Virtual Heroes, Inc. is a

developer Developer may refer to: Computers *Software developer, a person or organization who develop programs/applications *Video game developer, a person or business involved in video game development, the process of designing and creating games *Web deve ...

of serious games in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

, United States. It was founded in 2004. Virtual Heroes' initial projects focused on creating new technology and content for the U.S. Army game '' America's Army''. The company has expanded to develop serious games, 3D

computer simulation Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be dete ...

s, and training applications. They also license the

Unreal Engine Unreal Engine (UE) is a 3D computer graphics game engine developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter game ''Unreal''. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of genres ...

in the government space through the Unreal Government Network.

Organization

Virtual Heroes, Inc. was founded by Jerry Heneghan, formerly at

Tom Clancy Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military science, military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of ...

's Red Storm Entertainment and Research Triangle Institute (RTI). In 2009, Virtual Heroes was acquired by Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA), a New Mexico-based scientific engineering and research firm. In 2012, Virtual Heroes became the Virtual Heroes Division of ARA managed by Randy Brown, formerly of

Amoco Amoco () is a brand of fuel stations operating in the United States, and owned by BP since 1998. The Amoco Corporation was an American chemical and oil company, founded by Standard Oil Company in 1889 around a refinery in Whiting, Indiana, a ...

Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president unt ...

, Data General, SAS Institute,

SouthPeak Games SouthPeak Interactive Corporation, doing business as SouthPeak Games, was an American video game publisher based in Midlothian, Virginia. Founded on March 1, 1996, as a subsidiary of SAS Institute in Cary, North Carolina, it was sold and moved t ...

and RTI International.

History

As Virtual Heroes, Inc.

Virtual Heroes, Inc. was founded in 2004 by CEO Jerry Heneghan, formerly at

's Red Storm Entertainment and Research Triangle Institute (RTI). Serving as CTO was Randy Brown, formerly of

, Data General,

SAS Institute SAS Institute (or SAS, pronounced "sass") is an American multinational developer of analytics software based in Cary, North Carolina. SAS develops and markets a suite of analytics software ( also called SAS), which helps access, manage, analy ...

and RTI International. Early projects included th
Virtual Peace
serious game, for which Virtual Heroes was a co-recipient of a McArthur Fellowship Grant. The game trained

non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

on humanitarian assistance and crisis intervention. itation: https://www.hastac.org/initiatives/hastac-scholars/scholars-forums/participatory-play-digital-games-spacewar-virtual-peace In 2007, Virtual Heroes supported the Discovery Channel Canada television science fiction mini-series

Race to Mars ''Race to Mars'' is a 2007 Canadian television mini-series about a fictitious mission to Mars that is based on contemporary international research. The first part aired on Discovery Channel Canada and its High Definition channel on September 23, ...

, about a fictitious Mars mission
Virtual Heroes produced 3D educational game modules
for the series’ corresponding website. In 2008 Virtual Heroes created Hilton Ultimate Team Play, a training tool for

Hilton Garden Inn Hilton Garden Inn is an American chain of mid-priced, limited or focused service hotels owned by Hilton Worldwide. As of December 31, 2019, it has 862 properties with 126,086 rooms in 49 countries and territories, including 81 that are manage ...

employees developed for the Sony PSP. There were 500 copies of the game printed, which led to the game being called the
rarest PSP Game Ever
” Also in 2008, Virtual Heroes created Pamoja Mtaani, a multiplayer game for Warner Bros. The game was developed to target HIV prevention & reduce infections in East African youth in Kenya. ef: http://serious.gameclassification.com/EN/games/14938-Pamoja-Mtaani-/index.html

As a Division of Applied Research Associates, Inc.

In 2009, Virtual Heroes was acquired by Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA), a New Mexico-based scientific engineering and research firm. In 2012, Virtual Heroes became the Virtual Heroes Division of ARA managed by Virtual Heroes CTO Randy Brown. As part of ARA, Virtual Heroes developed several serious games for medical and science training. In 2009, Virtual Heroes released Zero Hour: America's Medic, which was described by

Wired Magazine ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online magazine, online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquar ...

as "training first responders for real-life

natural disasters A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econo ...

and

terrorist attacks The following is a list of terrorist incidents that have not been carried out by a state or its forces (see state terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism). Assassinations are listed at List of assassinated people. Definitions of terrori ...

". The project was developed with

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

's Office of Homeland Security on a 4.8 Million dollar grant from the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

. In July, 2010 Virtual Heroes released Moonbase Alpha as a free download on

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

. Moonbase Alpha provides gameplay on the moon based on accurate

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

equipment at the time for the

Constellation Program The Constellation program (abbreviated CxP) was a crewed spaceflight program developed by NASA, the space agency of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. The major goals of the program were "completion of the International Space Station" and a " ...

