Origins 2011

[BayonetBrant]

www.originsgames.com

22-26 June 2011

Previews coming soon of Origins War College events (we're still trying to finalize the event grid for the War College)

But here's a sneak peek:

http://talk.consimworld.com/WebX?14@....1dcdf851/5866

[LongBlade]

Working on trying to attend. Lots of variables in play, however, so I'm not confident I'll be able to pull it off this year.

[BayonetBrant]

Y'know - for a site full of alleged wargamers, there doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in, Idunno, a MAJOR FREAKIN' WARGAMING CONVENTION

it'd be one thing if it was just "oohoohooh but Origins is soooo far from now!" but any time I've ever posted things about it, I get a big, fat, hairy pile of so-freakin'-what...

http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forum...ad.php?t=94876

http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forum...ad.php?t=93875

And it's not just Origins, either
I'm talking to myself here
http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forum...ad.php?t=89866

two people sorta-cared here http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forum...ad.php?t=76807 and then never reappeared

An ACG staffer mentioned it here, and was greeted by crickets
http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forum...ad.php?t=63897
which makes it a no-brainer that ACG pulled out of the show, given that their core audience doesn't give two craps

5 threads from Origins 2007 generated a total of 11 comments.

I'm wondering why I bother.

Pounds, I know you're an exception, and I know they brought you in to help bump up the game content around here. I just wondering if you aren't preaching to a brick wall of people who just don't give a flying hairy rat's backside about actual wargaming because they're too busy hanging out in the social club throwing around cliched "Chicks That Rock"** or architecture or handgun calibers that are irrelevant to the current military-economic climate or arguing over whether or not claiming the PS3 is better than the Wii will get you arrested for the 34th time.


I'm just not feeling that it's worth my time to try to get anyone to pay attention right now. Sorry.


** about half of whom don't

[MetalDog]

I'm a bit broke right now. I'd love to attend. A whole hall full of like mineded individuals...something I've looked for since I discovered these games as a kid. *sigh*

[BayonetBrant]

Hey everyone -

The OWC is still working to firm up the event grid for this year, and I still intend to post it as it becomes available, but I do know of a handful of events that are expected to be on there, so I wanted to get the word out early in case folks want to come join us.

Please feel free to ask questions about these, and I'll try to answer as best as I can. I've been a regular staffer at most of these events the last few years, so I've got a lot of experience with them.



This first batch are being run by Dr James Sterrett. "Who?" you ask? Well...
In addition to three decades of wargaming, Dr. James Sterrett is the deputy lead of the Simulations Division of the US Army Command & General Staff College’s Digital Leader Development Center, supporting CGSC exercises. Dr. Sterrett teaches CGSC’s courses on training with simulations, including the use of commercial games in training. On the commercial side, his experience includes design work on the award-winning games Attack Vector: Tactical (Ad Astra Games) and Steel Beasts (eSim Games) and several years as a reviewer for Games Domain and CombatSim. His academic background includes a Ph.D in Soviet military history from King's College London and the recent publication of Soviet Air Force Theory: 1918 - 1945 (Taylor & Francis, 2007).

Training with Games: Core Concepts
In this discussion-driven seminar, he presents the core concepts behind using a game for training – and the reasons that big, expensive simulations often deliver less than games you could buy in your local game store.

U.S. Army Games for Training: Practical DemonstrationGo beyond just talking about training with games! Participate in a small exercise run in the same manner as student exercises at the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College. Participants will assume command and staff roles, then plan and execute a tactical operation.
No prior military knowledge or experience is necessary; training on your role in the exercise will be provided. No prior knowledge of Flashpoint: Germany is necessary.
The game for this exercise will be Flashpoint: Germany (On Target /Matrix Games).

U.S. Army Games for Training: Practical Demonstration
Go beyond just talking about training with games! Participate in a small exercise run in the same manner as student exercises at the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College. Participants will assume command and staff roles, then plan and execute a tactical operation.
No prior military knowledge or experience is necessary; training on your role in the exercise will be provided. No prior knowledge of Decisive Action is necessary.
The game for this exercise will be Decisive Action (Jim Lunsford/Decisive Point/HPS Simulations).

U.S. Army Games for Training: Practical Demonstration
Go beyond just talking about training with games! Participate in a small exercise run in the same manner as student exercises at the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College. Participants will assume command and staff roles, then plan and execute a tactical operation.
No prior military knowledge or experience is necessary; training on your role in the exercise will be provided. No prior knowledge of Battles from the Bulge is necessary.
The game for this exercise will be Battles from the Bulge (Panther Games/Matrix Games).



The ones I'm leading the charge on (but won't be the only sled-dog in the team)

Panel Discussion – Games and Simulations for Military Training
Drawing on a decades of experience with military training using games and simulations, the distinguished Origins War College panel follows the lead of the audience in discussing varying aspects of the topic, including (but hardly limited to): game vs simulation, modeling kinetic vs soft factors in combat, international differences in uses of games/sims for training, development and acquisition or games and sims, and lessons learned from execution of training events.

Designing for Effect: Military Games and Sims for Professional TrainingGiven the specific applications of military games and simulations for training purposes, how can designers ensure the training needs of the military audience are being met within the construct of their game designs? This panel/workshop will explore practical aspects of modeling actions as the appropriate echelons, abstractions of potential training distractors, non-scenario injects, kinetic vs ‘soft’ factors, and information modeling. Audience participation is expected!

Playing Games the Military Way – Fighting a Strategic Counterinsurgency
Counterinsurgency can be a baffling conflict to manage at any level. At the national/strategic level, the conflict can become even more abstracted as the participants are widely separated from the direct combat, but still facing a constant barrage of inquiry from the media, government officials, constituents, and international partners.
Using a simulation designed for training the International Counter-Terrorism Fellows program at the National Defense University, participants will take on the roles of different central government officials and attempt to navigate their own course through a challenging national-level counterinsurgency scenario.
No prior military experience is required/expected; no prior familiarity with military games/sims is required/expected.

Playing Games the Military Way – Persian Incursion and Nuclear Containment
With international and strategic geo-political implications, the nuclear standoff between Iran and Israel might “go hot” at any day. Players will participate in the game as members of the Israeli or Iranian high command and plan & execute their actions within a refereed game of Persian Incursion, in which the referee team will adjudicate the events in a double-blind fashion.
The event will include a short current events briefing, and a short briefing on available assets and geo-political situations relevant to the players’ decision-making.
No prior military experience, or knowledge of the game, is required/expected.