THE LATEST IN AMERICA'S ARMY DEVELOPMENT
Posted: 29 NOV 09, by Bill Howard
Meet the TeamLet me introduce a few key members of the team who have been instrumental in the design, management and development of the AA3 game.
Bill Perez is the America's Army Lead Programmer. He has been working on the public game for five years and has been the lead programmer since 2005. Prior to that, he was a beta tester for the game. I don't think anyone knows more about how the game functions than Bill_D_Cat! Bill is a hero to the game-programming world and his inexhaustible work ethic has been especially appreciated with this latest delivery.
Michael Barnett, a.k.a. LawGiver, is the America's Army Chief Engineer for public and government applications and has been working with America's Army since 2005. He is also the Executive Producer of the America's Army Graphic Novel
www.americasarmy.com/graphicnovel. Michael ensures that all the latest technology is integrated into the America's Army platform correctly and is my sanity check for all things relating to the game's technology.
Frank Blackwell is the America's Army Project Office Program Manager. Frank has been working with America's Army since 2005 when the program came to Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. Frank is the boss of the Redstone Studio and is responsible for the extension of the America's Army platform into government trainers, prototypes, and simulations. Currently, he manages all of the government applications, as well as outreach programs including the America's Army public game. Frank is a great manager and the game could not have a better PM.
Lastly, I am Marsha Berry, Director of Product Development for the public game. I have worked for America's Army for three years and have been producing the game for the past two. I also manage several other government outreach applications. My job is turning the Army's requirements into the brilliant game that you enjoy in AA3 where Every Detail CountsTM
As an organization, we are always making improvements by listening to your feedback and incorporating new features into the game. I love my job and feel very lucky that I have the opportunity to work on such a tremendous program!
About the Redstone StudioThe AA Redstone Studio employs over forty developers for the America's Army platform. The America's Army platform includes the public game and all government training, simulation and outreach applications.
The Redstone Studio was created in 2005 and has grown over the years with increase in demand for the America's Army platform by the Army and other U.S. government agencies. Over the past few years, all of the government programs and the America's Army game project have been consolidated under Redstone-based supervision to more efficiently manage the AA platform development for all programs. Since the products of one gaming application feed into the common AA platform for all other programs, it is important to have a centralized way to direct and orchestrate such development.
Plans for the FutureAmerica's Army has a bright future and you can expect AA to continue as one of the Army's valued investments. Currently, we're focused on testing, fixing bugs and developing new content. The latest release includes some much needed training level fixes and enhancements in game performance. The user interface and statistics tracking also have had numerous updates based on community feedback over the past few weeks. With the latest build, you will see much improvement, and we will continue to optimize game play to ensure the best experience possible.
After our revision phase, we have a healthy roadmap of feature development to execute over the coming years including new MOSs, high tech equipment, weapons, new Real Heroes, new maps, and additional training. The next MOS you will see on a major release will be the 68W, or combat medic. Real Hero SGT Monica Brown
www.americasarmy.com/realheroes will be helping us out with the new medical training. We are also working on some new maps with indoor and outdoor environments and developing the next tier of the Advanced Individual Training (AIT) that you can complete using your Advancement Points to advance your character and unlock additional equipment and roles. Finally, we are also creating a graphic novel to complement the AA3 storyline and give inside information that can improve your game. Issue one is already available at
www.americasarmy.com/graphicnovel.
As always, you can get the latest news on the game at
www.americasarmy.comThanks!
Marsha Berry
