A Serious Games Perspective for Virtual Interactive Exhibition: A Case Study of the Bronze Age of Yunnan Exhibition at Yunnan Provincial Museum
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background and Aim: This study examines how virtual interactive exhibitions can be effectively narrated through serious games to enhance audience engagement and cultural understanding. It focuses on the integration of plot, character, setting, theme, and narrative perspective as key narrative elements in digital museum experiences. Using the Bronze Age of Yunnan Exhibition at the Yunnan Provincial Museum as a case study, the research analyzes how serious game-based narrative strategies can support more immersive and meaningful virtual exhibitions. The study also aims to design an application that combines serious games with virtual exhibition practices, thereby validating the effectiveness of this approach and demonstrating its potential for wider application in museum education and digital cultural heritage communication.
Materials and Methods: This study adopted a mixed-methods research design, combining both quantitative and qualitative approaches. For the quantitative component, data were collected from visitors to the Yunnan Provincial Museum through an online questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was used to examine visitors’ perceptions of engagement, cultural comprehension, and learning experience in relation to serious game-based virtual exhibitions. For the qualitative component, semi-structured interviews were conducted with five key informants, including one staff member from the Yunnan Provincial Museum, two university professors, one virtual interactive display designer, and one virtual interactive application designer. Interview data were collected using an interview form and analyzed descriptively to summarize expert perspectives on narrative design, technological feasibility, and museum application value.
Results: The findings demonstrate that narrative serious game-based virtual interactive displays can significantly improve the effectiveness of museum exhibitions. In the Bronze Age of Yunnan Exhibition, the application of serious game elements increased audience engagement by 42% and improved cultural comprehension scores by 35% compared with traditional virtual exhibition formats. The results indicate that serious games can transform cultural relic displays from static presentation into dynamic, exploratory, and participatory learning experiences. By guiding audiences through structured narratives and interactive tasks, this approach encourages active learning, deepens cultural memory, and strengthens emotional connection with cultural heritage. The study also confirms that serious game-based virtual exhibitions provide an innovative model for digital heritage education and offer practical value for future museum exhibition design.
Conclusion: This study verifies that integrating serious games into virtual interactive exhibitions can enhance audience engagement, improve cultural comprehension, and support the digital transformation of museums. Through interdisciplinary prototype design and empirical evaluation, the research proposes an innovative exhibition model that combines narrative structure, game interaction, and cultural education. This model has strong potential for application in digital cultural heritage communication and museum-based learning. However, the study also has certain limitations, including methodological constraints, a relatively limited sample, and possible response bias. Future research should expand the sample size, involve more museums and exhibition themes, and further refine the application design to improve generalizability and practical effectiveness.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright on any article in the International Journal of Sociologies and Anthropologies Science Reviews is retained by the author(s) under the under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Permission to use text, content, images, etc. of publication. Any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose. But do not use it for commercial use or with the intent to benefit any business.
References
Alfanda, A. M. (2025). A data-based artificial intelligence for predicting compressive strength of rice husk ash sandcrete blocks. Academia Engineering, 2(2), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.20935/AcadEng7673
Bal, M. (2017). Narratology: Introduction to the theory of narrative (4th ed.). University of Toronto Press.
Belhi, A., Gasmi, H., Bouras, A., Alfaqheri, T., Aondoakaa, A. S., Sadka, A. H., & Foufou, S. (2020). Machine learning and digital heritage: The CEPROQHA project perspective. In K. Arai, S. Kapoor, & R. Bhatia (Eds.), Fourth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology: ICICT 2019, London, Volume 2 (pp. 363–374). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0633-8_34
Biehl, P. F., & Prescott, C. (2013). Heritage in the context of globalization: Europe and the Americas (SpringerBriefs in Archaeology). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6077-0
Champion, E. (Ed.). (2019). The phenomenology of real and virtual places. Routledge.
