Video version:
I'm Rodrigo, the developer behind Finance Interactive, a financial simulator game where you will learn real-world finance while having fun (and without even trying).
Before telling you all the details behind this project and how I plan to accomplish such a bold claim, let me briefly give you some background about how everything came into existence.
The Crucial Insight
It all started more than a year ago (around mid-2023). I was working at a university as a researcher (I'm a mathematician). For a variety of reasons, I decided to quit academia. This left a sense of vacuum and meaning in my life.
On the one hand, I knew I didn't want to continue with the academic path. On the other hand, I didn't know what to do!
This sense of purposelessness made my day job (I still had a year of contract) a boring, dull experience. I was feeling lethargic, low-energy, and even dumber.
So, one day, to lift my mood (German winter didn't help either), I decided to play some video games to see if that helped. And I noticed something interesting: I could be entirely focused and energized while playing.
The brain fog was gone.
The lack of energy was gone.
I was a different person.
So I had an aha! Moment: it's not that I'm depressed. It's simply that I'm not engaged in what I'm doing! After all, the energy is there while playing games.
Of course, this is nothing new in the scientific domain. I experienced that feeling countless times during my gaming experiences spanning 20+ years. However, the key this time was that the contrast was so immense I couldn't miss it.
So I thought to myself: gosh! If I could only find something I could do on a daily basis and be productive, that would be the holy grail.
So, this experience led me to start a quest for the holy grail. I wanted to transform my life so that it felt like playing every moment of my waking existence.
But... aren't games a waste of time?
Now, if I start talking about games, plays, and fun, the serious adult in the audience may say, "Sure, that works for my children, but not for me. I'm a busy person!"
Wrong.
Games are synonymous with entertainment, free time, childhood, etc. That's a feature and not a bug. After all, games are designed primarily to entertain us.
Also, parents and educators have a valid concern about the addictive potential of games. I wonder if they would be as concerned if someone became "addicted" to homework.
However, games are tools and mediums of expression, the same way museums, documentaries, and travel tips are used annually by millions of students worldwide. As such, they can be used for "good" and "bad."
Since there are many examples of "bad" games (i.e., non-educative ones), I started to think whether I could find "good" examples. It didn't take me long to find one, although I had to go back over 20 years.
Age of Empires, Encarta, and my love for history
I got my first desktop computer at around 8-9 years old. Before that, I played games on my Super Nintendo. From that moment on, I had the world of PC games at my disposal.
My aunt, who knew somehow I liked strategy games, gave me two games: Warcraft II and Age of Empires. Both had a similar goal: getting resources, building your army, advancing technologically, and conquering your enemies. However, both had different backgrounds: Warcraft has its own universe (which I never found compelling, sorry, WoW fans!), while AOE is based on historical events.
While I did spend my fair share of time playing Warcraft II, AOE hooked me. Instant addiction. A love at first sight.
I don't remember if I've already liked history or if this made me like it. Still, if anything, it made the connection even stronger.
Now, I could see, hear, and experience, all from the comfort of home, the tales of the Egyptians, Babylonians, etc., without having to travel there!
When I wasn't allowed to play on weekdays, I found refuge in another computer tool: Microsoft Encarta.
Back in ancient times, when Wikipedia wasn't a thing, and the Internet wasn't available everywhere, you had to use physical books to complete your homework. At some point, I got the Encarta Encyclopedia on my PC. Soon, it became one of my favorite pastimes (that's what you do when you don't have friends).
So, I could "play" on Encarta during the week by reading articles, watching videos, or visiting places virtually. And not only about history, but everything.
Then, on the weekends, I became even more interested in playing AOE and others since I knew what was happening behind the scenes. This created a self-reinforcing loop, where the game made me go research, and the research made me want to play.
Imagine if the educational system worked like this...
Education is Broken
I'm also grateful because most of my history teachers were great storytellers and made me feel like I was part of the plot. But not all subjects were like that, sadly.
For example, chemistry. To this day, I hate it. Not because I had terrible grades. Quite to the contrary. I usually got the best grades. But I got good grades because I wanted good grades, not because I found the subject particularly interesting.
