To perform surgery and save patients! The gameplay would revolve around very delicate movements with your mouse and the correct selection of tools for the operation. The learning curve would be steep, it wouldn’t be designed for arcade play. Below is a draft list of possible game features. They are in no particular order and should be consider a framework rather than the result of long, deep thought processes.

• The player would progress through Observer to Nurse and onto Assistant, finally reaching the lofty title of Surgeon. There would be various levels to each class.
• The game doesn’t have to be realistic but maybe many players would expect it.
• Not only humans but animals and aliens could be operated on.
• There could be different types of game play:
  • Emergency Room (Very little time and information)
  • Detailed (Long complicated operation where you have all the information etc)
  • Military Field Hospital (Little time and few instruments. Patch’um up and get’um out!)
• A combination of mouse and keyboard movements would perform the actions required.
• An editor could be included to allow players to create injuries etc.
• I view the game similar to flight simulators; I.E. players would expect to take a while to learn different procedures. It’s not a “dip in for ten minutes during lunch” type of game.
• There could be different features that mimic real life. For example on the hardest setting there is no save feature. Once you start an operation you have to finish it!
• Players create an online profile and the results of each operation are uploaded to a ranking system. (i haven’t given this much thought but could include lives saved, time taken, resources used etc).

One far-fetched feature idea could be a Certification. Once a player reaches a pre-defined skill level he/she achieves Certification. This Certification would allow a player to become a medic in online FPS games. As players get hit, instead of either losing health points (and carrying on) or dying, they get injured and require treatment. You have to provide that treatment. You become a vital part of the team.
If a player dies then they have to wait a set time before they can respawn. The time waited must be long enough to dissuade players from committing suicide so they can rejoin the game immediately.

Obviously the gameplay would need to be adjusted to suit the circumstances and an operation longer than a few minutes could ruin the feel of the game. The pressure would be real and the medic/surgeon would have to perform triage if there are more than one victim. I know that most game players may say that the idea is stupid (and you may be right) BUT it might be fun and add another aspect to a realistic WW2 game/mod. Remember a team should be made up of a wide variety of skills, not just the ability to run fast and kill quickly!