Design Guidelines for a Location-based Digital Heritage Storytelling Tool to Support Author Intent

Abstract

This paper proposes guidelines for the design of a Mixed Reality(MR) storytelling tool for cultural heritage sites that utilizes geotagged content and detailed location-specific narrative principles while prioritizing the intent of the author. Continuous efforts have been made to apply storytelling techniques in producing location-based digital heritage content over MR platforms. However, consideration for fine-tuned input parameters required at the authoring level has been consistently lacking. This has resulted in content that fails to identify, understand, and reflect the goals and needs of the author in maximizing the benefits of the narrative form for MR heritage experiences. To address this problem, we combine an analysis of existing location-based digital authoring tools with qualitative user studies conducted in a digital storytelling workshop. With the implications derived from our findings, we establish detailed design guidelines to provide a systematic narrative structure in the arrangement of geotagged content over various Points of Interest within the MR heritage space. Our study identifies two major authoring motivations for location-based MR storytelling: space-driven and story-driven. We thereby assert the need to bifurcate the design of the tool to support both these purposes and propose guidelines that differentiate the functions and task flow of each authoring mode.