U.S. Army Funding Canadian Booze Cruise
Still, the U.S. Army is taking the issue of shellshocked vets getting DUIs seriously, or at least seriously enough to throw some funding behind Booze Cruise, an educational PC game designed at the University of Calgary to educate people about the dangers of drunk driving by virtually recreating the effects of alcohol when you're behind the wheel. Punch in your weight and the number of highballs you've had, and Booze Cruise will blur your vision and cripple your reaction times accordingly. The game's been around since 2007, though the Army is throwing additional funds behind it for some unspecified improvements.
I realize that it's the video-game blogger's duty to defend our industry to the death, particularly when it comes to receiving serious validation from the outside, but this doesn't seem like the best use of resources if vets are hitting the bottle because they're having trouble coping with civilian life. And frankly, I thought that Rockstar already nailed the whole drunk-driving simulator idea with Grand Theft Auto IV. While that game wasn't so concerned with hammering home the horrible consequences of such grossly irresponsible behavior, I would always end up calling a cab after going on a bender with a buddy, simply because the constant fender benders and vehicular manslaughter made getting home take forever.
Still, the U.S. Army is taking the issue of shellshocked vets getting DUIs seriously, or at least seriously enough to throw some funding behind Booze Cruise, an educational PC game designed at the University of Calgary to educate people about the dangers of drunk driving by virtually recreating the effects of alcohol when you're behind the wheel. Punch in your weight and the number of highballs you've had, and Booze Cruise will blur your vision and cripple your reaction times accordingly. The game's been around since 2007, though the Army is throwing additional funds behind it for some unspecified improvements.
I realize that it's the video-game blogger's duty to defend our industry to the death, particularly when it comes to receiving serious validation from the outside, but this doesn't seem like the best use of resources if vets are hitting the bottle because they're having trouble coping with civilian life. And frankly, I thought that Rockstar already nailed the whole drunk-driving simulator idea with Grand Theft Auto IV. While that game wasn't so concerned with hammering home the horrible consequences of such grossly irresponsible behavior, I would always end up calling a cab after going on a bender with a buddy, simply because the constant fender benders and vehicular manslaughter made getting home take forever.
I get the idea behind this type of game and at the same time I feel it's absolutely useless. You can create all the drunk driving ads you want it doesn't do anything to change a persons prospective on the issue if they already don't care. Add to the fact that inebriation can cloud even the most rational person and you get even less help from this type of thing.
I think commenter Kurmudgeon did a good job of explaining why this kind of thing just doesn't work.
The only problem with this game is that it is *almost* realistic.But hey, at least we get a winter driving simulator out of it. :)
It allows you to drive a car that doesn't respond well, or handle great, and you have to do it with impaired vision, but you do get to drive it while being in complete control of your faculties and still retain normal cognitive judgment - which you don't have when you're impaired. When you're impaired, it might actually seem like a good idea to drive on the sidewalk to get around the car in front of you to save time. With this game, you just have the muddle reactions of an impaired driver and have the ability to compensate by driving slower, applying the breaks sooner, or recognizing that the light is about to turn red.
It's close though, and this game is probably more comparable to winter driving (as another poster insightfully pointed out).
Drunk driving is bad... my friend's dad got drunk one night and drove his truck up our hill and destroyed my neighbor's car (it looked like something you'd find at the junk yard after the crash) and then he smashed into our rock wall outside the house right after that, then took off driving. Later while in the back of the cop car he said he thought it was a deer. You can bet those neighbors no longer live next door now.
That game is nothing like driving drunk, where's the empty parking lot where you can do doughnuts in your car worth less than the amount you pay for rent each month.
There goes the army trying to use videogames to train people again. This time, how to drive safe while drunk. Perhaps they're doing a Red Asphalt version of the game to scare them straight. Not the wisest thing for a person with PTS.
EDIT: We need a new Carmageddon... except a simulator.
EDIT2: @ giyanks22: Dude... it says it's for soldiers who have seen horrors of war and cope with it by drinking (and the subsequent driving).
Thinking on the idea of a drunk driving simulator for research; it seems to me that you would be further ahead building an extremely real driving simulator and then have the 'player' down a few pints/shots/both and then see how they do. It would be much more fun as well.
Its crazy, the Vets will just get really good at the game and then expect to be good at driving drunk in real life! lol. Why dont they just give them all free consoles and games that way they wont leave the house to drive. Im fairly certain drunk game playing is allowed if the 'Quest for Booty' video is anything to go off...
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