The third part of ›Serious Games‹ focuses on the reality effect of computer games. At the Madigan Army Medical Center in Fort Lewis, American Air Force psychologists at a workshop about the “Virtual Iraq” computer animation program are learning how the program will be used in the treatment of war trauma. While the patient virtually moves through the traumatic starting situation for the second time, the accompanying therapist can choose various incidents such as an ambush or explosion and the accompanying sounds. Via immersion or diving into virtual reality, traumatised patients can process the fear-triggering experience by reliving it. In the demonstration of the program, one of the therapists is so convincing in the role of a patient, it is as though he were reporting on his own experience, which lets the viewers of the “Immersion” video immerse themselves in the media-created situation.
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