1. Evaluating Online Museum Games
– Formative Evaluation
Hannah Clipson
Audience Research and Advocacy Unit, May 2012

2. Introduction
 Using a case-study to explore the benefits of
evaluating online museum games during the
development stage – Formative Evaluation.
 Methodologies.

3. Why Develop Museum Online Games?
 To go beyond the walls of the museum – reach out to a large, diverse
audience, providing those that can’t or won’t visit with an experience of
your content or collections.
 To articulate and engage the user with difficult / boring science content.
 To deliver enjoyable learning experiences.
 The market for games is huge!

4. Formative Evaluation – What’s the Point?
Why do we evaluate a game during the development stage?
 To improve it!
 To investigate if the game is meeting the objectives
you set at the start of the project.
 To explore if the game is meeting the needs of your
target audience.
 To identify and remove the barriers to
usability, motivation and comprehension.

5. Futurecade

6. Futurecade
 An online suite of arcade style games where teenagers can explore the
way contemporary science and technology affects their everyday lives.
Brief Overview:
To communicate specific areas of complex science content:
 Space Junk
 Synthetic Biology
 Geoengineering – Cloud Brightening
 Robo-Lobsters
Learning embedded in the gameplay – subtlety essential.
 Primarily targeted at teenagers, both inside and outside the classroom.

7. Aim:
 To foster critical thinking, informed decision-making and interest in
science.
Objectives:
 To be thought-provoking, stimulate and promote discussion.
 To provide challenges and rewards.
 To result in the players walking away from it wanting to find out more.
Learning Outcomes:
 An understanding that developments in science and technology will affect
our lives.
 An understanding that there will be upsides and downsides of new
science technologies.

8. Methodology
Evaluation Strategy – Why:
 To enable you to understand how you will create a high quality game that
meets your objectives and meets the needs of your audience.
When developing your strategy, what to consider:
 Who is the target audience?
 What do you want to find out from the evaluation?
 How will you find this out?
 What are you going to do with your findings?

9. Methodology
Concept Testing
 Thoughts on the game proposal, the science and the look and feel.
 Focus Group – 6 teenagers.

10. Methodology
Wireframe Testing
 Focusing on navigation, content, suitability for the target audience and
engagement.
 6 participants to test.

11. Methodology
Prototype Testing
 2 prototypes – focusing on comprehension of the science, usability and
engagement.
 Game testing with small groups of teenagers.

12. Methodology
Robustness Testing
 Identifying bugs.
 Recruit as many testers as possible!

13. Methodology
Using your findings – feeding back to designers.
 After each stage, findings used to inform direction and to make positive
changes.
 Ideal to meet face-to-face with designers to enable conversation.

14. Methodology
Why Conduct the Formative Evaluation?
 ‘Cloud Control’ representing inaccurate science to users.

15. Hannah Clipson
Audience Advocate
Audience Research and Advocacy
Learning and Audience Development Unit
Science Museum
Exhibition Road
London SW7 2DD
020 7942 4826
hannah.clipson@sciencemuseum.org.uk