Via: Molecular
Jig Games
Molecular Jig Games is an independent game
studio, located in Seattle, WA, that aims to increase the general knowledge of
molecular behavior.
The company’s game design approach is to
discover ways to let the player feel part of a molecular world that follows its
own rules and functions, but allows players to effect change by controlling a
meaningful part of the molecular environment.
Immune
Defense is Molecular Jig Games’ first title. News
about the upcoming game releases including beta testing, info for teachers as
well as for collaborating scientists can be obtained at http://www.molecularjig.com/immune-defense-game/
Immune Defense is
a Real Time Strategy Serious Game that allows players to optimize the
activities of the white blood cells that continuously defend our bodies. In the
game, players can deploy 7 types of white blood cells against bacteria,
parasites, viruses and cancer.
The game ultimate goal is to teach the basics
of cell biology: what proteins and receptors do, how cells respond to signals
in the environment, how random events lead to predictable behaviors, how the
immune system is powerful at killing and how pathogens manage to evade the
killing. The players must battle HIV,
TB, Listeria, a Malaria-like organism and many more utilizing the brand new
Microbot technology to control cells and molecules and help the body's immune
system fight the malicious invaders.
Created by Dr. Melanie Stegman, “a video game
developer that used to be a biochemist”, Immune Defense development and
prototyping was funded by the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious
Diseases (NIH/NIAID).
“I spent 10 years working on cancer and
Tuberculosis and realized that if I could educate the public about molecules I
could do more good than all my hours in the lab”, says Melanie. “Understanding
the basics of cell biology, I believe, is vital for infectious disease research. This is why I left the lab and started learning about video games”, she
adds.
Convinced that cellular biology is the
greatest fantasy world and biochemistry is an inherently fun puzzle, Stegman is
making games to teach the average human how cells work.
MICDL (Maine International Center for Digital
Learning) has been working in collaboration with Dr. Melanie Stegman to field
test the Immune Defense Serious Game. In schools this Spring and Summer, they have been testing the game for how much it engages students as well as what they remember
after playing.
Together with related learning activities, Immune Defense shall teach students about cell biology, biochemistry and immunology.
Immune Defense is
expected to be released over the next three months.