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& Events > Press Releases 2005
April 6, 2005 – Paris, France
Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital is ranked as one of the top 5 children's hospitals in the U.S. Following up on their successful venture into gaming for the International Children's Games, Rainbow worked closely with Virtools to create Medevac 911, a game that puts players in the pilot's seat of the hospital's emergency flight helicopter. Players fly past the hospital and around a realistic 3D model of the surrounding Cleveland, Ohio cityscape, picking up bonuses along the way. With high scores as one of the rallying points, children at the hospital can challenge siblings and friends at a distance to play online. The Healthy Kids™, Healthy Play Program is a vital Rainbow initiative. An obvious goal is to offer a fun way of connecting Rainbow patients with other kids once games are up and running. On another level, by involving kids in hands-on game production, Healthy Kids™, Healthy Play gives them a key role and creates a rewarding, therapeutic experience that extends beyond the game itself. A 13-year-old cystic fibrosis patient at Rainbow was the first to take part in game production. His input for testing and tuning made him a valuable team member in the development of Medevac 911. "As the trend in Pediatric Care in the U.S. leans towards private rooms and acute cases which lead to patient isolation, we are continually incorporating techniques to decrease the sense of seclusion and promote socialization," commented William Winans, Creative Developer of Marketing Technologies at Rainbow. "We are exploring new interactive media in an effort to provide communication between patients and families, and developing online video games was our next logical step. Of course, one of those pleasant surprises was that with the use of Virtools, patients benefit from the production process as well. It becomes a creative outlet for our patients as they take part in videogame design." Bertrand Duplat, Virtools CTO noted, "Virtools is thrilled to see the Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital initiative picking up speed with Medevac 911. The Rainbow team brings incredible energy to these meaningful projects. Our hope is to see such efforts flourish so gaming can make a difference in the lives of all those involved."
Virtools launched its commercial activities in 1993 with consulting and services targeting interactive real-time 3D. With vital industry needs in mind, Virtools built the company's initial software solution, Virtools Dev. As an Independent Software Vendor since Q4 1999, Virtools has become the leading provider of comprehensive software development solutions for building innovative, highly interactive 3D content. With several thousands of users throughout the world, the Virtools Software Suite enables prototyping, development and deployment of offline and online/networked video games, along with applications in the fields of industrial simulation/virtual reality and marketing/multimedia. Virtools clients include major game studios such as Electronic Arts, Microïds, Sony Computer Entertainment, Microsoft, Dreamcatcher, Warner Bros Online, Blue Fang Games and Ubisoft, as well as industry leaders such as Procter & Gamble, EDF, EADS, CEA, PSA Peugeot Citroen, CNRS, France Telecom, Matsushita, American Department of Energy, Intel, Publicis Networks/Renault, Arte TV and L'Oréal. Among its partners in the gaming industry, Virtools counts Microsoft, Sony, Nvidia/ATI, Discreet, Alias, Newtek, Softimage, Havok and NxN. For more information, visit www.virtools.com
About Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital is one of America's great children's hospitals. Rainbow is the only hospital in Cleveland dedicated solely to the care of children. As the primary teaching hospital of Case Western Reserve University, Rainbow ranks among the top academic pediatric programs in the country receiving over $52 million yearly in research funding to support cutting edge investigation into the causes and treatments of pediatric diseases. For more information, visit http://www.rainbowbabies.org/kids/default.aspx
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