Algunas características clave de los videojuegos comerciales para la educación patrimonial

The use of video games for heritage education presents one of the greatest opportunities to engage people in the knowledge of cultural assets and values. However, not all video games have the ability to effectively convey heritage values. This chapter reviews the use of serious and commercial video games in the communication of cultural heritage in order to adequately frame and identify the characteristics for the selection and evaluation of video games in the field of heritage education. As main results, three key characteristics thatvideo games should have for their use in heritage education stand out: to encourage play through immersive mechanisms; to satisfy psychological needs and, therefore, affect the players’ well-being through intrinsicmotivation; and to represent from a geometric or semantic point of view the tangible or intangible heritage and its interactions. The conclusions help to frame and identify the characteristics for the selection, evaluation and design of video games in the context of heritage education.