Up Your Game: Three Current Case Studies of Game Franchises in Museums

With the development of technology, the typical museum visit has evolved. The inclusion of hands-on or immersive technology into museums is more commonplace than ever. Especially after the pandemic, museums are looking to maintain the visitor numbers by creating unique and interesting experiences. Meanwhile, game-based learning has been understood for decades to be beneficial to learners in a multitude of settings. Whether in the classroom or informal learning environments like museums, adding games to enhance learning has shown to increase interest and retention. With ever-improving technology, video games have been more widely accepted as a possible tool for education. Another way museums are looking to attract more visitors is through partnerships with recognizable video game and media brands. There are three exhibits that are currently on view that are partnerships between museums and recognizable franchises. The three partnerships are with the established franchises of Roblox, Pokémon, and Animal Crossing. The partnerships range in scope, from special exhibits to experiences that span the whole museum. They also range in output from programs that are mostly promotional to more of a game-based learning model.

Despite the pervasive stigma that video games are only for kids, the original audience for video games who grew up in the 80s and 90s are aging and many now have kids of their own. Many of the game franchises that are available now have been on the market for multiple decades, with an enduring fan base. Museum partnerships like those with Pokémon or games developed by Nintendo, brands that have been popular for 30 years, have the potential to bridge generations and create connections that could add to a museum visit, if also well designed and educational. With partnerships such as that between the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Roblox, the nostalgia factor is most likely not there, but that does not limit the multigenerational potential of newer games. If the game elements are intriguing enough, the whole family can learn together, enjoying both the game and the educational material.

Though video games are played by many ages, these three franchises are very popular with younger demographics. This brand recognition can attract families with children, and lead to the exposure of museums and museum learning to younger people. The learning potential of a museum when in conjunction with the resources and technological infrastructure that the game companies supply could be indicative of what could be possible for the future of game-based museum learning to enhance museum visitor experience.

Game-based learning

Games, whether video games or not, have educational value. (Jabbar, 2015) They increase engagement in learners, as well as encourage retention of content. For decades, educational video games have been an established sector of the industry. Gaining popularity in the 1980s, educational video games contrasted with the new violent games of the decade and in many ways paved the way for the normalization of video games in the mainstream. (Newman, 2017) Best described by the portmanteau “edutainment” that combines education and entertainment or “serious games”, educational video games are an effective tool to engage learners in a self-directed way. (Toh, 2020) (Oprins, 2015) Similar to museums, educational video games provide an informal learning environment and a space for exploration and curiosity.

Game-based learning has been shown to be effective in multiple regards including for motivation and engagement, as well as encouraging social benefits such as teamwork and cooperation. (Oprins, 2015) In museums specifically, game-based learning can increase awareness of cultural heritage and engage visitors. (Ćosović, 2020) Game-based learning through the medium of video games, or “digital game-based learning” has been shown to be just as effective as games that are analog. (Prensky, 2001) For the games themselves to be effective learning tools, they should encourage “motivation, engagement, adaptivity and graceful failure” for the player. (Ćosović, 2020) Motivation and engagement are the factors that indicate whether the game was interesting to continue playing, encouraging the player to complete tasks toward a larger goal. Adaptivity and graceful failure are key elements of the success of game-based learning. For the player, failing in a game due to an error, as well as the instant feedback of that error, can lead to adapting to circumstances, course correction and improvement. All these factors in game-based learning are all important skills for everyone to develop.

Current Exhibitions

Roblox at the Metropolitan Museum

In collaboration with Roblox, the Met launched its own app, called Replica in 2023 (available on iOS and Android). Replica uses augmented reality (AR) that takes advantage of the programmable nature of Roblox, encouraging players to “collect” art and objects at the Met. The Roblox partnership is not tied to a specific exhibit, but instead uses a select number of pieces throughout the whole museum The player can walk around the museum with a smart device and “scan” the available objects with the device’s camera. To find the available objects, the app includes a museum map and geolocation feature, which senses when the player is close to an available object. Once in the correct room, the app also provides written clues and a silhouette to help the player find the specific object. These scavenger hunt-like features encourage discovery and close-looking at the objects in the galleries. With some of the pieces, such as the armor, the players can transfer them to their Roblox account, enabling their virtual avatar to wear the objects from the museum, creating an interactive element beyond the trip to the museum.

The “sandbox” nature of Roblox has allowed for many educational possibilities including those currently available for the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Roblox is one of the newer games to reach mass popularity status. Much like the also massively popular game, Minecraft, Roblox is a very flexible “sandbox” or open world game. A sandbox game is one where players are able to build their own experiences through programming. Despite being developed decades ago, it only gained popularity in the late 2010’s especially with the under 12 demographic. Additionally, Roblox exploded in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic due to the ability to interact virtually with friends. (Liao, 2020) The opportunities for creativity in experience as well as the social component can lend themselves very well to the elements of successful game-based learning.

