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| When a Gaming Fantasy Is Eerily Close to Reality | When a Gaming Fantasy Is Eerily Close to Reality |
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| The British video game developer James Vaughan, 33, knows what to expect when a really bad flu season or a novel disease like Covid-19 makes headlines. His 2012 video game Plague Inc., which challenges players to spread contagion around the world, surges in popularity. | The British video game developer James Vaughan, 33, knows what to expect when a really bad flu season or a novel disease like Covid-19 makes headlines. His 2012 video game Plague Inc., which challenges players to spread contagion around the world, surges in popularity. |
| “It’s not nice thinking of the fact that there’s a serious situation which is causing our game to be popular,” he said. “The flip side of that is that our game does seem to help a lot of people and make them feel better about the situation.” | “It’s not nice thinking of the fact that there’s a serious situation which is causing our game to be popular,” he said. “The flip side of that is that our game does seem to help a lot of people and make them feel better about the situation.” |
| Indeed, one of the most macabre experiences video games can currently provide is also one of the world’s most widely played. | Indeed, one of the most macabre experiences video games can currently provide is also one of the world’s most widely played. |
| Near the end of January, Plague Inc., which perennially bobs near the top of cellphone gaming sales charts, settled into the top spot as the most downloaded game for iPhones in China, South Korea, Japan, Italy and the United States, matching the spread of the novel coronavirus. It has remained near the top of the charts ever since, according to the tracking site App Annie. It’s not alone. The owner of the website that hosts the 2008 disease simulation Pandemic 2 recently said that game had also spiked. | Near the end of January, Plague Inc., which perennially bobs near the top of cellphone gaming sales charts, settled into the top spot as the most downloaded game for iPhones in China, South Korea, Japan, Italy and the United States, matching the spread of the novel coronavirus. It has remained near the top of the charts ever since, according to the tracking site App Annie. It’s not alone. The owner of the website that hosts the 2008 disease simulation Pandemic 2 recently said that game had also spiked. |
| Plague Inc. is a sufficiently disturbing variation of the world we all live in now, if only we were the ones controlling the disease rather than fighting it. The game takes place on a world map, with the sickness represented by an expanding mass of red. Players control a disease, choosing where it begins, how it spreads and how lethal it is. The illness spreads from country to country, while a bar representing the development of a cure slowly fills. | Plague Inc. is a sufficiently disturbing variation of the world we all live in now, if only we were the ones controlling the disease rather than fighting it. The game takes place on a world map, with the sickness represented by an expanding mass of red. Players control a disease, choosing where it begins, how it spreads and how lethal it is. The illness spreads from country to country, while a bar representing the development of a cure slowly fills. |
| The game’s difficulty is determined by a complex algorithm that factors in, among other things, how frequently people in its virtual world wash their hands. Players win if humanity is extinguished. They lose if humanity finds a cure. | The game’s difficulty is determined by a complex algorithm that factors in, among other things, how frequently people in its virtual world wash their hands. Players win if humanity is extinguished. They lose if humanity finds a cure. |
| Plague Inc. has long been a hit for Mr. Vaughan and his 10-person studio, Ndemic Creations. According to their most recent annual report, the game has attracted more than 130 million players since its release. | Plague Inc. has long been a hit for Mr. Vaughan and his 10-person studio, Ndemic Creations. According to their most recent annual report, the game has attracted more than 130 million players since its release. |
| The spikes in popularity that occur during health crises are nevertheless notable. They signal that instead of shunning a game like this during a pandemic, people talk about it. Proof: Twitter is now full of people joking that real life has become a game of Plague Inc. And they play it. Some users say they find it empowering to play at a virtual disease during the outbreak of a real one. | The spikes in popularity that occur during health crises are nevertheless notable. They signal that instead of shunning a game like this during a pandemic, people talk about it. Proof: Twitter is now full of people joking that real life has become a game of Plague Inc. And they play it. Some users say they find it empowering to play at a virtual disease during the outbreak of a real one. |
| Jimi Mawer, a warehouse worker in Michigan and a lapsed Plague Inc. player, said he loaded it up recently to see how it would feel to play during a pandemic. | Jimi Mawer, a warehouse worker in Michigan and a lapsed Plague Inc. player, said he loaded it up recently to see how it would feel to play during a pandemic. |
