THE DEVELOPMENT OF GAME FOR CULTURAL TOURISM BY USING GAMIFICATION CONCEPT: NAN PROVINCE

Abstract

          The research on game media to promote tourism and culture by using the concept of gamification has the following objectives: 1) Study the concept of gamification in order to find the principle of gamification design for games used in promoting Thai culture related to cultural tourism in specific areas. 2) Study the visual aesthetics aspect of the game to guide the visual design that enhance and encourage cultural tourism. Mixed Research Method was used to study the concept of gamification and game art design. This study utilized an expert interview method to obtain data from both gamification designers and game designers. The survey was used to obtain data samples related to game behavior’s, gaming motivation, game attachment, aesthetics and art styles in games from the prospective Generation-Y consumers (22-39 years of age) who frequent mobile games and tourism. The results suggested the concept of gamification design as the following: 1) The main target group is the explorer-type players who favor exploration and flexibility. 2) Freedom/flexibility is a contributing factor in encouraging the users to play. 3) In-game progression and character development is essential to continued engagement. 4) The stylized art style which involves exaggeration and non-realistic shapes helps enhance imagination when combines with minimalism art style.