By Brendan Schlauch
Governing Magazine

WASHINGTON — Forget the actors hired to play victims of an airplane crash. Disregard the life-size mannequins that can bleed and cry in the aftermath of an earthquake. There's now a new way for localities to hold training exercises for emergency medical personnel: a video game that provides a virtual simulation of real-life disasters.

(AP Photo/Screenshot, Peter Zschunke)

The game, Zero Hour: America's Medic, was developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and George Washington University. Its scenarios and exercises cover everything from a large-scale transit accident at a busy train station to the release of an unknown biological agent to a nuclear attack. With its emphasis on triage, incident command and injury treatment, it is designed to train personnel for worst-case scenarios and for rare situations that are hard to train for, says Gregg Lord, associate director of the National Emergency Medical Services Preparedness Initiative.

The game, slated for release this month, uses the Unreal 3.0 virtual platform, the same system that is behind the blockbuster Halo 3 video game. It gives Zero Hour high-quality graphics and enhanced game play that creates a life-like feel.

The technology is cutting edge, and the hardware capable of playing this game may not be in place for another year since it "will require a fairly robust computer," Lord says. In the long-run, though, the 3.0 platform will make it easier for designers to add a multiplayer component to the game, thus allowing first responders from around the country to train simultaneously. Local government officials and agencies, including fire, police and medical professionals, would be able to integrate and run large-scale exercises.

Zero Hour also will serve as a way to oversee the performance of the nation's first responders. It will collect data on how players react to scenarios, as well as record outcomes, all of which will be compiled in a database that will be used to improve the training strategies.

The game can be downloaded from the NEMSPI website for $14.95.

Copyright 2008 Congressional Quarterly, Inc. DBA Governing Magazine