Elusive Victory
Elusive Victory is a stability operations game that Decisive-Point, teamed with researchers from Park University, is currently developing as part of a U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research Phase I Small Business and Technology Transfer (STTR) program. The purpose of our research is to develop an effective serious game, which employs an adaptive, self-learning artificial intelligence (AI), that will enable our military leaders and teams to deliberately practice the unique cognitive and team skills associated with the conduct of stability operations.
With the release of FM 3-07 [U.S. Army], for the first time in U.S. military history, our forces possess a methodology that addresses all elements of post-conflict operations - not just the application of military power. The six critical elements of the stability operations environment are political, military, economic, social, infrastructure, and information (PMESII). One of the major implications of this manual is that military power in many cases becomes the smallest and least significant element in winning the peace. Even though we aggressively educate and train our military personnel, they seldom receive an opportunity to practice applying their knowledge of the full range of PMESII until they enter their area of operation in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Although some of our research is focused on AI development, the purpose of the game is to effectively support the deliberate practice of the rapid decision making and synchronization process (RDSP) during stability operations by providing a plausible simulated environment in which leaders can deliberately practice appropriate leader visualization and decision-making skills across the full spectrum of PMESII.
In March 2008, we successfully supported a U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) student exercise using the initial Elusive Victory prototype. In addition to receiving positive feedback from the students and instructors, we collected important data that contributed to our research and the development of the next spiral version.
When completed, Elusive Victory will contain the following features:
• Kinetic and stability operations models
• Stability operations models will fully represent PMESII
• Variable time scales
• Multiple sides to represent the complex relationships of different factions
• Adaptive, self-learning, asymmetric AI
• Single and multi-player capability
• Integrated after-action review (AAR) system
• Full suite of content editing tools
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| Elusive Victory Splash Screen |
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| Stability Operations Screen |
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| March 2008 Exercise |
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