Beyond your dog barking whenever it sees you bonding with the virtual canines inBreath of the Wild(just me?), animals interacting with video games might not be something you realize is really a thing. Turns out there’s an entire department of the US Navy teaching sea lions and dolphins how to game.
The US Navy has publisheda press release(thanks,PC Gamer) detailing its work with animals and video games, paying particular attention to a sea lion named Spike. Even though Spike was the last in his group to learn how to play the Navy’s specially designed games, he was the first to complete the program. There’s a life lesson about going back toElden Ringafter it chewed you up and spat you out in there somewhere.
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Spike and his fellow sea lions were taught to recognize certain stimuli on a screen, then shown the controller they’d be working with, and finally learned how that controller can be used to change what they can see. Their first task was to move a blue ball into a black box, and they have gradually been given more challenging things to do as they’ve improved.
When Spike finishes a level, he’s rewarded with a fish plus an lot of praise from his trainers. The Navy tested a system in which the machine would award the sea lions without a trainer present, but they preferred having an audience. I can relate, Spike. Schooling someone onFIFAis always better when you’re in a room full of people. No one’s throwing me a treat when I score an injury-time winner, though. Can I apply for this program?
Spike and his fellow sea lions aren’t the only animals learning to play video games. Dolphins are also a part of the program, performing similar tasks on a big projector screen they can see from the water. Since the projector can only be used when its dark, apparently it looks like some sort of aquatic-based movie night to passers-by, especially ifSpongeBob SquarePantsis on. The dolphins are big fans, apparently, so clearly they have good taste.
You might ask what’s the point of all this, and that would be a valid question. While it’s likely the skills these animals have picked up through gaming may one day be put to practical use, for now, it’s simply for holistic purposes. All the trainers want to know is if the animals are having fun playing games, and the answer to that appears to be a resounding yes. Now, how long is it going to be before I’m eliminated onFortniteonly to hear the clicking sounds of a boastful dolphin mocking me through my headset?Scientists have already been training pigs to be better gamers than us, now I’ve got sea lions and dolphins to worry about as well.
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