As a partnership, the one with the Met is successful as well as it integrates the best parts of both parties. Replica allows for the exploration of the Met’s enormous collection as well as displays the versatility of Roblox as a game. The game elements included in the Replica app achieve the self-directed motivation often cited as a benefit for game-based learning. (Jabbar, 2015) The players are able to wander the museum at their own leisure, not following a set path, and discover the pieces included in the game. Also maintaining the element of engagement, there is a set number of objects to collect and the added benefit of having the objects be digitally functional after the visit to the Met. The player is motivated to collect as many museum objects as they can. Adaptability and graceful failure are maintained as well, but more subtly. The silhouette and clues for the objects can apply to multiple pieces, and because the Met’s collection is so large and diverse, one set of armor, for example, might be confused with another.

Pokémon and Van Gogh Museum

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum, Pokémon partnered with the museum on an exhibition featuring Pokémon paintings inspired by famous Van Gogh masterpieces and a Pokémon adventure. (Guy, 2023) For the unfamiliar, Pokémon is a media franchise that centers around a fictional universe where characters catch, train and battle powerful creatures called Pokémon. The franchise includes digital media such movies, tv shows, and video games as well as physical media including books, manga and comics. The most well-known physical media created by the franchise are the collectible Pokémon cards that can be traded and played with.

In its 30-year history, Pokémon became a behemoth of a media franchise. The Japanese company as a whole is the largest media company in the world, and its video game sector alone is in the top 5 in the video game industry. (Buchholz, 2021)(Bowen, 2023) Pokémon has been extremely popular since it started in the 1990s and has managed to maintain its cultural relevance. The youngest target audience for Pokémon is in the 8-12 year old range. However due to its long staying power, the earliest fans are well into their adulthood, and might want to share their love of the franchise with their children.

The exhibit, titled, “Pokémon at Van Gogh Museum,” opened in September 2023, and runs until January 2024. Though not an obvious pairing off the bat, it is meant to reflect the appreciation that Van Gogh had for Japanese art during his lifetime. The special exhibit includes six works of art, where Pokémon are included in paintings inspired by Van Gogh’s more notable works. There are two activities in the exhibit. One includes instructions on how to draw Pikachu, the most identifiable character in the franchise. The other involves details and facts about Van Gogh’s life and his relationship with Japanese art as described in a letter he wrote to his brother. Additionally, there is a limited time Pokémon card of Pikachu in the style of a Van Gogh self-portrait sold in the museum’s gift shop. Since the opening of the exhibit, the card was so popular that it sold out quickly. The museum had to subsequently cancel the restock due to “safety concerns”, because the museum shop was being mobbed by “alleged scalpers”. (Wong, 2023) This displays the popularity of the franchise and its ability to bring people to the museum shows the power that these partnerships can have for museum attendance.

At the time of writing, the exhibit is still ongoing, and therefore, the results are still to be determined. However, there is lost opportunity in the offerings of the partnership. The two activities and the limited-edition card, though interesting, could have been more interactive or immersive using an existing Pokémon video game. In 2016, Pokémon developed the massively popular Pokémon GO, an AR game that was accessible on smartphones. (Isaac, 2016) The game would use the phone’s camera and GPS to allow the player to capture and train Pokémon with AR. Additionally, there is precedent for a potential addition to the partnership with the Van Gogh Museum. Following the games meteoric rise in popularity, museums included Pokémon GO in their programming and saw a huge increase in their visitation. (Ciecko, 2019) Institutions such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art hosted Pokémon GO meetups, while the Louisville Zoo in Kentucky offered discounts for visitors who came to catch and train Pokémon on the campus.

Though not necessarily a video game centered exhibit, Pokémon GO could have been an interesting addition to the Van Gogh Museum’s educational content. The addition of Pokémon Go would fit the game-based learning elements motivation and engagement. The game is structured around progressing through physical space to attain a goal in conjunction with the location-based technology, it could have leveled up the interaction with the educational content of the cultural and history of the museum. The infrastructure of the AR from Pokémon GO would be an interesting addition for purely educational content. The opportunities with AR to aid in immersive educational experiences are still being explored, including currently at the Metropolitan Museum in New York with Roblox.

