ANOTHER CHANCE: A MULTI-LEVELED, MACRO BUSINESS GAME FOR MICROCOMPUTERS Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 13, 1986 143 ANOTHER CHANCE: A MULTI-LEVELED, MACRO BUSINESS GAME FOR MICROCOMPUTERS Precha Thavikulwat, California State University, Los Angeles ABSTRACT ANOTHER CHANCE is a microcomputer business simulation game whose distinguishing features are its progressive difficulty, its macro scope, and its Monte-Carlo, independent-across-players, design. The game is meant to be used as a homework assignment, with no handling required of the instructor. Business concepts encompassed by the game include sales forecasting; elasticity of demand; inventory control; fixed and variable costs; lease versus buy; cash flow; income and expenses; and assets, liabilities, and equities. INTRODUCTION For some time now, the educational benefits that can be gained from the use of microcomputers to support educational games students could run on their own time and at their own pace has been evident. Yet, despite the prevalence of microcomputers today, few college-level games for microcomputers are available. Although in business schools, computer games that are macro in scope, where students make fundamental decisions and see the results in financial statements, have been used for over two decades, these games were designed to run on mainframe computer systems. The mainframe games could be transported to microcomputers, and in fact, this has been done with several games [2, 61. But to take full advantage of the microcomputers’ unique attributes and account for its particular limitations, a game should really be specifically designed for microcomputers. AIRWAYS by Fisk, Gentry, and Fisk [4] is one such game. AIRWAYS, however, is made for team play in the spirit of the older mainframe games. This paper describes ANOTHER CHANCE, a simulation game also specifically designed for microcomputers, but different from AIRWAYS in that ANOTHER CHANCE is made for individual play. For a microcomputer game designed for individual play, the choice of a programming language is critical. Because of the great variety in makes and models of microcomputers, the language used should be highly standardized for easy transport among microcomputers of different manufactures. Because the entering of data will necessarily be done by inexperienced students, the language must be flexible and powerful enough to allow the program to maintain complete control of the data-entering process. And because slow computational speed is most irritating when working on a microcomputer, the language must be close to machine language so as to permit compilation to fast-running executable codes. The C language, as defined by Kernighan and Ritchie [7], meets these requirements well. The C language is currently the standard professional language of microcomputer programming. ANOTHER CHANCE was written in C, and compiled with the DeSmet C compiler [3], a compiler noted in a review by Phraner [8] for generating code that runs fast, as well as for being an excellent overall value. The game was written on a Sanyo MBC-555. It will run on IBM PC’s and compatibles under MS-DOS 1.25 or MS-DOS 2.11. And because C is a highly standardized language, the code can be compiled, with an appropriate C compiler, for any machine. ANOTHER CHANCE is designed to be used as a homework assignment, with no handling required of the instructor. Data from running the game is stored on the program diskette and encrypted so as to be unreadable by direct display, thus preventing students from cheating by directly altering the data file. The instructor obtains evidence of progress with assignment by requiring the students to submit printouts from time to time. The distinguishing features of the game are that it is multi- leveled, or progressive in difficulty; it is macro in scope, that is, results are displayed in financial statements; and it is of a Monte-Carlo, independent-across-players design. As a multi- leveled game, the difficulty of the game increases, and the number of decisions students are allowed to make also increases, as targets are reached. In this respect, ANOTHER CHANCE follows the principle of progressive difficulty seen in popular video games. As a business game macro in scope, ANOTHER CHANCE tests students’ understanding of the cause and effect relationship between operating and marketing decisions on one hand, and financial results on the other. And as a game of Monte-Carlo, independent-across- players, design, a design with advantages discussed by Chiesl [1], ANOTHER CHANCE is self-paced: each student can run the game through as many periods as the student finds necessary to reach each profit target. It is in its self-paced aspect that ANOTHER CHANCE takes advantage of the independent processing afforded by microcomputers, as different from the central processing of mainframes. With conventional mainframe games, because of administrative considerations, the number of periods of play is fixed. But with ANOTHER CHANCE, the number of periods of play is unlimited: the student has another chance, and another, and another . . . without end. Thus, although the student may eventually give up on the game, the game never gives up on the student. LEARNING OBJECTIVE Games confront students with new concepts, and make them more comfortable with those they already know. Students playing ANOTHER CHANCE will have occasion to apply the following concepts: 1. forecasting sales 2. elasticity of demand 3. inventory control 4. fixed and variable costs 5. lease versus buy 6. cash flow 7. income and expenses 10. assets, liabilities, and