Generating Embodied Storytelling and Interactive Experience of China Intangible Cultural Heritage "Hua er" in Virtual Reality

Hua er, a type of traditional oral performance, is one of the national intangible cultural heritages (ICH) in China. Experts have been trying to enhance public s awareness of Hua er protection through digital documentation technology, but there s no efficacious means to attract interest and popularize knowledge yet. In this paper, we propose an interactive VR system engaging audiences to experience and understand the connotation of Hua er performance. Based on an online survey with the public and in-depth interviews with Hua er experts, we derive a set of design requirements for generating embodied storytelling and interactive experience in VR. Accordingly, we design "Hua er and the Youth"(HY) that integrates three methods (virtual avatar, participatory performance, and game-based knowledge acquisition) and conduct a between-subjects user study to compare HY with the Comparison system. The results suggest that our methods significantly improved audience s interactive experience, knowledge level and the awareness of ICH safeguarding.