computer science

Life & Death

Life & Death is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Life & Death rather than just read about it. In short: Life & Death is a computer game published in 1988 by The Software Toolworks. The player takes the role of an abdominal surgeon.

Key takeaways

Life & Death belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Life & Death to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Life & Death from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Life & Death is a computer game published in 1988 by The Software Toolworks. The player takes the role of an abdominal surgeon. The original packaging for the game included a surgical mask and gloves. A sequel, Life & Death II: The Brain, was published in 1990. In this sequel, the player is a neurosurgeon.

Gameplay In the role of a resident abdominal surgeon at fictional hospital Toolworks General, the player must diagnose and treat a variety of maladies including kidney stones, arthritis, appendicitis, and aneuritic aorta. The last two require the player to perform surgery.

Reception

Compute! complimented Life & Death's graphics and sound, stating that the game effectively used CGA's four colors and the PC speaker, and stated that the game's warning to those queasy of blood was accurate. An author on Gamasutra praised the game for its attention to detail and the way it offers significant depth and challenge despite only the mouse. Franklin N. Tessler, M.D. in Macworld noted the Macintosh version's gore and difficulty, stating that "If the embossed photo of a bloody brain on the box doesn't get to you, the challenge and frustration of playing the game just might". He approved of the game's educational value and stated that it was "surprisingly realistic", albeit with some errors in the documentation. Tessler criticized the "annoying" copy protection, monochrome graphics, and lack of a save function. Life & Death was nominated for Software Publishers Association (SPA) awards for Best Game, Best Simulation and Best Use of Technology.

Reviews Games #99

References

External links Life & Death at MobyGames

Illustrations

Life & Death: Life & Death emphasized realism and visual detail even with limited colors. — Life & Death emphasized realism and visual detail even with limited colors.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Life & Death

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Life & Death claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Life & Death before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Life & Death ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Life & Death

In research: Life & Death appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Life & Death in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Life & Death is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1988 video games, Amiga games, Apple IIGS games, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Life & Death outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Life & Death in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Life & Death means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Life & Death out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Life & Death in simple terms?

Life & Death is a computer game published in 1988 by The Software Toolworks. The player takes the role of an abdominal surgeon.

Why does Life & Death matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Life & Death?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Life & Death.