Gamification of Digital Heritage as an Approach to Improving Museum and Art Gallery Engagement for Blind and Partially Sighted Visitors

Abstract

Digitization of heritage in art gallery and museum contexts raises ethical concerns around ownership, consent, and use. It also highlights fundamental issues of access and engagement for blind and partially sighted (BPS) visitors, especially elders. Gamification, which refers to the use of game elements and game design techniques, such as user feedback and additive levels of progress in non-game contexts, has been used to improve heritage pedagogy, accessibility for and engagement with museum and art gallery visitors. This paper examines collaborative efforts in digital heritage that engage with BPS visitors from historically excluded communities, thereby addressing their traditional exclusion from experiential learning in museum and art gallery settings. In this ethical framework, we use 3D printed models to demonstrate how gamification can play an essential role in providing BPS visitors in museum and art galleries an incentive to engage with the digital and physical archives, guiding them in experiential learning, and enabling new insights into their heritage. Fulsome implementation of 3D models as gamified objects can improve viewership, sharing, learning, and open discussion on redress for BPS members of historically excluded groups when it comes to their heritage. Gamification of digital heritage can enable a more diverse group of visitors to fully participate in the museum and art gallery experience.