:MeetPi

An article came out in the Australian newspaper about virtual terror. The article looked at th possibility of terror groups using virtual worlds (Second Life and World of Warcraft were mentioned), and received a typically skeptical response from the community over at Slashdot. And yes, there is much in that article to set off the hype detectors - not the least of which is the mere mention of Second Life, or the suggestion that the swords and sorcery fantasy World of World of Warcraft could be remotely useful in training terrorists. This isn’t the first time such a thing has been suggested - shortly after September 11 there was some speculation that Microsoft Flight Simulator could have been used as an aid for the terrorists who flew hijacked planes into the World Trade Center towers.

So, is this all just a hype-driven joke inspired by security commentators who are dazzled by this ‘new’ technology, or is there something to the idea that online environments might be training grounds of terrorists? Perhaps the United States Army might think so - at least it thinks there’s something gaming can offer to combat training. It has put at least $USD6-8 million directly into gaming, which Wikipedia claims is the cost of the development of America’s Army, a multiplayer combat game that was developed primarily as a recruitment tool for the US Army. In the game players act out the role of US soldiers, working in teams to carry out military-like operations - sometimes playing alongside active US servicemen and women.

America’s Army is an example of an online multiplayer first person shooter (FPS) - it is not an MMPORG, and that reduces the hype factor a little. Instead, small groups of players come together on servers much like an organised game of paintball; it’s akin to Counterstrike or any one of a number of online multiplayer first person shooters that have been around at least since Id Software exposed audiences to networked first person shooters through Doom 2 in the early 1990s.

In addition to America’s Army, a number of other computer-based training tools - many based heavily on commercial game technology - have been used to augment training in the US, Australian and other nation’s armed forces. While it would be silly to suggest that these games can replace conventional training (any more than flight simulators are a replacement for real logged flight hours for pilots), these simulators are used to augment conventional training and may focus on skills other than firing a weapon. Skills like organising and commanding other soldiers in combat situations, as well as working as a part of a team of soldiers can be reproduced well using FPS technology.

If the military sees value in these games and simulations, isn’t is possible that other organisations - including terrorist organisations - might also see similar value? Given, they don’t have the facilities to develop an $8 million game, but they don’t need to. With only a small amount of modification many commercial FPS games can be put to effective use (and can quite readily be used to model real world places) - investment in the order of a couple of hundred dollars for the game (if you don’t pirate it) and a couple of thousand dollars in computer hardware and networking.

Certainly, in the current environment, where there are groups (not just terrorist groups) who have a vested interest in propagating and maintaining fear, there needs to be a rational and considered weighing up of issues such as virtual terrorism. The response for most people should be one of complete indifference - probably. But it is essential that agencies that are looking to arrest and prosecute potential terrorists make an effort to understand the technologies involved as well as the social context in which they are used.

An example of social context is the game modding community. A number of games now allow players to add additional custom-designed content to the original games. Games that can be modded range from games like the Sims in which players can develop new furnishings and clothing for their Sims, though to the first person shooter genre. For those in the online first person shooter community such modding includes changing the game mechanics and the development of new player models, clothing and faces (’skins’), new weapons and new 3d environments in which to play the game (these environments are called ‘maps’). The skills involved in doing this ‘modding’ are often quite significant and development of a good mod can often lead talented individuals into employment within the games industry. The people involved in game modding thus are creative individuals who are expressing their creative interests through the medium of the games that they enjoy playing.

Understanding this social context is important for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is protecting the rights of individual citizens. Recently a student at a US school was arrested primarily because of materials found on his computer. The offending materials were virtual scale versions of the buildings and grounds where he attended school which could be used for online players as a virtual scene for urban combat. To many observers the idea of a student modelling his school so he and his friends could use it as a setting for a violent videogame seems a disturbing, perhaps frightening, indictment of those involved - particularly in light of the history of school shootings in the United States.

To others, however, the modeling of the school grounds is less disturbing then the reaction of the authorities. It is quite common for map-makers to model environments they are familiar with and have ready access to. Students frequently model places such as school grounds, and public buildings are also common. For example, a community-created partial map of Los Angeles International Airport was one of the environments people could use to play online games of Counterstrike. So, from the perspective of the gaming community, modeling of familiar places does not necessarily reflect anything sinister on the part of the modeler.

To anyone involved in mod-making or online gaming, the only conclusion is that the possession or construction of maps, no matter their content, is not sufficient evidence to suggest intent to commit criminal activities. If someone had been planning a criminal act, and in the light of other evidence, a virtual training simulation was discovered on the suspect’s computer, it may provide useful insights into the method of that planning and its potential means of execution. This is forensic evidence and should be treated as such by law enforcement and the judiciary.