A Parameter Tuning Tool for Improvement of Business Game Development Processes

Abstract

Computer supported business games are one of the typical gears used for business education. In this paper, we analyze state-of-the-art business game development technologies, and identify bottlenecks of the development, such as: 1) Issues of implementation to computers, 2) Determination of game parameters, and 3) Fine tuning for the game balance. The first bottleneck is improved by our support system BMDS/BMDL, however, the second and third bottlenecks have not been resolved so far. This results in parameter tuning problems of game development. Thus, we are developing an easy-to-use support tool based on a random number generator of a given probabilistic distribution. This tool is implemented as add-in procedures of Win Excel spreadsheet system. Using this tool, we are able to 1) tune up various internal parameters in a short time and 2) improve the intensive testing performance automatically. The experiment using this tool suggests that the development cost and performance of a business game is remarkably improved.