This isn't strictly news but its posted on a news site and its kind of relevant to that whole ITV IRA clip thing and I think people here will enjoy. But anyway, if its in the wrong place, sorry.
[quote=The BBC]
[IMG]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58113000/jpg/_58113554_1.jpg[/IMG]
Which one is the real thing?
[B]The blurring of reality and the virtual world has come full circle. Just over twenty years ago I can remember watching the first stirrings of the Gulf War, arguably the first television war, and one where the images of missile strikes were commonplace. [/B]
The world watched pictures beamed from the missiles as they made their way to their intended target, or in some cases to a different spot entirely. War seemed remote, and the visuals did nothing to convey the reality for those on the wrong end of events.
Today we are used to seeing real time reports from across the globe, technology has advanced and anyone with an internet connection can travel to far-off places, even imaginary worlds, from their armchair.
The world of video games has progressed too. Some seem real, as highlighted by a recent [URL="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16677640"]Ofcom ruling that ITV misled viewers by airing footage claimed to have been shot by the IRA[/URL], which was actually material taken from a video game.
Labelled "IRA Film 1988", it was described as film shot by the IRA of its members attempting to down a British Army helicopter in June 1988. However, the pictures were actually taken from a game called Arma 2.
Photographer [URL="http://www.fastfeatures.com/"]John Cantlie[/URL] raised an interesting point with me recently. As the latest generation of computer war games are so realistic, he wondered, perhaps the next sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may not even have left their bedrooms.
Working with Ivan Buchta at Bohemia Interactive Studios, who developed Arma 2, he matched his own photos with scenes from the virtual war zone.
[B]John Cantlie on his war zone v war game images[/B]
The last really good session of the game Battlefield 3 I played on my PC left me, I'm forced to admit, somewhat drained.
[IMG]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58113000/jpg/_58113555_2.jpg[/IMG]
Compare the two. John's photo, top, is faithfully recreated in a scene from the Arma 2 video game
The noise of gunfire and rocket explosions, the speed at which things changed, the way it was impossible to tell from where incoming fire was coming, and the charge for enemy positions were both exhausting and exhilarating. I was desperate for another go.
But it reminded me uncannily of a long, bloody day in Libya on 24 September 2011.
I was alongside a rebel battalion photographing for The Sunday Times as [URL="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16573516"]they pushed headlong into Sirte[/URL], the last pro-Gaddafi stronghold in the country. It was a nasty day, Gaddafi's forces amassed and stopped the rebel advance dead in its tracks, killing 24 and wounding over 70 by the time it got dark.
But the noises, the hellish cacophony, the crashes of the RPGs and the complete chaos - all of it had been eerily similar to that hour-long session of digitised warfare on my computer.
My mouse hand was sweaty and my pupils dilated.
Bedroom PTSD or too much coffee? Either way, modern combat games are closer in their intended effects to the real thing than many realise.
[IMG]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58113000/jpg/_58113558_3.jpg[/IMG]
A US soldier searches for insurgent positions in Ramadi, Iraq (top), and a still from Arma 2
So I went through my photos taken from various combat zones, and attempted to replicate them in a computer game.
The game Arma 2 was ideal - it's more of a war simulation than an all-out blaster, with the correct uniforms, vehicles and weapons as well as varied terrains and bang-bang firefights.
Plenty of hours fiddling within the gaming environment, alongside Ivan who developed the game, produced some pretty remarkable results.
In some cases it is actually quite hard to tell the difference between my photographs and the computer version, which is deeply worrying. The level of detail is so precise that the virtual war zone is as convincing as the real thing.
Throw in modern sound effects and a determined and cunning foe, and a foot patrol in Upper Gereshk is less taxing than a few hours sat at the keyboard.
At this rate I'll be out of a job in five years. But that'll free up more time for playing. Below are more of my war zone v war game images to compare and contrast.
[IMG]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58118000/jpg/_58118950_4.jpg[/IMG]
US soldiers of 1ID during IED clearing operation in Ramadi, Iraq (top)
[IMG]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58118000/jpg/_58118951_5.jpg[/IMG]
Iraqi militia wait for orders to advance through a city block in the Ta'meem district of Ramadi, Iraq (top)
[IMG]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58118000/jpg/_58118952_6.jpg[/IMG]
Snipers from 2/12 Infantry Division look for insurgents in the Pech valley, Afghanistan (top)
[/quote]
[URL]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-16745015[/URL]
Personally, I can instantly spot the ones that are from ArmA but perhaps this comes from wasting days of my life playing it. They are pretty well recreated I must say though.
