Project Azriel: Simple "training" or Mind control?

Man, I haven't done a thread in years but I felt this was too interesting to pass up, so forgive me if I'm rusty.
First let me fill you in on how I came across this.

I have been a video game artist for the last 5 years or so and occasionally I get hired to do video game testing as well. Im not really a gamer, so I typically turn these down. Today however, I was approached by a company that according to them would like me to step "out of my realm of secular expertise"

Now at first I was fine with this, I mean everything seemed typical until they started going into what I can only say is unusual detail about how long each section needs to be played and how long the testing will last. From my experience, this is uncommon as usually one is looking for bugs and glitches in game, level design flaws, and missing story arcs. This on the other hand is being run as a "scientific test", funded with a grant from US Office of Naval Research.

I was given an example of the game via a private youtube link, (Which I'm tempted to post) so they could show me what it will look like. A very unpolished first person shooter taking place inside of an urban zone where you are playing as a NAVY Seal,(As mentioned in the video) being attacked by well dressed zombies.
Shapes will keep popping up on screen, such as blue squares, green triangles, orange circles, flashing shapes all while the game plays. You run around being bombarded with these on screen while trying to play the game and attempting to solve some pattern in these shapes.

Here is the actual information sent to me from the company.. It is not private (In that I was not asked to sign an NDA) so I am allowed to share it.

We need a large group of gamers/ workers to engage in a web-based program that combines video games and cognitive training exercises. As part game and part training, this prototype is both fun and challenging.

Workers should be willing to engage in focused mental activity in order to master the tasks in the game. Workers will be paid for playing a prototype video game multiple times across 4 weeks, for filling out surveys, and for taking a series of cognitive tests at the beginning and end of the project (more details below). Data collected in this project will be used in scientific research on the effectiveness of this kind of video game.

No specific video game or software development skills are required. Workers will only be asked to play the prototype game and complete the surveys/tests. We are not asking workers to write code or identify defects.

THE PROTOTYPE VIDEO GAME

The prototype is a first person shooter game called Project Azriel. Paste this url into your web browser for a video: (Link Removed) The premise of Project Azriel is that a biological agent of unknown origin has been released and is turning those infected into violent, frenzied zombies who are killing and infecting anyone in their path. Scientists have found only one way to fight off the ravaging effects of the bioagent and that is to engage in intense mental exercise. The only ones prepared to deal with the bioagent is a small, elite military unit that has been participating in a mind-training program. In this game, the player is a trainee in this military unit. The player must move from waypoint to waypoint, fighting zombies to eradicate the threat as soon as possible. The trainee must regularly engage in rigorous mental training in order to stay sharp and stay human.

We are testing Project Azriel to determine how well the cognitive training exercises in the video game work. Project Azriel is very different from the typical video game. The activities in the game require concentration and active thinking. Workers will need to engage in intense mental activity in order to master the tasks.

Since we are testing the impact of the game, it is very important that you put effort into the activities. Therefore, we will be monitoring performance and expect workers to meet certain standards. Particularly, we will be looking for improvements in scores on the activities over time as an indication that the worker understands and is following the rules. If it is determined that a worker is not performing the tasks diligently, he/she will be dismissed from the job. Workers can avoid this by simply putting the necessary effort into the tasks.

Workers should be aware that the game is in early stages of development and not as polished as commercially available video games.

SCHEDULE

This project will follow three phases: Pretest, Video Game Testing, and Posttest phases.

In the Pretest Phase, workers will complete a series of surveys and cognitive tests. These are administered because we are interested in the changes that occur in a person after s/he has played Project Azriel for a determined period of time. The Pretest Phase will take about 3 hours to complete and is a prerequisite for subsequent phases.

In the Video Game Testing Phase, workers will play Project Azriel a minimum of 16 hours. Because of the nature of the game, these 16 hours should be spread out over a 1 month period. Workers should play for one hour per day, four days per week, for four weeks and should NOT cram all hours into fewer sessions. Workers can play more hours than the required 16, but due to budget constraints, we can only compensate workers for 16 hours of game play. Sixteen hours in the game are required before a worker can engage in the final phase of the project.

After completing 16 hours of gameplay, workers will start the Posttest Phase. Like the Pretest Phase, the Posttest Phase will consist of surveys and cognitive tests. The Posttest Phase will require a total of 3 hours.

In sum, the project will take 22 hours to complete over a minimum of 1 month.

