Recent news has it that gaming might mean much more in the real world than most of us may think. We all know that games can help improve hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills, but never have I seen such a direct impact from gaming to the literally people's lives in the real world.

America's Army, a video game developed and promoted by the US Army, enabled Paxton Galvanek (formerly star wars character) to potentially save the lives of two car crash victims with severe wounds and head trauma. The game requires tutorials based on real classroom teaching for whichever role you choose in the game, whether it be medic, soldier, etc. in order to continue. Apparently, Galvanek was paying attention.

"In the case of this accident, I evaluated the situation and placed priority on the driver of the car who had missing fingers," he said. "I then recalled that in section two of the medic training, I learned about controlled bleeding. I noticed that the wounded man had severe bleeding that he could not control. I used a towel as a dressing and asked the man to hold the towel on his wound and to raise his hand above his head to lessen the blood flow which allowed me to evaluate his other injuries which included a cut on his head."


In related news, researchers of the New Scientist have recently conducted a study that suggests that the Wii may be useful in training for actual surgical operations. In a test performed by Kanav Kahol and Marshall Smith of the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, eight surgeons played Wii games before performing virtual surgery, those who played the games set forth performed 48 percent higher in tool control and precision than those who had not played the games.

This is yet more evidence to bridge the gap between the "real world" and video games, showing that they are not the useless wastes of time many people believe them to be.

[Via Yahoogames and Gamespot]