NanoMission
Encyclopedia
NanoMission is a serious game
series made by PlayGen for Wellcome Trust
and FEI
in order to teach the player about the world of nanomedicine
. There are four downloadable modules available, each teaching different concepts related to nanotechnology. The gameplay varies greatly between the different modules in the series offering a wide variety of gameplay.
An educational advisory board is currently being formed to help teachers be able to better utilize NanoMission as part of their curriculum. In the mean time, The Association for Science Education or ASE
, The Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies or SEMTA, Science, Engineering, Technology and Matechmatics Network or SETNET and Science, Engineering, Technology and Matechmatics Network or SCENTA
, are helping develop nanomission as an educational aide.,
The recommended requirements to play NanoMission are
.
used in the game are used by the robot to hold and carry medicines to help the patient.
At the start of the game, the player is given their choice of three different nanorobots to choose from, each with different amounts of speed, strength and stealth. Speed is the speed of the vessel, stealth is how likely the body is to reject the vessel as a foreign particle, and strength is how well the machine holds up when under attack by the body. This module is played with the mouse and keyboard and is very similar in style to a flight simulation/combat game only played inside the body with dodging blood cells, platelets, and particles instead of dodging enemy fire and attacking cancer cells instead of enemy bases.
and nanomachines. The player designs their own vesicle, then gets to release it into a test body to see how well the new creations help treat Lung Cancer
.
The gameplay is less action-oriented and more strategy-oriented in this module than in V1. The player begins the game by selecting the edit button and using a drag and drop interface similar to that of FloodSim
in order to design a vesicle. The goal is to create a vesicle with the same key signature as the cancer cells that can survive in the body long enough to deliver the medicine to kill the lung cancer. The Strength, Speed and Stealth stats are still in use, but now can be independently controlled and a new "key" mechanic is introduced to replicate delivering the correct medicine to match the cancer type.
Once the player is happy with their selections, the vesicle is injected and the player watches the reactions of their creation with the lungs on several different levels from cellular to full-scale with airflow and blood flow realistically depicted. The player also controls the vesicle to find and destroy the cancer as in V1. If successful, the cancer's health meter falls and the patient is cured.
that is threatening to wipe out all life in freshwater lakes and streams worldwide. The player takes the role of a scientist attempting to find and isolate the new strain of algae then create a countermeasure using nanotechnology
to destroy the invading algae and save the world's lakes and streams. The NanoImaging Module is also sponsored by the FEI Company
and features the Phenom
scanning electron microscope
as one of the tools the player will use to help combat the mad scientist.
This is an action game in a style similar to a shooter. The player is represented by a small golden nanorobot that floats on the rapidly-changing water currents. Your goal is to identify all the unknown particles (represented by bubbles) by clicking on them with the right mouse button, and to destroy harmful particles once identified by clicking them with the left mouse button. Life is lost when a friendly particle is destroyed, but can be regained by destroying harmful particles.
When a particle is identified, the player is shown a 3d rendered image of the particle, the particle as seen through an electron microscope
, a few facts about the identified particle and if the particle is friendly (smiling face) or harmful (skull and crossbones). The identified particles are also added to a gallery so the player can look at them again later if they so wish.
The game is won by identifying all particles, then finding and destroying the harmful red algae
in the water.
This game is a learning toy. A scrollbar at the bottom allows the player to scroll between different sizes for comparison and buttons change the mode of view. Common items such as bicycles and people and famous landmarks such as the Eifel Tower and Mount Everest
are used to help the player be able to gain a better understanding of comparative sizes. There also is a Character Mode in which the player's avatar shrinks down to the size of the chosen item to see the other comparative items from a new perspective.
Serious game
A serious game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The "serious" adjective is generally prepended to refer to products used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion,...
series made by PlayGen for Wellcome Trust
Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust was established in 1936 as an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. With an endowment of around £13.9 billion, it is the United Kingdom's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research...
and FEI
FEI
FEI may refer to:* Financial Executives International , an American organization for senior-level financial executives* FEI Company, a supplier of electron microscopy tools...
in order to teach the player about the world of nanomedicine
Nanomedicine
Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology. Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials, to nanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applications of molecular nanotechnology. Current problems for nanomedicine involve understanding the issues related...
