ENHANCING COMPUTER BUSINESS SIMULATION WITH THE USE OF VGA GRAPHICS Developments In Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 17, 1990 181 ENHANCING COMPUTER BUSINESS SIMULATION WITH THE USE OF VGA GRAPHICS Newell Chiesl, Jr., Indiana State University Newell Chiesl, III, Students Univ. of Illinois Introduction This paper demonstrates the highly sophisticated nature of VGA color graphic resolution that should be incorporated into business personal computer simulations by game developers and programmers. The inexpensive technology and simplistic programming routines are within the reach of all business game designers. Included in this paper are numerous illustrative computer video VGA graphics displayed and presented on video tape. The objective of this paper ‘s to illustrate the dramatic affect in the use of VGA graphics and to demonstrate the ease in incorporating VGA graphics into business computer simulations. The incorporation of VGA graphics is important for four reasons: 1) The use of VGA graphics will assist students in the analysis of data. Trends are often lost in vast arrays of rows and columns, but can be easily visualized and noticed with graphics. 2) VGA graphics are a professional medium for presentation. Business students need be aware of the graphics available when presenting work reports to clients and co-workers. 3) The use of VGA graphics augments the verisimilitude of the, business computer game. The more realistic the game, the more students will be provided a framework for a learning environment. 4) The use of VGA graphics adds a razzle-dazzle genre to the simulation. The razzle-dazzle should not be too overused or be ornamentally superficial. The VGA graphics will allow the student to say “WOW!, but not too often. The razzle-dazzle ingredient is necessary, after all, students are cognizant of the real nature of computers, simply 0’s and l’s in binary form. The potential applications of VGA graphics in computerized business games are numerous. A few of the more salient and interesting applications will be presented below: The use of a company logo when the initial game begins, a picture of company headquarters, a drawing of the product in CAD/CAM, a prototype picture of the product, a sample newspaper, magazine or TV advertisement, spreadsheets market share bar-charts or pie-charts with real-time changes in percent share instantly on the screen, the demographics of the customers, an animation of your boss at their desk complete with office surroundings, a production line in operation (an animation of products moving on a conveyor belt being assembled), the stock value of an offering, financial analysis, an animation of the Product Life Cycle (PLC) moving through time, a close-up picture of the largest industrial customer, maps of the United States illustrating market share by region, by state, by SMSA, profit and loss statements, graphic videos of managerial experiential situations, robots manufacturing a product, plant layouts, the list goes on . As can be seen, the potential applications are only left to one’s imagination. The Technology A computer screen‘s made up of a series of dots called pixels (from picture elements). Each pixel on the screen can be illuminated individually. An image can be considered a series of tiny pixels. The sore pixels a computer can illuminate on the screen at any one time, the higher will be the picture resolution or quality of the image. Video Graphics In order to draw a simple box, the command LINE (l0,30)- (30-50),8~F is given in Microsoft’s QuickBasic, the (l0~30) means the upper left corner of the box begins 10 across and thirty spaces down, the lower right corner of the box is (30,50), thirty across and 50 down, the “SF” is box fill. The 8 refers to the color of the box, given the formula: PALLETTE 8, (65536*0) + (256*0) ÷ (63) The 63 amount is for the amount of red, the color intensity parameters are from 0-63. To get blue the command: PALETTE (65536*63) + (256*0) +-(0) is used. Green = PALETTE (65536*0)(256*63)-+(0) Purple = PALETTE (65536*63)+(256*l)+63 Yellow = (65536*l)+-(256*63)+-63 Since there are 64 values of each of the three primary colors 0-63, the total amount of colors available in VGA is 64*64*64=262,144. The VGA graphic, SCREEN 13, is able to display 256 colors on the screen at the same time out of a total of 262,144 colors at a resolution of 320 pixels by 200 pixels. The highest resolution possible, 640 pixels by 480 pixels, only allowed 16 colors on the screen at any one time. The 16 colors are from a total amount of 262,144 colors available. FUTURE GRAPHICS Video graphics will only continue to improve in speed, colors and resolution. The new super VGA mode available today has a screen resolution of 1024 pixels by 768 pixels, a total of 786,432 pixels in color. This paper has attempted to encourage today’s and future P.C. business simulation’; designers to incorporate into their computer program the use of VGA graphics. Table of Contents Volume 17, 1990 The Impact of Decision Support Systems on the Effectiveness of Small Group Decisions - Revisited The Relationship Between Financial Performance and Other Measures of Learning on a Simulation Exercise Use and Effectiveness of an Analogy-Based Expert System Suggestions for Computerized Business Authors Dealing with Power: An Experiential Exercise Using Movie and Personal Diary Analysis Techniques A Model for Developing Student Skills and Assessing Outcomes Through Outdoor Training Computer-Aided Exercises Versus Workbook Exercises as Learning Facilitator in the Principles of Marketing Course An Exposition of Guilford's Si Model as a Means of Diagnosing and Generating Pedagogical Strategies in Collegiate Business Education Formal Planning and Simulation Team Performance: A Cross Sectional Approach Cases: Real Organizations in Real Time in the Classroom An Empirical Investigation of the Internal Validity of Marketing Simulation Game An Empirical Evaluation of the Pedagogical Value of Playing a Simulation Game in a Principles of Marketing Course Factors Affecting Effective Teaching of Strategic Planning: