Life & Death

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Life & Death
Developer(s)	Jake Smith & Don Laabs (Atari ST & Amiga conversions by Simon Beal)
Publisher(s)	The Software Toolworks
Distributor(s)	The Software Toolworks
Designer(s)	Myo Thant
Platform(s)	Mac OS, DOS, Amiga, Atari ST, Apple IIgs
Release date	1988
Genre(s)	Simulation
Mode(s)	Single player

Life & Death is a computer game published in 1988 by The Software Toolworks. It is one of the few realistic medical computer games ever released. 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 (see screenshot).

A sequel, Life & Death II: The Brain, was published in 1990. In this game, the player is a neurosurgeon.

[edit] Trivia

• The original game included a surgeon's mask and two latex gloves.
• The four "surgeons" pictured on the box cover are Software Toolworks employees, but none of whom worked on the game (Unknown, Gina Freidlander, Steve Cox, Glenn Wichman).
• The primary surgery programmer, Jake Smith, is pictured on the back of the box grasping for a brain behind surgical screen.
• The Toolworks General concept and "beeper" copy protection was primarily conceived and executed by Don Laabs (also creator of Cribbage and Gin King)

[edit] Awards

Life & Death was nominated for Software Publishers Association (SPA) awards in the following categories:

• Best Game
• Best Simulation
• Best Use of Technology