The whole question of whether militaristic video games encourage militarism in and of themselves raises the thorny question of just what impact gaming has on behavior. On at least one level, no one believes that these games are real life. Should an "America's Army" player take a mortal hit on a real battlefield, he or she will not expect to respawn. But there is a debate over the issue of realism, i.e., a true representation of the world, one that contains no warlocks or space lasers. Fans and game makers assert that today's action games are, in fact, realistic.

In a recent interview, GameSpot called Michael Macedonia "the Army's military-sim point man." Macedonia believes new technologies are making possible levels of realism that will have a tremendous impact. "When we didn't have broadband widely available, we couldn't create these huge, realistic worlds and have lots of people participate. Now we're at the stage where we can actually do this and it's a much more powerful environment than to, say, go do a quest.

"Our interest really is, in the case of 'America's Army,' to give people an experience that's realistic and almost educational ... They purposely wanted it to be fun and exciting, because guess what? A lot of what you do in the Army is fun and exciting."

In other words, the thing that might be perceived as "real" is the fun, the excitement, the adrenaline rush that an FPS like "America's Army" provides -- and that, in theory, translates into life in the real-world Army. What's missing, as Schleiner is quick to point out, are things like women and children, truly realistic dead bodies, and moral conundrums. Also missing? The tedium of day-to-day Army life. These games may not have fantastical elements, and they may emulate reality, but it's only a codified, proscribed and politically expedient version of that reality.

And it's a version that will not be disappearing soon. Because they're perfectly of their time, the juggernaut of military-glorifying games will continue. UbiSoft recently announced plans to bring a commercial version of "America's Army," currently only available on the PC, to the massive console market.

Not to be outdone, other game manufacturers have big plans to cash in. Kuma\War uses real-time, real-world information for its tactical squad game, including footage from the Iraq war. It's the next step, further blending the "reality" of militaristic FPS with what is truly real.

No matter what kind of criticism artists like Schleiner manage to voice, militarism will most likely prevail in the gaming world, unless the critics start getting a lot more creative. The plain truth is that commercial games are better and more engaging than their cobbled-together, pro-peace counterparts. It's just more fun to blast away.

"Although 'Counter-Strike' glorifies war," one player wrote, "it is the time that we live in, and it is also an extremely enjoyable game."

Recent Stories