Automation of Decision-Making in the Game “Ecopoly” for Education on Relationship between Environment and Economy

摘要

Recently, global environmental problems have become serious due to human economic activities. Therefore, in order to build a sustainable society in which human economic activities coexist with nature, it is important to promote and enhance environmental education. As a preceding study, a board and computer game of “Ecopoly,” which is the game for education on global environmental problems, were developed. This study further aims to develop algorithms which make decisions in Ecopoly, to automate decision-makings of opponents using the algorithms, and to develop the environmental educational game “Ecopoly V” which enables self-learning. In order to develop the algorithms, the board game of Ecopoly was played, and each player’s decision-makings at the all points at which players make a deci- sion were observed and analyzed. From the analyses, it became clear that the decision-makings were distinguished by 3 characteristics; Ecology type, Economy type, and Balance type. Based on the characteristics, the factors and stan- dard values of each decision-making were made clear. Algorithms were developed based on the factors and standard values. Ecopoly V was developed by incorporating the algorithms into the computer game of Ecopoly. Experimental testing of the game was conducted and the validity of the game was verified.