4 Replies to “SimCity for the Intracellular World”

  1. 1
    lars says:
    July 12, 2010 at 11:12 am

    Looks pretty good, within the limits of how much complexity you can pack into a game and make it still enjoyable to play. From the blog,

    Cells are a world bursting with life, with molecules constantly fighting their way through bombardments of water, neutralizing free radicals, recycling old organelles and making new ones, gathering the immense amount of fuel needed to provide energy, and fighting off threats. CellCraft is a game that allows students to not only watch this amazing world, but live it. Placing the player in control of what the cell does allows him or her to direct the development of the cell as they see fit. Hopefully, the cell will flourish 🙂 CellCraft is not just a game, it’s a scientifically accurate game. Want to make an enzyme? OK, first you must gather all of the molecules necessary to make it, produce mRNA, send it to the ribosome, move the ribosomes to the endoplasmic reticulum and then the protein is produced. All of this unfolds on screen, for the student to see. Tutorial windows explain all of these processes, and carefully written encyclopedia articles are present for every molecule in the game. CellCraft is a game, but it’s also a great tool. It teaches and explains in ways that textbooks simply can’t, and excites interest in the wonderful world of science!

  2. 2
    Venus Mousetrap says:
    July 15, 2010 at 2:23 pm

    I don’t know if it supports ID in any way, but I did like this game. Anything with sentient alien platypi in it can’t be bad.

  3. 3
    Graham says:
    July 15, 2010 at 5:15 pm

    I wouldnt be too sure. Liberty University provided biological ‘guidance’.

  4. 4
    Phoenix00017 says:
    July 16, 2010 at 10:54 am

    As the project manager and lead designer for the game (Anthony Pecorella), and as an evolutionist, I feel the need to clearly state that in no way is this game intended to support intelligent design or irreducible complexity. It is purely meant as a teaching aid to help students learn about cells. While everyone can interpret the game as they wish, the game absolutely is not creationist-inspired. The decision to not include evolution in the gameplay was to keep the scope of the game manageable and fun.

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