Andean Culture in Play: Preserving Intangible Heritage Through a Gamified Application
摘要
The present article presents an innovative solution designed to rescue, preserve, and disseminate the intangible cultural heritage of indigenous agricultural peoples and nationalities in Ecuador. Leveraging digital tools in education, such as interactive applications and online learning platforms, creates a dynamic and stimulating educational environment. This approach provides access to a wide range of educational resources that foster active participation and collaborative learning. Taking this into consideration, our proposed solution introduces an educational cultural serious game, immersing players in experiential narratives that encompass the customs, celebrations, traditional cuisine, myths, and linguistic expressions. Central to the game’s design is the development of an agro-festive calendar and the management of community crops. The game design process seamlessly integrates the iPlus methodology, commonly used in serious game design, and by combining it with the Peasantization methodology, it allowed for the understanding of the indigenous peasant worldview. Furthermore, to continue the development of this educational game, the SCRUM framework was employed, which aids in agile project management. This interdisciplinary approach aligns with current educational and technological trends, emphasizing web-based learning, serious gaming, technological inclusivity, and user experience enhancement. Moreover, it strives to preserve and elevate the rich cultural heritage of indigenous peoples and nationalities. Upon completion, the game underwent a usability evaluation using a specialized test tailored for serious games. The results of this evaluation revealed an overall usability score of 75.61%, falling within an acceptable range according to the usability scale. This underscores the effectiveness of using video games as a means for cultural education of children, as well as for the preservation and dissemination of indigenous peoples’ heritage and knowledge in Ecuador.