2023-10-12 –, Bazar
Since the emergence of Pokémon Go, people have understood the impact of mobile devices and augmented reality when engaging in location-based (LB) gameplay. Mapping the possibilities of LB gaming in culture, and a creative integration of this technology, provides valuable opportunities to improve cultural heritage dissemination and understanding in the context of cultural tourism among younger audiences.
This session presents a project in cooperation with the Sint Maarten Utrecht Foundation to realise a location-based game for the city of Utrecht which is part of the European Cultural Route Via Trajectensis. The main research objective was to explore how an engaging and playful experience along this European cultural heritage route could be curated into an immersive story for young audiences using open-source data from platforms like Europeana.eu, Google Art & Culture, OpenStreet Map or ArcGIS. A first concept of this interactive app was developed during Europeana's Low-Code hackathon and will be further developed and scaled up to other cities and heritage sites based on a feasibility study.
One of the outcomes of this study is that augmented reality, location-based games have a positive attitude among participants and have the potential to enhance social experiences and cultural heritage exploration. The game uses co-creation to enhance the values of Saint Martin such as solidarity and charity. The user can earn points and the winner can give these points/money to a chosen charity. Artificial intelligence is used in order to optimise the experience for the user.
Frederike van Ouwerkerk studied (art)history and public history.
She worked as an museum educator and consultant. Now she is a senior lecturer in tourism, culture and communication and researcher for the professorship of digital transformation in cultural tourism at Breda University of Applied Sciences.