Design, development, and evaluation of a serious video game to promote visitors' engagement in a museum exhibition context

Abstract

Museums have different challenges form a lack of funding and staff to a decrease in visitors. Due to the lack of interest from visitors, museums have created more enjoyable experiences for the public. The literature has shown that serious games are beneficial to visitors, as they can both encompasses entertainment and learning. On the other hand, this technology is mainly designed without the opportunity to allow for constant changes, resulting in a short life span. In this research, we propose the design and development of a serious video game for Caracol Museo de Ciencias, inspired by escape room game mechanics, which aims to promote visitors' engagement and to provide them with a different game experience every time they visit the museum, through the continuous updating of the game by museum staff with the help of a web authoring tool.