Let’s face it; some serious games do not hold up against their expectations, resulting in inaccurate results and even failed programs at times. Why is this, you ask? With the growing number of institutions using serious games in corporate settings and solely online training to educate employees, it is imperative we understand how to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the game in question. While return on investment (ROI) is a great indicator of how effective a training program is, there are other, more abstract factors that should also be taken into consideration.
Engage in Pre-Planning
First and foremost, it is important you don’t get ahead of yourself when it comes to your serious game. Before the game is even designed, sit down with your development and design team and outline your learning objectives, your instructional design documents, and maybe even your grant proposals (if applicable). By going over these documents with your team, you will be more equipped to lay out your practical and theoretical goals, as well as the overall objective for your serious game. With this, it may also be a good idea to do some research and look for successful case studies and what methods they used to measure the outcomes of their game.
![]()
Observe, Observe, Observe
Observe, Observe, Observe This is perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind when evaluating the effectiveness of a serious game. If you can show your serious game had an impact on behavior and your intended subjects actually took something positive away from it, you are in good shape. This ties back into the seemingly abstract factors we mentioned above, as it is crucial to look at observable behaviors when assessing a serious game. By making an effort to observe and take note of your audience’s reactions and how their behaviors may have changed, you will be getting a more accurate idea of how effective your program is.
Get Involved
One of the best ways to truly evaluate your game and understand how it works is to play it yourself. Yes, having measurable standards in place, knowing who your target audience is, and focusing on observable behaviors all play a big role in the evaluation stage, but nothing will give you a clearer picture than engaging in the game yourself. When you play the game, be sure and take note of whether or not you think about things different or have new insights on certain problems and situations. By putting yourself in the shoes of your future game players, you will be able to adjust your objectives, expectations, and measures more accurately.
In order for a serious game to be truly effective and for you to get the most out of it, you must adopt certain practices and techniques. Serious game development requires acknowledging the importance of ROI in conjunction with other, more abstract factors. By taking a step back and determining your objectives before the design phase, engaging in the game yourself, and observing behavior changes, you will be getting a much wider, more accurate picture of how well your game is being received.