. There are four downloadable modules available, each teaching different concepts related to nanotechnology. The gameplay varies greatly between the different modules in the series offering a wide variety of gameplay.
Research and Development
A board of four scientists oversees the development of Nanomission to assure the game remains based in science fact. The science board of Nanomission is made up of ,- Professor Mark Welland FRS, FREng, the Professor of Nanotechnology, Director of the IRC in Nanotechnology and Director of the Nanoscience at the University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. - Professor Richard Jones FRS, the Professor of PhysicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
at the University of SheffieldUniversity of SheffieldThe University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...
, the author of the book Soft Machines and a frequent writer on nanotechnology. - Professor Kostas Kostarelos FRSM, the Chair of Nanomedicine and Head for the Centre for Drug Delivery Research at the School of Pharmacy, University of LondonUniversity of London-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. - Dr Wolfgang Luther, the head of nanotechnologies at VDIVDIVDI may refer to:* VDI, a code for Vidalia Regional Airport* VDI , the virtual disk image file used in VirtualBox systems* Verein Deutscher Ingenieure, the Association of German Engineers* Virtual Desktop Infrastructure; see...
The Association of German Engineers, a non-profit organization of 126,000 engineers and natural scientists and author of numerous VDI and EU reports on nanotechnology.
An educational advisory board is currently being formed to help teachers be able to better utilize NanoMission as part of their curriculum. In the mean time, The Association for Science Education or ASE
ASE
- Institutions :*Academia de Studii Economice in Bucharest, Romania*Accelerated Solutions Environment, a Cap Gemini consulting services offering*Accelerated Solvent Extractor, a research tool for the removal of solvents from solution...
, The Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies or SEMTA, Science, Engineering, Technology and Matechmatics Network or SETNET and Science, Engineering, Technology and Matechmatics Network or SCENTA
SCENTA
scenta was an initiative of the Engineering and Technology Board of the United Kingdom. It was a web portal for the discussion of science, technology and business of the United Kingdom....
, are helping develop nanomission as an educational aide.,
Requirements to play
Play of this game requires both a free account and download of the free software. Creating an account allows the user to help out on future projects, give feedback on NanoMission and to be contacted when future games in the series are released if the user wishes. A free account is required to be able to download the game, but the user may choose not to be contacted, give feedback or to help out in the project if they so wish.System Requirements
The minimum requirements to play NanoMission are:- OS: Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP
- CPU: 1.2 Ghz Pentium® 4 Processor or Equivalent
- RAM: 256 MB
- Video: 32 MB DirectX® 8.0
- Disk Space: 35 MB
The recommended requirements to play NanoMission are
- OS: Windows® XP
- CPU: 2.2 GHz Pentium® 4 Processor or Equivalent
- RAM: 1 GB or Higher
- Video: 128 MB DirectX® 9.0c or OpenGL 2.0 Compatible or Higher
- Sound Card and Speakers
Modules
NanoMission is a series of several related games that can be downloaded and run independently of one another. There is no required order of play for the game modules and the player may play them in any order the player wishes. Each module is different and covers different topics related to nanotechnologyNanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
.
NanoMedicine V1
In this game, the player helps the laboratory aide guide the nanorobot to destroy the cancer in the patient. As the body naturally attempts to expel foreign particles from inside itself, special carrying cases disguised to look like naturally-occurring cellular objects such as the vesicleVesicle (biology)
A vesicle is a bubble of liquid within another liquid, a supramolecular assembly made up of many different molecules. More technically, a vesicle is a small membrane-enclosed sack that can store or transport substances. Vesicles can form naturally because of the properties of lipid membranes , or...
used in the game are used by the robot to hold and carry medicines to help the patient.
At the start of the game, the player is given their choice of three different nanorobots to choose from, each with different amounts of speed, strength and stealth. Speed is the speed of the vessel, stealth is how likely the body is to reject the vessel as a foreign particle, and strength is how well the machine holds up when under attack by the body. This module is played with the mouse and keyboard and is very similar in style to a flight simulation/combat game only played inside the body with dodging blood cells, platelets, and particles instead of dodging enemy fire and attacking cancer cells instead of enemy bases.
