Team Orlando Organizations Initiate Two New Gaming Awards, Winners Announced at GameTech 2010
This year, the Defense GameTech Users’ Conference introduced two new significant game competitions: the Federal Virtual World Challenge and Innovations in DoD Gaming. The competitions provide game and virtual world developers an opportunity to showcase their technology, techniques and products for U.S. government users. The Federal Virtual World Challenge, organized and conducted by the U.S. Army Simulation & Training Technology Center (STTC), opened the competition to the development community to explore creative and innovative training solutions designed to uncover new government potentials in virtual worlds. Twenty-four entries were submitted by government, niche companies and rogue developers, including entries from Canada and the U.K. The challenge was open to unlimited creativity and therefore categories were defined by the entries themselves. In all, there was one grand prize winner, and eight first, second and third place winners. “We were thrilled we had this many entries in our maiden year,” said Tami Griffith, creator of the FVWC. “Hosting a challenge is a way for us to find pockets of excellence, and the developers get visibility they would never have gotten. It’s a new way to do business.”
The Innovations in DoD Gaming competition was created by the Joint ADL Co-Lab to determine and publicize how game technology is utilized in an innovative manner to accomplish realistic and effective military training. Frank DiGiovanni, Deputy Director, Readiness and Training Policy, and Programs, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, and Paul Jesukiewicz, Director of the ADL Initiative presented awards to the winners. Of the 13 entries, the II Marine Air-Ground Task Force Expeditionary Force Simulation Center, Camp Lejeune, Luke Devore and Tess Reavis, Site Manager at Cubic Applications, Inc. took first place. Two second place awards were given: one to Battle Command Training Center Joint Base Lewis-McChord, CPT Jeremy Guy, Chief of Small Unit Training and Jon Sullenberger, SAIC Lead, Plans & Training Support and one to D2 TEAM Sim 3-6 Air Defense Artillery Schoolhouse, James Cimino, Senior Program Manager. First place winner Luke Devore spoke on his win. "We focused on stimuli to get the user thinking versus simply executing tasks. The award validates the process and the benefits of the application."
Team Orlando anticipates continuing the competition as a means of reaching the creative developers and program managers who develop training for our warfighters.