| “It was bleak,” he said, recalling how his virtual success at spreading disease triggered the game’s news ticker to stream fictional headlines about a quarantine in Italy and a breakdown of American society. “But even in those moments, if just for 10 or 20 minutes a round, I was the one in control.” | “It was bleak,” he said, recalling how his virtual success at spreading disease triggered the game’s news ticker to stream fictional headlines about a quarantine in Italy and a breakdown of American society. “But even in those moments, if just for 10 or 20 minutes a round, I was the one in control.” |
| Keshav Mittal, a student in India, said playing the game gave him some insight into how viruses spread, but he also said he felt self-conscious. “I was afraid to play it in public, because it felt wrong.” | Keshav Mittal, a student in India, said playing the game gave him some insight into how viruses spread, but he also said he felt self-conscious. “I was afraid to play it in public, because it felt wrong.” |
| Sam Stevenson, a game developer in Britain, said that he thought harder now about where he made the virus start, but that Plague, despite its grim theme, also helped him cope with self-isolation. “A small part of me does feel incredibly sad seeing the world wiped out,” he said, “but I also find the lunacy of gamifying Covid-19 to be weirdly comforting.” | Sam Stevenson, a game developer in Britain, said that he thought harder now about where he made the virus start, but that Plague, despite its grim theme, also helped him cope with self-isolation. “A small part of me does feel incredibly sad seeing the world wiped out,” he said, “but I also find the lunacy of gamifying Covid-19 to be weirdly comforting.” |
| Another player, Susan Arendt, who lives in North Carolina, said she appreciated how Plague Inc. demonstrated the spread of a disease from one country to another, often via infected airline passengers. “The education Plague Inc. provides helped me take the coronavirus threat seriously since the beginning,” she said of her experience playing the game before Covid-19. “I know how easy it is for disease to spread, because I’ve made it happen.” | Another player, Susan Arendt, who lives in North Carolina, said she appreciated how Plague Inc. demonstrated the spread of a disease from one country to another, often via infected airline passengers. “The education Plague Inc. provides helped me take the coronavirus threat seriously since the beginning,” she said of her experience playing the game before Covid-19. “I know how easy it is for disease to spread, because I’ve made it happen.” |
| Mr. Vaughan does not promote his game as educational, though it earned praise from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2013 for raising awareness about the spread of sickness. | Mr. Vaughan does not promote his game as educational, though it earned praise from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2013 for raising awareness about the spread of sickness. |
| The only thing that has significantly slowed Plague Inc. this year is the Chinese government. In late February, as the number of reported Covid-19 cases in China neared 80,000, regulators banned the game for “illegal” content, according to a notice shared online by Ndemic Creations. Plague Inc. has not been sold there since, and Mr. Vaughan said his studio had not received more explanation for the ban. “You could draw your own assumptions on it,” he said. | The only thing that has significantly slowed Plague Inc. this year is the Chinese government. In late February, as the number of reported Covid-19 cases in China neared 80,000, regulators banned the game for “illegal” content, according to a notice shared online by Ndemic Creations. Plague Inc. has not been sold there since, and Mr. Vaughan said his studio had not received more explanation for the ban. “You could draw your own assumptions on it,” he said. |
| In Plague Inc.’s absence, numerous copycats have cropped up, according to Daniel Ahmad, an analyst at Niko Partners and a longtime observer of the Chinese game market. China has also seen a burst of explicitly anti-Covid-19 games, he said. One, called Battle of Pathogens, replaces the fruit of Fruit Ninja, a popular fruit-slashing game, with pathogens to slice. | In Plague Inc.’s absence, numerous copycats have cropped up, according to Daniel Ahmad, an analyst at Niko Partners and a longtime observer of the Chinese game market. China has also seen a burst of explicitly anti-Covid-19 games, he said. One, called Battle of Pathogens, replaces the fruit of Fruit Ninja, a popular fruit-slashing game, with pathogens to slice. |
| Mr. Vaughan laments Plague Inc.’s fate in China, but he has spent his energy working on a new mode of the game that will flip the dynamic and let players fight the spread of a pandemic. It is something he said he started thinking about before he released the game and is motivated to make it now. Work on this new mode is delaying other ideas for Plague Inc., including a plan to work vaccine opponents into the game, which Mr. Vaughan wanted to implement in response to a popular online petition last year. (His studio paired an announcement in March about the new mode with a pledge to donate a quarter-million dollars to organizations fighting Covid-19.) | Mr. Vaughan laments Plague Inc.’s fate in China, but he has spent his energy working on a new mode of the game that will flip the dynamic and let players fight the spread of a pandemic. It is something he said he started thinking about before he released the game and is motivated to make it now. Work on this new mode is delaying other ideas for Plague Inc., including a plan to work vaccine opponents into the game, which Mr. Vaughan wanted to implement in response to a popular online petition last year. (His studio paired an announcement in March about the new mode with a pledge to donate a quarter-million dollars to organizations fighting Covid-19.) |