Some Preliminary Evidence An Experiential Exercise for Learning About the Relationship Between Organizational Form & the Project Management Process Accounting Communication Skills can be Taught in the Auditing Course Modeling Cost Functions in Computerized Business Simulation: An Application of Duality Theory and Sheppard's Lemma A Life Cycle Analysis of Decision Making for a Strategic Management Team What's the Problem? A Dynamic Model for Teaching Problem Solving Skills Experientially International Currency Fluctuations: Money$im, A Simulation Superstores: A Specialized Retailing Simulation Within a Specialized Marketing Curriculum Factors Affecting Student Perceptions of Learning in a Business Policy Game VC + EL = VL The Name Game: An Experiential Exercise in Intergroup Relations The Effects of Experiential Accounting Work Experience on Student Performance in Intermediate Accounting Courses The Results of Using the Experiential Activity Group Performance Evaluation in a Business Policy Setting Using a Legal Database to Describe the Legal Environment of Marketing (and Business) Matching Environmental Uncertainty and Organizational Configuration An Instructional Computer Simulation of Tampering in QC Executive Evaluation of Student Learning in the Looking Glass Simulation Group Personality Composition and Total Enterprise Simulation Performance An Expert System for Selecting Analytical Techniques for Analyzing Marketing Research Data Effects of Cognitive Styles on Responses in an In-Basket Simulation A Psychometric Analysis of Kolb's Revised Learning Style-Inventory Selecting and Developing Experiential Exercises Using Movies Application of a Real-World Strategic Management Model in the Classroom Demand Equations which Include Product Attributes Consumption as the Objective in Computer-Scored Total Enterprise Simulations The Effects of Decision Format and Evaluation on Simulation Performance, Decision Time, and Team Cohesion The Effects of Computer Related Assignments on Student Performance in Business Administration The Money Game: A Dynamic Simulation Including Random Shocks for Money and Banking Courses Methods for Evaluating Performance on Business Simulations: A Survey The Effects of Synergogy on the Policy Course: Significant Improvements in Student Learning and Teacher Evaluation Conditions and Outcomes of Trust in a Two-Person Bargaining Exercise Bankgame Enhancing Computer Business Simulation with the Use of VGA Graphics An Experiential Approach to Entrepreneurship An Advanced Simulation Method (ASM) for Multiple Objective Problems The Influence of Experiential learning Techniques on Student Recognition of Non-Primary Learning Styles Negotiating Mergers and Acquisitions: A Cocktail Napkin Approach Identification of Unintended Effects in Experiential Laboratory Exercises An Experimental Comparison of Paper and Pencil and Computer Aided Decision Support Tools Porting a Simulation from the IBM World to the Macintosh World A Transaction Cost Analysis of Experiential Learning The Development of Experiential Exercises for Courses in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management The Assessment Center as and Experiential Classroom Exercise Pricing Strategy Algorithms for Playing Business Simulations Organizational Structures for International Operations: An Experiential Activity Simulation Emphasis in the Business School Capstone Course An Integrated Approach to Computerizing the Business Curriculum Cross-Cultural Business Negotiations Exercise Organizational Socialization and Gender Differences in Students at Work Understanding Student Work Experience: A Content-Analytic Approach Introducing Executive MBA Programs with Management Games An Analysis of Improvement in Business Decision Outcome with Sequential Use of Two Simulation Games Teaching Business Policy Utilizing Mass Lecture and Individual Case Labs Potholes Along the Road to Evaluating Learning Outcomes: The Case of Outdoor Management Training Experiential Learning for Interior Design Students: Using CADD, Lotus 1-2-3, and Wordperfect Cognitive Learning Using a Computer-Based, Qualitative Interactive Business Simulation Sex Discrimination: Does the Woman get the Job or Does the Best Man Win? A Search for Visual Aids to Support Experiential Learning Through the 1990's An Experimental Analysis fo the Effectiveness of Student Role-Playing in Sales Training How to Have Students Learn from their Term Projects Self-Evaluation Exercise (SEE): An Assessment of Class Contribution A Study of the Influence of Team Formation on Attitudes and Performance in Management Games A Hardware Based CIM Simulation Laboratory Model Test Substance Abuse in Organizations Micro Computer Training Models Teaching Forecasting, Cash Budgeting and Inventory Model Building Using SBTools A Comparison of the Effects of Experiential Learning Activities and Traditional Lecture Classes An Adjunct Writing Instruction Assistant, The Computer; With an Illustration Classroom Software for ABC Analysis Utilizing Information Processing Technology to Enhance the Business Policy Simulation Experience Progressive Cases Realistic Job Previews Vs. Traditional Job Previews: Experiencing the Differences and Understanding the Consequences Investment Analysis Using the Pragmatic Multiplier Approach A Computer Simulation Interface for Competitive and Firm Analysis Self-Assessment of Ethical Decision Making Predispositions Preparing Managers for Overseas Assignments An Inquiry into Japanese Marketing: Workshop on Teaching Japanese Marketing The Performance Appraisal Feedback Interview: A Role Play for Human Resources Management Teaching Counselor Selling techniques Using Experiential Techniques to Teach International Topics International Management Simulation Gaming: Current Status and Future Developments A Realism Comparison of Simulation Technologies/Methodologies A Time-Efficient Game to Illustrate Concepts Taught in Management Courses and Management Development Programs Teaching the Management of Technology The Concept of Face and the Applicability of Experiential Exercises in an Oriental Culture's