Exploring and preserving Underwater Cultural Heritage through Play and Learning: the case study of CREAMARE
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Date
2025
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Eurographics Association
Abstract
Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH) plays a crucial role in understanding and preserving our shared cultural past, yet it remains one of the most overlooked and under-communicated aspects of European heritage. Compounding this issue, the oceans, which house this irreplaceable heritage, face significant environmental threats, including pollution and climate change. The CREAMARE project aims to bridge these gaps by utilizing digital technologies to raise awareness about cultural heritage (CH) and environmental preservation, while fostering collaboration between the cultural and creative sectors. Through the development of a serious game (SG), CREAMARE project offers an immersive platform that educates players on the importance of preserving both underwater cultural sites and marine ecosystems. The game provides players with the opportunity to explore 3D digital replicas of nine real UCH sites in the Mediterranean, either provided by cultural institutions or digitally reconstructed through advanced underwater technologies such as photogrammetry. The game's design incorporates a strong narrative, guiding players through a first-person adventure in which they must overcome environmental challenges and solve puzzles related to UCH preservation and ecosystem health. The development of CREAMARE's SG exemplifies a cross-sectorial, collaborative framework, bringing together project partners with creative professionals and cultural institutions selected via open calls. This participatory approach ensured that the game was not only educational but also immersive, combining historical accuracy with environmental awareness. The player's mission involves solving real-world environmental issues, such as pollution and the removal of invasive species, while simultaneously learning about the history of the submerged locations. Through this engaging experience, the game aims to inspire action and foster a deeper understanding of the critical need to protect both cultural heritage and marine ecosystems. This paper focuses on the development and testing phases of the game, highlighting the analysis of feedback from stakeholders, including players, cultural institutions, and game developers, to optimize the game's design and educational impact.
Description
@inproceedings{10.2312:dh.20253131,
booktitle = {Digital Heritage},
editor = {Campana, Stefano and Ferdani, Daniele and Graf, Holger and Guidi, Gabriele and Hegarty, Zackary and Pescarin, Sofia and Remondino, Fabio},
title = {{Exploring and preserving Underwater Cultural Heritage through Play and Learning: the case study of CREAMARE}},
author = {Bruno, Fabio and Cozza, Marco and Drouga, Vasiliki and Petrányi, Barna and Poulet, Daniel and Rotondo, Roberto and Davidde, Barbara and Cozza, Alessandro and Isabella, Salvatore and Peluso, Raffaele and Cuia, Paola di and Silic, Ervin and Andreo, Felipe Cerezo and Pérez-Reverte, Carlota and Manglis, Angelos},
year = {2025},
publisher = {The Eurographics Association},
ISBN = {978-3-03868-277-6},
DOI = {10.2312/dh.20253131}
}