14 DAY TRIAL // The main recruiting ground for armies all over the world is the 18-30 age span. It also helps if the candidates don't have the resources to go to college or to immediately enter a career. These are the kind of people that, in the XXI century, are likely to play a lot of videogames.
Considering that some of the biggest phenomena in the videogame world are titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or Operation Flashpoint, it makes sense for army recruiters to think that games can aid them in their effort to get more youngsters to join the armed forces.
The British Army has launched a new campaign, titled “Start Thinking Soldier,” which includes an online component. On the official site, you can choose to take part in some missions built around situations you might encounter as a soldier and around qualities that are looked for in potential recruits.
The online component of “Start Thinking Soldier” is a direct result of a study conducted on behalf of the British Army, which has shown that no less than 67% of those aged 17-21 have no career path in mind. There are four television ads part of the campaign that will lead potential recruits back to the official web site.
The nice touch is that the videogames offered online are unglamorous and rugged, just as a real life military deployment would probably be. The production values for the video component of the games are really high, but the titles themselves are neither deep, nor interesting. Still, they could prove a very good tool in showing people what army life is all about.
The U.S. Army is also using videogames in the recruitment process, but on a much larger scale. It has recently inaugurated the Army Experience Center in Philadelphia, where gamer recruits can see interactive maps, experience simulated attacks from an Apache and play on Xbox 360 gaming consoles.