Embodied Engagement with Narrative: A Design Framework for Presenting Cultural Heritage Artifacts

摘要

An increasing number of museum exhibits incorporate multi-modal technologies andinteractions; yet these media divert visitors’ attention away from the cultural heritage artifactson display. This paper proposes an overarching conceptual structure for designing tangible andembodied narrative interaction with cultural heritage artifacts within a museum exhibit so thatvisitors can interact with them to comprehend their cultural context. The Tangible and EmbodiedNarrative Framework (TENF) consists of three spectra (diegetic vs. non-diegetic, internal vs. external,and ontological vs. exploratory) and, considering how different interactions map along these threespectra, can guide designers in the way they integrate digital media, narrative, and embodiment.In this paper, we examine interactive narrative scholarship, existing frameworks for tangible andembodied interactions, and tangible and embodied narrative projects. We then describe the designof the TENF and its application to the pilot project, Mapping Place, and to the case study project,Multi-Sensory Prayer Nuts. The findings indicate that embodied engagement with artifacts througha narrative role can help visitors (1) contextualize the meaning of artifacts and (2) make personalizedconnections to the artifacts. Based on this work, we suggest design recommendations for tailoringthe use of the TENF in the cultural heritage domain: simulate cultural practices, associate visitorswith cultural perspectives, and provide simultaneous digital feedback. We conclude by describingfuture directions for the research, which include generating other possible projects using the TENF;collaborating with other designers and museum professionals; and exploring applications of theTENF in museum spaces.