Digital Storytelling and 3D Technologies for Visitor Experience and Contested Heritage Preservation

Abstract

This chapter draws on the case study of aboriginal trackways at World Heritage-listed Willandra Lakes Region of New South Wales, Australia to explore how to re-create a unique, charismatic, and vulnerable heritage site by combining 3D technology and storytelling to assist with the virtual presentation of heritage. This chapter delves into the advantages and challenges of innovative 3D scanning methods available to accurately record fossilised Indigenous footprints, providing best practice guidelines on how to best deliver these outcomes in a form of engaging immersive visitor experience. Findings suggest that storytelling techniques improve intensity of virtual experience recreated using 3D scanning techniques through the process of narrative transportation, which elicits emotional arousal and improves emotional engagement with heritage. These findings contribute to the utilisation of 3D technologies and storytelling for AR/VR to create engaging immersive experiences for visitors.