Heuristic evaluation of an information literacy game

Abstract

Libraries have tapped on the popularity of digital game-based learning to promote information literacy (IL) education to students. However, among the many IL games that have been developed, evaluations have mostly relied on anecdotal quotations, or procedures which were neither systematic nor rigorous. This study fills in this gap by adopting the heuristic evaluation method with endusers to evaluate Library Escape, an IL game for tertiary students. Participants identified problems with the game according to the Heuristic Evaluation of Playability (HEP) framework. Useful feedback was gathered, as well as suggestions on how to improve it. We proposed to extend the HEP framework by including two more categories on characters/graphics and pedagogical effectiveness. Implication and limitations of this study are discussed, and directions for future work are pointed out.