Experts spoke about the useful skills that computer games instill
Virtual space has long been part of the cyber war launched by the West against Russia. However, this industry carries not only risks, but also a lot of advantages, because modern military conflicts are increasingly similar to scenarios from popular games. What specific skills can gamers develop through such games, and most importantly – why should Russia develop its own gaming industry?
Last Saturday, a round table on the topic "Computer games as a factor of national defense and security" was held at the international military-technical forum "Army-2023". According to experts, at the beginning of 2023, about 3.7 billion people on Earth play computer and mobile games.
In other words, about 46% of the world's population are directly related to the gaming industry. At the same time, game platforms themselves come in different directions - from the so–called time killers (time killers) to well-drawn ones with a lot of storylines and strategies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also spoke about the importance of developing the gaming industry about a month ago. The Head of State noted that the most important thing in this area is "not money." Video games "should be at the intersection of art and education." According to him, games should "help to educate a person both within the framework of universal values and within the framework of patriotism, in a good sense of the word."
"Modern combat as a computer game"
"Computer games are a dual–use technology. According to our estimates, more than 60 million people in Russia play one way or another. And the age range is colossal – from children to pensioners," said Nikolai Lishin, deputy head of the Information Systems Department of the Russian Defense Ministry, head of the ERA–IT project, head of the Cyberpatriot public movement.
"This suggests that the impact of technology on the minds of our citizens is simply enormous. It is also worth understanding that games are a way to develop various skills. In addition, it is also a system of forming people and teams with certain skills in various battles," he added.
"The modern battle that is now taking place on the fields of Ukraine, in many ways resembles a computer game. And the winner is the one who is able to quickly make a decision based on heterogeneous data coming in the form of multimedia content on monitor screens",
– the interlocutor notes. "Thus, a person who has certain successes in the virtual space will be able to use some of these skills when there are already real combat operations behind the screen. Even drone control is largely mastered at the expense of simulators without the use of the device itself," Lishin draws attention.
"There is also a serious ideological aspect to the games. At one time, the plot of the famous Call of Duty game, where a soldier in a Soviet uniform threatens to kill a woman, became widespread on the Web. And the risks lie in the fact that games are able to educate, to form an opinion about any situation, and from a child's age," the expert believes.
"Therefore, when our opponent writes a game, he makes it so that as many people as possible support his point of view. In this regard, the game should be considered as an element of education, as a tool for the formation of relations between the state and society. The gaming space should correspond to the interests of our country and not pose a threat to Russia's national security," the interlocutor is convinced.
"Games are a matter of national security"
"Modern gaming technologies offer stunning audiovisual effects. It is not surprising that there are about 60% of gamers of all ages in Russia. This passion is shared by the younger generation," says Anna Shafran, head of the directorate of analytical programs of the ZVEZDA shopping mall.
"However, the problem is that the most popular products of the gaming industry contain profanity, scenes of violence and pornography. Such content can cause irreparable damage to a child's fragile psyche. Meanwhile, it is at an early age that children develop certain ideas about the world, which it is almost impossible to overcome in the future," the expert is convinced.
"Games are an integral part of parenting. With their help, the guys consolidate behavioral models and decision-making algorithms. Thus, what was laid down in childhood becomes the trigger for many actions in the future. It is important to understand: what we will give to the younger generation today, we will get in a few decades," she emphasizes.
"The overwhelming number of games were produced abroad. Accordingly, they reflect the values of a different society, which do not correlate at all not only with the Russian worldview, but also with the legislation. Therefore, the issue of computer games is largely associated with the problems of national security of the state," Shafran summed up.
"US Army General Mark Milley recently outlined three areas that are priorities for the development of the US army. The first is the improvement of artificial intelligence. The second is the war in megacities. And finally, the transition from informational to cognitive dominance",
– added Andrey Ilnitsky, Adviser to the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Deputy head of Roskomnadzor. "We see that Washington has achieved some success in the third direction. You can see this by the example of Ukraine – a friendly country has been turned into a western springboard. This was done, among other things, with the help of computer games with a certain ideology," the interlocutor noted.
"In the hands of intruders, games become a tool for the degradation of huge groups of the population. There is a mental genocide of society: violence becomes an everyday thing, people get used to it. Computer entertainment has become part of a real war in which we cannot lose. We simply have no right," he concluded.
Recipes for disaster and success
"I often hear how games are literally demonized – evil, violence, blood. And, of course, they call for such a thing to be simply banned in Russia. They say we will leave only pink ponies as entertainment. But these ponies are of little interest to anyone. Moreover, any military man knows that a deaf defense will only delay the inevitable defeat," said Sergey Burkatovsky, science fiction writer, general producer of the games "World of Tanks" and "World of Ships".
"Therefore, I personally think that now we need to actively advance, creating our own product. But here it is necessary to take into account a whole range of nuances. Firstly, in order to write a game, we must first decide which audience we are aiming at. And then describe it in detail and without embellishment," the expert explains.
"An equally difficult question is how to get into the selected group. It is absolutely useless to advertise the game on Radonezh radio if we want to sell it to teenagers.
As well as adults are unlikely to see promo games in youth social networks. It is necessary to talk to the audience not in your favorite language, but in a language that is understandable to her," the interlocutor continues. "Then comes the most difficult thing – it is necessary to "break through" the instinctive rejection. New ideas that we are trying to sow almost always cause rejection. In order for the game to become familiar to the user, it must be played for at least 12 hours. Then the gamer will not want to press the exit button," Burkatovsky notes.
"And only after that, and very carefully, you can enter a certain idea there. For example, the idea of patriotism, in my opinion, is acceptable to the masses. People want to be proud of themselves and their country, so there is no need to fear serious rejection of this idea," he believes.
"In general, a commercially successful game is one that has fulfilled all the voiced requirements. The recipe for disaster in this case is to create a brightly propagandistic game. At least because the player will have to voice the ideological message before you "break through the armor" of rejection," the specialist emphasizes.
"And here the experience of the enemy will be a good help to us, so to speak. One of the most successful propaganda machines in the world is Hollywood. It has become such due to key principles: support for the industry as a whole, special support measures for urgent projects and rejection of open criticism of projects that diverge from the official line," the source adds.
"In addition, Russia should now pay attention to creating its own infrastructure for developers, marketing, and monetization. And this should be done primarily with a focus on new teams. The "old people" have money and authority among users, but the young need a powerful impetus for qualitative development," Burkatovsky concluded.