The main problem was that I never got why we were doing what we were doing. The chain reactions, the redox thing, I have no idea what I was doing. I only knew I would get some results if I applied some mechanical formula. Sounds familiar? You can replace chemistry with math, biology, literature, or almost any subject, and I bet you can relate to that.
Thinking in retrospect, it is outrageous that we allow children to spend 1000s of hours wasting their lives doing things they don't care about, just because "that's how things are." Especially now that I know that one can live a high proportion of their life in a state of flow where life feels like play.
After all, that's how children learn during the first 5 years or so. But once they know how to read, that becomes the de facto way of learning for the rest of our lives. It is not a surprise many find the idea of lifelong learning repulsive.
I must admit I do not know how to fix that. It is such a complex problem involving literally the way we structure our societies. One can find many answers in the academic and educational communities, but then good luck with bureaucracy...
So, instead of waiting for a solution, I asked myself: "Is there a way I can contribute somehow?" And that's what led to the creation of Finance Interactive.
Introducing: Finance Interactive
That was a long way to where we are now, but it is essential to understand where this came from. Ultimately, Finance Interactive is more than finance and games; it is a proof of concept aimed to reshape the way we learn, where it is possible to have fun and learn without even trying.
Now, I'm not inventing the wheel here. Game-based learning has been around for decades. But still, it hasn't percolated through society.
Why?
Everyone knows about GTA, Super Mario, Call of Duty, and others. Are there examples of educational-based games that have reached millions? As far as I know, there are no such examples. Of course, you can use games such as Minecraft or Kerbal space program to learn, but it is not one of their main selling points (this came after they became a massive success). Still, they are mainly associated with games for children (despite being played by thousands of adults).
What if we could create games designed from the get-go to be educational tools, compelling for children and adults?
This ultimately led to the creation of Finance Interactive, a financial simulator where you learn about real-world finance without even trying (and having fun!).
So, what's Finance Interactive about? In a nutshell, you take the CEO role of an insurance company. As such, you can create insurance policies and use the funds from that to invest in various financial assets. Of course, there is no free lunch here, and you'll learn about the world of insurance and the basics of risk management and solvency requirements.
Next, with the money collected (plus your initial capital), you invest it in bonds and stocks. Figuring out the best investments will teach you about the financial markets, why they exist, and the differences between the zoo of financial instruments.
Here, you can choose: either you create a diversified portfolio with multiple, relatively small investments, or you can become the next Warren Buffett and acquire companies, maybe change their management teams, and provide them the capital to invest in new projects.
In any case, you'll need to know about a plethora of finance jargon: mergers, cost of equity, WACC, time-value of money, cash flows, etc. I don't want you to feel dizzy, and even if you don't know anything of the above, we have you covered!
Because to make the experience comfortable, not just for the hardcore strategy gamers out there, we are developing an in-game, fully offline encyclopedia. This will act both as a game manual and a repository of knowledge.
You will have quick access to a no-nonsense explanation of the technical concepts behind the game so that you can get an intuition about how this works. Ultimately, by experiencing and trying, you will eventually get it. Still, it is always nice to have an easy-access reference. Also, suppose you want to go deeper into a topic, such as bonds. In that case, we will provide references so that if what we offer is not enough, you can explore and go as deep as you wish. Perhaps you end up doing a finance PhD or becoming a bond trader.
Try it now, for free
I could show you screenshots and whatnot, but what if you try it yourself now, for free? Visit financeinteractive.org now and get the latest version of the game for free!
Just a word of caution: This is a work in progress. If you are OK with things breaking randomly, unpolished corners, and submitting bugs, please try it now. Let me know what you like, what not, and what we could improve. We are giving out this for free to thank you for the time and the minor annoyances here and there.
If, on the other hand, you find the concept interesting but would rather wait until the game is more polished, you can still go to financeinteractive.org and subscribe to the e-mail newsletter. I will send new e-mails when new versions are released and update you about the development process.
If this game can be of interest to a friend, relative, etc., please share this link (and this post) with them and spread the message of making learning fun again.
Lastly, I want this message to inspire you. Perhaps you are the person we've all been waiting for to learn and finally fall in love with chemistry. Even if you have no technical skills (I didn't have them before starting this), it is easier and faster than ever to bring to reality the vision of making a repository of deep, meaningful interactive experiences where we can all learn and reach our highest potential.
What are you waiting for?
