Using Crowdsourcing as a Formative Evaluation Technique for Game Icons

In this book chapter, we describe a study that used crowdsourcing to formatively evaluate and obtain feedback on iconography developed for an anti-bullying and resilience educational video game targeted at K-3 children. Three of the icons specifically represented appropriate actions to de-escalate a bullying situation, and one icon represented an escalating response to such conflict. Seven hundred and eighty four Amazon Mechanical Turk members participated in the study. Both quantitative and qualitative findings confirmed utility for three out of the four icons. These findings support the use of iconography to convey target information and crowdsourcing as a type of formative evaluation for game design and features.