ARCHES Game - V&A

Victoria & Albert Museum

ARCHES Games are based around standard popular activities, puzzle games and collage making, making it fun for all age groups, and to users from different cultural backgrounds.

These familiar activities are reimagined to utilize the full potential of the computer games media, making them more interactive, accessible, educational and sociable.

Users can interact with parts of the artworks from the Museum's collection, combining them freely on the canvas, rearranging and recoloring them. They can save their creations in their personal in-game Gallery, and also export them as pictures, to be easily shared.

Information about available artworks is also provided to users who wish to learn more, encouraging them to engage with other resources within the Museum, and/or ARCHES project.

Games are made accessible through the application of best practices in accessible software development, and the use of latest development tools. Games are first made accessible by their design: simple interface, intuitive interaction with pieces, no-stress gameplay, multi-sensory feedback, layered information.

Games utilize touch interface, making them intuitive to use, while also taking full use of device’s native accessibility features: voice over, accessible keyboards, image post-processing etc. Input is simple and straightforward, requiring no complicated gestures to use. For certain actions, (i.e. moving pieces around), multiple ways of access are available, allowing users to navigate the app in their personal preferred way.

Accessibility and game design have been iteratively improved in cooperation with ARCHES Exploration Groups, through cycles of testing and feedback, leading to better user experience for people with different accessibility needs or preferences.

Six versions of the game are made available, one for each Museum, with textual and audio information provided in their respective languages.