Gaming and the liberal arts

Dubbed "The Great Flu", the game is based on the threat that the emergence of a new flu virus and its rapid spread across the globe would pose to humanity. "The game is based on the need to increase public awareness to the threat posed by a pandemic and the measures in place to contain it," said Albert Osterhaus, head of virology at the Erasmus Medical Centre and one of the experts involved in creating the game.

Launching next month, the new massively multiplayer online role-playing game "Champions Online" will let gamers create their own virtual superheroes.

"One of the things I like about having the `Champions' universe to play with is that players don't know what to expect," he said. "So they get to explore. They get to build, and they get to become the important heroes in the world, as opposed to having to live in the shadows of iconic characters that they've known and been reading about forever."

the hairy beast organically spawns in the game's Monster Island enclave and can only be taken down with a team of other superheroes.

The event explored how the latest online and scenario-driven simulations and 3D virtual environments can be applied to sharpen decision-making skills and lay the foundation for more effective peace operations, negotiation, and cooperation.

Steve York and Ivan Marovic “A Force More Powerful,” York Zimmerman