Description: Just a post I wanted to do for fun, Also I feel like this topic is important. This post is mainly about how war games affect our everyday lives.
So we’re not going to start this one off with a quirky title today. I wanted to make this blog post because, well I’ve pretty much become the resident game guy of the internet. But I also wanted to make this post because I feel like this is an important topic for the modern day. So fair warning before we go into this topic, this blog post has topics such as war and politics. If either of those things makes you uncomfortable to talk about at the current moment, please stop reading. I am aware that this website is still technically a school website so I will try to keep this as family-friendly and politically unbias as possible. With that being said, let’s start off the post with the first point.
What is a War Game?
The earliest recorded game that was specifically used to simulate a war was known as Kriegsspeil. Saying that this game is simple is a generous complement. If I went over the entire rule book of Kriegsspeil, you’d probably be asleep right now. So I’ll just give you the basic rundown of the game. In Kriegsspeil, two players control massive armies, while a third player acts as the game master. The two players issue commands to their armies by writing notes to the game master. Once their decisions are made, the game master moves the armies to where the players commanded them to be and roles dice to see the outcome of their decisions.
That’s the basic rundown of this game. I do not have the time or patience to explain the whole game in detail so if you want to learn more click the link above this paragraph. But now that you know how the game works, let’s talk about why this game was invented. Kriegsspeil was made to train commanding officers on how to command their troops and develop complex strategies.
What the creators of Kriegsspeil didn’t know was that their game would become the blueprint for war games in general. War games, war usually board or video games that try to simulate a war or combat scenario. There are many, many, wargames out there. But we’re mainly going to be talking about only a few of them for your and my sanity, as well as go over why they are important.
How Are War Games Used Today?
War games these days are mainly just played for fun, is what I would say if these organizations didn’t exist.
And that’s a fraction of the number of these organizations that exist. However, that doesn’t mean that war gaming isn’t for fun either. There are two types of war gamers out there (yes, “war gamers” was kind of cringy to type, and no, that’s probably not what they’re called).
Casual War Gaming:
- Usually meant for recreational or competitive activities
- Usually simple to understand
- Can finish at least in a day
- They are usually not played by actual military professionals
Professional Wargaming:
- Usually meant to simulate an actual battle or war
- Almost always very complex
- Sometimes are used to train officers
- Can also be used to simulate other things
War games like Warhammer and literally any Star wars miniture game have become more and more popular over time, governments and militaries over the years have been using all kinds of games from this genre to calculate porbablities and create new strategies. However, this has created somewhat of a divide between weather or not war games are ethical. Which brings me to my last point…
Why War Games Are Important
So here’s the reason I’ve decided to make this blog post in the first place. Currently (to put it bluntly) a lot is happening right now in the world. Political tensions have been rising for a while now and professional war gaming has received more and more funding from their governments, so much so that soldiers are now taking realistic battle training simulations right now. This raises the ethical question of whether is it ok to make games about war, and moreover, what are the ramifications of war games? I am aware that this isn’t the most uplifting topic, but as someone who has an entire website dedicated to talking about tech and game-related things, I thought it might be something important to talk about (and I really gotta get this topic off my chest man).
Now don’t get me wrong, there are definitely benefits to using games to simulate different scenarios. As mentioned before, war games don’t have to be about war. They can be about preventing natural disasters, helping the economy, heightening social skills, etc. War games in general help countries prepare for the worst.
But at the same time, war games are used mainly to simulate war, and people die in war (I know shocker). “According to the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, more than 526,000 people die each year because of the violence associated with armed conflict and large- and small-scale criminality.” So making an entire genre where people simulate this practice that takes so many lives, combined with the obvious benefits of war gaming, keeps this genre of games in this moral grey area limbo.
Conclusion
Ok, now that the hard part about his topis is done and over with, let’s move on to the last point of this blog post. Wheather or not your on board with the new wave a of gaming, it’s here to stay. Just like AI, this is a new thing we’re going to have to start working/living with from now on. If you want to learn more about this topic, I suggest you head over to people make games and watch their video on war gaming. They go over a lot of stuff that I didn’t cover in this post. Well thanks for listening to me ramble on in this blog post, also if you want, head to my contact page and let me know what you think about this. Also there will be one more blog post before the school quaters over, so see you all soon!
