University of Illinois Professor Rizwan Uddin and some of his students have been hard at work modifying Unreal Tournament to simulate nuclear plant disasters for use in training for emergency workers and plant employees.
The 'game' is currently operable in a multiplayer environment as well, allowing people to train with the simulation via the internet.Their first model is the former research reactor on campus, which the UI shut down in the late 1990s and began decommissioning nearly four years ago, as well as a square block around the facility, complete with local buildings, streets and street signs.
"We have it modeled right down to the staircases, doorways," Uddin said recently as students Joel Dixon and Stefano Markidis ran the simulation through its paces on a wall-sized rear-projection screen behind him. "All the rooms match, certainly close enough for training purposes."