Profit Maximization: Mining Case Study
This immersive VR game for Meta Quest VR headsets is designed for Economics and Business students to learn the concepts of profit maximization and marginal cost. Players take on the role of miners who must pay to use a drill to extract ore. With each batch, the extraction process becomes increasingly time-consuming, driving up additional costs.
Students are challenged to determine the optimal stopping point for production in order to maximize profit. Following the simulation, a debriefing session evaluates their decisions. The program can be utilized both in the classroom and for self-study.
Using the VR App with a Meta Quest Headset
The Mining Case Study app is a standalone app that gives instructors flexibility and does not rely on any external cloud service.
The app runs locally on each student’s (and the instructor’s) Meta Quest headset.
If used in the classroom or for self-study an Internet connection is not required. If used for online teaching only a Zoom or similar application is needed for instructor/student communication. The Mining Case Study app runs independently on the Meta Quest headset.
To install the app on a Meta Quest headset, the headset has to be in Developer Mode, which allows installing apps that are not from the Meta Store
The app is available for free via the SideQuest platform:
Get Mining Case Study App
Instructions on how set your headset to Developer Mode and how to load a SideQuest app are below:
How to Side Load
Supporting Materials: Teaching Strategies and Materials
Teaching Strategy
The instructor should familiarize the students with how to use the Meta Quest controllers. Especially, how they can move in the Virtual Reality, how they can pickup objects, and how they can push a button using the controller.
Students should be asked if they have health conditions that prevent them from using VR headsets and should be advised to stop using the headset in case they feel uncomfortable.
Accessibility: To ensure that the teaching benefits from the app are also available to students which cannot use a VR headset. The instructor can broadcast their VR experience on any screen that is connected to the same Wifi network as the Meta Quest headset (see Quick Settings on the instructors VR headset).
Teaching Materials
Below is a pdf file that is similar to the one that students see on as the debriefing video in the VR app, after they have finished the mining simulation when the return to the lobby. It can be used in a group setting after every student has finished the case study to explain the conditions for optimal production:
Download Debriefing PDF