PhD Feature: Gamified Immersive Museum Experience for Engineering and Design Heritage
Overview
Gamification is a highly effective approach for enhancing individuals’ motivation and engagement in the presented activity by incorporating game-like elements and mechanics to make the experience more interactive, enjoyable, and rewarding. while Storytelling can significantly enhance the connection and emotional attachment to the subject matter by weaving narratives that engage the audience, making the content more memorable.
This study incorporated strategies and theories related to storytelling to facilitate beneficial engagement with museum object inside VR environment. Virtual reality (VR) used as the main instrument to communicate the Coventry engineering heritage content. By using immersive technology as an instrumental solution, the research seeks to enhance visitor experiences and offer meaningful interpretations, aligning with the demands of diverse visitors.
As each heritage object holds a significant value with a certain meaning, VR could serve as an instrument to communicate and interpret these stories. Thus, communication model was developed based on the mathematical theory of Shannon Weaver to enhance the communication process in virtual environments between the visitors and the heritage object. Therefore, three VR experiments were developed to investigate the level of immersion, interaction, and learning from the visitors’ perspectives while engaging with the subject matter.
Dr. Saif Alatrash
PhD Alumnus
Saif Alatrash is a VR developer and researcher at Coventry University. Currently, he is working as a Senior Technician – Digital Modelling & Visualisation at the National Transport Design Centre. His Phd focuses on enhancing the user experience in VR environments through gamification and storytelling strategies.
Using the state-of-the-art instruments to comprehensively interpret the meaning behind the subject matter. His primary objective is to bridge the gap between theory and practical application, effectively bringing theoretical concepts to life though interactive experience. Saif’s skill set encompasses 3D modeling, game mechanics, and performance optimization, ensuring the delivery of VR experiences that consistently exceed expectations.
Participants were recruited from Coventry Transport Museum and public spaces. One-way ANOVA approach was used to determine the significant differences between the proposed factors in the study. The study found that the absence of interaction in the immersive scenario reduced the mean score leading to a lack of constructive guidance during navigation. Whereas using Gamified and narrated approaches significantly increased the mean value of the participants compared to the control group. While many researchers argue that the utilisation of VR could improve the users’ level of presence, the study outcomes suggest that there are certain conditions that should be structured during the development process to facilitate better engagement with virtual content. To achieve these conditions, gamification and storytelling strategies have been found to be effective in delivering an interactive immersive experience for engaging with heritage artefacts and contents.
To access the VR experiment, please check the following link to download the APK file, (*This game is compatible with the Meta Quest 2 and above headsets):
Video Demonstration
Related Articles & Accolades
Communicating engineering heritage through immersive technology: A VR framework for enhancing users' interpretation process in virtual immersive environments
Alatrash, S., Arnab, S. & Antlej, K., 16 Sept 2023, In: Computers & Education: X Reality. 3, 13 p., 100040.
Saif Alatrash announced as Coventry University’s Postgraduate Researcher of the Year 2021
Coventry University Research News.
(January 2021)