Developing a Virtual Museum: Experience from the Design and Creation Process

Abstract

Virtual reality technology has grown significantly in recent years. The arrival of Head Mounted Displays (HDM) on the market for end-users has positioned these technologies as a new channel to promote new simulated or contextualized experiences. We have used the design and creation strategy to develop a virtual reality experience for the Oculus GO and Quest HDM. We digitized 30 pieces from nine local museums to provide an experience guided by a character that represents the main artisan work of the local region. A usability test was performed, showing that participants felt a high degree of immersion and realism. They were able to complete the assigned tasks, and results suggest that the software meets the main objective. Furthermore, the creation of this virtual reality (VR) experience has shown how important it is to make users a part of the creation process, as well as to develop a process to make the software useful to them and other users. Some recommendations are made based on the experience of the development, and comments are given on each step of the design and creation strategy.