Chee, Y. S. (2007). Embodiment, embeddedness, and experience: Game-based learning and the construction of identity. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning, 2(1), 3–30. https://doi.org/10.1142/S1793206807000303
Chen, H., Hale, J., & Hanks, L. (2024). Archive or exhibition? A comparative case study of the real and virtual Pitt Rivers Museum. Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, 32, Article e00305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.daach.2023.e00305
Duncan, T. (2018). Beyond the museum: A comparative study of narrative structures in films and museum design. In S. Macleod, T. Austin, J. Hale, & O. H. Hing-Kay (Eds.), The future of museum and gallery design: Purpose, process, perception (pp. 239–253). Routledge.
Economou, M. (2015). Heritage in the digital age. In W. Logan, M. Nic Craith, & U. Kockel (Eds.), A companion to heritage studies (pp. 215–228). Wiley-Blackwell.
Falk, J. H., & Dierking, L. D. (2016). The museum experience revisited. Routledge.
Gee, J. P. (2007). Good video games and good learning: Collected essays on video games, learning, and literacy. Peter Lang.
Giaccardi, E. (Ed.). (2012). Heritage and social media: Understanding heritage in a participatory culture. Routledge.
Giannini, T., & Bowen, J. P. (2022). Museums and digital culture: From reality to digitality in the age of COVID-19. Heritage, 5(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage5010011
Guangzhou Virtual Power. (2024). Virtual digital person landing program for exhibition halls: Exploring full-scene intelligent tours. Sohu. https://it.sohu.com/a/810279428_120912206
International Council of Museums. (2024). Museum definition. https://icom.museum/en/resources/standards-guidelines/museum-definition/
King, N. (2021). Serious games guide: Everything you need to know in 2021. Chaos Theory Games. https://www.chaostheorygames.com/blog/serious-games-guide-everything-you-need-to-know-in-2021
Li, C., & Ghirardi, S. (2019). The role of collaboration in innovation at cultural and creative organizations: The case of the museum. Museum Management and Curatorship, 34(3), 273–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/09647775.2019.1588401
Mayer, R. E. (2014). Computer games for learning: An evidence-based approach. MIT Press.
Parry, R. D. (2007). Recording the museum: Digital heritage and the technologies of change. Routledge.
Peng, L. (2021, April 2). Artifacts unearthed at Sanxingdui have relatives in Yunnan? 文旅云南. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MjM5NzY4NTEwNA==&mid=2652407804&idx=2&sn=ea4169645a311b0cb7b69fb0e2c3b83c
Simon, N. (2010). The participatory museum. Museum 2.0.
Slussareff, M., Braad, E., Wilkinson, P., & Strååt, B. (2016). Learning games. In R. Dörner, S. Göbel, W. Effelsberg, & J. Wiemeyer (Eds.), Entertainment computing and serious games: International GI-Dagstuhl Seminar 15283, Dagstuhl Castle, Germany, July 5–10, 2015, revised selected papers (pp. 189–211). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46152-6_11
Wang, H., Gao, Z., Zhang, X., Du, J., Xu, Y., & Wang, Z. (2024). Gamifying cultural heritage: Exploring the potential of immersive virtual exhibitions. Telematics and Informatics Reports, 15, 100150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teler.2024.100150
Wojciechowski, R., & Cellary, W. (2013). Evaluation of learners’ attitude toward learning in ARIES augmented reality environments. Computers & Education, 68, 570–585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2013.02.014
Xiangguang, S. (2008). The development of private museums in China. Museum International, 60(2), 40–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0033.2008.00631.x
Yunnan Provincial Museum. (2023). Yunnan Provincial Museum’s collections of fine cultural relics are available in the digital exhibition hall online today!. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzI0MjkyOTQwMg==&mid=2247525295&idx=1&sn=f139c25b562dfac05e8cfe4e8727a19b
Yunnan Provincial Museum. (2025). Overview. https://www.ynmuseum.org/survey.html#section=2
