, memory and the cpu power to handle it all.

[Ready4Change]

20. Earlier than that.

I used to do PC hardware maintenance back in the day when there were IBM PCs (mostly 8088's and 8086's. 80286s were too rare and expensive to be anything but servers) and a few other brands that claimed they were PC compatible. In my kit of tools and disks was a copy of Microsoft Flight Simulator. We'd use it when a department got a new brand of computer to test how compatible it was. That version of MSFS was monochrome, and frame rates were often only around 5 fps.

Gaming has been used in military and disaster training pretty much forever. It often hasn't been called that, because some 'adults' can't handle words like 'game' or 'play' of 'fun' being connected to 'serious work.' So sometimes it's 'simulations' or 'abstraction exercises.' But it's there, and it's one of the most productive means of finding creative solutions possible.

Go Navy.

[Occulus]

18. I'm thinking the Civilization experts would be a good fit for this.

Civ, GalCiv 2, and possibly the Command & Conquer/Starcraft folks.

The military better carefully manage the experience, or the end of the game will have the US in military control of all ports on either side of the Atlantic.

Hmmmm. This could be something worth participating in, now that I think about a bit.

[Odin2005]

24. Civilization nut, here!

MY WORDS ARE BACKED BY THERMONUCLEAR WEAPONS! :evilgrin:

Where do I sign up?

[GeorgeGist]

34. Thank you

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::r:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:ofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::ro:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:fl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::r:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:ofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::ro:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rof:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::r:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:ofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rof:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::r:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:ofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::ro:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:fl::rofl:l::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::ro:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::ro:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::r:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:ofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::ro:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::r:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:ofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::ro:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:fl::rofl:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:fl::rofl:fl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:fl::rofl:l::rofl::rofl::rofl:fl::rofl:

[NashVegas]

2. Everything I Understand About Global Politics, I Learned In MMOs

The solution is really simple. Brutalize the shit out of them to the point where they can never recover. Oh, wait ...

[Very_Boring_Name]

15. Ditto

[boppers]

3. Slight problem with that...

Gamers are usually so nerfed that they just use resurrection as a strategy tactic, and/or treat their assets as disposable.

Real life doesn't have corpse running and zergling rushes.

[Ready4Change]

21. Good gamers do what the rules allow to work.

Rushes and resurrection tactics are used because that's what the rules of many games allow.

When that isn't allowed by a game, good players find out what DOES work, and do that. For example, if a game made zergs very expensive players would adopt tactics that preserved their investment. But when zergs are practically free? You get rushes.

[Ian David]

5. They're looking for THIS guy...

[drm604]

10. I immediately thought of that when I read the OP. n/t

[eShirl]

12. I hate that character

Actually, I dislike all the characters on that show... yet I'm still watching it on Netflix.

[AndyTiedye]

32. Good Concept, Nice Props, the Rest is Crap

gave up after watching a few of them.

[Yon_Yonson]

6. It's easy to combat pirates ...

Just put Leatherneck sharpshooters back into the ship's rigging! Save a lot of money that way and besides the Marines have training!

[Ian David]

7. I'm going to suggest we build a giant, wooden bunny rabbit. n/t

[Soylent Brice]

9. armed with holy hand greande of antioch launchers to boot. n/t

[Demeter]

8. Thing is

Gamers have a very different view of reality. They may not be willing or able to buy into the Navy's brand of bullshit and "national security" that willing recruits swallow whole.

Wikileaks ring a bell, anyone?

[eShirl]

13. There are all kinds of gamers; they won't have any problem finding participants.

[Occulus]

17. They will end up getting a few very clever folks who know where the bullshit is

and refuse to buy it.

This will be either spectacularly successful, or the gamers they get will game the game. Probably a bit of both- gamers are notorious for exposing and taking advantage of exploits.

[boppers]

26. "notorious for exposing and taking advantage of exploits"

Actually, that might be some of what they're looking for... people who can beat the Kobyashi Maru, and what unusual strategies haven't been considered yet.

