AXON is the latest addition to Wellcome Collection’s growing portfolio of free online games which has been commissioned to accompany their latest exhibition Brains: The Mind as Matter. It’s made by Preloaded, who I’ve written about before.
AXON is set inside a foetal brain, modelling real biological phenomena found in neural development. AXON offers players a rare glimpse of how the brains is formed and an ‘inside the brain’ introduction to the strange world of neurons, proteins and axons. In the game, you must click on protein targets to grow your neuron, connecting new brain regions. Climb through the tissue, outcompeting rival neurons to form the longest connection you can.
It’s an interesting idea, although there’s not a lot to do actually in the game, the screen you get on finishing links to additional information about neurons and the brain which would be useful for biology students. The game would provide a useful focus for discussion as a class. The site that’s built around the game also gives additional informatin about the brain, linking to the Wellcome Trust exhibition. There’s also a 360 degree brain viewer, which is rather neat.
To take a look, visit: http://www.wellcomecollection.org/axon
Visit other Wellcome Collection games here, and other games by Preloaded here.
