The year is 2018, and it’s up to you to save the human race – and it’s all riding on saving the last plant alive.

Designed by a team of ISU faculty members and graduate students, the first level of an educational video game, “Meta!Blast,” is planned to be completed by this summer, said Diane Bassham, associate professor of genetics, development and cellular biology and a part of the development team.

Faculty members and graduate students from several disciplines across campus were involved in the research and development of the game, including human-computer interactions, biological and pre-medical illustration and biology, Bassham said.

Julie Dickerson, associate professor of computer engineering, Steven Herrnstadt, professor of art and design and artist and designer for the game, Eve Wurtele, professor of genetics, development and cellular biology, and Bassham have consolidated their expertise.

“We have some exceptionally talented students involved, who contribute conceptually, as well as doing the art, music and programming,” Wurtele said.

“‘Meta!Blast’ is successful because of these enthusiastic contributions.”

The idea for creating a biological video game sprouted from the difficulty of Wurtele’s biology students learning complex molecular and cellular events, which she said “seem almost fantastical in their function.”

The first level of the game will include photosynthesis and respiration, Wurtele said, which “produce the energy for a cell to live and grow, and form the core of metabolism within a cell.”

“The player must enter one of the [soybean] plant’s cells and repair it to save the plant,” Bassham said. “The player uses their knowledge of cell biology and metabolism to get the part of the cell working again, guided by characters within the game.”

The process to design the game began several years ago, Bassham said, with research on the “most up to date biological information,” as well as methods to upload game technology and graphics.

“The game is aimed at students in introductory college-level biology and high school students,” Bassham said.

So far, the game has only been demonstrated in the ISU Virtual Reality Application Center, at conferences and for small focus groups.

“There has been a lot of enthusiasm among the viewers, and what is exciting to me is that many teachers and faculty members at high schools and colleges have asked to get copies to try it out on their students,” Wurtele said.

In the near future, the video game will become a teaching tool.

“The game will available nationwide to teachers and faculty, either as a DVD or for download from the Web site,” Bassham said. “We plan to promote the game at educational workshops and conferences around the country.”

The funding for “Meta!Blast” and its development came from the National Science Foundation and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which has been critical for supporting students and purchasing software and hardware, Wurtele said.

“This research opens the possibility of creating related videogames,” Wurtele said, noting the opportunities in creating video games to explore the chemistry and physics of molecules and atoms, “to dig down deeper.”