"The game gave an understanding of what you will have to work with in reality." Interview with an artilleryman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine about gamification in the Defense Forces
In modern warfare, decisions are made in seconds, and military training must be not only effective, but also as realistic as possible. This is where gamified training methods come to the rescue — simulations, interactive simulators, and competitive mechanics that help soldiers learn critical skills faster and compete with each other for additional rewards from the state. dev.ua talked to a soldier under the pseudonym «Bear» about the current state and prospects of gamification in the Defense Forces.
In modern warfare, decisions are made in seconds, and military training must be not only effective, but also as realistic as possible. This is where gamified training methods come to the rescue — simulations, interactive simulators, and competitive mechanics that help soldiers learn critical skills faster and compete with each other for additional rewards from the state. dev.ua talked to a soldier under the pseudonym «Bear» about the current state and prospects of gamification in the Defense Forces.
How games have helped in preparing for combat operations
— How widespread is gamification in the Ukrainian army and in your unit in particular?
— In general, gamification is starting to gain momentum in the Ukrainian army. It greatly simplifies the perception of theoretical knowledge compared to lectures, which can often be boring.
Unfortunately, for my specialty (artillery), there are not enough specialized applications yet that would help in learning our specialty. And those official solutions that the state provides have not yet been announced, are not detailed enough and need to be improved. So far, there is no centralized distribution of such practices to all units, as, for example, for drone operators.
Let’s take the wonderful position of a surveyor operator who uses such a device as the PAB-2M compass. There is a modified version of the popular game Arma 3, with which you can show how the PAB-2M works in general. After practicing in a game form, a soldier will easily be able to navigate how to work with the product in real life. Yes, this is not specially designed software for training artillerymen with some nuances, but it gives a general understanding of what products she will have to work with.
— So, a fighter in such a game form is better prepared for the practical application of a real product?
«I’ll tell you from my own experience: when I was being taught, unfortunately, one could only dream of something like this. It was a little difficult for me, because mathematics, which is an important discipline for artillerymen, was not easy for me. And that’s why they almost pointed fingers at me.»
Sometime in 2020, I learned about the existence of a custom modification of Arma 3. Well, I just went to try it out. To my surprise, this video game teaches in detail how to use this engineering device.
To my surprise, this video game teaches in detail how to use this engineering device.
— So it turns out that it was your initiative to find, test, and then, having understood the potential, use this game to train subordinates?
― Yes. I had a young guy, he became a topographic surveyor operator in 23. Before that, the person didn’t know what it was and how it was. I went through a little theory with him from military textbooks, then explained on my fingers what was what and fixed the material in the game. He practiced for about two days, four hours each, orienting this compass in the game, and then we moved on to practice, where he tried to do it all in real conditions. The second time it turned out at a pretty good level, fulfilling all the standards.
List of recommended games
WARNO is a real-time strategy game set in a World War III scenario. The game features a large number of Warsaw Pact and NATO equipment currently used in the Russian-Ukrainian war. The tactical depth and emphasis on topographical realism will help the player better navigate the terrain and how the various branches of the military operate.
Squad is a tactical military shooter in a modern setting. The game is currently very popular among the military, and the presence of Ukrainian servers adds the opportunity to play for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The game pays great attention to team interaction between players and units, which will help improve communication skills during combat.
Hell Let Loose is similar to Squad, but set in World War II. The game has excellent spatial sound, so it is recommended to play with headphones for better immersion.
Arma 3 is a classic of immersive military shooters. Despite the fact that the game was released 12 years ago, it is still very popular. The peak online in Arma 3 is now higher than STALKER 2: Heart of Chernobyl — 17,128 players.
Challenges and problems
— How can military simulations compete with traditional training methods, and how effective are they?
― To supplement — yes, but it still falls short of the practical training that is available at the moment. In real life, a fighter has to perform a combat mission with a full load of 20-30 kg, sometimes more. No simulation will convey the physical fatigue of a fighter, you need to calculate the time and opportunity for rest. And there are many other factors that make it impossible to complete the task: weather conditions, a weapon wedge, equipment failure or a flat tire. I would like developers of gamified products to pay attention to such things and add more atypical scenarios.
— What other wishes would you like to convey to the developers?
― Now many VR helmets are used, I would also suggest adding closed treadmills so that the recruit can feel the physical load and test his reflexes. During these exercises, he will understand whether he will be able to complete this or that task that will be set during real exercises or in combat. And from this data, we can start from what he should first tighten up.
