Machinima and Training

I previously described the basics of Machinima. Since this art form uses the same tools that computer games are based on, it is possible to create digital movies that exactly match the look, feel, and capabilities of a game. This would be particularly useful in building a pre-exercise movie that explains the situation and the mission that is to be conducted in a game/simulation. The same tools could be used to record the execution of the in-game mission and then that those movies in the AAR. A 3D window into the exercise from multiple perspectives would be a much more powerful learning tool than an outbrief based on bullet points and a 2D schematic of unit movement.

From an entertainment perspective, Machinima may be a better medium for creating Internet-based “television” programming. This form falls somewhere between filming live actors and traditional animation. One set of authors offers a list of the Top 10 Machinima films that have been created. Watch them at home:

Simulation Center Design

While visiting the 86th BWFX in Vermont it struck me that the layout and operation of the sim center is almost identical to the first big exercises that I participated in – Certain Caravan and Reforger 1992. There are hundreds of computers, miles of network cables, and hundreds of operators. In the last 15 years it does not appear that we have done anything to redesign the sim center for better efficiency. Most of the systems in the 2007 exercise were new and different from those of 1992, but the number of computers and operators is the same.

The sim center is like a factory that generates training stimulus. It is hard to imagine a factory that has not been significantly changed by automation in the last 15 years. I know the F-16 fighter factory where I began my career is still in the same building, but the layout and operations inside have changed considerably due to computer automation and increased parts outsourcing. There is probably an opportunity to redesign the sim center, eliminate many stations and functions, and make the system more efficient.

Staff Training via C4I System and Without a Simulation

Is it possible to create and run an entire staff training exercise using only C4I systems and the tools that they have on them or that can be installed on them? Could that community create their own training environment without relying on dedicated simulation systems and tools at all? What quality of event could they create if allowed to augment their standard C4I applications with a few additional applications or interface machines drawn from the public domain? One of the reasons I am interested in exploring the future of constructive simulation is that current C4I systems have many of the same tools and the units that use them may be able to train without traditional simulations.