Chapters * Title * Contents * Introduction * Place * System * Design * Using * Future * Bibliography
Sections
* Design * Two_Simple * Sell * MULE * MULEvsMarketPlace * Incentives * Trade_Dependence * Symmetric_Commodities * Illustrating_Externalities * Showing_The_Model
Sell
What's the best role for the computer in an educational simulation game? There is a long-standing dream in the
computers and education community of using computers as intelligent tutors. However, when such programs are used in conjunction
with social simulations, there is a high price to pay. This price is demonstrated by Sell, a game developed at Northwestern
University's Institute for the Learning Sciences (ILS). ILS has a project to create multi-player simulation games to teach
various subjects. They've built a graphical interface on top of existing MUD technology. The first game they've created using
the system is an economic simulation called Sell.
Players in Sell are operating retail stores in a simulated town. Players buy merchandise from suppliers and decide how to price
and promote their wares.
For a multiplayer game, however, there is very little player to player interaction. For instance, players buy and sell from and
to the computer, not each other. This design choice is forced by Sell's big selling point. Players in Sell have their
interactions with the system processed by a program that is looking for incorrect moves. Students are then directed to videos
of experts talking about the area in which the student made a mistake. Given that the ability of a computer program to
understand human interaction is very limited, students have to be placed in a very constrained situation to allow the analysis
program to function. Thus, human to human interaction, with its requisite complexity, is out.
Greg Kimberly/gregkimb@gak.com