equities Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 13, 1986 144 GAME DESIGN The game has three modes: identification mode, entry mode, and display mode. When the game is run, it first enters identification mode, where the student is prompted for name and password. Given the correct identification, the game moves into entry mode, where the student is prompted to enter decisions for the run in full-screen entry format. From entry mode, the student may, at the student’s option, move into display mode, where the student can view displays of the facts of the game. Decisions are executed within display mode, and the results may be seen immediately. The game provides five displays: the decisions display, the parameters display, the operations display, the income statement display, and the balance sheet display. The student may view the displays, two at a time in any combination, in side-by-side display windows. A print-screen and a print-all feature for hard copies is included. The decisions display doubles as the full-screen form for data entries in entry mode. It shows the decisions made for the run. These decisions are as follows: 1. units of production 2. product price 3. units of material to purchase 4. units of building to purchase 5. units of equipment to purchase 6. units of equipment to lease The parameters display shows the parameters of the run. These are as follows: 1. earnings target 2. target salient time 3. level of difficulty 4. number of seasons 5. demand ceiling 6. building depreciation rate 7. equipment depreciation rate 8. interest rate 9. ordering cost 10. unit material cost 11. unit labor cost 12. unit labor cost 13. unit building cost 14. unit equipment cost 15. unit lease cost The operations display shows the operating facts, which are as follows: 1. product demand 2. beginning product inventory 3. production 4. products available 5. products sold 6. ending product inventory 7. beginning material inventory 8. material purchase 9. materials available 10. materials used 11. ending materials inventory 12. beginning building capacity 13. ending buildings capacity 14. beginning equipment capacity 15. ending equipment capacity Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Volume 13, 1986 145 The income statement display shows the following: 1. revenue 2. material cost 3. labor cost 4. cost of goods sold 5. gross margin 6. ordering expense 7. lease expense 8. building depreciation expense 9. equipment depreciation expense 10. total operating expenses 11. operating income 12. interest income 13. interest expense 14. net income And the balance sheet display shows the following: 1. cash 2. accounts receivable 3. product inventory 4. material inventory 5. current assets 6. equipment (net) 7. building (net) 8. fixed assets 9. total assets 10. accounts payable 11. current liabilities 12. capital 13. retained earnings 14. total equities 15. total liabilities and equities An example of a screen of displays is given in Figure 1. The top box of the screen is the menu window, where available options are shown. The pair of boxes below it are the windows for the displays. Helpful messages in reverse video appear in the one-line space directly under the display windows. The game is progressive in difficulty, and progressive in degree of control. After a minimum number of periods have elapsed at each level of difficulty, the earnings target becomes salient. Subsequently, when cumulative earnings reaches the earnings target at that level, the game progresses to the next higher level, which has a new target, a more difficult set of parameters, and a greater number of allowable decisions. Sales demand is bounded by a ceiling and a floor. It follows a linear relationship with respect to time such that it “bounces off” the ceiling and the floor. It varies randomly, and the random component is normally-distributed. It is also seasonal, with the number of seasons increasing as the game advances in difficulty. The parameters of the game are preset to change as the game moves from one level to the next. These settings may be altered by changing the headers of the program codings, and by recompiling the codes. The procedure is not difficult, but does require a rudimentary knowledge of the C programming language, and access to a C compiler. A utility program to change parameters, as suggested by Fritzsche and Cotter [51, will be made available at a later date. Alternatively, the parameters may also be changed by directly modifying the compiled program using widely- available debugging utility programs. CONCLUSION ANOTHER CHANCE is a simulation game specifically designed for microcomputers. It is a game that is progressive in difficulty and macro in scope. It is a game on which students may work at their own pace, a game that the instructor can assign and almost forget. The game takes care of itself, and is infinitely patient with students. The game was written in the C programming language. The power of this language enabled the game to have the characteristics of speed, of controlled input, and of clean display especially desirable in microcomputer games of any kind, whether educational or frivolous. Perhaps other educators will also find C to be the language of choice for microcomputer games of this age. REFERENCES [1] Chiesl, Newell, “A Monte-Carlo Approach to Interactive Gaming,” Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Vol. 12, 1985, pp. 78-81. [2] Decker, Ron and James LaBarre, “Bus-Sim Micro: An Introductory Business Simulation Demonstration,” Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Vol. 12, 1985, pp. 