Becoming a Great Simulation Designer
Topic begun by Peter Shea |
Hi I'm Peter Shea.
As an instructional designer, I'm in love with simulations.
I'm interested in a discussion about the path to becoming a great simulation designer (as a non-programmer). Suggestions can include reading lists, organizations to join, projects to tackle, etc. I look forward to hearing what other people think.
Richard Clark, occasional LCB contributor, says:
Hi Peter,
As a simulation developer myself (having built several highly effective industrial-strength simulations in Flash), let's start with the skills every good simulation designer needs:
I'd suggest 5 books initially:
I could suggest many more, but these will give you the most value for your money. There are other books I can recommend depending on the subject area, whether you start shading into the development and programming side, doing user testing, quality assurance, etc.
How about we work on a problem (as a community) here in the Wiki. We can design it, maybe get a little programming done. Hey, it's a 21st-century workshop! (I'll check in every few days to keep the conversation going.)
Randy Roadster is the Senior Director of Traffic in Bustown. The city is having a terrible problem with traffic jams and smog all day long. There's no money to build new roads, but the government has given us money for education. We have noticed that when people drive politely, good things happen: traffic flows faster, people save gas, and smog goes down. When they drive aggressively, we have traffic jams. Can you teach them to drive better? |
Let's come up with a driving simulation. Roughly speaking:
A traffic simulator (non-instructional)
Peter Shea, LCB contributor, says:
Richard,
Thank you so much for the suggested readings. I'm still a novice & all the guidance offered is gratefully appreciated.
Did you start your career in education or as a programmer?