March 22, 2007

The U.S. Army and The Guildhall at SMU Partner to Create America's Army PC Game Missions

America's Army: Special Forces (Overmatch) (SMU GH Map Pack) Launches Today

Today, the U.S. Army and The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University ( http://www.guildhall.smu.edu)  announced their release of the America's Army: Special Forces (Overmatch) (SMU GH Map Pack) for download at the America's Army game website ( www.americasarmy.com ). The SMU GH Map Pack, provides America's Army players with four new missions created by students at Guildhall under collaborative partnership with the U.S. Army. Since its first released in July 2002 America's Army has consistently remained one of the top-ten action games played online, gathering a following of more than 8.1 million registered users within the United States and in over 60 different countries. These players have invested 200 million hours in the Game exploring Soldiering from Basic Training to operations in the Global War on Terrorism.

“We are proud to be a part of one of the most popular computer game series ever produced,” Dr. Peter Raad, executive director of The Guildhall at SMU, said. “It is our job to prepare our graduate students for a dream job in the real world. Our work for America's Army shows that we are accomplishing our mission.”

In collaboration with the America's Army Public Applications Team, Guildhall students and faculty created four missions that highlight the training, technology, and skills that make the U.S. Army the world's premier land force. The Guildhall team included five students (Cyndi Bell, Derek Manns, Jason Morales, Roy Orr and Rance Wood) led by Myque Ouellette who served as producer/lead designer with additional support provided by Mike McCoy. Rounding out this group, Guildhall students, lecturers and administrators assisted in concept development, testing, and feedback.

"The America's Army game is an extremely important resource for the Army, and maintaining its capacity to capture mind-share is integral to the project's continued success,” said Colonel Casey Wardynski, Director of the America's Army Game project. "With this release of America's Army, the team at Guildhall has created highly realistic and immersive virtual experiences that convey the dynamic nature of Soldiering in the Army today.”

America's Army: Special Forces (Overmatch) (SMU GH Map Pack) contains the following missions.

SF Old Town - U.S. Infantry conducts a raid within a small, rural village in a tropical location to secure sensitive data. Intelligence reports suggest a terrorist organization is attempting to seize this information currently located in a safe house controlled by allied forces. The U.S. Special Forces team must secure this information and thereby thwart future enemy attacks.

SF Refinery - A terrorist cell has announced its intent to capture a high profile petroleum engineer and thereby disrupt petroleum production and the U.S. Economy. U.S. Special Forces must safeguard the engineer from terrorist action.

SF Flood Gate - Intelligence indicates a gathering terrorist threat to critical hydroelectric facilities. Should terrorist forces capture or destroy these facilities the local indigenous population residing in the low-lying valleys could be threatened or flooded. The U.S. Special Forces team must secure the hydroelectric facilities and prevent the terrorist forces from planting and detonating explosive devices.

River Village - Enemy forces have seized a small rural village adjacent to a seasonal river and are now using it as a base of operation. Intelligence reports suggest the local residents are under duress and have been dispersed throughout the village. U.S. Special Forces Soldiers must enter the village, secure the three objectives, and reclaim control of the village, while minimizing damage to the local infrastructure.

The Guildhall team created the GH Map Pack using the America's Army Mission Editor that was released to the public in December 2006 as part of America's Army: Special Forces (Coalition). The Mission Editor enables America's Army players to modify existing levels and/or create new levels using any of the Game's existing art, sound, particle effects and gameplay assets. With the Mission Editor, players can create new levels or modify existing levels for use by America's Army's global community at the America's Army Mission Depot ( www.aamissiondepot.com).  

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