
Re-Creating WarGames with Tableau and Mapbox - vinnyglennon
http://allanwalkerit.tumblr.com/post/136904674217/re-creating-wargames-with-tableau-and-mapbox
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IIAOPSW
Or just play Defcon.

[http://www.introversion.co.uk/defcon/](http://www.introversion.co.uk/defcon/)

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chakalakasp
"Apart from the introduction of ICBM’s, MIRV’s and SLBM’s since 1959, and the
number of countries participating in this MADness…has anything else really
changed, other than the time it would take to blow us all to Kingdom Come?"

In a word: yes. The targets have changed rather dramatically. Regardless of
where they sourced their data, their targeting and their location of launch
facilities are extremely outdated. The fields in Missouri, for example, are
entirely decommissioned. A long time ago. The entire land based missile strike
capacity of the United States lives in three areas: the Wyoming-Nebraska-
Colorado border intersection, Montana, and North Dakota (though some of ND has
been decommissioned). The vast majority of Russian missiles are, in most
strategic scenarios, considered to be targeted at these locations The maps for
the silo locations can be found here, here, and here:

[http://w3.uwyo.edu/~jimkirk/warren-
mm.html](http://w3.uwyo.edu/~jimkirk/warren-mm.html)
[http://w3.uwyo.edu/~jimkirk/minot.html](http://w3.uwyo.edu/~jimkirk/minot.html)
[http://w3.uwyo.edu/~jimkirk/malmstrom.html](http://w3.uwyo.edu/~jimkirk/malmstrom.html)

The United States has also become much more reliant on strategic submarines
for missile delivery, depreciating the role of the bomber force.

As for targeting in the US, here is a state by state guesstimate based on
known military targets back in the late 80s.
[http://www.ki4u.com/nuclearsurvival/states/](http://www.ki4u.com/nuclearsurvival/states/)
A lot has changed since then -- for one thing, both sides have less missiles,
hence have less targets. But there are still more than enough to 'get the job
done' \-- I can't find the articles any more, but I recall reading a NYTimes
or WaPo long form story about the topic from the mid 2000s that mentioned that
pretty much every incoming new president, even the hawkish ones like George W
Bush, is flabbergasted when he is briefed on the SIOP (now rennamed), as the
plan has such a need to find ostensibly military targets for missiles that
some of the missiles end up targeting things like railroad crossings.

Anyhow, all that aside, that's a pretty cool animation. Personally it doesn't
really trip the nostalgia meter for me, as there was something really 80s
about the vector-graphics look of Wargames that doesn't seem to translate
here. But hats off to the developer all the same.

~~~
kevin_thibedeau
From
[http://www.hp9845.net/9845/software/screenart/wargames/](http://www.hp9845.net/9845/software/screenart/wargames/)

>the frames were created one at a time on a high resolution vector display and
recorded onto film. The display was monochromatic, so color separations had to
be done and filters were rotated in front of the camera.

What you see in the movie has a lot of analog post processing on film as was
typical of the era.

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hartator
Actual animation:
[http://dataplusscience.com/WOPR/wargamesusa2.html](http://dataplusscience.com/WOPR/wargamesusa2.html)

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towindontplay
So this is where it all begins