22. [3] DeSmet Software, DeSmet C Development Package Manual, (Sunnyvale: C Ware Corporation, 1984). [4] Fisk, Jamie T., James W. Gentry, and Raymond P. Fisk, “Airways: A Microcomputer Simulation of a Service Industry,” Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Vol. 12, 1985, pp. 127-130. [5] Fritzsche, David J. and Richard V. Cotter, “A Guide to Writing Microcomputer Simulations”, Developments in Business Simulation & Experiential Exercises, Vol. 12, 1985, pp. 69-73. [6] Jensen, Ronald L., “The Business Management Laboratory on a Microcomputer,” School of Business, Emory University. [7] Kernighan, Brian W. and Dennis M. Ritchie, The C Programming Language, (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice- Hall, Inc., 1978). [8] Phraner, Ralph A., “Nine C Compilers for the IBM PC,” Byte: The Small Systems Journal, Vol. 8, No. 8, August 1983, pp. 134-168. Table of Contents Volume 13, 1986 How to Use Microcomputers in Human Resource Management Courses What's My Line? An Exercise in Job Analysis, Description and Classification Relationships Between Team Cohesion Dimensions and Business Game Performance Four Factors Affecting Group Performance in Business Policy Simulations Enhancing Strategic Management Goal-Setting Skills in the Business Policy Course Using a Business Simulation in the Principles of Management Course - Learning Outcomes and Perceptions Personal Computers: Drexel's Experience Using Psychological Type to Enhance Negotiation Skills The Effects of Conflict Handling Styles on Negotiation Behavior: An Analysis of an Experiential Exercise An Experiential Test of Bargaining Decisions and Representation Self-Grading of Examination by Students, A Viable Alternative to Traditional Procedures Perceived Instructor Enthusiasm and Student Achievement An Experiential Approach to Teaching Subordinate-Oriented Communication Assessing the Effects of a Computerized Study Guide in Macroeconomic Principles: A Statistical Analysis A Sales Management Simulation for the PC an Integrative Tool for the Sales Management Course Teaching Re-evaluation of Salespersons Through the Use of a Simulation Game A Test of Student Performance and Attitudes and Performance Under Varying Game Conditions Developing and Testing Airways: A Marketing Simulation Experiential Learning Revisited: Some Thoughts on Designing More Adaptive Management Education Programs Developing the Competencies of Creativity and Accurate Self-Assessment Self-View and Norms: Some Longitudinal Laboratory Results Strategic Planning with an Experiential Case The ABSEL Research Consortium: Preliminary Steps and Position Papers An Analysis of ABSEL Conference papers (1974-1985) The Creation and Operation of a Data-base System for ABSEL Research Funding for a Research Consortium on Simulation and Experiential Learning Simulation - Indoctrination or Learning The Dilemma In Evaluating Classroom Innovations Personality Variables on Group Cohesion, Team Participation and Total Learning Justifications for and Problems in Developing and Using Computerized Experiential Activities Management Competency Models and the Life-Long Learning Project: What Role for ABSEL External Validity of Business Games Restructuring the University - An Experiential Exercise The Surrogate Class Exercise Images of Effectiveness: A Classroom Exercise The Algebran Industry: A Tutorial Framework Another Chance: A Multi-Leveled, Macro Business Game for Micro-Computers A Water Quality Management Simulation Game Acquisitions? Divestitures? Progress Report on a Conglomerate Game Enterprise: A Multi-Purpose Management Development Simulation Marketer: A Microcomputer Simulation in a High Tech Industry A Pedagogical Analysis of Alternative Tax Elections for Exploration Costs in the Mining Industry Using of Multiple Microcomputers Application Programs to Teach Fundamental Business Concepts and Practices Demonstrating the Role of Simulation in Strategic Operations Planning: A Case Study in Bank Check Processing Location Analysis The Subjective Side of the Decision Support System: A Pitfall for the Panacea A Group-Based Procedure for Revealing Judgmental Heuristics and Biases An Experiential Exercise in Bayesian Decision-Making Values for Selected Parameters in Physical Distribution Simulation and Games Computerized Business Management Simulations for Tyros The Management Decision Laboratory at New York University An Example: The Use of Management Games on Microcomputers by Computer Novices Enhancing Mainframe Simulation Via Microcomputers: Designing Decision Support Systems Integrating Personal Computers Into a Course as a Decision Support Tool A Decision Support System for Capital Funds Forecasting Performance and Attitudinal Affects of a Decision Support Package in a Business Game Using the Real World: Interviews with Woman Mangers The Cooperatively-Authored Student Handbook International Buying: An Experiential Exercise The Research/Teaching Interface: Turning a Pretest into an Experiential Exercise Building Microcomputer Business Simulations Simulation with Discrete and Continuous Mathematical Modeling An Interpolation Approach to Developing mathematical Functions for Business Simulations The Design of Simulation Models Using Thought Organizers The Assessment Center as a Teaching/Learning Device An Approach to Meeting the AACSB Guidelines for Introducing Skills and Personal Characteristics (SACs) Using an Interclass Simulating and Role-Playing Pedagogy Experiential Learning about the World of Work: A Program for Primary and Secondary School Educators Assessment of Relevant Personal Characteristics of Potential Entrepreneurs