. The game was made by Virtual Heroes and the Army Game Studio, developers of America's Army, in conjunction with NASA Learning Technologies. Moonbase Alpha was designed as a tech demo to test ideas to be used in Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond, NASA's massively multiplayer online game. It was also designed to encourage an interest in space exploration in school children. ef: https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/526940main_Moonbase_Alpha_Educator_Guide_v1.pdf In 2014 Virtual Heroes developed the Combat Medic serious game for the U.S. Army's Simulation and Training Technology Center. The game trains medics to treat internal bleeding,

lung collapse A pneumothorax is an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp, one-sided chest pain and shortness of breath. In a minority of cases, a one-way valve ...

, and

tracheobronchial injury Tracheobronchial injury is damage to the tracheobronchial tree (the airway structure involving the trachea and bronchi). It can result from blunt or penetrating trauma to the neck or chest, inhalation of harmful fumes or smoke, or aspiration of ...

(airway trauma), the top three causes of battlefield deaths. It incorporates material from the US Army Medical Department's

68W 68W (pronounced as sixty-eight whiskey using the NATO phonetic alphabet) is the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) for the United States Army's Combat Medic. 68Ws are primarily responsible for providing emergency medical treatment at point of wo ...

Advanced Field Craft Combat Medic Skills textbook. The game is available for use by all U.S. military branches. In 2018, Virtual Heroes won a $2.6M contract with the US Army to develop a 3D trainer for medics to treat serious burn injuries.

Focus Areas

Serious Games

Virtual Heroes is considered a leading company in the serious games market. ef: https://bulletinline.com/2020/04/27/serious-game-market-is-growing-with-strong-companies-like-playgen-innovataion-games-caspian-virtual-heroes-morf-media-and-breakaway/The Virtual Heroes Division headquarters in

features a full game studio with artists,

game designers Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in ...

, and game developers.

Terrain Generation

When Virtual Heroes became a division of ARA, it merged with ARA’s Central Florida Division in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, a developer of modeling and simulation software for the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

. One of the division’s products is the Rapid Unified Generation of Urban Databases (RUGUD) software, which is used to generate 3D terrain databases. RUGUD was developed for the Army's Simulation and Training Technology Center and is used by the Army for training purposes.

Virtual Reality

In 2019, the Virtual Heroes Division of ARA was awarded a DoD contract to develop the Virtual Tactical Assault Kit. The

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

tool was designed for improved mission planning and rehearsal and better situational awareness. VTAK is part of the TAK family of products.

COVID-19

In 2020, Virtual Heroes released their titles Mission Biotech and Human Sim: Sedation and Airway for free to support

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

education and training. Virtual Heroes created Mission Biotech in conjunction with the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

with funding by the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

. The game promotes careers in

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

and teaches how scientists search and test for clues to identify a virus during a pandemic outbreak. ef: https://seriousplaywire.com/mission-biotech//nowiki> The

Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (United States Army) The Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) performs medical reconnaissance and special operations to address critical gaps that are underrepresented in DoD medical research programs. TATRC is an office of the headquarters o ...

(TATRC) funded Virtual Heroes to develop Human Sim: Sedation and Airway, a 3D training tool for

medics A medic is a person involved in medicine such as a medical doctor, medical student, paramedic or an emergency medical responder. Among physicians in the UK, the term "medic" indicates someone who has followed a "medical" career path in postgradu ...

to administer emergency anesthesia and manage breathing. The software uses the integrated Biogears real-time

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

engine.

Projects

3Di Teams

3DiTeams ''3DiTeams'' (also known as ''3Di TEAMS'') is a first person serious video game developed by the Duke University Medical Center and Virtual Heroes and used for medical education and team training. The 3DiTeams Project was conceived by Dr. Jeffr ...

'' was developed in collaboration with Duke University Medical Center and used for

medical education Medical education is education related to the practice of being a medical practitioner, including the initial training to become a physician (i.e., medical school and internship (medical), internship) and additional training thereafter (e.g., Re ...

and team training. The game is intended for training and exercising of medical teams of practitioners of many levels of clinical expertise. The scope of practice of the tools in the game are geared toward care of a

trauma Trauma most often refers to: *Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source *Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event *Traumatic inju ...

patient and the interpersonal communications that surround the patient's care. The training is based on the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

Patient Safety Program and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's TeamSTEPPS

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curricula or curriculums) is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view ...

. In 2006, the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC), a division of the United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, funded a one-year $249,530 award to support the "3DiTeams: Gaming Environment for Training Healthcare Team Coordination Skills" study. The team was also awarded a 2-year $291,248 grant from the NIH Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for their study on "Virtual Health Care Environments Versus Traditional Interactive Team Training."

Virtual Peace

The company was a co-recipient of a McArthur Fellowship Grant to create a serious game intended to train

Non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s entitled "Virtual Peace".

