Using virtual learners' behaviours to help the development of educational business games

Abstract

Educational business games can be of a great help for initial and continuous learning, in the engineering field among others. These games have as major asset the possibility for learners to intervene or act as they wish. Nevertheless, there are numerous possible paths in such games. Designing the appropriate game structure and defining the optimum parameters so as to achieve the pedagogical objectives of business games are not straightforward. Presently, only users feedback allows the adjustments required and the appropriate structure modification needs to be identified. Waiting for feedback may take months and leave users a negative appreciation of the product. In this project, our aim is to conceive a "Simulator of Learners' Behaviour" to ensure the pedagogical quality of educational games. In order to provide realistic players' behaviours, mathematical and economical methods are used. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.