(Side note: Can someone explain how to format stuff properly when posting stuff? Iv seen people align stuff right and stuff but I cannot for the life of me work out how)
It's painfully obvious which pictures are real, but the video game ones look good nonetheless.
[QUOTE=Jasun;34431358]It's painfully obvious which pictures are real, but the video game ones look good nonetheless.[/QUOTE]
I think if you had never played video games (or ones that claim to have realistic graphics anyway) you might struggle to tell the difference.
Well I could tell which ones were fake because real life doesn't have bright fucking blue all over the place
Though they look good anyway
That's really cool
These pictures are a good example of how far we are from total realism in a game.
[QUOTE=Cone;34431379]Well I could tell which ones were fake because real life doesn't have bright fucking blue all over the place
[/QUOTE]
Or brown everywhere.
ArmA 2 sure has great graphics, but is a real performance killer.
[QUOTE=Jasun;34431358]It's painfully obvious which pictures are real, but the video game ones look good nonetheless.[/QUOTE]
They're only slightly challenging because of how small the picture are.
If they were larger, this wouldn't even be a news article.
[editline]28th January 2012[/editline]
Nevermind, after the first three they get larger.
While they look good, none of the game ones look realistic. It's obvious which one is which. We still need some more processing power to render more life like images in realtime.
[IMG]http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/58113000/jpg/_58113558_3.jpg[/IMG]
If it was not for the guy on the far right, I would say the bottom picture looks pretty real.
Arma 2 looks realistic at times if it's a picture. But it's a completely different story if something is moving.
I had problem telling which one is real.
I could tell the difference pretty easily, but those really are some fantastic recreations.
Enemy, MAN! to, our Front, VERY FAR!
arma 3 is gonna be the bomb.
[t]http://www.arma3.com/full/wp-content/gallery/imagery/scr01.jpg[/t]
i hope they run this article again next year
God I hope arma3 gameplay isn't as clunky
It's actually pretty obvious because of things like lighting, clothing, and skin
like the one with the sniper, the skin on the guys just looks unnatural
i was just thinking of ArmA 3 too
i think a big step to making games look more realistic is really in the animations, the way it is now you generally only have a few set animations
but if games started focusing on having much more different types of animations for even just one action, such as jumping over a wall in multiple ways or even as simple as holding a gun in different ways as different people would in real life, it would seem much more realistic
[quote]Photographer John Cantlie raised an interesting point with me recently. As the latest generation of computer war games are so realistic, he wondered, perhaps the next sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may not even have left their bedrooms.[/quote]
That is practically an insult to people with PTSD.
ArmA 2 can be either realistic in certain situation or the bugs kick in and you get some well surprising situations
[IMG]http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/612721992996494370/749F3D07069D6A437F4FCB034FDE2931B20DDD23/[/IMG]
[IMG]http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/649878131767971258/832A9926F3E5E8F712521C36D3808EAFEBF077C8/[/IMG]
Whenever a new racing sim comes out, it gets harder and harder to tell the difference.
The Viet Nam war was deffinatly the first television war not the Gulf War.
[QUOTE=JerryK;34431779]i was just thinking of ArmA 3 too
i think a big step to making games look more realistic is really in the animations, the way it is now you generally only have a few set animations
but if games started focusing on having much more different types of animations for even just one action, such as jumping over a wall in multiple ways or even as simple as holding a gun in different ways as different people would in real life, it would seem much more realistic[/QUOTE]
Integrate euphoria into all the games
[QUOTE=ChestyMcGee;34431721][t]http://www.arma3.com/full/wp-content/gallery/imagery/scr01.jpg[/t]
i hope they run this article again next year[/QUOTE]
Trick someone into thinking it's actual US military weaponry that is being kept a secret.
[QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;34431846]Whenever a new racing sim comes out, it gets harder and harder to tell the difference.[/QUOTE]
I like how despite all of the consolizing, racing games just keep getting better.
ARMA looks more realistic when you have NVG's on and tracers are going everywhere
[quote="BBC"][b] As the latest generation of computer war games are so realistic, he wondered, perhaps the next sufferers of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may not even have left their bedrooms.[/b][/quote]
ahahaha bullshit
Most realistic game ever.
[t]http://i50.tinypic.com/23qzapx.jpg[/t]
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