14 DAY TRIAL // The United States Secret Service, the organization which is supposed to protect the President and other important dignitaries, is adding video games based tools to the training program for its agents, with ArmA 2 developer Bohemia Interactive being part of the program.
The Site Security Planning Tool is made up of three kiosks that are installed at the training center the Secret Service has in Washington, each of them including a touch screen together with projectors and cameras.
They are used to create a virtual environment, according to information offered by the Department of Homeland Security, that will be used to allow agents to train for a variety of situations.
Until now the Secret Service used a tabletop based model for the same kind of situational training.
The Virtual Battlespace simulation created by Bohemia Interactive will be used to allow trainees to use a third-person view and first-person perspective to see how threats linked to armed assaults and bombings will play out.
The system allows those using the kiosks to see how events would affect crowds and bystanders and can allow for testing of various reaction plans.
The United Kingdom Ministry of Defense uses the same technology since 2007, allowing soldiers to test different battle scenarios in a virtual space.
The United States Army is also using video games to train soldiers for a variety of events, including ambushes.
Bohemia Interactive is well known to video game enthusiasts for creating the original Operation Flashpoint for Codemasters and after the two companies separated they developed the ArmA series, now consisting of two full titles and expansions.
The developer has paid special attention in its military themed games to realism and details, creating war-fighting experiences that are close to the real thing, with some elements inspired by the simulations that it delivers to government entities.