From Sun Tzu to Xbox; a new book on war and videogames
by Christopher Grant 
{ Jun 6th 2006 at 3:25PM }
Firing Squad caught up with Ed Halter, author of From Sun Tzu to Xbox: War and Videogames, to talk with him about the intersection of ... umm, war and videogames. Anyone who's read Smartbomb is already familiar with the intimate and storied relationship between the two, from early Defense Department research to current Army recruitment tools. Halter says:"The Army loves to say that America's Army is 'authentic' but only a fool would believe that real war is like that game. A more realistic form of America's Army, for example, would be one in which your soldier might lose a limb or get brain-damaged in combat, then come home to a Sims-style scenario in which you have to manage the rest of your life that way. Or maybe a game where you don't get into combat at all–you just camp out in the desert, running exercises. But I doubt those kind of game would serve as very effective advertisements."
Halter will continue to follow the topic with a blog -- as a supplement to the more traditional dead tree edition and as potential material for a new edition -- that's already full of interesting stuff. Anyone pick this up yet?
[Thanks, John]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joel @ Jun 6th 2006 3:43PM
Haven't picked it up yet. Seems like an interesing topic, however I don't think I can completely buy into Halter's stance:)
Joel @ Jun 6th 2006 3:46PM
I have not picked up the dead tree edition. Looking forward to it. Thanks for this insightful article.
cringer8 @ Jun 6th 2006 3:50PM
Maybe his realistic version of war should also have the soldier return home and kill his wife and kids.
It could be run on Eternal Darkness' "sanity meter" concept. The more you're exposed to over there, the more detached from "normal life" you become.
Dan Zuccarelli @ Jun 6th 2006 4:00PM
Amazon sent the book out yesterday, and I hope to have a review on my webiste soon. It seemed like an interesting topic, hopefully it's well written.
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SickNic @ Jun 6th 2006 4:20PM
Kinda funny article. I was stationed in Iraq with the 101st in 2003/2004. Thats when I started to play Xbox. There was a lot of downtime in Iraq. I mean, your in the desert for 12 months, and you work 12 hours a day. Maybe if your lucky you get a day per week off. But when you are done your shift, there isn't much to do but hook up an Iraqi TV to a generator (with a power converter of course) and splice in an Xbox. It passes the time, and you know what? It also eases the tension and stress of being over there. Plus, those pixel breasts in DOA Volleyball looked damn good when you've been over there for a while. Yeah, real war doesn't really make for a good videogame, but videogames sure do make wars somewhat fun.
Rayonic @ Jun 6th 2006 5:37PM
Bah, sounds like trite bullshit. Pointless pontificating and whining.
So what if America's Army uses a couple of common videogame abstractions in order to keep it engaging? Everyone knows about boot camp, and the potentially long waits between missions. When you get killed in the game, everyone knows that in real life you wouldn't be respawning. This author is treating gamers like infants.
What's he going to complain about next? Here's a guess:
* Sim City isn't totally realistic, because you never campaign for office, or get caught in a sex scandal, or give speeches, etc. etc.
* Racing games aren't realistic, because you never get injured in crashes and have to spend weeks in the hospital, injured or paralyzed.
* Microsoft Flight Simulator isn't realistic, because you don't have to buy the plane, earn your license, etc. You also don't have to go to a virtual hospital or virtual morgue.
Need I go on?
Blink @ Jun 6th 2006 5:37PM
Ouch ouch ouch. I'm slapping myself in the face for not going back and buying this book, I saw it in the bookstore when I was visiting another town earlier today. I didn't realize it would be as good as it looks.
I did read some pages, and it talked a lot about how when 2001's events led to war, EA and others jumped right in and said some stuff like "war is real, and we want it to feel real in games now too" or "look real" or something. But yeah, post apocolyptic hero style is the only style of game that seems to be out right now.
Jonn @ Jun 7th 2006 5:16PM
The Halo image on the fake cover; the books by Eric Nylund constantly have the Chief thinking about his tactics and stratagy. Ironically, he never explicitly mentions Sun Tzu.
#7
You forgot the "pistol & melee weapon, rifle, Assault rifle/SMG, Sniper rifle, rocket launcher" procession that appears in game after game like some sort of hellish metronome.
isaac @ Jun 8th 2006 12:46PM
#6 -- uhh I read this thing as sarcastic, not literal. then again I am used to reading halter's stuff in the village voice here :) go to rotten tomatoes and read his bitchslapping of revenge of the sith...