Animal Crossing at the Seattle Aquarium

Another example similar to that of Pokémon at Van Gogh is Animal Crossing at the Seattle Aquarium. Animal Crossing is a game series developed by Nintendo. They are life and social simulation games, where players take on the role of a character who moves to a virtual village or island populated by anthropomorphic animals. The aim of the game is for the player to develop and beautify their own village or island by growing fruit and vegetables and to develop friendships with the non-player characters. The most recent Animal Crossing game, New Horizons, came out in March of 2020. With everyone scared and stuck at home during the COVID 19 pandemic, Animal Crossing became very popular as a relaxing escape for players. (MacDonald, 2020) One of the unique features of Animal Crossing is that the game runs in real-time; the in-game time and seasons mirror those of the real world. Seasonal events, and different fish and insects become available at different times of the day and year, encouraging players to visit regularly and experience the game’s changing world. Interestingly, there is a museum in the game where the players can collect and donate fish, insects, fossils and art to put on display. All the donated specimens and objects are based on real-world ones, and when donated, the in-game curator, an owl named Blathers, will share facts about the donation.

The partnership with the Seattle Aquarium runs from October 2023-January 2024 and includes photo opportunities with standees of the notable characters, animal facts that are the same as the ones for the in-game museum, and a “bingo scavenger hunt” that visitors can play on a smart device. (Smith, 2023) The scavenger hunt uses a selection of the animals and coral that are in the game as well as in a selected tank at the aquarium. The scavenger hunt is a good addition to the offerings, allowing for a collaborative element with kids and their grown-ups. There is a potential for the programming to evolve, as the aquarium does promise more activities as it continues.

Much like the partnership with Pokémon and Van Gogh, The Seattle Aquarium’s partnership with Animal Crossing is mainly promotional –– to either get fans of the game interested in the aquarium or fans of the aquarium interested in the game. Also like with the partnership with Pokémon and the Van Gogh Museum, there are some lost opportunities. Animal Crossing: New Horizon uses game-based learning strategies in its motivation and engagement as it is a progression of tasks toward a larger goal, while continually learning about the animals that the player catches or objects they collect. The game also uses some elements of adaptivity and graceful failing, as bugs and fish can escape from the player. These game-based learning strategies from the video game would benefit the collaboration. The age range for players in 3-years-old and up, which might account for the simplistic offerings of the partnership. There was the potential to add more content to what was already available in the game. Perhaps even add some virtual or interactive elements for other immersive experiences that might mimic the game play and the game-based learning.

What Can We Learn?

Video games of any kind are a difficult product to produce. Especially with any specificity of subject matter that also meets the standards for successful game-based learning. For both the museum and game-companies, creating a game for a specific location or exhibit is expensive, and takes specific technological understanding. Some museums have made their own video games that engage players either virtually or in the museum’s physical space. For example, the Centre Pompidou in Paris launched their own video game, Prisme 7, in 2020. Expanding the definition of museum beyond that of physical space is one of the ways that museums can stay relevant in an increasingly technological world. With the financial and technological help of a recognizable game franchise, there is the possibility of more advanced technologies to be included in museum game-based learning events and exhibits in the future like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), or artificial intelligence (AI). These technological advancements might be difficult for museums to achieve by themselves, due to tight budgets and finite resources.

For the visitor, a main limitation is that of accessibility. For many of these partnerships, a device is required in order to engage. This can create a barrier for those museum visitors without access to a smart device, or without the ability to lend one to their children. This excludes lower income visitors, and visitors who are not tech-savvy. These limitations are hard and expensive to overcome, as they do require the museum or game company to provide some sort of interactive technology. There also are drawbacks to immersive technology-based experiences in museums. The increased foot traffic of people who are immersed in their screens rather than the objects in front of them can be a detractor to the experience for people who prefer to enjoy a museum in a traditional way. For families specifically, with an increasingly virtual world, limiting their children’s screen time might also be a priority, and therefore might want to avoid exhibits and museum programs that center around more screens.

Conclusion

The educational possibilities for game-based learning in museums is ever evolving, especially with the addition of ever evolving technology. Current partnerships with museums and large video game franchises are utilizing those possibilities to varying degrees of success. Roblox and the Met’s development of Replica is a successful case of utilizing game-based learning factors of motivation, engagement, alterability and graceful failure. Pokémon and Animal Crossing had the potential to be educationally engaging as well as promotional. The hope of including game-based learning where a game is integrated into a place of learning, not quite fulfilled with the examples at the Van Gogh Museum and Seattle Aquarium. These two examples and the inclusion of game brand-specific content in the museum could be the first step toward their further integration of major popular media into the museum landscape. However, these kinds of partnerships are also a possible step toward future collaborations where technology and education can create a unique and engaging experience for the visitor.