Pox in the City: A 3-D Strategy Game for the History of Medicine

FAIN: MD-226680-15

Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (Galloway, NJ 08205-9441)
Lisa Rosner (Project Director: June 2014 to May 2017)

Development of a prototype of an interactive, web-based game on an early 19th-century smallpox outbreak in Philadelphia.

Stockton College is requesting $99,837 to develop a working prototype that demonstrates the humanities ideas, technology, and public outreach for "Pox in the City", a Unity 3D strategy game. "Pox in the City" draws upon a core interpretive framework for medical history, that beliefs, practices, and treatment are shaped by the interaction of the healer, the patient, and the disease entity. Players take on the role of a physician who has arrived in Philadelphia just as a smallpox outbreak erupts. Armed only with Edward Jenner’s new vaccination technique, players undertake the challenge of preventing the spread of the disease by persuading patients to be vaccinated. The interactive format will immerse players in the city’s rich history, as they experience the choices made by historical actors and constrained by scientific knowledge and cultural values. The prototype is being designed by Eduweb and developed in partnership with the Mütter Museum of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia.

Media Coverage

Move Over Warcraft, NEH is Funding New Online Games (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Mike Boehm
Publication: LA Times
Date: 12/9/2014
URL: http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-82230338/

History Prof Injects Some Fun into Vaccine Research (Media Coverage)
Author(s):
Publication: Shore News
Date: 12/11/2014
URL: http://www.shorenewstoday.com/galloway_township/news/history-prof-injects-some-fun-into-vaccine-research/article_c40f15ab-ecf0-5b87-9e29-5b231f76b80c.html

Stockton Professor Wins NEH Grant for Video Game on Smallpox Vaccine’s History (Media Coverage)
Publication: Forked River Gazette
Date: 12/14/2014
URL: http://www.forkedrivergazette.com/stockton-professor-wins-neh-grant-for-video-game-on-smallpox-vaccines-history/

Campus Life: BCC upgrades transfer agreement (Media Coverage)
Author(s):
Publication: Phil Dunn
Date: 12/14/2014
URL: http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2014/12/14/campus-life-bcc-upgrades-transfer-agreement/20392653/

Players to Fight Smallpox in Stockton Prof's New Video Game (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Elisa Lala
Publication: Press of Atlantic City
Date: 12/30/2014
URL: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/education/players-to-fight-smallpox-in-stockton-prof-s-new-video/article_2912455a-8fa0-11e4-a948-7f4675cd6930.html

National Endowment for the Humanities Gives Nearly $100K Grant for Small Pox History Game (Media Coverage)
Author(s):
Publication: GamePolitics.com
Date: 12/12/2014
URL: http://www.gamepolitics.com/2014/12/12/national-endowment-humanities-gives-nearly-100k-grant-small-pox-history-game

Stockton University Press Release (Media Coverage)
Author(s):
Publication: Stockton Times
Date: 12/11/2014
URL: http://intraweb.stockton.edu/eyos/extaffairs/content/docs/stocktimes/StocktonTimesDec112014.pdf

Associated Products

It's How You Play the Game: Playful Innovation in History, Medicine, and Science (Web Resource)
Title: It's How You Play the Game: Playful Innovation in History, Medicine, and Science
Author: Lisa Rosner
Abstract: This is the informational website for The Pox Hunter. It also provides resources for the general public and scholars.
Year: 2015
Primary URL: http://loki.stockton.edu/~games/

Digital Projects Lightning Round (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Digital Projects Lightning Round
Author: Lisa Rosner
Abstract: In the analog age, there was Television Worth Watching; now there are Games Worth Playing. I will present a lightning-fast description of The Pox Hunter: A 3D Strategy Game for the History of Medicine, just awarded funding from the NEH's Digital Projects for the Public initiative. I will provide some useful suggestions for historians interested in seeking funding for this type of digital humanities project, and I hope to generate discussion on the role of humanities games in public outreach.
Date: 1/3/2015
Primary URL: http://www.historians.org/teaching-and-learning/digital-history-resources/digital-projects-lightning-round-participants
Conference Name: American Historical Association Annual Meeting, 2015

Playtesting and Game Design for the History of Medicine (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Playtesting and Game Design for the History of Medicine
Author: Lisa Rosner
Abstract: This presentation analyzes lessons learned with respect to designing a history of medicine game, especially with respect to gender and performance.
Date: 07/23/2015
Conference Name: Keystone Digital Humanities Conference, University of Pennsylvania

The Pox Hunter's Lancet. A Companion Blog to the Pox Hunter Game Project (Web Resource)
Title: The Pox Hunter's Lancet. A Companion Blog to the Pox Hunter Game Project
Author: Dael Norwood
Abstract: This blog is a companion to the Pox Hunter project, an NEH-funded digital game prototype currently under development. Dael Norwood, the primary author of this blog, is an early American historian, currently serving as an assistant professor at Binghamton University. In addition to work on the historiographical and pedagogical uses of games, public history, and the history of medicine, he writes on the global dimensions of politics, culture, and economics in the early United States.
Year: 2015
Primary URL: https://poxhunter.wordpress.com

@poxhunter (Web Resource)
Title: @poxhunter
Author: Dael Norwood
Abstract: This is the Twitter handle for the Pox Hunter game design project
Year: 2015
Primary URL: https://twitter.com/poxhunter

Win Conditions: Historical Accuracy and Game Design in The Pox Hunter (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Win Conditions: Historical Accuracy and Game Design in The Pox Hunter
Author: Lisa Rosner
Abstract: Paper presented in the panel Historia Ludens, at the American Historical Association (AHA) annual meeting, Atlanta
Date: 1/8/2016
Conference Name: AHA annual meeting

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