From Sun Tzu to Xbox: War and Videogames Page 173 - 236

Summary- Modern Warfare has now been compared to video games constantly. Just a few years back in 2003,  news channels broadcasted live footage of the war taking place in Iraq. Many reports came in criticizing the strategy. The militariy's response was that this was real war not a videogame. General Norman Schwarzkopf tries to remind everybody that war is not a game despite comparisons. Lives are at stake and the soldiers are not merely discardable pawns. Technology has gotten so good that the bombing of 911 was broadcast realtime. It was almost surreal according to a variety of news anchors. The Gulf War was dubbed the Nintendo War by the Boston Globe because it was fought by a generation of military that has grown up with "Nintendo" technology. Even now, the military is trying to create a virtualization of war in its labs. VirTran System has created a belt that goes along with the simulation games so people can experience real pain. Why would one do that? The military says that the best training for war is war itself. Ed Halter jokes that if this program of a sensor belt is released to the military, there might be soldiers with pre traumatic stress. When one does not experience pain, then the person is reckless which is not how soldiers are supposed to act in warfare. Pain keeps the soldier remembering that they do not want to get hit ever again. What do movies, games, and simulation systems have in common? They all want to create lasting memories in a person's head. Macedonia, a simulation technology officer says, "Until you're in combat, it's all in your head." Simulation is all the training that the soldiers do, not just the video simulations. People are trying to get soldiers to a situation as close to reality as possible. This memory will last in the soldiers head, and therefore can be recalled during actual war.

Quote- "We're trying to mess with that program a little bit, so you remember long afterward that experience" (Halter 199).

Referring to the brain.

Reaction- The quote above is really the main concept of all art. Artist try and trick the brain into remembering their piece of art longer than any other artwork. This broad category ranges from painters to simulationists. The designers of simulation pride themselves as artists of their own because the main concept of leaving a memory inside someone's head is the same as any other artists, whether it be a movie director or a photographer. The wonderful thing about the brain is that is can be programmed, much like a microchip. We humans are pre programmed, but with this concept of art, we slowly alter this program. This is essential in virtualization because without the flexibility of our brain we would be in a static program.