Abstract—The MediaEvo Project aims to develop a multichannel and multi-sensory platform for edutainment in cultural heritage for the realization of a digital didactic game oriented towards the knowledge of medieval history and society by means of the integration of human sciences and new data processing technologies. During the project it has been possible to test the possible interactions between historical research, morphological inquiries, data management systems and the definition of a virtual immersive platform for playing and educating. The platform has also proved to be a means for validating hypotheses and findings formulated by researchers. This paper introduces the theoretical questions related to the educative use of Virtual Reality technology and describes the steps of the reconstruction of the town of Otranto in the Middle Ages: data collection and integration, new historical acquisitions, organization of work, peripherals and software applications.
Index Terms—Edutainment, 3D Game, Virtual Reality, Virtual Cultural Heritage
Lucio T. De Paolis , Giovanni Aloisio, Department of Innovation Engineering , Salento University , Lecce, Italy ,lucio.depaolis@unisalento.it / giovanni.aloisio@unisalento.it
Maria G. Celentano, Luigi Oliva, Pietro Vecchio , Scuola Superiore ISUFI, Salento University , Lecce, Italy , mariagrazia.celentano@unisalento.it / luigi.oliva@isufi.unile.it / pietro.vecchio@unisalento.it
Cite: Lucio T. De Paolis, Giovanni Aloisio Maria G., Celentano, Luigi Oliva and Pietro Vecchio, "Otranto in the Middle Ages: a Serious Game for the Edutainment," International Journal of Information and Education Technology vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 47-57, 2011.