Educational video games evaluation: An approach based on the educational playability

Educational video games (EVG) provide a rich platform to improve Player Experience (PX), and constitute some of the main edutainment applications currently in the market. However, the evaluation of video games as educational tools is very difficult due to their dual nature (fun and education). PX (as an usability measure) is a very important aspect of the EVGs, and a good measure of the level of fun and education presented to players and determines, to some extent, the success of an EVG. Educational Playability (playability in EVG) attributes have been proposed as a suitable and effective tool to analyze and measure the experience obtained by a player during a game. Accordingly, the development of the EVGs involves the need to evaluate their playability, and measure the PX of the designed EVGs. In this paper we propose a new method for evaluating EVGs based on the use of the playability and its characterization, which measures the degree of success in developing the PX and the degree of success in integrating the learning model in video games. This evaluation method consists of three dimensions: the balanced structure between the contents of EVGs (fun and learning), educational playability facets and the learning process included in the game, which play an essential role in the development of PX in EVGs. Also, the proposed method uses several evaluation techniques (heuristics, cognitive walkthrough, tests) that have been defined to evaluate the proposed dimensions. These techniques cover general issues of playability in EVGs such as mechanics, challenge, fantasy, etc., and they ensure the success and quality of the learning process. In this method many types of evaluators (designers, educators, and players) are involved in the evaluation process, which will be useful for giving good results. Our objective of using this approach is to ensure a good playable-learnable video game, with a high degree of acceptance among end users.