Medical-inspired video games have a long history of disappointing me. For example, real pathogens don’t ride rocket ships around your organs (Trauma Center)
nor does every single member of the species worldwide suddenly develop a new trait all at once (Plague, Inc)
And Surgeon Simulator does not follow Atul Gawande’s best practice surgical checklists at all
Plus Trauma Centers’s difficulty curve is insane, and they found a way to make repeating unskippable cutscenes worse. But one of the nice things about game development getting cheaper is they can make games for me and the four other people who will appreciate a cross between an immunology textbook and Majesty, which is the best way to describe Immune Defense. In Immune Defense you play as the immune system, releasing various immune cells (each with different skills, and customized to different pathogens), which you do not directly control (it isn’t pac-man) but can lure over to the bacteria with antibodies if the %^&*ing macrophages will stop eating them. In place of the usual Hit Points it has an inflammation count, which is actually pretty reasonable. It has some biological inaccuracies (I’m reasonably certain real neutrophils don’t change receptor types instantaneously), but it’s still overall educational. Note the lack of rocket ships in this trailer.
That said, it’s obviously still in beta, and if the phrase “immunology x majesty” doesn’t grab you, you’re probably better off waiting. The tutorial is really lacking and they need to smooth out some of the controls. But I had a ton of fun until tendinitis forced me to stop playing, and if “immunology x majesty” does inspire joy in your heart you will probably enjoy it a lot, so check out the IndieGoGo and demo.
Aceso Under Glass 