MS&G, When Worlds Collide: A Primer for Potential

Abstract : Commercial game companies operate in an extremely competitive environment, creating products on the bleeding edge of technology. Companies survive by evolving streamlined processes that allow them to efficiently develop these complex products and to deliver them to market quickly. What happens when the culture and business practices of the commercial game world collide with highly regulated procedures of the government, especially those of the military? The result is a challenging but not impossible landscape that both sides must traverse to find common ground. These two seemingly similar communities of interest (DoD M&S and Commercial Gaming, (MS&G)) have evolved differently due to the customers' needs and the market dynamics that surround them, resulting in philosophical and operational differences that must be understood for the communities to work effectively together. This document attempts to provide a basic understanding of the history, technology, product development processes, and business practices of the game industry and DoD/M&S. Furthermore, it lays out those areas of conflict and fusion while proposing some concepts and recommendations to help these two groups build sustainable, successful working relationships in the pursuit of serious games.