"The librarian had breastplates."

The Associated Press has an entertaining story up about a University of Minnesota journalism class in which the professors use Neverwinter Nights to as a learning tool. Since the game can be heavily modifed, the professor and a game designer have created a module depicting a fictional accident set in a fictional town. Within the game, players investigate the scene of the accident, research relevant topics, and talking to NPC citizens.

"When we initially did the game, it still had lava pits, the editor looked like an ogre--stuff like that. The librarian had breastplates," said Nora Paul, director of the university's Institute for New Media Studies.

The team, which includes game designer Matt Taylor and journalism professor Kathleen Hansen, have now modified the game graphics to look like a modern town, the fictional Harperville. A train has derailed, spilling toxic ammonia, and the players are sent out to cover the story. They dig up information by going to the library, government offices or talking to a retired train engineer at the bar.

In the last few years, the topic of "serious games"--that is, video games used in educational, professional, governmental, military, or other non-entertainment settings--has been a big one. There's even the annual Serious Games Summit dealing solely with such games and their developers. However, cases such as this show that even traditional video games can be used in nontraditional settings. Oh, and make sure to read all the way until the last sentence of the AP article; that's the best part.