EconCity

Inspiration

The subject matter of economics is explained through graphs, definitions, and illustrations that do not help to understand the impact of economics on people's lives. To make economics an interactive discipline we have created EconCity. The players of this game will not be memorizing abstract notions such as opportunity costs, externalities, inflation, and public goods; rather, they will live them.

What it does

EconCity is an interactive game that simulates a living city where the player learns economics through making decisions. Players control a living city, plan budgets, assess evidence, react to unforeseen events, and make policy decisions without being instructed on what the correct answer is.

Players’ decisions influence their neighborhoods, citizens, companies, infrastructure, job levels, prices, debts, emissions, and many other economic factors. Some consequences may be immediate, while others may come only after many years and interact with earlier decisions.

After all consequences are met, the game provides explanations as to why those consequences came into existence and how they are related to underlying economic theories. Understanding modes provide variations in the way terms, variables, events, and decisions are explained and the level of difficulty is altered accordingly.

How we built it

EconCity is a web-based React game, with a unique economic simulation engine running under the interface. It takes account of city variables, budgets, policies, unforeseen occurrences, prior choices, and the repercussions of those choices in subsequent years.

We also have a pixel city from the side view, which reacts to the simulation process by changing the buildings, transport, population, climate, infrastructure, industries, and environmental conditions of the city in question.

The EconEducation Helper gives assistance, based on the ongoing game situation but is carefully programmed not to give away the hidden result or best choice. There is an automatic simulation and prompt integrity testing system that maintains game consistency.

Challenges we ran into

Our biggest challenge was to maintain the proper balance between education and gameplay. In case the consequences of all policies were known to EconCity, the players would merely do number crunching without engaging in any form of economic thought. We therefore ensured that the consequences will not be known to the players before they make their decision.

Another major challenge we faced was to ensure that the game does not become decorative through use of graphics but actually has a living city with its own life in addition to the graphics.

Lastly, including delayed consequences and decisions which would affect decisions previously taken made the game more complicated but also very realistic.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

EconCity is more than a simulation of economics; EconCity gives players the ability to experience it. There isn't always a definitive right answer. Players must weigh the evidence, deal with limited resources, contend with competing parties, predict outcomes, and make sacrifices.

We're also proud of the background of our game—modes for understanding, decision-making, surprises in economics, consequences, pressure from the council, an evolving city of pixels, comparison to City Memory, and an artificial intelligence tutor all function as a single learning experience.

What we learned

Teaching through consequences is actually very effective as compared to instantly telling people if they are right or wrong. If players are allowed to first make predictions and then observe the transformation of their city, then concepts like incentives and opportunity cost gain practical significance.

What's next for EconCity

We hope to grow EconCity further by adding more scenarios, economic shocks, stories about the residents, policies, and interplay over time of all the different decisions made.

At the same time, we hope to develop EconCity further by making it a tool that will allow increasingly complex concepts to be explored by the users while maintaining an easy-to-understand interface. We believe that EconCity should be used to learn economics by doing economics.

IMPACT STATEMENT

The game EconCity allows middle and high school students who have difficulties learning economics in the conventional way to become familiar with the science. EconCity avoids having students learn graphs, vocabulary, and equations before comprehending their application and purpose. With EconCity, students are able to create a virtual city, implement policies and budgets, and observe the outcomes. EconCity introduces complexity to people's various levels of understanding and explains the material by relating it to specific examples.