A Lens to the Past: Using Site-Specific Augmented Reality for Historical Interpretation

Abstract

This demo paper presents a locative, site-specific, augmented-reality game for a WW1 historical site. The work constitutes the preliminary results of a research collaboration between two universities, one museum and a developer of serious games. The challenge was to produce an interactive, playful and educational digital experience based on the results of research into national policy and other cultural forces in relation to food and nutrition in Denmark during WW1. The resulting game needed to have a high technology readiness level and be deployed in the historical site for use by visitors. The research collaboration produced several innovations in location-based augmented-reality games for cultural heritage that are likely to be of interest to researchers and developers working in this space: (a) a way to present complex content that requires multiple perspectives in a geolocatable double structure; (b) the use of a visual aesthetic that resonates highly with the historical period in question in order to encourage reflection that relates the past to the present; (c) an approach to adding supplementary historical information in a fashion that aims not to overload the player with information during the play experience. While we have yet to evaluate the work through a user trial, this demo paper presents our design motivations and solutions that arose from the collaboration and the complex historical material.