Nano Medicine V2
In this module the player takes on the role of a scientist attempting to create better nanomedicineNanomedicine
Nanomedicine is the medical application of nanotechnology. Nanomedicine ranges from the medical applications of nanomaterials, to nanoelectronic biosensors, and even possible future applications of molecular nanotechnology. Current problems for nanomedicine involve understanding the issues related...
and nanomachines. The player designs their own vesicle, then gets to release it into a test body to see how well the new creations help treat Lung Cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
.
The gameplay is less action-oriented and more strategy-oriented in this module than in V1. The player begins the game by selecting the edit button and using a drag and drop interface similar to that of FloodSim
FloodSim
Floodsim is a flash-based serious game created by Norwich Union in cooperation with Playgen in 2008 in order to raise awareness of the dangers that flooding present to the United Kingdom...
in order to design a vesicle. The goal is to create a vesicle with the same key signature as the cancer cells that can survive in the body long enough to deliver the medicine to kill the lung cancer. The Strength, Speed and Stealth stats are still in use, but now can be independently controlled and a new "key" mechanic is introduced to replicate delivering the correct medicine to match the cancer type.
Once the player is happy with their selections, the vesicle is injected and the player watches the reactions of their creation with the lungs on several different levels from cellular to full-scale with airflow and blood flow realistically depicted. The player also controls the vesicle to find and destroy the cancer as in V1. If successful, the cancer's health meter falls and the patient is cured.
NanoImaging
In this module a mad scientist has created and released a new strain of fast-blooming Red AlgaeRed algae
The red algae are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae, and also one of the largest, with about 5,000–6,000 species of mostly multicellular, marine algae, including many notable seaweeds...
that is threatening to wipe out all life in freshwater lakes and streams worldwide. The player takes the role of a scientist attempting to find and isolate the new strain of algae then create a countermeasure using nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
to destroy the invading algae and save the world's lakes and streams. The NanoImaging Module is also sponsored by the FEI Company
FEI Company
FEI Company , founded in 1971, is an American supplier of electron microscopy tools to researchers, developers and manufacturers working on the nanoscale. Headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon, the company employs 1,770 people worldwide....
and features the Phenom
Phenom
Phenom is a progressive rock group from Bangalore, India, notable for being one of the first Indian rock groups to release their work under a Creative Commons license .-The College Years:...
scanning electron microscope
Electron microscope
An electron microscope is a type of microscope that uses a beam of electrons to illuminate the specimen and produce a magnified image. Electron microscopes have a greater resolving power than a light-powered optical microscope, because electrons have wavelengths about 100,000 times shorter than...
as one of the tools the player will use to help combat the mad scientist.
This is an action game in a style similar to a shooter. The player is represented by a small golden nanorobot that floats on the rapidly-changing water currents. Your goal is to identify all the unknown particles (represented by bubbles) by clicking on them with the right mouse button, and to destroy harmful particles once identified by clicking them with the left mouse button. Life is lost when a friendly particle is destroyed, but can be regained by destroying harmful particles.
When a particle is identified, the player is shown a 3d rendered image of the particle, the particle as seen through an electron microscope
Electron microscope
An electron microscope is a type of microscope that uses a beam of electrons to illuminate the specimen and produce a magnified image. Electron microscopes have a greater resolving power than a light-powered optical microscope, because electrons have wavelengths about 100,000 times shorter than...
, a few facts about the identified particle and if the particle is friendly (smiling face) or harmful (skull and crossbones). The identified particles are also added to a gallery so the player can look at them again later if they so wish.
The game is won by identifying all particles, then finding and destroying the harmful red algae
Red algae
The red algae are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae, and also one of the largest, with about 5,000–6,000 species of mostly multicellular, marine algae, including many notable seaweeds...
in the water.
NanoScaling
This module teaches the players the differences in the size of items from a microscopic atom of hydrogen (pico meters) to the sun (gigameters). Players can scroll between the items, or they can have their character shrink or grow to the size of the item pictured to be able to see the items' sizes in perspective.This game is a learning toy. A scrollbar at the bottom allows the player to scroll between different sizes for comparison and buttons change the mode of view. Common items such as bicycles and people and famous landmarks such as the Eifel Tower and Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
are used to help the player be able to gain a better understanding of comparative sizes. There also is a Character Mode in which the player's avatar shrinks down to the size of the chosen item to see the other comparative items from a new perspective.