It would also be worth adding tactile sensations from weapon recoil and focusing on noise pollution.
«It’s common during regular training that a person will be able to learn to distinguish between the sounds of military equipment and shots from various weapons. It is necessary to develop communication skills during loud sounds, because often you will not be able to understand what your comrade is transmitting on the radio when a tank is driving nearby or artillery is operating.»
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— Do you have any examples of successful use of gamification scenarios in real combat?
― There is a real-time strategy video game WARNO, which has the functionality of creating customized battle maps. I created a front line close to the task that we had to perform and I explained to my people what we were doing and how we were doing it in a given situation. We had our own task there, where we had to work from three points practically simultaneously. We then worked through practically all the scenarios and the mission then turned out to be successful.
— In your opinion, what is the main thing in gamified military exercises?
«Of course, this is the detail of the weapons or tools that we use. We need a very accurate, real copy down to the smallest nuance, so that later, when a soldier uses a weapon or tool, he does not ask himself: «But there was no such thing,» or «Why is the button in the wrong place?» If something is not taken into account, then the soldier can then fall into a stupor, since he already has a certain cycle of sequence of work with this or that equipment.
About the points system for military personnel
— Gamification also involves a reward system for successfully defeating enemy equipment or forces. How do you like the points accumulation system in general and how does it perform in practice?
«In general, my subjective opinion on these e-scores is complete nonsense. It’s just dividing the military into good and shitty, because during war, this or that part, this or that fighter, will never be perfect. We are still people.»
People should fight for their country, their family, not for the sake of being given drones. Well, sorry, this is complete bullshit. The state’s task is to provide everything they need.
«When a fighter receives additional monetary reward for destroying equipment and the enemy, or the right to additional vacation, etc., that’s pretty cool. At least the risks for the fighter are justified.»
— Recently, the Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, announced that the system will include tracking of artillery systems, in particular the effectiveness of using 152 and 155 mm caliber shells. What are your thoughts on this?
― Statistics on the costs and damage to the occupier’s equipment and personnel in the direction where I am currently working are good. We need to see how the procedure will go through e-points. However, we have very few 155 calibers at the moment, but they really drag. The 155 suppresses all enemy attacks and extinguishes all their defenses. Because 155 is the «Three Axes», «Bogdan 2S22», M-109A5. These installations use the 155 caliber in various modifications: an extended-range projectile, a reduced one, a cluster, an illuminating one, an incendiary one. We’ll see if we have enough e-points to cover this need.
— What do you think about the announced marketplace, where each unit will be able to independently choose what to spend their accumulated e-points on, bypassing bureaucratic procedures?
― On the one hand, if the topic was not bad. Let’s say our military unit has conditionally 100,000 e-points and the unit needs 100 drones. Okay, we have enough points for that. Does our special unit, sabotage and reconnaissance group need special equipment and weapons? No questions asked, let’s take it. If it works in the way it was announced, it will look pretty cool, although in reality I doubt it. I am generally in favor of using these e-points to buy the most diverse number of products from the Ukrainian military-industrial complex.
I won’t call people who, on the contrary, are trying to suppress all this bad words. Why? Because they would rather take something from abroad at an inflated price so that they can steal it. Not only will they steal it, but the technical condition will be bad and you won’t be able to do anything about it.
Ukrainian products need to be cheaper to withstand competition. Plus, production is localized, logistics to the front are faster, and there are more jobs for the state. Let’s take our 2S 22, «Bogdanochka» — an IMB thing. It arrived, it was damaged, it was killed, it was gone. There are several design issues and materials for it, but there are no comments on its combat effectiveness. «Kozak», «Varta» — excellent Ukrainian armored vehicles. «Bucephal» — an excellent Ukrainian armored personnel carrier. What sometimes comes to us from abroad, our soldiers restore at their own expense. Sometimes the condition of the transferred vehicle is as pitiful as if it had been in a combat zone.
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— In your opinion, what are the prospects for gamification in the Ukrainian army?
― In my opinion, in 5-10 years, this will already be in the vast majority of military units, where every recruit will undergo training thanks to gamification methods. Recruits will be able to improve theoretical skills before entering more realistic conditions. As my current boss said: learn the theory so that in practice you don’t say «wait, I f*cked up».
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