A video game to supplement a hybrid principles of microeconomics course

Abstract

In this article, the author describes the structure and content of a video game that she developed for a hybrid principles of microeconomics course that consists of two 50-minute lectures and a 50-minute online portion per week. The game comprises seven modules, each of which was assigned to be played during the course of the semester for the online portion of the class. The concepts covered in the game include the circular flow model, demand and supply, externalities, comparative advantage, types of market structure, sunk costs, and game theory, and the article explains in detail how the gameplay was related to these concepts. The game can be downloaded for either Windows or Mac computers, or played online at https://sites.google.com/site/gamesforecon/.

Keywords:

• game
• interactive
• microeconomics
• online education

JEL CODES:

• A21
• A22

Acknowledgments

The game was created using RPG Maker MV. Credits go to Yanfly, Galenmereth, Galv, Quxios, Catball Games and Yami for plug-ins used in the game, and to Kadokawa, Enterbrain, Panda Maru, Avery, Bougainvillea and hiddenone for graphics. The FSM: Town of Beginnings Tiles resource pack by REFMAP (published by Degica) was also used. Finally, the author is grateful to many family members, co-workers, friends and students who tested the game and reported bugs.

Notes

1 https://sffed-education.org/chairthefed/default.html

2 https://www.nobelprize.org/

3 For example, the article Aliens Teach University Economics Class by Nell Greenfieldboyce (Oct 19, 2006, available at https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6342324) discusses a course at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Another example is Playconomics (Dobrescu and Motta n.d.); a brief overview can be seen at https://sites.google.com/site/lorettidobrescu/playconomics.

4 Supplemental slides featuring material similar to that covered in the game were also made available to students, in case they experienced any problems playing the game and also to help them review for exams.

5 Other popular game engines, which require varying levels of programming knowledge, include Scratch (https://scratch.mit.edu/), Stencyl (http://www.stencyl.com/), Construct (https://editor.construct.net/) and Unity (https://unity3d.com/).

6 Because the game was played in conjunction with the online assignments, it should be noted that an additional 25 students mentioned the online assignments (without mentioning the game specifically) in response to this question. This was a free-response question, and students could mention as many or as few aspects of the course as they wished. There were no negative comments regarding the game on this or any other question.