There are a great many skills required to produce a game like America's Army 3. From concept art to 3D rendering to understanding how a Soldier would reload an M249, everything has to be replicated perfectly within the game world.

In this section, which will be periodically updated, you'll be able to learn about many of these different aspects straight from the Developers.

Get an inside look at the trials and triumphs of the America's Army 3 development team as they strive to create the most realistic Army game ever.

As I sat down to write this on Sunday, June 14th, the Army's 234th birthday, it gave me the opportunity to reflect on why I chose this profession, following in my father's footsteps to serve my nation as an Army officer. It wasn't the offer of a free college education, or trying to meet the expectations of my parents, or even the metaphorical 'sound of the bugle.' It was the people.

There is a distinct sense of privilege and humility that stems from leading and inspiring a group of... read more>>

At a very young age each and every one of us are taught both personal values and the meaning of teamwork. In the Army, as in life, living according to your values is critical to success. One of the Army Values --Honor-- along with teamwork rank toward the top of the chart when discussing the essence of Soldiering.

What does it mean when we in the Army, say that we must epitomize the Army Values? Basically it means that as Soldiers, we live up to a higher standard. Everyo... read more>>

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When I first saw the latest video released on our AA3 Preview Site, the BCT Fly Through, it brought back memories of my first few hours at Fort Jackson. The Army had sent a bunch of us there to gain first-hand experience of what it's like to be a Soldier going through Basic Combat Training. The Fit-to-Win obstacle course was the first challenge we had to face during the five days we spent there, and not many of us were prepared for it.

I remember going in and out of... read more>>

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The entire week before the conference was very hectic as the team was burning the midnight oil to get a stable refined build for the GDC demos. We wanted the press to see all our new features & the changes from AA2. We showcased our

• All new game built from scratch using Unreal Engine 3 (and all bells & whistles that come with it).
• Accurate models and animations.
• Authentic sound design.
• Authentic lighting desig... read more>>

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I've been in the Army for almost ten years now and boy, they've been pretty awesome.  Looking back over the years, some key times in my career really stick out.  One of these times was back in March of 2003 when my LRS team (Long Range Surveillance) inserted into Iraq.  This insertion was the furthest a team has ever gone into enemy territory. We started the mission three days before the ground war began and were there for several days pulling surveillance.... read more>>

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Q: What is the one thing that separates America's Army 3 from all the other games in the market?

A: Clearly the identity of the game is founded on the same guiding principles as the U.S. Army, the 7 "Army Values". These principles, abbreviated as the acronym LDRSHIP (Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage), are the what being a Soldier is all about. We founded the game on those same principles and where... read more>>

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Q. What is unique about AA3?

A. A number of game features set America's Army 3 apart from other games in the genre, especially the level of detail and authenticity. The game is created on Unreal Engine 3 and AA3 now features characters that can be customized from their appearance to the equipment they carry into battle, to their career paths. In addition to shortened basic training, so players can get in the action faster, AA3... read more>>

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Q: What are the game types that will be in AA3?

A: There are six game types that will ship with the initial version of AA3:

• Assault/Defend
• Destroy/Protect
• Extract/Defend
• Conquer & Hold
• VIP Escort/Ambush
• Assault Alpha/Assault Beta

Q: How do the different game types work?

A: Assault/Defen... read more>>

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Tell us a bit about yourself and your role on the America's Army project

I am a retired Master Sergeant (MSG) with over 23 years time in service in the U.S. Army. My career was spent in Special Forces, I held five Army MOS's, 21B, 11B, 18C, 18F and 18Z. I was rated as a master parachutist and was qualified as a Military Free Fall Jumpmaster. I deployed to fourteen different countries on varies types of training missions during my career and I served in Afghan... read more>>

Motion Capture is the process of translating a live actor's physical motions into animation data that can be used in the game. The actor, in our case a Special Forces Master Sergeant, dons a black suit. White reflective tracking markers are then placed at key points on his body such as major joints. He then performs his actions in the motion capture room which is encircled by 28 infrared cameras. The cameras pulse infrared light at a high frequency which bounces off the reflective markers... read more>>

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Extraordinary effort is taken to make America's Army 3 as realistic as possible, and one of the ways to achieve this is by paying attention to the details of sounds and sound effects within the game.

This is the responsibility of Will "[Dev]Soundy" Brandt, the America's Army 3 Audio Engineer. Will works closely with Army Subject Matter Experts to understand not only how an M16 sounds when fixing a jam, but how a HMMWV suspension creaks as the vehicle rolls over rough terrain. Capturing the many different sounds and their individual nuances is as much an art as it is a science, and Will will not approve any sound for AA3 until it sounds just like the real thing.read more>>

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A little over a year ago, our U.S. Army Subject Matter Experts arranged for members of the America's Army development team participate in Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina so they could create the most authentic Army game ever. For five days members of the development team lived in BCT barracks and tested their mettle -- navigating physical challenges like the obstacle course and learning to operate a variety of weapons all under the watchful eye of U.S. Army Drill Sergeants.

They also learned first-hand the importance of teamwork and Army Values. Now, over a year after their triumph, we revisit two members of the team who attended the Mini-BCT. Read the updated blogs of Brandon "[Dev]Cpt_Murphy" Foster and Inhaesio Zha to find out how their experiences affected the development
of America's Army 3.

Looking back on my experience from the Mini-BCT, I would say it had an impact in the production of the game in unexpected ways.  I went in thinking everything we would get to see and do we could directly translate into an in-game mechanic.  This was not exactly the case.  The physical experience was helpful (make no mistake), but the biggest things I took away from that week were the lessons about camaraderie and teamwork.

We were put though a crucible at points... read more>>

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I didn't know what to expect this last week. When I signed up for the Army Mini-BCT event it was on stories of flying in a Blackhawk and going out drinking every night with Special Forces guys.

Not everyone who started the training made it to the end. A medic, with full ambulance, followed us to most of our training events, and more than one person left in that ambulance. The participants didn't know what to expect, even though we had been given a schedule of the events, and during t... read more>>

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