CIA pursues video game ("ridiculous and absurd scheme")

[Nambe]

THE WASHINGTON TIMES (rag)

The CIA is set to spend several million dollars to develop a video game aimed at helping its analysts think like terrorists, The Washington Times has learned.

The agency's Counter Terrorist Center, or CTC, is working with the Los Angeles-based Institute for Creative Technologies on a project designed to help its analysts, "think outside the box," a CIA spokesman said. The project is close to approval, but officials wouldn't comment on the exact cost of the program. ---

Disclosure of the CIA video game project follows the Pentagon's recent cancellation of a plan for an online gambling parlor designed to predict a Middle East terrorist attack. The Pentagon's gambling scheme led to the resignation of retired Navy Vice Adm. John Poindexter, head of the Total Information Awareness data-mining counterterrorism program.

A military official said the CIA video game is "a ridiculous and absurd scheme that makes Poindexter's project look good in comparison." ---

[thebigidea]

1. bwhahahah

can't wait till its on kaaza.

[Khephra]

2. What's the difference between a game and a simulation?

Not much, if any difference as far as I see. The idea MAY not be as stupid as the gambling scheme, so I'm waiting for more info (from a better source) before I make a judgment call.

[Drifter]

7. Agreed ...

Simulations are an essential part of training. I think the Army was actually using some arcade type game for certain training at one point.

Cheers
Drifter

[Occulus]

10. The Army made a game

called "America's Army". They're also known to use training simulations based on the Quake engine (Quake or Unreal, I'm not sure which).

When Doom3 comes out they'll likely buy a site license. This is NOT a stupid sceme at all.

[Gore1FL]

3. What are they naming it?

Grand Theft Airplane?

Age of Fundamentalism?

Need for Bleed?

Microsoft Fright Simulator?

Sim Al Qeada?

[Zhade]

4. Nice!

NT!

[dweller]

5. PNAC MAN? n/t

[Spentastic]

6. Top Quality!

Age of Empires

Dead or Alive - Osama edition (just "Alive")

[DS1]

8. isn't it safe to say that

in order for a gamer to 'think outside the box', the programmer would have to have already 'thought outside the box' and written a program to handle these instances of 'thinking outside the box', in which case, simply writing the program is as far as the CIA will have to take this?

[7th_Sephiroth]

9. Wasteing millions of dollars

when they could go down to the mall and pick up a copy of rainbow six for $30

[Not a robought]

11. Curious that he thinks it's ridiculous and absurd

considering members of the FBI and The Pentagon are already playing massive multiplayer games like Everquest to figure out how an organization like Al Qaeda might pattern itself. What they derive from that (except for gaming addiction) is beyond me.