Here's a rare example of an game that simultaneously attempts to educate, preserve an at-risk culture, improve health, and tackle an interesting game design problem. The Native Dancer Diabetes Education Game is a project in development at North Dakota State University and supported by the White Earth Reservation Tribal Council.

Like many disadvantaged populations, Native Americans are particularly at risk for Type 2 adult-onset diabetes. The game addresses exercise through multi-user virtual pow-wows. The game is (smartly, I think) set up a regular event at scheduled times. Players learn about and participate in native dancing, outfits and regalia. Performances are judged based on how closely they conform to motion-tracked professionals.

While I'm fairly convinced of the design promise of the game, I'm less sure about the health education design. It's hard to tell from the limited resources on the project website, but according to the design treatment (PDF), the learning will take place through the old and tired form of multimedia. There does also seem to be some simulation, however: in one hypothetical scenario the player will have to buy groceries for his family and use the remaining money to outfit his dancer; the game will score both nutrition and dance performance. It's hard to tell if the eating decisions the player makes affect his dance performance, as they should.

There are some motion tracking demos and a downloadable game demo, built in Shockwave 3D. But it's hard to tell if this is an active or abandoned project. The design treatment is dated May 2003. The website was last updated at the start of 2005.