University of Washington graduate student, Robertson Allen, supervised by Dr. Miriam Kahn, will undertake an ethnographic study of the production network behind the U.S. Army video game, "America's Army." The production and delivery of the video game involves several different entities, indcluding military representatives, video game programming units, video game production units, soldiers, civilian entertainment companies, and consumers. The framing question of the research is that the lines between war and play are becoming blurred as the military uses video game technology for training, marketing and recruitment. Previous studies of video games produced by the military are focused on player experience. Few studies have examined the culture of the production behind the games.
Research will focus on the Army Game Project, a group of organizations responsible for designing, publishing, and distributing the official U.S. Army video game, "America's Army." Available as a free download from its website since 2002, the game has expanded to a worldwide audience that join to play as U.S. Army soldiers in a popular first-person, squad-based combat video game. Successive versions and updates of "America's Army" contain modifications that serve as educational and training tools for enlisted Army soldiers, and applications of the game simulate future weapons technologies under development. This research will study these cultures of game production, proceeding empirically and looking at the everyday work environments, experiences, and goals of individuals involved.
The investigator will conduct the research at several contracting institutions. His methods of data collection will include 1) participant observation; 2) in-depth interviews with a selected sample of individuals associated with the project; and 3) a case study of the production and public reception of one Army Game Project product, the Virtual Army Experience. By employing these methods, this research will explore, at a variety of levels the idea that a blurring is occuring between the binary categories of war and game, work and play, education and entertainment, virtual and real, and soldier and civilian.
The research is important because it will contribute to the advancement of discussions regarding the social significance of these types of blurrings. Theoretically the research stands to make significant contributions to social science understanding of the changing ways that governments interact with their populations. The research will also support the education of a graduate student.
