[Reader-list] For L K Advani, with louve

[pratap pandey]

Dear All,

smashing info. Again, pasted/posted.

As usual, prolegomena-ed (sufficiently academically respectable term, so you know what it means) by traumatised expressivity. 

I dedicate this pasting/posting to our Deputy PM.

I am tempted to dedicate this pasting/posting to senior respectable academics. 

There exist "regularities" (this is the most unworked-upon and unthought-upon Foucaldian concept, first clarified in "The Archaelogy of Knowledge") between the two. Just for kicks, both claim to be "committed" and "radical" !

CATHEXIS ENDS HERE. SCROLL FOR INFO. FORGIVE FOR POSTING SOURCE URL. 

Army To Release Computer Game
Tuesday July 2, 2002 7:40 PM
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-1851305,00.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - Attempting to woo computer-savvy young people, the 
Army will release on July 4 the first installment of an ambitious new 
computer game that will let players be all they can digitally be.

The game, which will be free on many gaming Web sites and
www.americasarmy.com, lets a player assume the role of a new recruit on 
an Army team pitted in an online battle against terrorists.

While it is meant to be fun, the two-game set also was designed as a
recruitment tool.

"With this game we hope to educate young Americans and present them 
with a realistic, engaging view of today's modern Army and its opportunities,"
said Lt. Col. Casey Wardynski, head of the Office of Economic & 
Manpower Analysis at West Point and the originator of the game.

The full project, called "America's Army," will be available this fall.
The July 4 release is a scaled-down version of the "Operations" half of
the game, a tactical combat game that will be familiar to fans of 
popular titles like "Quake" and "Half-Life."

Players will be able to undergo basic training and fight in 10 
multiplayer missions, including one to defend an Alaskan pipeline. More missions 
will be released until the full release of the game. Officials said they 
want a slow rollout to make sure their server computers can handle the 
traffic.

Army game developers visited 19 installations to interview soldiers and
take photographs of everything from tanks to the texture of bricks on
building walls.

The other half of the game, called "Soldier," involves role playing
similar to the popular game "The Sims." Players pick one of about 20 
Army careers and learn new skills in order to try to earn the rank of 
sergeant.

Players will learn military tactics, Army values and more about careers
like military police, infantry, and even avionics repair - but don't
expect to learn how to fix an Apache helicopter.

"The perspective here isn't to get into the final level of detail, like
wiring up an engine," said Army spokesman Paul Boyce. "It's to give you 
a feeling of the procedures of the Army."

The game was developed over two years for about $6.3 million, Boyce 
said, similar to the cost of other professional games. It will be available 
for download as well as on CDs packaged with popular game magazines and in
Army recruitment centers.

The developers struggled with several portions of the combat half of 
the game, particularly with how to depict game violence.

"We were very careful on the blood thing," Boyce said. "The team even
debated about whether or not to make a noise" when bullets strike an
enemy.

They ultimately decided to keep it silent and show a red blotch, 
similar to a paintball hit. The game is rated for teens.

Operations punishes the player by kicking them out of the game if they
shoot a teammate or break the rules of engagement. If the player 
returns, they are confined to a tiny cell at Fort Leavenworth, complete with a
harmonica playing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot."

"Part of this is that we want to teach people that for any action there 
is a consequence," Boyce said. "Violence in the military is a very 
carefully sanctioned and organized approach in at time of threat. You must use it 
as the last resort."

Another hurdle for the game designers is how to organize the two teams,
which can have up to 32 players per side. Since the game is a 
recruitment tool, the designers didn't want anyone to play as a terrorist. The 
enemy is always a team of terrorists, who are depicted as sinister figures in
fatigues, according to Boyce.

A player on Team A will always fight as a U.S. Army soldier and fight
players on Team B depicted as terrorists. But that opposing Team B
"terrorist" will see themselves as Army and Team A as terrorists. While 
it sounds confusing, Boyce said, it will be seamless to players.

"As far as you're concerned, when you see the enemy approaching you, 
they are the enemy," Boyce said. "It's all a matter of perspective."

"No one can opt to be the bad guy in America's Army," Boyce said.

On the Net: America's Army: www.americasarmy.com Guardian Unlimited ©
Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002

 END POSTING/PASTING. 


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