Video games curb the huff and puff.

According to the Serious Games Source, the United States Department of Defense has awarded a $3.7M grant to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas to develop serious game Project Combat which is designed to “curb” smoking among military personnel.  The Project Combat team is led by Dr. Alexander Prokhorov, professor of behavioral science at MD Anderson, with development by Houston design firm Radiant Creative.

Sound like a novel project?  You may be surprised to find out that Dr. Prokhorov is no health game newbie.  His previous projects include Aspire, a 2005 CD-ROM based smoking prevention program for teenagers created in collaboration with Dr. Ross Shegog of The University of Texas Health Science Center, as well as the more recent smoking-cessation video game Escape With Your Life.

It has been reported that Prokhorov’s new game Project Combat will be similar to Escape With Your Life but with a military spin.  The game will feature a customizable avatar as well as tailored content depending on the player’s smoking habits.

To read more about Dr. Prokhorov’s amazing new health game development project, see this in-depth article in Scientific American.  Testing of the game will begin at Fort Hood in 2011 with a full release of the game in 2013.