Design Considerations for a Virtual Reality Serious Game Towards Connectedness to a Nature-Based Tourism Attraction

Abstract

This dissertation explores the potential of a virtual reality serious game to help people understand the complexity of a nature-based attraction, and leverage this to cultivate a connectedness to the ecosystem, working towards increasing pro-environmental behaviour. Specifically, this research examines what design considerations are necessary in working towards these goals. To this end, the opportunities in the tourism space for serious games and virtual reality were investigated through a site visit and subsequent pilot application. The opportunities were used to create a set of objectives for a virtual reality serious game artefact. Through several iterations the artefact was developed and modified, and was used to analyse the design considerations relevant to building a videogame around a nature-based tourism attraction. Further to this, design considerations around influencing a player’s connectedness to the attraction were investigated. Iterations One and Two were developed as part of Associate Professor Alexandra Coghlan’s project on VR games and reef conservation through tourism. The final iteration formed part of this dissertation. Utilising a Design Science methodology, the artefact was developed through a series of iterative activities. The Design, Play, Experience (DPE) Framework, a serious game specific extension of the Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics (MDA) Framework, is used to guide the development and evaluation process. While design considerations for creating serious games exists in literature, theory has neglected those specific to nature-based attractions and those around creating a connection between real-world attractions and players. Through the iterative process, a virtual reality serious game is created around the Great Barrier Reef, the chosen nature-based tourism attraction context for the work. Involvement in the project during the Pilot, Iteration One and Iteration Two was as a paid employee for Associate Professor Alexandra Coghlan. Through the first two iterations of design science, the work identifies a series of design considerations for creating virtual reality serious games about nature-based tourism attractions for visitors. From a gameplay perspective, designers can look to engage players with non-typical elements of the attraction, while using both completely player-controlled and completely simulated events and actions from the attraction to show the attraction’s complexity. Towards teaching visitors about the attraction, designers shouldn’t focus on accuracy but interpretation when representing the environment and allow the player to conduct detrimental activities so they can see the consequences of those actions. Designers can utilize virtual reality to showcase unique perspectives, both from a literal vantage point in the attraction, and to help embody the player as the attraction. Finally, designers can create a visual language that separates the videogame components and the simulated real-world components to ensure visitors know how to interpret various elements. Through the final iteration of design science, the work identifies several more design considerations pertaining specifically to creating a sense of connectedness between the visitor and the tourism attraction. Designers should highlight knowledge about the attraction that pertains to its struggles or threats not necessarily to for visitors to remember, but to create emotional moments. Designers should find ways to evoke different emotions from a typical visit to the attraction or find ways to evoke similar emotions towards different elements of the attraction. Designers can consider the emotional journey the visitor goes on while playing the videogame and make clear connections to the real-world attraction through various stages of their journey. Designers can highlight actions that mimic pro-environmental behaviour in the videogame to help visitors continue those actions in the real-world. The findings seek to better enable videogame creators and designers to create systems around complex ecosystems, towards encouraging pro-environmental behaviour in players. The significance of this dissertation is that it gives videogame designers new lenses to look at their designs through, to better capture the complexity of an ecosystem into a simplified, interactive and educational videogame, while ensuring their videogame brings people closer emotionally to the attraction.