ELIGIBILITY

You are eligible to participate if you are US-based, at least 18 years old, have normal color vision, and have access to a personal computer for downloading and playing the prototype. You must remain connected to the internet whenever you are working on ANY component of the project.

Workers are required to have their own computer to run the software. Prior to hiring, candidates will be screened to make sure they have computers powerful enough for the program. The minimum requirements include a dual core processor (2.0+ Ghz) with a Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) on the CPU or a GPU onboard.

ABOUT US
CurriculaWorks is a company that creates motivating and robust learning software. This project is funded through a grant from the US Office of Naval Research. If you choose to participate, you will be contributing to research that has the potential to benefit all learners.

This is not like anything I have ever come across before. I just found a lot of the criteria very odd.
The fact that they are looking for what changes occur in the person after a certain period of time I find interesting and that makes my conspiracy sense tingle. That, and they seem to target young children with their company.

I realize all this may be completely innocuous, but with all the talk about mind control in video games these days and how this game looked in video, combined with the scientific research funded by the Office of Naval research it just raises a red flag with me.

So I realize that this may be hard to understand unless the video is posted, but it had that "This video is unlisted tag".

It's more than a lousy video game, thats for sure.

How many first person shooter players do you know that want to train their mind while simultaneously eating cheetos and going ham on some zombies

a reply to: frostie

This was kind of my point among other things.
People play games to immerse themselves. This requires a certain part of the brain to be active.
This is requiring a certain level of mental focus, and I find their wording odd.

In the video they state that your character is " a soldier in a mind control training program".. Which I find strange, because that is in a sense very true to what is going on and is what they tell you you are actually taking part in with the job description. You are in what they call "mental training program", So there is no disconnect there.

It is like stating the obvious, like if I say to you "You are an ATS poster taking part in thread discussions" all while you actually take part in thread discussions. Very odd..

US Office of Naval Research..... yeaa. Would not trust that one bit.

*video removed*

Did a quick google search for project azriel and this came up as being on youtube. looks like a first person shooter, but more call of duty style multiplayer. No zombies. Does the clip resemble what you were given to watch at all?

Anyway, I don't blame you for thinking this is strange. Scientific cognitive testing under the guise of some kind of quality assurance test. Love how they mention you need to be connected at all times to the internet. So you can be monitored in real time. I honestly wouldn't trust installing that kinda thing on my home computer. What are the chances that the game could come with some other piece of surveillance software.

What I don't understand is, the Navy has already done its share of mind control related experiments. By now they must have reams of knowledge from human testing. Maybe they havent really dipped their foot into the direct effects of programming via video games or the ability of a video game to increase cognitive function and the brains ability to process and solve problems.

hmmmmmm

a reply to: snowen20

As part game and part training, this prototype is both fun and challenging.

That, and they seem to target young children with their company.

Not a mystery that shoot em up video games are targeting and training children…

is it?

All the shooter games and all the power trips, why aren't there more fun ones to play, like patching up the wounds instead of causing them? Games like the ones above really don't interest me personally that much and I do not care for them at all. It's amazes me all the research that goes into doing harm, and how little into actually helping instead.

a reply to: CallmeRaskolnikov


No man, that isn't the video unfortunately.

Ill most likely post it here in a few minutes, to be honest I don't like it. Yeah my tinfoil hat is baking my brain now I realize, but Im just not into this at all for some reason. I got that vibe going on.

I didn't participate and in fact declined the job offer. I don't want to be the next guy going around shooting people en masse because I was mentally triggered through a weird game experiment funded by Naval Research.. LOL

Just so everyone knows, the video posted by CallmeRaskolnikov is NOT the video I was sent.

I am glad he took the effort to look, but thats not the one. lol
Ill load it up screw it. People need to see it. See if I can remember how to do this.



There it is..

I guess I shouldn't be sharing this as its a private video but, some things you just can't let go, and I dont see it being classified or anything.


ETA: I feel the premise of the game is absolutely ridiculous, and Im not sure what they are trying to achieve.

originally posted by: snowen20
a reply to: CallmeRaskolnikov


No man, that isn't the video unfortunately.

Ill most likely post it here in a few minutes, to be honest I don't like it. Yeah my tinfoil hat is baking my brain now I realize, but Im just not into this at all for some reason. I got that vibe going on.

