{"id":182,"date":"2010-11-22T21:57:28","date_gmt":"2010-11-22T21:57:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.medicalart.ca\/?p=182"},"modified":"2010-12-09T18:59:36","modified_gmt":"2010-12-09T18:59:36","slug":"review-biofilm-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.medicalart.ca\/?p=182","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Biofilm, game"},"content":{"rendered":"

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While searching for motion references for a biofilm animation on YouTube (you might be surprised at how many scientists post footage from their labs) I came across a trailer for the game “Biofilm: making bacteria beautiful”<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Made by Battery Acid Games, it pits you, the good bacteria, against the challenges of life in the petri dish: limited food supplies and aggressively reproducing competitors. The strategy varies from level to level – some have additional cell types that you can use in doing battle, others have cell types that help you feed on new food sources.<\/p>\n

You can tell that it’s been made by people who love the science behind it – there’s a fair bit of detail specific to real-world studies of bacterial growth bundled in without bogging down the fun. The lovely glowing background graphics would make a captivating screen saver. They’ve also succeeded with a soundtrack that loops from meditative to tension-building without becoming too repetitive.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, there went the weekend! Haven’t made it to the final level yet, but there’s still hope. There’s a free download available with two levels, and an $18 version with many more. Check it out at: http:\/\/www.batteryacid.org\/<\/p>\n

Verdict from the WORD STICKLER: could do with some light proofreading – I spotted a mix-up of “it’s” for “its”<\/p>\n

Verdict from the ART STICKLER: the “dark” levels need to provide some kind of cue when you reach the edge of the petri dish, so that you don’t continue a futile search without getting anywhere<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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