In the summer of 2002, a new online video action game was made available to Internet gamers, with supporting CD Rom disks attached to issues of gaming magazines (Viegas De Sa). The name of the game was "America's Army," and by 2004 it had grown to be the most popular game on the Internet, with three million players having registered to play it online (Bushman). One feature of the game that might help explain the large number of players signed up for it is that unlike most online games it is free.
Another feature of "America's Army," however, is more remarkable. The reason it is free is that its association with the United States Army is not limited to the name; it was in fact designed and funded by the Army as a military recruiting tool. The military's interest in video games has not been limited to the development and release of "America's Army." It has also given support to the developers of other video games, such as "Black Hawk Down" and "Conflict Desert Storm" รป much as it has provided support to moviemakers whose projects were regarded as conveying a positive impression of the military.
The interest of the military in computer simulations and games is not limited to arcade-style "shooters." Video game technology has been applied to developing training aids for junior officers, such as "Full Spectrum Command" and "Full Spectrum Warrior" (Irwin). These are complex simulations, invoving automated question and answer sessions and reviews of tactics, that would probably not appeal to the ordinary casual computer gamer. The British Army has also shown an interest in computer games, more as training aids than recruiting tools (Gomes).
"America's Army" consists of two distinct components. One is a Sims-style process of designing an interactive game character. The other part consists of playing that character in the scenarios that the game provides (Viegas De Sa). According to one of the game's designers, Michael...