Video Game Goggles [HOT]
The Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS, is a set of augmented-reality goggles combining night vision with navigation, targeting and the ability to see exactly where friendly and enemy troops are. After previous failed attempts, the U.S. Army may have succeeded in turning science fiction into reality and created something that the soldiers appreciate.
video game goggles
That's because we've seen it all before. In the early 1990s, technology firms, especially video game companies, fell over themselves in a rush to capitalize on VR Buzz 1.0 by announcing (and in a few cases releasing) their very own virtual reality headset hardware.
"The whole experience felt natural to me, as I've played lots of first-person shooter video games that show me exactly where I am on a map, where my teammates are and where the enemy is," he wrote. "It was almost like a real-life game of Call of Duty."
One of the most iconic aspects of the Splinter Cell series is the pair of night-vision goggles that protagonist Sam Fisher wears over his face. In their first, and newest, ComDev video, Ubisoft has given a brief overview on when players should expect to receive the goggles in-game, and their function.
It's safe to assume that the necessity and overwhelming popularity of the gadget influenced Ubisoft's decision to make them available very early on in the game. The goggles will we able to illuminate the darkest of rooms for players, with a slight delay for Fisher's own eyes to adjust. Ubisoft also teased additional unannounced features of the goggles.
David has been a gamer since childhood and enjoys games that are able to deliver fun and intricate gameplay alongside compelling and emotional narratives. He's also a huge fan of film, television, comic books, and literature. David has his B.A. in English Language Arts from CUNY John Jay College.
The U.S. Army is in the process of fielding a new, advanced set of night vision goggles that features impressive additional sensor fusion and other capabilities that look straight out of a first-person shooter video game. The service recently released a video showing soldiers training with the goggles that offers a very good look at how they not only improve an individual's ability to see at night, but also gives them valuable additional information about what's going on around them on the battlefield.
What you see first in the footage when it comes to the picture the ENVG-B presents to the user is a very good overview of the kind of new capabilities the goggles offer. What's immediately notable is that the view has something of reddish tint in certain areas, rather than the green or gray coloration commonly associated with night vision optics.
This is because the ENVG-B fuses together the view from an image intensifier, just like you would get with older night vision optics, and one from a thermal sensor. This combination offers greater overall fidelity compared to older goggles and also provides a means of spotting targets through visual obscurants, such as dust and smoke.
The Army, as well as the ENVG-B's manufacturer, L3Harris Technologies, says the goggles' wireless connectivity means that it can also pipe in other kinds of data and project that onto the display, including from the Army's Nett Warrior situational awareness system. This turns the entire system into a sort of miniature heads-up and situational display for individual troops.
The video from the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division's weapons range training only shows a compass. A video that L3Harris previously released also shows another view with a video game-esque "radar" in the corner showing the general locations of friendly troops in relation to the user, as well as possible hostiles and other waypoints and objects of interest. A red diamond symbol, the U.S. military's standard symbol for enemy forces, is also seen in the center of the feed denoting the location of a hostile structure and the picture-in-picture view has more information about that building.
This raises the possibility of linking the ENVG-Bs to other sensors and data feeds, including those from manned and unmanned fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, as well as manned and unmanned vehicles on the ground, among other sources. One of the most obvious immediate uses of this capability would be to pipe the feed from a drone into the goggles to allow soldiers to more readily identify enemy forces and other possible hazards well ahead of their positions. This would give even small Army units significant advantages when maneuvering on the battlefield, making it easier to flank opponents, scout ahead, or simply avoid dangerous spots.
Compared to those previous goggles, the ENVG-B also offers a wider field of view. It can still be used in a monocular configuration that gives the user a more readily available option to see normally, if desired, as well.
Earlier this year, pictures emerged showing special operations forces, and the conventional forces supporting them, in Syria using an Israeli-made computerized weapons sight that also features advanced targeting and target recognition features, among others. The system is primarily in service there now to offer an additional capability to bring down small drones as well as extremely accurate fire, but could have broader applications within the U.S. military as a whole. You can read more about the Smart Shooter SMASH 2000 system and an automated gun turret, that also looks straight out of a video game, in these past War Zone pieces.
The Army has historically owned the night compared to most other adversaries, but even non-state actors are increasingly using older, but still useful night vision goggles and thermal optics. The impressive new capabilities that the ENVG-Bs offer show that the service has been working hard to ensure its soldiers maintain their edge over any opponent once the sun sets, but above all else, it is maybe our clearest reminder as of late that what was recently the stuff only seen in video games is now become very much part of our reality.
Night Vision Goggles (NVG) are an increasingly frequent tool in video games. One of their first appearances was in Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (2001), after which no tactical shooter was really complete without them. Not only do NVGs add a unique element to a game's atmosphere, but they also come with a fun trade-off element where you have to be careful when to use them.
As a result, NVGs also started appearing in other genres, such as horror and survival games. The usage of night vision in games can be a hit or miss though. Sometimes it is a magical green filter with almost no downsides, while in other cases it mimics real-life rather well and provides a grainy binocular image. This raises the question: which games implement night vision the best way?
More expensive goggles offer different color tints, such as blue. All in all, the customization that Escape from Tarkov offers is plentiful, and the amount of money you are willing to put down for a set remains subjective.
Ground Branch is a bit of an underrated game. While Ready or Not can be seen as the successor to SWAT IV, Ground Branch is closer to Rainbow Six 3 Raven Shield. It is a very challenging game and this also becomes evident through its use of night vision.
You have the choice between NVGs that severely limits your field of vision, or using weapons with a night vision scope, but then everything else will still be pitch black. In this unforgiving game, you only want to use NVGs when it absolutely benefits you. In addition, do not make the mistake of thinking that enemies will be blind in the dark. If your reaction speed is slow or if you rush in carelessly, they will still shoot you just as easily.
Almost every promotional screenshot of Ready or Not features a nighttime setting or dark interior. It should come as no surprise then that night vision goggles play a prominent role in this game. In a game where you have to defuse situations and arrest hostiles, rather than shoot them, you need every advantage you can get.
Night vision plays a role in each game in the Metro series, although the implementation has been updated slightly. For example, the first game Metro 2033 allows you to use NVG and a flashlight together, while in Metro: Last Light this is removed, and instead you can use an infrared spotlight.
Both Insurgency and Insurgency: Sandstorm feature maps that take place at night and make using night vision goggles almost mandatory. A fun feature in Insurgency is that the quality of your night vision goggles depends on the faction you are playing as. If you play as the Insurgents, you will get lower quality NVGs, while the special forces get high-quality gear.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's 13th mission is fittingly named 'Going Dark' and features a night raid on an estate. From IR lasers to turning off the power and avoiding floodlights, the entire mission is structured around your night vision goggles as a central concept.
Compared to the original Modern Warfare game from 2007, the night vision now has a more blueish tint rather than green. It also feels less like a gimmick, especially since some areas are now so dark that you really need night vision. Another fun addition is that while using NVG, you cannot properly aim down the sights of your weapon and have to rely on your IR laser, just like in real life.
Sam Fisher with his night-vision goggles became the classic image of the Splinter Cell series. The best game in it remains Chaos Theory (2005), which also happens to be the title that implements night vision most aptly. Chaos Theory introduced the green filter and also featured bright lights that would blind or distort the player's vision.
Apart from night vision, Sam's goggles also could use thermal vision, showing body heat, and even electromagnetic field and electronically enhanced vision. This made for a fun gameplay element where you had to continually switch to the right vision mode of your goggles while sneaking around and avoiding enemies.