Report: Video games create drone pilot 'naturals'
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Nov 18th 2009 at 10:00PM }
Later in the piece, an Air Force colonel is quoted as saying that young recruits are "naturals" when it comes to flying the Predator drones, but that he had concerns about the video game generation "distorting the reality of [war] from the virtual nature." In other words, while video games granted the pilots their skills, it also made it harder for them to weigh the consequences of their actions. But considering it's real life and a job, wouldn't it be the boss's role to tell them "game over" (er, discharged!) if they were inclined to take the drone on a joyride to blast buildings willy-nilly?
[Via GamePolitics]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 18th 2009 10:04PM
Well, considering some of the implementations use 360 controllers to fly these things...
Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 18th 2009 10:07PM
I can't wait for people to use this as evidence of how 'Americans are violent' and 'The army is brainwashing kids!'.
ThorSkaagi @ Nov 18th 2009 11:02PM
Do they really use Xbox 360 controllers?
Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 18th 2009 11:07PM
So I've been told. I have my sources.
ThorSkaagi @ Nov 18th 2009 11:11PM
Hmm...interesting. A DualShock 3 would be better suited, I think, though.
briankun @ Nov 18th 2009 11:34PM
the military kinda likes to buy American....
Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 18th 2009 11:50PM
Both the controllers say 'made in china'...
Harout A. @ Nov 19th 2009 12:34AM
What happens when the batteries die out?
Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 19th 2009 12:38AM
I believe they use the wired version.
smcn @ Nov 19th 2009 3:26AM
In late October there was an interview on NPR's Fresh Air with Jane Mayer, who wrote about the drone program in The New Yorker. It turns out one of the Army's best drone pilots is a 19-year-old high school dropout.
The full transcript of the interview is here: http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=113996743
Collymilad @ Nov 19th 2009 8:13AM
I don't know if it was for predator drones, but in an ad for the British Army (over here in the UK) they were using an Xbox 360 controller for something.
Xbox 360 best controller - confirmed :P
Special Agent Steve @ Nov 18th 2009 10:05PM
Man, I could totally fucking do that.
After all, I am a special agent.
And my name is Steve.
And I play Videogames.
And I like planes.
And I like cookies.
Where am I?
Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 18th 2009 10:05PM
In your basement?
devilsei @ Nov 18th 2009 10:11PM
Yeah, you don't remember Steve? You asked yourself if you wanted some cookies and play some aeronautical device games down in your basement, then slipped yourself a roofie in an attempt to molest yourself.
xxLUANCHYxx @ Nov 18th 2009 10:12PM
Lulz, PWNED!
Special Agent Steve @ Nov 18th 2009 10:29PM
Actually, I just predator droned your mum. And I didn't use a plane.
BigD145 @ Nov 18th 2009 10:43PM
You're not really killing people, that's for sure.
smcn @ Nov 19th 2009 3:28AM
Didn't you get in trouble for accidentally launching a drone in episode 81?
Sly @ Nov 18th 2009 10:09PM
UAV is online.
Prof. Von Manifest (aka the caterpillar in your buttermilk) [PSN: Manifest37] @ Nov 18th 2009 10:11PM
Isn't it "Predator missile is online"?
216 @ Nov 18th 2009 10:14PM
too late I just dropped the missle on you both
(this is how the game works you get no time to think)
Sly @ Nov 18th 2009 10:18PM
guess what predator missiles come from? predator UAVs. like the one in the picture.
Prof. Von Manifest (aka the caterpillar in your buttermilk) [PSN: Manifest37] @ Nov 18th 2009 10:37PM
What exactly is the point of a UAV. Is it only an excuse to give you points?
It really doesn't do anything, right?
Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 18th 2009 10:40PM
It reveals the location of teh en3m1es.
aristokrat @ Nov 18th 2009 11:04PM
Unless like everyone else they have cold-blooded on.
Sly @ Nov 18th 2009 11:13PM
from what i've seen on PS3, people only use cold-blooded on wasteland so that they can avoid all the snipers with thermal scopes. on other maps, they tend to use either stopping power or hardline.
Sly @ Nov 18th 2009 11:14PM
oh, but yeah, UAVs are mostly pointless now because of all the other good killstreak options. they used to be a godsend in COD4 though.
David @ Nov 19th 2009 1:02AM
sly: what? UAVs are pointless? some of us actually still shoot our enemies with our guns to get kills, you know. when i'm playing with friends we make sure our kill streaks mesh....some people with UAVs, some people without. that way those of us without UAVs can use the UAVs of their friends to help them get up to their first killstreak reward.
BananaBoat @ Nov 19th 2009 6:52AM
UAV's are only pointless if you are going for one of the higher killstreak rewards, and you aren't on prestige mode yet (which I'm told lets you have four killstreak rewards). If you do UAV, your options are somewhat limited when it comes to getting an AC130 or Helicopter Gunner. If you forego the UAV, you can get predator at 5, which should get you to pavelow at 9ish, which should get you the rest of the way to the AC130. Obviously you'd have to give up either the pavelow/harrier/etc or the predator in order to have the UAV though, which is sort of a killer.
