The M HKA PP pervasive serious game was developed as part of the Apollon CIP EC-funded project. It is the result of cooperation between IBBT ilab.o (Belgium), Virdual (France) and M HKA (Belgium). The aim was to test the idea of cross-border living labs by developing a game that would allow museum visitors to create their own virtual collection, based on the collection they were visiting in the M HKA Antwerp museum of modern art. This presentation will discuss the idea behind the M HKA PP application and its relation to Living labs.

1. The M HKA PP Antwerp Apollon Pilot Tanguy Coenen iLab.o, IBBT-SMIT Vrije Universiteit Brussel

2. User test movie

3. M HKA PP Team IBBT : Camille Reynders : design & development Tanguy Coenen : tech lead Bram Lievens : living lab overview Lien Mostemans : user test lead Kris Naessens : user test Karen Willens: user test Shirley Elprama : user test KoenVervoort : panel management

4. M HKA PP Team Virdual StéphaneGaultier : virtual space project management Ann Caroline Abel : virtual space development MHKA : LeenThielemans : content & concept devel lead KristofMichiels : technological liaison Judith Willems : content & concept development

5. Concept 2 spaces : 1 virtual space : 3D, implemented in Shiva, running on iOS 1 real space : the M HKA museum of Modern art in Antwerp Serious game : using game mechanics to deliver learning content Target audience : between 14 and 24 years Our goal : to motivate young museum visitors to learn more about the works on display in the museum

6. Concept – in the virtual space

7. Concept : in the museum A QR code had been applied to each work participating in the game

8. Concept – in the museum QR codes can be used to : Assign a work to a frame Obtain more information on a work

9. Concept – in the museum At all times, visitors van track the evolution of the game by viewing the personal expositions of other players

10. Profile calculation Each work scored on 5 dimensions, representing the way people look at a work of art : esthete, realist, thinker, person of feeling and experiencer E.g. work X : Esthete : 20 Realist : 10 Thinker : 30 Person of feeling : 20 Experiencer : 20 These profiles are summed over all the selected works => one predominant profile comes out

11. Profile calculation Players get info on predominant profile Players get recommendations on other works that fit the profile It is explicitly said that this is not scientifically validated, but should be seen like ‘taking a test in a lifestyle magazine’

12. Virtual space Air Graffiti Architecture Shiva Mobile PhoneGap Drupal Process visualisation Non- mobile Adobe Air

13. User tests 25 participating works of art in the exposition 7 empty frames to be filled 3 x 8 participants in user tests, ranging between 14 and 24 Observation protocol and ex-post focus groups

14. User tests – observations during experiment Players showed an attentive and overall interested attitude Purpose of the game was sufficiently clear Some connection problems due to bad wifiinfrastructure The vast majority finished it in 35-45 minutes (small number did not finish) Participants moved quietly and calmly through the exhibition space The application did not restrain them from taking the time to look at and/or enjoythe art works

15. User tests – lessons learned in focus groups Group 1 and Group 2 very enthusiastic about the overall assignment The informative or “educational” component characterised the positive reception Group 2 raised concern over the limited amount of “scannable” art works and the directing character of the association assignment Appreciation for the associative principle of the assignment The participants did not perceive the application as a game

16. User tests – lessons learned in focus groups Participants missed a certain interactive rapport with the other participant-visitors, either in the physical world or the virtual one The profiles were of added value, a nice “extra” because it materialised their assignment Participants were enthusiastic about Facebook and Twitter applications: either because of personal self-promotion purposes, marketing strategies of the museum or as a social interaction vehicle with fellow visitors. Some concerns over first-person navigation of virtual space

17. User tests – lessons learned in focus groups The amount of information was satisfactory, i.e. limited The vast majority of participants were reluctant about the multitude of biographical information in the texts. Instead, they suggested referring to biographies by means of hyperlinks All participants agreed that it is a good medium to attract young people to the museum.

18. User tests – lessons learned in focus groups Group 2 participants underlined the value of mobile information in a museum: “I find the mobile application much more comfortable than texts on a wall, in front of which you’re always pushing and pulling with the other visitors… Now, you are much more at ease and less agitated because you are not obstructing anyone’s view”)

19. Stats – nr of times a work was indicated as favorite

20. Stats – nr of times a work was scanned

21. Future work Integrate lessons learned in new prototype Investigate potential for valorisation Do tests in other museums

22. Contact tanguy.coenen@ibbt.be