| Updated June 16, 2020 | |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. |
| The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. | The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April. |
| Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission. | Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission. |
| States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. | States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people. |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) |
| Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications. | Taking one’s temperature to look for signs of fever is not as easy as it sounds, as “normal” temperature numbers can vary, but generally, keep an eye out for a temperature of 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. If you don’t have a thermometer (they can be pricey these days), there are other ways to figure out if you have a fever, or are at risk of Covid-19 complications. |
| The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing. | The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing. |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. |
| If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. | If you’re sick and you think you’ve been exposed to the new coronavirus, the C.D.C. recommends that you call your healthcare provider and explain your symptoms and fears. They will decide if you need to be tested. Keep in mind that there’s a chance — because of a lack of testing kits or because you’re asymptomatic, for instance — you won’t be able to get tested. |
| The game developer intends to consult with disease experts and he expects this new way of playing Plague Inc. to let people role-play their own pandemic response. “You’ve got to tread between reacting not enough and reacting too much to an outbreak,” he said. “And you’re never going to know what the right answer was until afterwards.” | The game developer intends to consult with disease experts and he expects this new way of playing Plague Inc. to let people role-play their own pandemic response. “You’ve got to tread between reacting not enough and reacting too much to an outbreak,” he said. “And you’re never going to know what the right answer was until afterwards.” |
| While he is critical of real-world governments for reacting too slowly to the spread of Covid-19, he speculated that in this mode, players may find that locking down society too soon might impair the ability of people to feed themselves or for society to find a cure. | While he is critical of real-world governments for reacting too slowly to the spread of Covid-19, he speculated that in this mode, players may find that locking down society too soon might impair the ability of people to feed themselves or for society to find a cure. |
| Mr. Vaughan is not sure when he will finish making the new mode. He is not even sure how all of its underlying systems will function: “It’s a bit like taking an old clock apart using your mind and having all the bits floating around in the air in front of you, and then putting it back together a different way and seeing if it works.” | Mr. Vaughan is not sure when he will finish making the new mode. He is not even sure how all of its underlying systems will function: “It’s a bit like taking an old clock apart using your mind and having all the bits floating around in the air in front of you, and then putting it back together a different way and seeing if it works.” |
| That has given Mr. Vaughan some insight into how pandemics function. He has been doing the math for over a decade, and he admits he had to make the disease unrealistically powerful to make the game winnable. Plague Inc. has always given outbreaks some edges they don’t have in real life, such as the ability to mutate around the world at once. Otherwise, the disease would always lose. He will be removing those advantages for the new anti-pandemic mode. | That has given Mr. Vaughan some insight into how pandemics function. He has been doing the math for over a decade, and he admits he had to make the disease unrealistically powerful to make the game winnable. Plague Inc. has always given outbreaks some edges they don’t have in real life, such as the ability to mutate around the world at once. Otherwise, the disease would always lose. He will be removing those advantages for the new anti-pandemic mode. |
| “It’s actually it’s very hard to wipe out all of humanity with a disease,” he said. “I guess that’s reassuring in some sense. But it doesn’t change the fact that the situation we’re in at the moment is still horrendously scary.” | “It’s actually it’s very hard to wipe out all of humanity with a disease,” he said. “I guess that’s reassuring in some sense. But it doesn’t change the fact that the situation we’re in at the moment is still horrendously scary.” |
| Stephen Totilo is the editor in chief of the video game news and opinion site Kotaku.com. | Stephen Totilo is the editor in chief of the video game news and opinion site Kotaku.com. |