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AnchorDesk

David Coursey
How video games influenced the attack on America

David Coursey
Executive Editor, AnchorDesk
Friday, September 21, 2001
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What's being called the Attack on America is going to change things in many ways, both large and small, some predictable, some not so easy to predict. One of the small issues is that users of Microsoft's Flight Simulator game will no longer be able to crash a simulated 757 into a realistic graphic of the World Trade Center.

Yet this small change--a concession by Microsoft to not offend its customers--brings up the larger issue of gaming and learning. It has already played an actual role in the attacks--with the terrorists using flight simulators used to train commercial pilots to hone their deadly skills--and could play another role in the outcome.

YOU MIGHT ARGUE that a flight simulator doesn't have much in common with a Microsoft game. But if those simulators are anything more than giant video games with great control consoles, then I don't know what they are.

Games and simulators can teach many things. In fact, as much time as young people spend with them, they can hardly help but learn something. But what?

This is a topic of particular interest to my friend Marc Prensky, author of the book Digital Game-Based Learning and master of twitchspeed.com, a portal devoted to the topic of games as educational tools.

Wednesday, Marc posted an essay that discusses this issue at some length. He talks about the role of video games in the recent tragedy and how this can impact its aftermath. This is a well-reasoned piece, not sensational or exploitive at all, which is why I bring it to your attention.

MARC CALLS UPON US to think about what games teach our children and how they can improve education; he also asks the game industry to take a close look at the role it plays today or could play in the future.

One concern Prensky raises, although obliquely, is that a generation raised on shoot-'em-up video games and battles that are never quite won might have serious reservations about going into war. Why? Because if there are no winners, you might think twice about the point of going to war. That's all well and good, but it's the sort of thinking that would have lost World War II well before the beaches of Normandy.

Mark sums it up nicely in the final two paragraphs of this essay:

"Now that we have seen their formidable power used for evil, it is our duty and obligation to turn these same powerful, learning tools to as many good and positive uses as possible. This clearly includes the task of fighting terrorism in all its forms," he writes.

"We will all have a lot to learn quickly in these coming months and years. Those talented game designers who have captured our kids' imaginations and time so brilliantly up to now may have a lot bigger role to play in their players' futures--and in the future of our country and the world--than they ever dreamed."

IN BRITAIN, concerns about FlightSim being used as a tool to teach terrorists have caused two major retailers, Virgin Megastores and Woolworths, to yank the program from their shelves. A third merchant, HMV, is reported to be considering such a move.

It is important to stress that this is all speculative. I know of no credible information that indicates the terrorists even knew Flight Simulator existed, though all my pilot friends do and many have a copy. And, for the record, it's hard to find a FlightSim user who hasn't crashed his plane into a building, though it's not something most are happy to discuss right now.

One of the suggested activities in the game, as I remember it from years away, was trying to fly between New York's twin towers. Many people missed--resulting in an on-screen crash (but no flames or explosions).

THE DIFFERENCE between what anyone can learn from the Microsoft game and the education provided by the commercial trainers the terrorists actually used is not as great as you might think. While Microsoft promotes only the "as real as it gets" aspect of the game, real pilots use the program to keep up their skills.

And suppose you need only a limited set of skills? I am struck by a television interview with one of the flight school teachers who actually worked with the terrorists. He said he considered it strange his pupils only wanted to practice making turns. Most students concentrate on take-offs and landings, he said.

I am not calling upon anyone to change anything. Even if PC software had been used as a terrorist training tool, I can't imagine pulling software from the shelves. Might we make it a little less realistic? But how long would that last? Still, this terrible incident only points out how easy we've made it to learn what was once a very specialized skill, whether at a PC or in flight school. You have to wonder what else terrorists are learning, thanks to the wonders of computer-based education.

Note: David will interview Mark Prensky on the topic of video games and the Attack on America this Friday at noon Pacific Time on CNET Radio (910AM in the Bay Area), or listen online at www.cnetradio.com. Later Friday, the program will be posted online for delayed listening.

Do you think video games can provide training to terrorists? TalkBack to me.

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