For most of the living population out there, we embrace video games as both a form of entertainment, and also a form of education (okay, and maybe that it’s art). From Oregon Trail in the 1980′s to Math Blaster and flight simulators, you’ve probably had your hand on a game that you’ve learned something from. Well, one such group hasn’t embraced video games yet…..until now. I’m of course talking about the one and only Secret Service. You know, those guys in suits walking alongside the President’s motorcade talking into their cuff links? Yeah, those guys.
For over 40 years, the Secret Service have used a monopoly-like miniature model environment called “Tiny Town” to train on how to deal with suicide bombers, bio-nuclear weapon attacks, and other life threatening situations. Sooooo 1970′s. But coming in the next few weeks, the Secret Service is changing all of that, going to a video game-like virtual world to do their training. The name of this new training game? “Virtual Tiny Town”. I wouldn’t have guessed.
This new training tool will be filled up with all sorts of stuff we already know about as gamers: 3D models, smoke and chemical plume simulators, and the ability to move and see the world through both first and third-person perspectives. Basically, they’re giving the Secret Service a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops. Okay, I’m kidding about that last one, but why haven’t they just went out and bought a copy of a life-like war game like Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising or something? This is all stuff we as gamers have seen and experienced for years? I mean sure, I can understand the Secret Service not wanting to train how to take down mech-Nazi’s in Wolfenstein 3D, but it’s just weird that the Secret Service is finally getting around to embracing this kind of technology.
For the training, there will be three 55-inch touch-screen kiosks as the system goes online this spring (yes, that is a Terminator 2 reference) at the Secret Service’s James J. Rowley Training Center near Washington, D.C. The multiple screen kiosk setup will also be able to connect to another computer running what I thought was a video game called “Virtual Battle Space (VBS2)”, but quickly found out it wasn’t and is only the base simulation game.
Pretty neat stuff (a little behind if you ask me) to help out the Homeland Security and Secret Service branches of our government. I was just as surprised as you all are to know they don’t have something like this in place already. Hopefully a few of these guys in the Secret Service are gamers and realize how retarded this is. You’re the upper tier of the U.S. government for God’s sake!
[Image via WhiteRabbitCult.com]
[Article via PC Mag]
