The Beltway:: An Educational Game in ASP.NET and MS SQL

This study presents an educational web application that demonstrates the use of a front-end website architecture in combination with a back-end Microsoft SQL database for game data storage and retrieval located in a cloud environment. The Beltway (TBW) is an educational tool for teaching adolescents and adults, about the process of running for the office of president of the United States. It is also meant to provide users with factual information about some of the historical presidential campaigns that have occurred throughout history. This is a web-based application written in ASP.Net with Web Forms and C# which utilizes a Microsoft SQL database on the back-end. This game will also be adaptable for social website play such as Facebook applications and will include mobile application interfaces. By first choosing a political era, the player will be offered to run as one of the predominant figures of the political world at that time. The player can also elect a campaign manager from a list of famous campaign managers as well as other campaign strategists allowing them to attempt a run for president using a wide array of tools such as; campaign fund raising events, public debates with opposing candidates, and running campaign advertisements as well as smear campaigns against their opponents. Options presented during game play are historically accurate issues, challenges and events that have been fastidiously researched but election outcome is based mostly on player decisions throughout the game which can change the historical outcome of elections with some success and failure based on chance. During game play the outcome of the election is based on a campaign finance total, voter popularity and finally the vote count in each state of the country.