Reflections on applying a criteria to evaluate a serious game

Whilst the field of Serious Games is maturing, the problem of how to identify a good game is still unresolved. Several criteria for game evaluation have been proposed and tested by academics but there are few reports academics using other people’s criteria, or of several experts applying the same criteria to a game to see if they agree on the game’s qualities. This paper presents an evaluation of a game that is under redevelopment. A third party evaluation criteria is applied by four independent experts and the results are reflected on by the game’s designer. Where the experts and designer disagree, the reasons are examined. Finally questions are raised about the risks inherent to any distillation of academic theory to practical evaluation tool.