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Comment by saraid216 | Hacker News Reader

> For example, much is made of the fact that real-life Special Forces soldiers aid in the development of these games for the sake of authenticity.

I'm really amused at the idea that there are veterans who have been through hell sat in a room debriefing for a bunch of artists and programmers.

Also in complete disbelief.

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You wouldn't be excited if someone wanted to make a video game about your job? That's like the 21st century's movie deal.

"How many bone chips were there? Did any blood spray in your face?"

Yes, I'm sure it goes exactly like that. Because lord knows CoD software developers aren't actually people, but a bunch of gore-thirsty carrion vultures.

In most cases I would be horrified that my job is being portrayed in a movie, as in almost all cases it will be highly unrealistic.

Heh. My job as a philosopher, or my job as a programmer?

""Right now we are pretty stacked with consultants," the video-game man responded. "Thirty active and recently retired guys" for one game: Medal of Honor Warfighter. In fact, seven active-duty Team 6 SEALs would later be punished for advising EA while still in the Navy and supposedly revealing classified information. (One retired SEAL, a participant in the bin Laden raid, was also involved.)"

http://www.esquire.com/features/man-who-shot-osama-bin-laden...

That article has largely been denounced by the DEVGRU community see:

http://sofrep.com/18453/esquire-is-screwed-duped-by-seal-ubl...

The CoD servers I play on are dominated by active service personnel.

The rate of veteran unemployment is very high. You'd be amazed what you'll do for money, especially when you have a wife and kids, which a lot of veterans do.

No one here is criticizing veterans who do consulting gigs. I think it's great the opportunity exists in the first place.

Part of what I was trying to convey, and what I believe the post you're replying to was trying to convey, was the inherent surrealism involved in the whole process.

You have SF veterans coming home from an ongoing conflict, getting paid to consult for companies making entertainment products that purport to portray the very same conflict they just came from, and may even return to. It's just weird on many levels.

In an ideal world, these guys would be paid better and get slotted into executive-level jobs upon return, negating any need to do consulting gigs. On the other hand, as another poster pointed out: working with a game studio in that capacity is something akin to a movie deal; it's very, very cool.

Not sure why the ideal world is one where veterans become executives. Military service is pretty explicitly an escape hatch path from lower-class to middle-class. From a market perspective, making the rewards too high might actually destroy this essentially necessary social purpose via competition.

I was referring to the Special Forces veterans who consult for games:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6904336

Special Forces is a high bar already, and the "Tier 1"/Special Mission Unit subset of that is pretty much knocking on the door of peak of peak human capability.

Also, for very large corporations, a low-to-mid level executive position isn't all that lofty.

Gotta pay the bills somehow. I hear most military pensions don't quite cut it.

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