Goblinworks Blog: You're in the Army Now!

[Mbando]

Nihimon wrote:

Ryan Dancey wrote:

QuickTime?

I think they were going for a "double-time" metaphor - to refer to performing actions in rapid succession.

"Quick Time. Cadence at 120 steps (12, 15, or 30 inches in length) per

minute. It is the normal cadence for drills and ceremonies."

-Marine Cops Drill & Ceremonies Manual

Double-time is jogging, quick-time is marching.

[Nihimon]

I've been reading American Sniper. It's really humbling reading about a Navy SEAL who signed up for four tours in Iraq talking about how he felt like he was shirking his duty when he went home to take care of his little girl because the doctors thought she had leukemia...

[Ryan Dancey]

"QuickTime" in videogame development often implies a cutscene where the player has little or no actual agency. Think of the start of the first Half-Life game, for example (although that was in-engine and not in QuickTime, it's the same concern).

[Mbando]

Nihimon wrote:

I've been reading American Sniper. It's really humbling reading about a Navy SEAL who signed up for four tours in Iraq talking about how he felt like he was shirking his duty when he went home to take care of his little girl because the doctors thought she had leukemia...

That's a very good example of the problem my research team is working on right now. That level of commitment invites extraordinary behavior on the part of US military members, but leaves no space for members as whole persons: as having commitments, connections and an identity apart from a military one.

The majority of members figure out how to operate with some kind of balance, but a minority don't. And so they feel guilty over something good--caring for their child. You've got Dakota Myer receiving the CMoH for clearly valorous behavior, but he condemns himself: he's attempted suicide and calls himself a failure. In his words, if he had really given his all, he'd have died that day.

It's a double-edged sword--the kind of cultural work the US military does to make itself combat-ready has an unintended effect for some of making them life-unready.

[Nihimon]

@Mbando, that sounds like some really important research. I wish you success.

[Mogloth]

@Mbando - As I am married to a psychologist, I find that kind of research very interesting.

[Reliken]

Ryan Dancey wrote:

Yeah, can't imagine that could possibly be fun. No sarcasm intended.

You'll have to move your character around to maintain position. You'll have to face the right direction. You may have to change gear. You may have to select targets. From time to time you may need to run around to get into a new formation or escape when your formation crumbles.

You'll have to communicate with your formation leader letting them know when you need help or have a target of opportunity or see something happening that is meaningful.

You'll have to decide when it is the right decision to break formation coherence and flee (or make a crazed one character charge), and when to suck it up and die while at your post.

You might have to mount or dismount. You might have to activate or deactivate buffs or debuffs. You might have to counterspell or take some other action to negate an incoming hostile effect.

Two units that clash in melee might dissolve into a scrum of individual 1:1 combat and you'll have to be ready to deal with that eventuality.

Your unit may be disrupted by a successful charge or AoE effect and you could suddenly find yourself cut off and have to rally at a different location.

You could get assigned to a new unit and have to make your way across the battlefield to get to that unit while avoiding, deflecting, or negating incoming hostile effects trying to kill you.

All of that will be going on while you are following the chain of orders to generate Combat Power and act coherently with the rest of your formation.

And if you're leading that formation you're going to have an incredibly expanded list of things you'll have to pay attention to and act on as well, which will become more complex the larger the formation you're leading and the more capable the soldiers in that formation are.

So no, I don't think it will be boring, I do think it will be fun.

I think this may be one of the first "detailed" looks at what you are thinking for the mass combat system. Specifics have been sparse in the past, and quite a few of us were worried that there wouldn't be much room for "choice" on the part of the general soldiers - that all the choice would be up to the commanders and the regular soldiers would just be playing a rhythm game.

Understanding all of these further elements that take place, and that individual soldiers will have the ability to make their own independent choices (SOMETIMES to the benefit of the army, sometimes not) makes me much less skeptical about this system.

I'm really excited.

[Nihimon]

Chris Lambertz wrote:

Added discussion thread for Goblinworks Blog: You're in the Army Now!.

FYI, that link doesn't go straight to the blog. There's an extra "0" in the date hash.

Not sure if it's worth a mod fixing it...