Zero Hour: America's Medic

''Zero Hour: America's Medic'' was described by

as "training

first responder A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency, such as an accident, disaster, medical emergency, structure fire, crime, or terr ...

s for real-life

natural disaster A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econ ...

s and

". The project was developed with

's Office of Homeland Security on a $4.8 million grant from the

Moonbase Alpha

'' Moonbase Alpha'' provides gameplay on the moon based on accurate

equipment at the time for the

. It was made by the Army Game Studio, developers of America's Army, and Virtual Heroes, Inc. in conjunction with NASA Learning Technologies. The game was released on July 6, 2010, as a free download on

. ''Moonbase Alpha'' was designed as a tech demo to test ideas to be used in '' Astronaut: Moon, Mars and Beyond'', NASA's massively multiplayer online game. It was also designed to encourage an interest in space exploration in school children. At the

Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference The Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) is an annual conference in Orlando, Florida organized by the National Training and Simulation Association held at the Orange County Convention Centre, a large confe ...

in 2010, the games won the top honors in the government category of the Serious Game Showcase & Challenge.

Human Sim: Sedation and Airway

The

(TATRC) funded Virtual Heroes to develop Human Sim: Sedation and Airway, a 3D training tool for

to manage

(airway trauma). The software uses the integrated Biogears real-time

engine.

Race to Mars

In 2007 the Discovery Channel Canada produced a television science fiction mini-series entitled ''

'' about a fictitious Mars mission. The series’ corresponding website featured 3D educational game modules produced by Virtual Heroes and other developers.

Combat Medic

The Combat Medic serious game trains medics to treat internal bleeding,

, and

(airway trauma), the top three causes of battlefield deaths. It incorporates material from the US Army Medical Department's 68W Advanced Field Craft Combat Medic Skills textbook. Combat Medic was funded by the U.S. Army's Simulation and Training Technology Center and is available for use by all U.S. military branches. Combat Medic was named a finalist at the 2014

Serious Games Showcase and Challenge The Serious Games Showcase and Challenge is a competition and a showcase event that was created to encourage video game developers to create products that are useful for non-entertainment purposes. The annual event made its first appearance as an ...

and a Gold Award at the International Serious Play Competition.

Heuristica

The Heuristica serious game is designed to improve users’

critical thinking Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, which generally include the rational, skeptical, and unbiased analysis ...

and

decision-making In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the Cognition, cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be ...

skills. The game is funded by the

Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) is an organization within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence responsible for leading research to overcome difficult challenges relevant to the United States Intellige ...

(IARPA).

RUGUD

The Rapid Unified Generation of Urban Databases (RUGUD) software is used to generate terrain databases. RUGUD was developed for the Army's Simulation and Training Technology Center and is used by the Army for training purposes.

Mission Biotech

Mission Biotech was funded by the

and management of the game development provided by the

. The game promotes careers in

. Virtual Heroes released the game as a free download in 2015.

Virtual Smashmouth

Virtual Heroes developed Virtual Smashmouth for the 2008

Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...

. Keynote speaker Intel CEO

Paul Otellini Paul Stevens Otellini (October 12, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was an American businessman and one-time president and CEO of Intel. He was also on the board of directors of Google. Early life and education Paul S. Otellini was born and rais ...

ended his speech by introducing a virtual performance by the band

Smash Mouth Smash Mouth is an American rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994, and was originally composed of Steve Harwell (lead vocals), Kevin Coleman (drums), Greg Camp (guitar), and Paul De Lisle (bass). With Harwell's depar ...

Motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...

technology enabled the four band members to play their song " All Star" from separate locations, with their

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

s performing together on a giant screen. Virtual Heroes created the simulation's 3D virtual environment, based on

Epic Games Epic Games, Inc. is an American video game and software developer and publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney as Potomac Computer Systems in 1991, originally located in his parents' house in Potomac, M ...

’

. Organic Motion provided the real-time motion capture technology.

Hilton Ultimate Team Play

Hilton Ultimate Team play is a training tool for

employees developed for the Sony PSP. There were 500 copies of the game printed, which led to the game being called the "rarest PSP Game Ever." David Kervella of Hilton Hotels Corporation demoed the game at the 2009 Game Developers Conference in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Pamoja Mtaani

Pamoja Mtaani is a multiplayer game developed for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

and PEPFAR. The game was developed to target HIV prevention & reduce infections in East African youth in Kenya.

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.virtualheroes.com/
Zero Hour: America's Medic Official website

IITSEC Serious Games Showcase & Challenge Website

Applied Research Associates Acquires Virtual Heroes, Inc. Press Release
Companies based in Raleigh, North Carolina Companies established in 2004 Video game companies of the United States Video game development companies