Whatever the case, I've heard reports that there are predator pilots needing tons of therapy because of just how effective the drones are. With a camera pointed directly at what you are blowing up, it tends to be a lot more traumatic than blind firing around a corner and hitting something, or firing blind at a mountain side full of hidden enemies (which happens a lot in Afghanistan). I certainly wouldn't ever want to do it, but I realize that someone has got to.
My vote is for all the twelve year olds on Xbox Live that use the N word ten times a match while questioning my sexuality. I think predator drone piloting would man them up.
FNG @ Nov 19th 2009 10:30AM
"all the twelve year olds on Xbox Live that use the N word ten times a match while questioning my sexuality"
This is how you sum up xbox live.
acme @ Nov 19th 2009 12:26PM
ENEMY AC-130 IS IN THE AIR?!?!!?1
Sly @ Nov 19th 2009 5:42PM
"sly: what? UAVs are pointless? some of us actually still shoot our enemies with our guns to get kills, you know."
yeah, and what would you want after you get those kills? a thing that shows you where the enemies are so you can run to them and get killed by them, or something that gets to them and kills them for you so you can killstreak higher? i would personally choose the latter.
that's why i said it was a godsend in COD4. because there were no better options, so it helped us do the only thing we could do. hunt them down and kill em. now that we have tons of other much more useful killstreaks, it's pretty pointless, especially considering how heartbeat sensors are effectively personal UAVs.
ch82 @ Nov 18th 2009 10:11PM
Let's Play Global Thermonuclear War!
Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 18th 2009 10:15PM
Would you like to play a game?
Reuben @ Nov 18th 2009 10:31PM
Righteous War Games reference.
snarfoogle @ Nov 18th 2009 10:11PM
Predators are so overpowered, they always kill me when I'm inside
xxLUANCHYxx @ Nov 18th 2009 10:13PM
Right, they are overpowered because they can somehow go through concrete like a knife in butter.
Durden @ Nov 18th 2009 10:22PM
I'm not very educated when it comes to missiles but I'm sure one wouldn't have a problem going through at least the roof on a building at impact.
The Dark Wayne [Planeteer: Power of the Batusi] ATDFs Financier and Batman @ Nov 18th 2009 10:41PM
really depends on the missile, some are designed to explode after theyve penetrated a building. The predators currently used by the US military use either Hellfires or Stingers which are primarily anti tank and anti air, respectively
Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 18th 2009 10:47PM
One of these will punch through concrete (and it's not the biggest one). The newest model is over four times more powerful.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GBU-28
Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 18th 2009 10:51PM
Speaking of which, Bruce? Would you talk to Mr. Fox about getting us a few of these? Thanks.
Drew -- PS360: uphillbothways @ Nov 19th 2009 10:39AM
I just stay away from windows and doors when I see the predator incoming and I've yet to get killed by one when I thought I shouldn't have.
Now here's what pisses me off: Trying to get into a building with a predator coming down and there's some douche trying to get out the building and we just keep running into each other with neither of us able to get out of the door. And then we both die. People seriously need to have an eye on their radars...
Bobby Kotick - Co-Founder of the ATDF @ Nov 18th 2009 10:17PM
The 1000 point Achievement will involve spying in the Middle East and locating Bin Laden, ending his rule and effectively eraticating terrorists in the Middle East and bringing peace to all citizens from Israel to Saudi Arabia so that you can focus on ending world hunger to all while using the money not spent in war and instead using it to perfect colonization on the Moon and leading up to world peace (and Moon peace) where everybody loves everybody and society can continue forever in prosperity, which is hard because if even one of the people in Israel is displeased then you have to go back to square one.
Darth Bradwart, The Dark Lord of the Sith-ATDF Co-Founder @ Nov 18th 2009 10:19PM
That...sounds extremely optimistic.
Why not just create a new Galactic Empire?
devilsei @ Nov 18th 2009 10:25PM
weird... cant find any guides for that on box360achievements.org Kotick, you sure we are on the same page?
Special Agent Steve @ Nov 18th 2009 10:32PM
That's deep bobby.
RICKY BOBBY!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74Obm6bEH80
THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime) @ Nov 19th 2009 1:18AM
@ Bobby
I will bite. First of all Bin Laden doesn't "rule" anything. He is the figure head of a terrorist group. The phrasing is clumsy and could be mistaken for a lack of knowledge. To suggest killing him would bring "peace" to Israel or the Arab countries shows a fundamental lack of understanding over the complicated nature of the middle-east. He is not in charge of every terrorist group. Do you imagine the I.R.A (though inactive now) or the Tamal Tigers have anything to do with him? The zapistas (spelling) in Mexico? No, he is fanatic like all others. The crazies will continue to lash out at a world that doesn't fit into their ideals. I do agree that any fucker that takes innocent life (especially under the veil of religion) should gobble their own balls in what ever spooky afterlife the believe in.
Uncontrol @ Nov 18th 2009 10:18PM
THRILLHO
David @ Nov 19th 2009 1:08AM
this is great....and all i've done is enter my name!
freaparn @ Nov 18th 2009 10:20PM
I have to admit, if they had this sort of technology when I was a teenager, I probably would've signed up for the UAV division of the Air Force. As long as they let me make "pew pew!" noises whenever I blew something up, that is.