MuseUs – using cultural data in a pervasive serious museum game

Tanguy Coenen

iLab.o, IBBT-SMIT

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

IBBT ilab.o

• Focus on living lab support• Panel management• Methodologies• Tool support

• Software prototyping and testing in Living labs

Apollon

• EU CIP project• Focus on cross-border collaboration and

testing• Focus on Living lab testing

History

• First version with 3D navigation : User test movie of M HKA PP living lab tests

• Tested in Antwerp in July 2011

• Second version : simpler interface• Tested in Manchester in November 2011• To be tested in Paris in January 2012

Concept

• Core concept: ”create your own exhibition”• Objectives :

• Give users an incentive to look at cultural heritage in a different way

• Offer a way to support learning on cultural heritage through modern technology

• Keep it simple

How it works – general outline

• Match statements to exhibits• Statements are provided by museum and can e.g. be

• Feelings (melancholy)• Conflicting words (spicy-soft)• Poetry• …

• Exhibit can be different types of cultural heritage items, e.g. :• Paintings• Statues• Film scenes• …

How it works – the app

How it works – the app

How it works – the app

How it works – facebook

How it works – personal exhibition

How it works – the game progress visualization

Technical specifications

• App :

• PhoneGap / Jquery mobile / HTML 5 • Can be ported to other mobile OS like Android

or Windows Phone 7

• Backend : • Drupal

Technical specifications

• Game progress visualisation • Flash• Can be embedded in website of museum =>

provide an overview of game progress in real time

Infrastructure needs

• Content• Can be uploaded to the MuseUs CMS• Can be harvested from a museum’s

collection API• Wifi

• The better the connection, the richer the content that can be served

• Can be substituted by a good 3G network

Infrastructure needs

• QR codes• Generated by the MuseUs CMS• System can also use existing QR codes

Living lab tests

• With representative users : • Antwerp :

• 24 users between 14 and 24 years• Modern art

• Manchester : • 13 users of around 60 years• Pre-raphaelite art

Living lab tests

• Paris : • anyone who comes in the museum over a

period of 2 weeks• Theme : Alice in wonderland

Living lab tests

• Various lessons learned :• Reluctance to see it as a game• Can be of use to attract users to the

museum• QR scanning is seen as useful

Business model

We’re considering : • Common app model

• Common app with in-app purchases per exhibition• Value sharing between IBBT and museum

• Branded app model • One app per museum• License fee or value sharing

Stats – nr of times a work was indicated as favorite

Stats – nr of times a work was scanned

Conclusions

• Simple application =>• Does not draw too much attention from exhibition• Can be easily adapted to different types of exhibitions• Does not require much investment to deploy

• Can interface with museum API / web services. • Looking for partners to further deploy the app

Contact

tanguy.coenen@ibbt.be