Virtual Nation Building

from the reflecting-the-times dept

Last month there was a flurry of articles about video game makers working on combat war games based on the conflict in Iraq. Now that that's apparently over with, the strategy game makers are stepping up to the plate, saying that the more interesting aspect of modern war isn't the fighting, but all the strategic decision making. In other words, after you're done with the latest first-person shoot-em-up that takes place in Baghdad, you can fire up the newest version of Iraqi Reconstruction Set 1.0, where you'll be able to try your hand at diplomacy and nation building on your computer. However, more interesting than that, is that the real nation builders are used to such games. It's standard practice to run simulations for these sorts of things. I guess it fits. Pilots had to go through video simulations before bombing Iraq, so now the diplomats had to run through their own set of simulations as well. It seems that there's no point in doing anything these days if you can't play the game version first.

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