Learning by Earning: The Dollar Bay Project

The Dollar Bay Project is part of the North Dakota State University WWWIC (Worldwide Web Instructional Committee) Research effort. Dollar Bay is a fictitious seaside town simulated in an interactive, Web-based environment intended to teach the principles and practices of retailing. To begin the game, a player must first create a character and become a storeowner in Dollar Bay. The character is then assigned retail space and a starting budget. The player’s goal is simple: make more profit than the other store owners in Dollar Bay. However, the means by which a player obtains their profit represents a formidable, yet invigorating challenge. For instance, the game has the ability to simulate seasonal affects on consumer purchasing trends. Dollar Bay players must anticipate these and other trends along with socioeconomic factors in order to adjust inventory and pricing accordingly to keep their business thriving. Depending on the success of their business decisions, players may also be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Each semester, students are assigned to cross-functional teams, much like those in today’s progressive organizations, in order to facilitate improvements in various areas of Dollar Bay. The Dollar Bay Project is the anthology of ongoing collaboration of students taking Computer Science courses at NDSU.