We live in an age of rapid technological development which transforms our behaviour and habits every few years. The world of sci-fi novels from the first half of the 20th century has become a reality and technology is more prominent in our lives than anyone suspected around the turn of the millennium. The first iPhone was released in 2007 and in 2020 an estimated 45% of the earth’s population, around 3.5 billion people, use smart phones every day.[1] Another change in the last two or three decades is an increased number of computer games players. They are now approaching the smart phone owners in numbers, or 2.7 billion.[2] These worlds connect through the internet which has transformed our lives, particularly our ways of communication.
The gaming world has expanded, partly because now people in opposite corner of the world can compete against each other. There are millions of players in a game like Fortnite. Generations growing up today possess a completely different technical know-how and technical literacy than former generations and thus their expectations are very different when it comes to communicating the cultural heritage or any information which their grandparents read off boards or in brochures. All this is a great incentive to rethink our strategy in cultural communications, to keep up with technology and invite new generations to learn in new and effective ways. sing computer games; their methodology and technology, to reach a wider audience has become more popular in recent years. This short guide is meant to offer an insight into this practice, especially with small museums and centres, that don’t have access to great funds, in mind.
[1] See https://www.oberlo.com/statistics/how-many-people-have-smartphones.
[2] See https://financesonline.com/number-of-gamers-worldwide/.
Gamification and games-based approach to cultural heritage 