THE MUSEUM AND GAMIFICATION REVIEWING A TREND OF GAMIFICATION USING IN THAI MUSEUMS FOR GAME DESIGN

Abstract

The twenty-first century is the digital era. It is undeniable that technology and digital devices impact our everyday lives and everywhere, including museums. These days, it can be noticed many museums around the world, including ones in Thailand, have brought digital games in their exhibitions to create visitor engagement and enhance visitors' experience. Meanwhile, the term and concept of gamification have become spreadingly well-known. However, applying the gamification concept in a museum context is still ambiguous and misunderstood. Many museums might see that gamification means just creating a game. Therefore, this paper aims to clarify what gamification is in detail and how it is applied in a museum context. The article starts with a literature review of the gamification concept. Next, the application of gamification in museums in the western museum context is reviewed. The following section discusses how the gamification concept is applied in the Thai museum context. The later section discusses how Thai museums could use the gamification effectively based on whether the existing games in the museums are really gamified or not. Finally, the paper will end with the suggestion about the possibility of how meaningful games for Thai museums should be designed in the future according to the gamification concept.