Life & Death

I was 11 years old when I performed my first surgical operation. My hands shook, my incision was a zigzag, and I forgot to sterilise the skin. “Isn’t that the chief of surgery coming in?” asked my assistant—and then the screen froze and I was bundled into a lecture theatre and berated on the dangers of infection to which I had exposed my patient. This was Life & Death, a computer game featuring reasonably realistic diagnosis and surgery.

The player assumes the role of a surgical resident in a fictional hospital and is presented with an array of patients with acute abdominal problems. After reviewing a patient’s chart, the player can conduct …