Will Interactive's contract at Fort Sill was worth less than $1 million, but the military is one of the biggest buyers for simulation technology. The visual simulation market was worth $1.31 billion in 2003, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan, and $834 million of it came from the national security and homeland security sectors.
That statistic is hardly lost on other local firms trying to make a profit in the industry. Yesterday, BreakAway Ltd., a Hunt Valley gaming company, said it has been hired to create an anti-terrorism simulation program for the Navy. And Sensics Inc., a Baltimore firm that makes virtual reality head gear, has received $650,000 in research grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
"The type of warfare that we are fighting now is very different than what it used to be. . . . The tools that are used to train for this are very different, and one of those tools is simulation," said Juliette Salvati, an aerospace and defense analyst with Frost & Sullivan. "It is a fairly young market, but it is maturing fairly quickly. And over the next couple years, I think the market is going to become very much more crowded."
Will Interactive got its start in 1994 making interactive educational movies for young adults that are sold to schools and community groups. Among the company's first products was a program on binge drinking that follows a student through his decisions during a night out. Another tackles the conditions that can brew into school violence. The company first pitched its system to the Army in 1997, got a chance to develop the sexual harassment program and has since won contracts with the FBI, the Air Force and the Marines.
As Will Interactive was beginning to develop themes for the Fort Sill program, an Army unit returned to the base from duty in Iraq. Sloane and Chief Creative Officer Jeffrey Hall -- who previously had tried a career in screenwriting -- spent hours interviewing dozens of soldiers from the brigade.
Hall said he expected the military would want to focus on topics like how to avoid roadside bombs and prepare for urban battles. But he said the soldiers were just as concerned that the program capture the human side of war. "What they wanted were relationships under pressure, morale issues, what it feels like to drive around with sewage in the streets and no one appreciates you," Hall said.
After going back and forth with the Army on drafts of the script, Will Interactive packed up half a dozen Washington-area actors and headed to Oklahoma for a two-week shoot. The simulated war is set in a fictional country called Ariana. The company used a variety of landscapes as backdrops and borrowed military equipment and supplies to create a realistic environment.
The computer program Will Interactive created, called Gator Six, follows a commander from moments before he's informed of his deployment through battles with insurgents. Users are asked to make decisions about everything from how to say goodbye to a pregnant wife to dealing with the sudden death of a fellow solider.
The goal, said David S. Henderson, deputy director for the directorate of training and doctrine at Fort Sill, is to teach soldiers how deal with tough situations.
"It's difficult to put a student in a training environment where you're able to teach them how to think, not what to think, and that there are consequences to the decisions that are being made," said Henderson.
This program does that, Henderson said, and it will be rolled out at Fort Sill in the coming months. After that, he said, Gator Six likely will be distributed to every battalion in the Army.
As for Will Interactive, the 15-person company is already on to its next movie shoot, this time creating a simulation program for FBI negotiators facing hostage situations.
"The premise is that experience is the best teacher," said Sloane, "but there are some things in life that you just don't want to live out."
Ellen McCarthy writes about the local tech scene every other Thursday. Her e-mail is mccarthye@washpost.com