For the non-geeks among us:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobayashi_Maru

[NashVegas]

35. Competitive Gamers Have Massive Egos

You'd be shocked at what some people will do for nothing more than bragging rights.

[Demeter]

37. Massive Egos Don't Fit Into Armies

The helmets are too small...

[UTUSN]

11. That's my Navy. (I ain't kicking.) n/t

[Corruption Winz]

14. I see nothing wrong with this idea...

When I first read the title, the word "pathetic" came to mind. However, after reading about this, I don't see how it could hurt. Anything useless gets treated as such. Anything that helps out, should obviously be looked into.

[OnlinePoker]

16. Ender's Game

Orson Scott Card wrote a short story and then several books about a boy who played computer battle simulations (in space) that, in fact weren't simulations and actually were taking place. The Navy's looking for people who think outside the military mindset for innovative combat strategy, and who knows if the simulations won't turn into the real thing down the road.

[customerserviceguy]

19. I know the Army released a video game a few years ago

It was dismissed as a simple recruitment tool, but what if it had secret code buried in it that identified those who were exceptionally clever at the game, and they were paid a 'visit'?

Who's to say that this thing doesn't have the same thing built in to it?

[gejohnston]

23. Shades of the "Last Starfighter"

[AndyTiedye]

33. They Wouldn't Even Have To!

They control the game, they could just feed you the scenarios they are interested in.
You'd be working for them for free and you'd never even know it.

[Xithras]

36. America's Army

It's a whole series of games that they started pumping out about 10 years ago. It's actually a pretty good game, and is one of the most realistic combat games out there (including the fact that dead is dead, and that you can't run away wit 10 bullets in your ass).

But yeah, it's a recruiting tool.

[Nancy Waterman]

22. I thought of Ender immediately

Sci fi comes to life!!

[Odin2005]

25. Very, very cool.

[Trajan]

27. Imagine for a moment

A 3d realistic world; with commerce shipping running routes through the Gulf of Aden, and numerous other vessels present, bobbing in an ocean filled with friends and foes ...

Your interface is a control panel, with a armory and weapons cache consisting of a variety of nifty weapons ... like any good RPG shoot'm up would have ....

Gun sights, vessel movement controls, systems health reports ... The whole shebang ....

Look ! .... There is a pirate ! ..... mmmMmmmMmMMMMMMWWHACK ! ... dead ! .....

mmmMmmmMmMMMMMMWWHACK ! ... mmmMmmmMmMMMMMMWWHACK ! ... two more .....

----------

Now .... imagine - This is no game .... This is the REAL 3d world, and those are actual pirates, and these are actual unmanned war vessels, bristling with firepower and remotely controlled by ...

"the public, crowd-sourcing the challenges of maritime security to thousands of “players” sitting in front of their computers."

Fascinating exercise ....

[LetTimmySmoke]

28. K&R for games, pot, and the internet.

[Hannah Bell]

29. "crowd-sourcing" i.e. free labor, i.e. having the peons construct their own chains for free

tricking the peons into doing what used to be paid work for free is the latest twist of capitalism

[DonCoquixote]

30. actually

some of these folks will probably get paid very well, especially the programmers, but one could also argue that in a socialistic society, tools like games will be used to get skills out to the masses, ensuring that "professionals" do not just come from a set class. Think of all the Soviet engineers whose ancestors were literal serfs. There is a reason that the Soviets were the only state to pose a challenge to the U.S.; just like Americans, they realized that the winners were people who could take unconventional tools and make the most of them. It is the same reason the Chinese seem ready to succeed the Americans. A lot of those Cosmonauts played Tetris, while a lot of Chinese Taikonauts play World of Warcraft.

[Demeter]

38. Why pay for a cow, when you can milk her for free?

where have I heard that before....

[Javaman]

31. All the world is a video game and all the men and women merely toons. nt

[angel823]

39. right

effin on.

Angel