DEGREE: Development and Validation of a User Experience Model for Digital Educational Games Using Cronbach’s Alpha and Fuzzy Logic

The rapid growth of digital educational games demands an evaluation model that accurately captures user experience and adopts a human-centred approach. This study introduces DEGREE (Digital Educational Game Review and Evaluation Engine), an enhanced model extending MEEGA+ by incorporating two previously underrepresented dimensions: Control and Feedback. Using a quantitative approach, questionnaires were distributed to high school students who actively use Minecraft and Duolingo, yielding 4800 responses.Reliability analysis via Cronbach’s Alpha revealed that the Player Experience + Control combination achieved the highest score (α = 0.914), while the inclusion of Feedback reduced reliability (α = 0.864), leading to its exclusion in the final model. The DEGREE model consists of two core domains: Usability (Aesthetics, Learnability, Operability, Accessibility) and Player Experience (Focused Attention, Fun, Challenge, Social Interaction, Confidence, Relevance, Satisfaction, Perceived Learning, User Error Protection, Control). Evaluation scores were calculated using the Fuzzy Weighted Average (FWA) method and Mean of Maximum (MoM) defuzzification. The Control dimension emerged as the most influential (0.2735), followed by Fun (0.2664) and Satisfaction (0.2516), highlighting the significance of user agency in digital learning environments. The DEGREE model offers a statistically robust and user-oriented framework for evaluating educational games, delivering actionable insights for developers and educators to design more effective and engaging digital learning experiences. This study contributes a new validated and generalizable evaluation framework that strengthens the theoretical foundation of user experience assessment in educational game design.