Thats Genius. | |
It's nice to know games help people as well as destroy my brain. | |
For once, a report not trying to blame cancer on video games. Mwhhaahaha, take that NHS! | |
They don't destroy mine. They eat it. | |
Sounds cool, the cynic in me doubts it will help but even if it's only a placebo affect then this game will deserve my worship. | |
Any little helps when is comes to the struggle against cancer. Well done :) | |
This is great I'm anxious to see the stats further down the road! | |
Best part is, this can't go wrong because I doubt there are loaded shotguns left around hospitals! Well that's great for the little kids, it's always nice to give them some hope and all. | |
That's really cool! I want that game! | |
I can only say one thing about this! | |
hahaha lol at that good to know that about videogames now i have something to say when they say videogames are bad | |
*rubs eyes* | |
That Rocket will help finally rid me of my Kidney Stones! Now I'm gonna go laser away all the bad memories of Uncle Ted at Christmas!YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY Sarcasm aside, this is a brilliant case of mind over matter and I'm all for it! | |
Now they just need to come out with television that cures herpes. | |
Sexy Nanobots fix everything, Funk. | |
So.....this game takes place inside the human body? Ugh | |
Pretty much this, although I remain convinced of the mind's ability to regulate the body - people die a lot quicker if they've given up hope, and can pull through if they believe they can. If this helps just one kid keep up the courage to keep on with his chemo and stay positive in a situation I can't even begin to imagine, then it's a success. | |
This is pretty much it, as it's been shown that people who remain positive about their situation actually respond much better to treatment than people constantly worried that they will die tomorrow, so a videogame that makes children feel better about their situation is probably one of the best things to include in a treatment plan. | |
Huh. I'm still convinced that one of these days, someone is going to point out that wireless Xbox 360 controllers cause cancer. | |
Someone will say this encourages violence and will plead for a ban, you watch... | |
Great idea. The only downside is if they die to the cancer on a really hard level a lot. | |
Just don't make it possible to lose. | |
I've played the currently available Re-Mission. For a free game (they don't charge to download and play it, so feel free to find their site and try it yourself) I was surprised at the generally high production values for this game geared for kids. Nvidia even has an SLI profile for it. It is relatively simple to play; it appears to be inspired by Inner Space and similar movies and concepts, and doesn't really come off as any more gross than being inside The Many from System Shock 2. In the game you help different patients with different types of cancers who are not responding to normal treatment and need a special nanobot treatment (which is where you come in, as a player.) These virtual patients, their cancers, and the treatments are described using medically accurate language, so cancer patients should recongize the terms used. I think it is great they are coming up with another version of this type of software. | |
Hi, I'm Liz and I work at HopeLab. Just want to let you know that there's an article published in a major academic journal called Pediatrics, that shows that Re-Mission really works. It's based on the research that HopeLab conducted to test the efficacy of the game. Check it out if you get a chance. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/122/2/e305 | |
Suck on that Obama | |
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Videogame Helps Kids Fight Cancer
Virtual Heroes and HopeLab are collaborating on the next version of Re-Mission - a game designed to help children suffering from cancer on their treatment and recovery.
Games can do a lot of things, in case you haven't heard. They reportedly make kids violent. No, wait, they help with hand-eye coordination. No, they just make you sleepy.
Apparently, they also help you fight cancer.
I'll admit, when I read the press release that announced Virtual Heroes - a Research Triangle, NC-based company that specializes in serious games (no, not grim, gritty games like Gears of War or Metal Gear Solid, but games actually designed to help teach or instruct) - had teamed up with HopeLab, the developers of a game called Re-Mission... I was skeptical. After all, despite what the website said about ensuring biological accuracy, the game still has you playing as a sexy nanobot making her way through a human body to blast monstrous cancer cells with lasers. How was that in any way teaching a child suffering from cancer what was going on and how their treatment would help them?
Then I read a bit more, and I think I get it now. Rather than just teaching kids exactly what is going on inside their body, Re-Mission aims to make them feel like they have power over their disease - to quote the site, "A video game designed especially for kids with cancer might give them a feeling of power over their disease as they blast away at the cancer cells." Makes sense, doesn't it?
More importantly, though, the game is designed to make the kids feel like their treatment is working - and gives them a reason to adhere to it. And thus far, it looks like it's... actually effective:
Huh. I was skeptical, but the more I read, the more I think that sexy nanobots blasting cancer monsters ... isn't as off-the-target as I had first assumed. So there you go.
The next iteration of Re-Mission will be part of a collaboration between HopeLab and Virtual Heroes. Presumably, like the current version, it will be distributed free of charge to young cancer patients.
Who said videogames never do anything good for kids?
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