3pointD.com

It’s true: the aliens have invaded. They’re only in North Carolina, so no need to worry. Plus, they’ve come for a good cause: to teach us all about microeconomics, and to give us a little college credit in the process. The iCampus at the University of North Carolina at Greenberg has developed a video game (launching this fall, according to a press release) called Econ 201 that’s designed to teach students about microeconomics by “following an alien species that must learn how to survive after crash-landing on a futuristic, post- apocalyptic earth.” Now that’s my kind of learning.

Econ 201 is a Flash game in which you play the commander of the stranded alien crew. “The economics of survival are all that matters,” according to the amusingly ominous trailer. The game doesn’t seem to be available unless you’re enrolled, so I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, but it seems a great idea. One caveat springs to mind: resource-management games are quickly spreadsheeted by their fans; because any game environment has severely limited bounds in comparison to the real world, it’s usually a relatively simple matter for a committed gamer to find the lowest-effort path through the software. Will that also be the path with highest educational value? Or will this just become an exercise in min-maxing? On the other hand, isn’t that what economics is all about? To a certain extent, it is, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. In any case, this sounds like a great way to take leverage the power of gaming as an educational vehicle. We can’t wait to getting a look.