At PAX South this week, I noticed the US Army had set up a recruitment station. The Air Force had done the same thing the last year or two with their high-speed carnival ride. I’ve laughed a bit at them because they’re showing up the one part of the Air Force incredibly few if any of those recruits will ever do. Army does it better. They had a few cool Army toys like the FGM-148 Javelin, which unlike our sister service, is a tool any recruit could easily find themselves using if they had any desire to volunteer for that sort of duty.
Like many veteran gamers, I swung by to pay my respects to my Active Duty brethren and chat a bit about the state of the current geopolitics. I also run a non-profit to help vets transition out of the service, so I wanted to make sure to let them know about those resources in case anyone needed them. Also, sometimes it’s just nice to relax around those who understand you in a way few others ever really could.
It turns out, Army wasn’t just recruiting. They were also showing off some of their own software development activity and I was in for a real treat. To begin with, the Army has started developing a number of educational tools to help teachers in the STEM field. One being shown at PAX South was their Elements, which is a suite of games for kids to play that teaches the periodic table and about molecular compounds. You can learn more about that software at the official site.
It turns out that the contracting officer and program manager were both at the event, so I also learned about some of the work that’s coming down the pipe. Another offering from the US Army STARS catalogue that’s making its way out will be a game focusing on biology and human physiology. The Army hopes this will encourage more kids to become interested in the medical sciences, which we need more of in the US in general, but which will also generate increased interest in medical MOSs (Military Occupational Specialties) in the Army as a by-product.
SAIC wasn’t just hired to work on these smaller STEM projects, though. I also found out that there’s an America’s Army sequel in development, though with no targeted release date yet. For mil-sim fans, this is big news because while AA was never quite as polished as it’s contemporaries, it was a game that focused heavily on accurately representing the feel and functionality of weapons as best they were able. Because many of these weapons could actually be touched and studied personally by the developers, we got a very accurate sense of how they would be used in real life.
Of course, there was also the inclusion of real Army ranks and commendations, which I liked because it introduced more people to a part of Army culture to which they wouldn’t normally be exposed. I think it’s a good thing when a civilian can spot a Soldier and greet him by rank or see a ribbon rack and have a better understanding of what those various awards indicate.
America’s Army is also clearly a good recruiting tool, though those I spoke with were very quick to point out that they go out of their way to minimize that aspect of it. Nothing in the game directs you to a recruiter or even encourages you to talk to one. The idea is that if you’re interested in some form of military service, AA just gives you a familiarity with the Army that might help you to choose that branch of service.
As a veteran, I’m much less worried about the game coming off as a recruitment tool. My time in the Army included some of the best parts of my life. I have a multitude of friends and colleagues I once served with and am still close with years after completing my enlistment. I also have been able to take advantage of a number of the fantastic benefits my State and our country affords veterans.
There are less obvious benefits, too. One of the most important is that I separated with skills and a resume into an industry that needed me badly. I’ve made a fantastic living thanks to the opportunities I was presented with through my time in the Army. I’m fine with trying to encourage more people to take advantage of those opportunities like I did, and while those supporting and building America’s Army are cautious about connecting those dots, I’m most definitely not.
I’m going to see what I can do about making contact with the Program Office responsible for the project and ensuring I have the chance to get the occasional update about the effort. I played America’s Army quite a bit when I was a young Soldier, and I’d be really interested to see what they can do with the new tools available in newer engines. In the wake of fairly limp offerings from games in the Battlefield and Call of Duty franchises, a really good non-arcade-like military game could do pretty well.
Just cross your fingers that it moves at a better pace than most government projects!
Mitchell Gassner
I really enjoyed AA when it first launched. It was a nice change of pace to see people actually teaming up and slowly moving up instead of just running straight into fire knowing you would be able to respawn if you died. Suppression fire was a real thing since a single bullet could end your round. Can’t wait to see a sequel if/when it comes out.
Gavin Fielke
It would be nice to see a new version which built upon a newer engine will have some of the gameplay issues sorted out by default.
Albert Gomez
Hi, I’m curious to know if you’ve had any new information on this. I was really hyped when I read this “announcement” but still haven’t seen an official announcement from America’s Army. I’m honestly looking for any possible career opportunities as I’ve been learning the basics of Unreal Engine game development.
William Murphy
Nothing yet! But they’re still out there promoting it at shows. I’d say it’ll be any day that we hear official word.
Jatobi
This is exciting! I absolutely loved America’s Army. If they play their cards right, this could be a huge hit again.
Jatobi
I actually hope they go back to the roots of the game. The newer stuff isn’t so great. The original had a lot of fun gameplay. Newer stuff feels like a run-n-gun whoever pushes fastest wins.
Matthew Nutter
Love the game play every day . Great maps but homestead just not me sorry. But the thing I hate the worst of it all when I change to a pistol in a battle it doesn’t shoot. Anyway to fix this ? Or am I dining something wrong.
Also I love to see a sequel of it can’t wait.
Chris Carson
I’ve been playing video games since the 1980s and 2002 I got hooked into socom and all the socom games and it sucked even they moved it to ps4 cause they changed to much in it.. I played call of duty for years because there wasn’t anything else close to socom. I got tired of playing Call of duty cause the perks and gave play was like everybody was moving to fast like they had bionics.. Lol but I last year I was referred to this game and I now play nothing but AmericasArmyProvingGrounds!! This by far is the greatest war game ever made next to Socom!! Only thing it needs is more maps like on the PC!! It also needs Claymores, PMN mines and to be able to have more then 1 sniper rifle and yes I know there a M14 marksmen but everyone gets mad that they do not get it and grenade you or flashback you till you leave or give it up… Please bring this to ps5 and everyone would more then be happy to pay for extra maps and weapons.. O yes please add attatchments to the guns like Front Grips, Supresser-silencer, lasersites, back stock for less recoil… There so much you can do with this game and please keep the game play feeling the same meaning do not speed things up or the way it takes certain amount of damage to kill enemy.. If you change to much it destroys what you built on that everyone feel in love playing!! I’m now 49yrs old and I’m a clan leader and have been in most games I play. I have loyal team mates that have been playing with me as their leader for almost 20yrs… Keep up the good with with AAPG and you guys have developed an amazing game!!!
Evan Costanzo
I played AA all the way up to 2.8.5 then I started learning about going out at night and having fun that way lol. Now that I’m older and passed that stage, I would love a new AA title to get back into. I can’t find anything else besides this post in regards to a new title. But was hoping for an update? Probably not but thank you anyways
Bill C. Ryan
There is actually a newer game America’s Army: Proving Grounds that you can play on Steam or PS4. It’s been out for a while and it’s quite different from the old games, but it’s still a lot of fun.