Whether your objective is to promote local heritage (nature, tangible, intangible or built cultural heritage) and / or to raise awareness of a cause, your best tools to interest your visitors will be games and history.
The importance of the game in the course
Explorama designed the studio with the objective of building playful digital routes but also treasure hunts on local heritage thanks to the addition of games in the missions. A game having the characteristic of being an entertaining activity, it makes it easier to engage the audience in the activity. The player learns more about what he has discovered, progresses and becomes a true explorer and ambassador of his territory!
Many territories and destinations are betting on digital technology and gamification as tools for enhancing cultural, architectural and natural heritage.
It is an effective approach at all stages of the decision-making process:
before the experience: make people dream, promote the territory, make people want to go and discover it
during the experience: create positive emotions, sharing, memories in connection with this territory
after the experience: re-address more easily, build loyalty, make inhabitants ambassadors of their territory
History, a tool promoting immersion in the course
In addition to the game elements, imagining a story around a digital journey of discovery makes it possible to add a part of escape to the harsh reality. The audience will then immerse themselves in a universe and potentially identify with the main character. Allowing a better understanding of the objective, the story thus facilitates public involvement.
“You tell me, I forget. You teach me, I remember. You involve me, I learn. ”
Benjamin Franklin
What are the steps in creating a scenario?
Information research phase:
1.Define the objective of this treasure hunt: raise awareness, promote, educate, engage, preserve
2.Collecting elements:
Identification of the places of the treasure hunt: forest, city, building, room, mountain, etc.
List anecdotes, events or key people of the place
Inventory of points of interest and objects to find: relic, work of art, fauna, flora, jewel, decorative object, place …
Find links between these points of interest: events, eras, characters, their function …
3.Decide on the target of the game:
families, young people, children … who de facto provide information on the level of difficulty of the game
Depending on the target, identify which player profile you want to target:
Action : The scenario will include quite a few fights and chases.
Adventure: The scenario will revolve around the exploration and organization of these explorations.
Mystery: The scenario will be of the investigation type and its objective will be to make discoveries. The organizational aspect will also be important.
2. Imagine a theme :
Two types of possible themes: The structural and conceptual theme
Structural: very general idea of a scenario
The quest : It is a question of accomplishing a precise objective: to find a person, an object, to foil a conspiracy or to accomplish a mission.
The central character : The scenario revolves around a character whose Machiavellian plans generally have to be thwarted.
Travel and exploration : The gist of the story is to discover an unknown place.
Everyday life : For simulationists. The idea is that the scenario allows you to immerse yourself in your character and in the game world.
Conceptual theme: short statement or a “philosophical” question that will guide the scenario.
Example: love, war, ecology, good and evil, life and death, mythology, corruption, fatality, courage, heroism, justice, apocalypse
3.The overall scenario:
Answer the question: Who, what, where, when, how, why?
Act 1: Introduce and establish the context
-Imagine a first scene / an event marking the beginning of the plot -Present characters in a universe. The goal is to arouse the interest of the viewer. – Introduce conflicts, the disruptive element.
Act 2: pose obstacles and trials
– Determine the narrative arcs of the characters
– Evolve the characters to solve the problem.
-Make a series of scenes illustrating the protagonists’ efforts to get out of the crisis: twists and turns
Act 3: Resolve and resolve conflicts
– Show the ultimate confrontation. – Resolve intrigue and conflicts with a happy or unhappy outcome.