Monday, November 5, 2007

Suicide Bombing Though Gaming

Story Link

Today feels very different. My brain is rolling hard, and unlike other days, I did not feel sleepy or grumpy at work. ..Well, almost. Besides my brain working hard, I've landed on several interesting articles. One of which is the story linked above. It's a post about the author starting to use--all unintentionally--suicide bomb strategy that of terrorists' to hurt elite players before dying himself. (More specifically, it involves less skilled player running straight to advanced player shooting at them, sticking a granade on them before being killed. Which, after few seconds, kills the shooter as well.)

If you're a gamer, then this may be trivial as you may have done this several times before. However, there is no denying that it does simulate same strategy of terrorists, or Japanese pilots during WWII.

The author goes in deeper, linking this experience to various other subjects. One key quote:

"Athough I've read scores of articles, white papers and books on the psychology of terrorists in recent years, and even though I have (I think) a strong intellectual grasp of the roots of suicide terrorism, something about playing the game gave me an "aha" moment that I'd never had before: an ability to feel, in whatever tiny fashion, the strategic logic and emotional calculus behind the act."
And this ability to let people experience and "feel" something that otherwise would not be possible, is something only interactive medium like video games can deliver, in my opinion. And that is something game must perfect.

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