Video game technology has long been used by military organisations to train people, from flight simulators and remote drone controls to the famous America's Army recruitment tool back in the early noughts. Now, Slitherine/Matrix Game has announced its partnership with the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) for the professional use of long term military training projects.
On March 22nd-23rd, the first ever International Users Group for Command Professional Edition will take place in Dayton, Ohio, the city where the Wright brothers took flight and which to the this day houses the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
There, delegates from the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps -- as well as from other NATO organisations and various military contractors -- will be presented with demonstrations and tutorial tools outlining the capabilities of Command P.E. during a three-day conference.
Command P.E. -- a more complex version of the real-time strategy game Command Modern Air/Naval Operations -- uses a powerful, scalable simulation engine and flexible user interface to create an ad-hoc solution for professional clients around the world. The flexible game design allows companies to tailor the software to their needs and utilise them as required.
"The level of interest and active involvement that has been shown by the University of Dayton Research Institute is a testament to the infinite potential this software has," said JD McNeil, CEO of Matrix Games LLC. "The limitless possibilities for application in the professional field is proof that the modern videogames industry has a lot more to give than just entertainment. We are proud to spearhead these applications, and we are investing considerable resources to expand Commercial off The Shelf [sic] (COTS) solutions to military users in an affordable and timely way."
Nowadays, modern video games are much more realistic with a greater level of detail than commercial software created for professional purposes, causing institutions like the Pentagon to look into it as a possible replacement to ageing software and training methods. Bohemia Interactive -- the company behind ARMA -- has famously used their systems and expertise to turn ARMA 2 and 3 into a proper military training simulator.
The closed event will take place on March 20-23 at the University of Dayton Research Institute in Dayton, Ohio. The UDRI specialises in the research, development, application, and transition of technology in diverse fields, including materials, structures, energy, propulsion, manufacturing, sensors, intelligence, and much more, while Matrix Games LLC is a division of Slitherine Software UK Ltd. which specialises in creating professional versions of strategy video games.
