Fathers and Sons videogame

Virtual Heritage: Reinventing museum engagement through digital innovation

Dream: The project's inception aimed to engage the public in an innovative manner by promoting the museum and the city of Naples. The strategy, introduced in 2017, sought to enhance the museum's image and broaden its audience, setting a foundation for using digital tools to captivate a wider, especially younger, international audience.

Idea: The collaboration between the museum and TuoMuseo represents the initial conceptual phase. The vision was to create a video game titled "Father and Son," set in Naples, allowing players to traverse different historical periods. This idea focused on making the museum's offerings more accessible and appealing, with an emphasis on historical exploration and narrative choice that affects the game's outcome.

Realization: The execution phase involved the active collaboration of museum experts and TuoMuseo in developing the game's content. It highlights the technical choice of 2D technology, incorporating watercolor paintings to vividly capture the city and its landmarks, and composing a unique soundtrack. The game features meticulously recreated real streets of Naples and characters that draw players closer to modern Naples, effectively merging education with entertainment.

Challenges and solutions: During the development, the team faced the challenge of accurately representing Naples' rich history and culture. The solution was a close collaboration between museum experts and game developers, ensuring the game's content was both informative and engaging. Regular updates for compatibility with new devices and the introduction of geolocation-based features to encourage museum visits were key responses to technological and engagement challenges.

Innovation: The game's design, using watercolor aesthetics and a unique soundtrack, along with the integration of historical and modern elements of Naples, showcases the innovative approach taken. The addition of geolocation features to foster real-world museum visits further emphasizes the project's creative use of technology.

Effect: The game's success is evident in its popularity, with over 4 million downloads across 97 countries, notably achieving significant outreach in China. This widespread acceptance demonstrates the project's effectiveness in reaching its target audience and encouraging cultural exploration.

Financial support: The project was entirely funded through internal resources, showcasing the institution's commitment to leveraging digital tools for cultural promotion without external financial aid.

Future: Looking ahead, the museum plans to launch a second version of the game featuring new scenarios and a female lead character. This indicates a sustained commitment to updating and expanding the game, with plans for multilingual expansion, including an app in the Neapolitan dialect, and the introduction of additional features to maintain interest and compatibility.

Responsible institution
MANN - National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy
Good practice link
https://mann-napoli.it/en/father-and-son-2-2/https://elmp.gr/3dvirtualtour/
Address

About the Practice: The text describes the collaboration between TuoMuseo and the museum to create a video game showcasing the museum and the city of Naples. It outlines how experts from the museum participated in building the game's content, the choice of 2D technology, and the use of watercolor paintings and a unique soundtrack to represent the city and its landmarks.

About the Institution: This section introduces "Father and Son," a video game set in Naples that allows players to explore different historical eras and make choices that influence the story. It highlights the recreation of real streets of Naples within the game and the encounter with characters connected to modern Naples.

Context: The text explains the goal of promoting the museum to the public in an engaging way and describes the strategy introduced in 2017 to improve the museum's image and expand its audience. The creation of the video game is presented as part of this strategy.

Success Factors: This section discusses the success of the video game, including its popularity with over 4 million downloads across 97 countries and its effectiveness in reaching the target audience, particularly in China. It also mentions the use of geolocation-based features to encourage visits to the museum.

Target Group: Describes the museum's target audience, mainly consisting of young people, and its aspiration to reach an international audience.

Sustainability: Explains the museum's efforts to update the video game regularly, ensuring compatibility with the latest devices, and mentions plans for launching a second version with new scenarios and a female lead character.

Digital Tools: Describes the collaboration between the museum and TuoMuseo, a collective of technology experts, for the development of the video game.

Funding: States that the project was funded solely through internal resources.

Plans: Outlines the timeline and expansion of the app into multiple languages since 2017, as well as the introduction of an app in Neapolitan dialect in 2020 and plans for additional features.

About the Practice: The text describes the collaboration between TuoMuseo and the museum to create a video game showcasing the museum and the city of Naples. It outlines how experts from the museum participated in building the game's content, the choice of 2D technology, and the use of watercolor paintings and a unique soundtrack to represent the city and its landmarks.

About the Institution: This section introduces "Father and Son," a video game set in Naples that allows players to explore different historical eras and make choices that influence the story. It highlights the recreation of real streets of Naples within the game and the encounter with characters connected to modern Naples.

Context: The text explains the goal of promoting the museum to the public in an engaging way and describes the strategy introduced in 2017 to improve the museum's image and expand its audience. The creation of the video game is presented as part of this strategy.

Success Factors: This section discusses the success of the video game, including its popularity with over 4 million downloads across 97 countries and its effectiveness in reaching the target audience, particularly in China. It also mentions the use of geolocation-based features to encourage visits to the museum.

Target Group: Describes the museum's target audience, mainly consisting of young people, and its aspiration to reach an international audience.

Sustainability: Explains the museum's efforts to update the video game regularly, ensuring compatibility with the latest devices, and mentions plans for launching a second version with new scenarios and a female lead character.

Digital Tools: Describes the collaboration between the museum and TuoMuseo, a collective of technology experts, for the development of the video game.

Funding: States that the project was funded solely through internal resources.

Plans: Outlines the timeline and expansion of the app into multiple languages since 2017, as well as the introduction of an app in Neapolitan dialect in 2020 and plans for additional features.

Piazza Museo 18/19, 80135 Naples
Contact person on good practice
Elisa Napolitano, museum education manager for teaching, research, promotion, and enhancement, man-na@beniculturali.it