Re-Mission

Re-Mission is a third-person shooter video game released by the non-profit organization HopeLab on April 3, 2006. The game falls primarily within the serious games genre, is intended to be both informative and entertaining, and is designed for young persons with cancer. The game was the culmination of years of research to ensure that it addressed realistic cancer-related medical issues within the context of entertaining gameplay. A scientific study involving 375 cancer patients has shown that Re-Mission has a beneficial impact on the health of cancer patients who play the game.

In Re-Mission, the player controls an RX5-E ("Roxxi") nanobot who is designed to be injected into the human body and fight particular types of cancer and related infections at a cellular level. The player must also monitor patient health and report any symptoms back to Dr. West (the in-game doctor and project leader). Each of the 20 levels is designed to inform the patient on a variety of treatments, how they function, and the importance of maintaining strict adherence to those treatments.

Re-Mission is available at no charge to young people with cancer and health care providers by visiting the game's official website.

Trivia

 * Re-Mission is also believed to be the only game in which stool softener can be used as a weapon.

Articles

 * "Games for Health Keynote Speaker Steve W. Cole on ReMission" by Erin Hoffman, Serious Games Source (November, 2006)
 * "Video Games Aim to Hook Children on Better Health" by Christopher Lee, The Washington Post (October 21, 2006)

Re-Mission