Comments on: Gaming in the military http://www.tinyblob.com/2007/10/03/gaming-in-the-military/ geekery and photographs Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:50:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Paul http://www.tinyblob.com/2007/10/03/gaming-in-the-military/comment-page-1/#comment-10 Paul Wed, 03 Oct 2007 14:33:58 +0000 http://www.tinyblob.com/2007/10/03/gaming-in-the-military/#comment-10 I love the idea of using off the shelf technology in military applications. As you say: not as rugged. But certainly cheaper and more familiar. I just worry that they come up with an android soldier that is controlled remotely - and that somehow someone will decide dual analogs is a good input method for it. I dread watching our soldiers running around in circles alternating drunkenly between looking at their feet and the sky. I love the idea of using off the shelf technology in military applications. As you say: not as rugged. But certainly cheaper and more familiar.

I just worry that they come up with an android soldier that is controlled remotely – and that somehow someone will decide dual analogs is a good input method for it. I dread watching our soldiers running around in circles alternating drunkenly between looking at their feet and the sky.

]]> By: Shaun http://www.tinyblob.com/2007/10/03/gaming-in-the-military/comment-page-1/#comment-9 Shaun Wed, 03 Oct 2007 10:52:19 +0000 http://www.tinyblob.com/2007/10/03/gaming-in-the-military/#comment-9 It makese sense to consider the potential of young, talented gamers as remote control pilots/drivers. An experienced driver of any vehicle will be great at the real thing, but it'd be hard to convert that coordination to a remote device that doesn't reflect the real controls, especially if you've never used the remote device's control method before. Take a seasoned gamer, though - a frequent user of the Xbox360 controller and general gaming analog stick controls with surrounding buttons. Then consider that the most simulation-heavy games - the likes of flight simulators. They're close enough for the real thing for a young person to be able to train themselves considerably. If you hold a small trial between the gamer and the real pilot, I bet the gamer would be the better pilot - in game, that is. So, if the military require to use an unmanned, remote-controlled aircraft, why not use someone from a gaming background as the remote pilot? He may just need a bit of good old military discipline first. Why didn't I write this as a blog entry of my own? It makese sense to consider the potential of young, talented gamers as remote control pilots/drivers. An experienced driver of any vehicle will be great at the real thing, but it’d be hard to convert that coordination to a remote device that doesn’t reflect the real controls, especially if you’ve never used the remote device’s control method before.

Take a seasoned gamer, though – a frequent user of the Xbox360 controller and general gaming analog stick controls with surrounding buttons. Then consider that the most simulation-heavy games – the likes of flight simulators. They’re close enough for the real thing for a young person to be able to train themselves considerably.

If you hold a small trial between the gamer and the real pilot, I bet the gamer would be the better pilot – in game, that is. So, if the military require to use an unmanned, remote-controlled aircraft, why not use someone from a gaming background as the remote pilot?

He may just need a bit of good old military discipline first.

Why didn’t I write this as a blog entry of my own?

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