Design of a Cultural Heritage Gesture-Based Puzzle Game and Evaluation of User Experience

Abstract

The Haptic Puzzle was a 3D gesture-based puzzle game developed to be deployed in a museum of ethnology. The Haptic Puzzle was designed according to the conceptual model for puzzle games, which was based on the four-dimensional framework. In this study, we explored the development process of the Haptic Puzzle, providing insight on the manner in which the game was designed and explaining the design choices made. Aiming to measure the experience perceived by the Haptic Puzzle’s users, we evaluated the Haptic Puzzle based on the user experience questionnaire and direct observations, with the involvement of 92 participants who were separated into groups of 9 to 12 or small groups of 2 to 3 according to their ages, which ranged from 10 to 15 years old. We discuss the evaluation results indicating that the Haptic Puzzle accomplished its purpose by engaging users in a creative activity while they experienced pleasant feelings and enjoyment. Moreover, we describe the challenges we faced and the manner in which they were confronted. The presented study provides directions for future work regarding the development and evaluation of cultural heritage gesture-based games for deployment in museums.