I didn't participate and in fact declined the job offer. I don't want to be the next guy going around shooting people en masse because I was mentally triggered through a weird game experiment funded by Naval Research.. LOL

good job man.

i'm really glad to hear you actually trusted your intuition and declined the offer.

who knows, you could have been the next aurora shooter or the next sirhan sirhan.

not worth whatever sum of money they are offering.

a reply to: CallmeRaskolnikov

Yeah exactly, lol
I know that may be going over the deep end, but better to be safe than sorry. I don't want any part of this kind of project.
Which is part of the reason Im putting it out there for the world to see. ya know, just incase... Just incase sometime in the future something happens and the conspiracy wheels start turning on ATS people can come back to this thread and say "See look, its real!"

Half the children playing FPS as Call of duty and such are already brainwashed in a way.

Maybe There is a way to harness a child's natural addiction/fascination/attention/cognition and these games and turn it into full blown mind control?!

just removed my linked video.

thanks for posting the video for us to see. you're right it's very unpolished. and it has a very strange vibe to it.

i don't know how to express it exactly, but it kinda creeps me out after watching it.

i wouldn't be surprised if the color and shape combinations had some further programming significance.

maybe the navy is tired of their seals just being a buncha field grunts and work horses. they probably want them to eventually be able to do advanced problem solving mid-combat.

Did they mention that if you agreed you would have to sign a NDA?

Like you said, you weren't forced to sign one just for viewing the game trailer. So I think you're ok.

a reply to: CallmeRaskolnikov

Negative, I didnt get that far with them so they didn't ask me to sign anything.
I have been doing this a while so if a client ever starts sending me information without me first signing an NDA I let them know to not send it for legal reasons. I want to make sure I'm covered on my end.

This had more of the local college "want to be part of a scientific experiment" feel to it.

Here is what they actually told me.

Hello (Name Removed),

We have a very interesting project that I’d like you to take a look at.We're looking to gather a large group in order to accomplish this training. I know it's out of your realm of secular expertise but thought you'd might like to engage in something fun and challenging. If this is something you’d like to participate in, would you mind answering these four questions when accepting the invitation:

1.) In three sentences or less, describe the image that is attached to this post. (Please view attachment in job post)
2.) How many hours per day and per week do we expect Workers to engage with the game?
3.) True or False: Internet connection is optional for this project.
4.) How old are you?

Thank you for your time and we sincerely hope that we can have you on board for this exciting project.

a reply to: snowen20

wow, even those questions are pretty bizarre. seems like they want to test you reading comprehension right off the bat by asking you to recite some of the information that they initially gave to you.

What was the image that they attached to the job post that they wanted you to describe? curious....

a reply to: CallmeRaskolnikov

The image they sent was a color blind test image specifically this one here.

deirdrespencer.com...

I assume so that they can make sure you are able to take the testing or *Coughs "training" more accurately.

As far as the questions go, I think that was to make sure you know what they are asking of you before you accept their job offer.

HOW selfish of you not to support their conditioning program... IT'S for the system damn it!

a reply to: cavtrooper7

lol I know right, Im a godless Nazi bastard for not supporting them. That and the fact that their pay was horrible
Seriously though, ATS was my first thought when I came across this. Mind control....Mind Control..

originally posted by: CallmeRaskolnikov
just removed my linked video.

thanks for posting the video for us to see. you're right it's very unpolished. and it has a very strange vibe to it.

i don't know how to express it exactly, but it kinda creeps me out after watching it.

i wouldn't be surprised if the color and shape combinations had some further programming significance.

maybe the navy is tired of their seals just being a buncha field grunts and work horses. they probably want them to eventually be able to do advanced problem solving mid-combat.

Did they mention that if you agreed you would have to sign a NDA?

Like you said, you weren't forced to sign one just for viewing the game trailer. So I think you're ok.

It is my personal belief though that anything signed under co-ercion or out of ignorance is not even binding, south park cartoons to the contrary. I mean, if the same kind of people that write up those NDA's are also of the mindset that the US Constitution is "just a god*amn piece of paper" for example, then it's time to follow what's written in the heart instead of following the suggestions or orders of others.

a reply to: snowen20

I still say there is a carrier wave from cell phones causing issues...

originally posted by: snowen20
a reply to: CallmeRaskolnikov

The image they sent was a color blind test image specifically this one here.

deirdrespencer.com...

I assume so that they can make sure you are able to take the testing or *Coughs "training" more accurately.

As far as the questions go, I think that was to make sure you know what they are asking of you before you accept their job offer.

you're right. that makes perfect sense. can't be trying their mind control bull#e on some color blind subjects. especially within this context.

and they'd probably LOVE if you WERE a godless nazi bastard. hahaha

afterall, those are the types that were in charge of previous mind control related experiments.

ever listen or read the story of andy pero?