Norwegian high school class learns from 'The Walking Dead' game

BERGEN, Norway, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- A Norwegian high school teacher said playing the computer game version of "The Walking Dead" is helping his students learn about ethics.

Tobias Staaby, a teacher at Nordahl Grieg High School in Bergen, said the zombie-themed game, based on Robert Kirkman's series of graphic novels, which also formed the basis of the AMC TV series, is filled with ethical dilemmas that students can learn from, TheLocal.no reported Monday.

"I had a deep personal desire to use this type of teaching because I believe it leads to better learning and greater engagement among students," Staaby told state-run broadcaster NRK.

"In the first hour I walk through the points in the curriculum, then we start to play and every time we come to an ethical dilemma, we put the game on pause," he said. "When they have finished the discussion, every student votes anonymously on a web-based application called Kahoot! about what they would do."

Staaby said there haven't been any complaints about parents about the game, which was rated "mature" by the U.S. Entertainment Software Rating Board for "blood and gore" and "extreme violence."

"I thought I would get angry phone calls from mothers and fathers," he said. "But so far I haven't got[ten] any."