Defense video games perfectly capture excitement of acquisition process
December 10th, 2010 | Procurement | Posted by Stephen Losey
"And we would have gotten away with it to, if it weren't for you meddling procurement officials!"
Looking for a way to play a quick video game while you bone up on your procurement know-how? Boy, does the Defense Acquisition University have a treat for you.
DAU’s Continuous Learning Center webpage has a series of video games that try to teach players a little about the ins and outs of defense acquisition and procurement fraud. The quality of the games vary. Some are little more than procurement pop quizzes grafted onto a standard racing game or Super Mario-esque platform jumper.
And what can I say about “Program Budget Mania,” except that it is about as thrilling and exciting as a videogame about xeroxing and filing budget paperwork can possibly be?
But they’re not all terrible. I didn’t really understand “IPC’s CPI Game” one bit (I’m probably not its core audience), but its design — including parodies of World War II propaganda posters tweaked to imply humans are fighting a Martian invasion and a snippet of the song “I Don’t Want To Set The World On Fire” — is clever.
And drab title aside, “Procurement Fraud Indicators” is a pretty good simulator for someone learning how to gather clues and interview fraud suspects. Players search through wrongdoers’ offices and files, gather information on what they may have done wrong, and come to a conclusion about what rules they may have broken. But be careful — push too hard in the interrogation and the suspect could turn hostile, offering you less information than a cordial-but-direct line of questioning might yield.
OK, so it’s not exactly the next Red Dead Redemption. But it’s got a cool jazz soundtrack, and that’s got to count for something.
Tags: acquisition, Friday Fun, video games