This week, our contributors look at the interaction between videogames and military operations as both consumers and commissioned officers. Is it still just a game when lives are on the line?

Each week we publish letters sent to us regarding previous issues and highlight particularly interesting forum posts. If you'd like to comment on an article directly, send your letter to editor@escapistmag.com.

"For the past seven years in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States and its allies have fought irregular enemies who eschew traditional military confrontation in favor of asymmetric tactics. These wars have been costly, painful and, consequently, highly controversial, both within the military and among the public at large. More than most other areas of popular culture, videogames have demonstrated awareness of their historical moment, as the plethora of military shooters and dystopian plotlines can attest. But thus far, games have avoided engaging the real-life issues to which they are responding."

"If someone asked you to imagine how videogames could be used to train our military personnel, you might picture a horde of trigger-happy troops fresh from hundreds of hours playing the latest Halo equivalent, wreaking havoc and being a bit surprised that they only have the one life.

"In spite of first-person shooters such as America's Army having been used by the military for recruitment, the focus of military training simulations isn't thinking with your proverbial rifle. The Army is using games as tactical decision aids, training soldiers to make better decisions and preparing them mentally for what they will experience."

"In a war zone, decisions happen fast. The whole incident from start to finish lasts less than 30 seconds. When the platoon stops to assess the vehicle and its occupants, SFC Decker finds that the car wasn't filled with insurgents. It was an elderly couple; no weapons, no explosives and no reason why they didn't heed the repeated warnings. As SFC Decker observes the look on Specialist Blair's face, he knows he has to make a decision and he needs to make it fast: is Specialist Blair emotionally fit to continue his post, or should he replace him?"

"If we as gamers want our hobby to garner positive attention from the mainstream media and public, we need to present valid arguments as to why our favorite pastime (or job, in some cases) is more than just a game. Before we can do this, however, developers need to untie the knot between games and senseless violence that has existed since the medium's infancy. With the oversaturated 'war game' market spread over a breadth of genres, from real-time strategy to first- and third-person shooters, it's a natural place to start."

"DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) is a research and development organization for the Department of Defense. Created after the Soviets shocked the world with the launching of Sputnik in 1957, it's been changing battlefields ever since. Its primary mission has been to keep U.S. Military technology a step or two ahead of its enemies. By the looks of it, one of its secondary missions is supplying the Army with weaponry that gamers have already mastered."