Integrating restoration and interactive exploration to enhance cultural heritage through VR storytelling

Abstract

Redtory was transformed from an old industrial site into a creative park in Guangzhou. Unfortunately, it was demolished in May 2019. It holds a dual significance, representing both Guangzhou’s old industrial era and its first creative park (Art and Design). The objective of this study was to utilize Virtual Reality (VR) technologies to design an immersive environment with a narrative experience and restore the historical memory of Redtory. The project designs the interactive storytelling tour based on Bartle’s taxonomy theory. The VR project includes four primary scenes to tell the Redtory’s story: Starting Scene, Factory Buildings, Historical Square, and Creative Corridor. The study designs various interactive elements to engage tourists during exploration. The study conducted user tests to evaluate the system. A comparative experiment (N = 40) is conducted to evaluate the overall performance of the VR platform. The results indicate that the platform provides a smooth storytelling experience during the virtual tour with minimal bugs or disruptions. The project provides valuable user data and a design flow as a case study reference to contribute to the field of VR historical education.

Introduction

Background and significance

Guangzhou’s Redtory Creative Park, formerly known as the Eagle-Coin Food Factory, symbolizes the city’s early industrial history influenced by the economic assistance of the Soviet Union during the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.¹. With the industrial upgrading policy, it transformed into a creative park in 2009.¹. The new creative corporations/teams moved into the abandoned workshops, breathing new life into the old park.¹. However, the Guangzhou government redesigned the urban plan and introduced the Guangzhou International Financial City plan². Redtory is located in the area covered by the new city plan, necessitating its reconstruction into commercial buildings for financial purposes. The park was demolished in November 2019². The demolition poses a threat to the preservation of Redtory’s unique history². After several attempts to change urban plans, the Tianhe District Children’s Palace began construction without preserving most of Redtory’s elements³. In response to these changes, it is imperative to digitally document and preserve Redtory’s extensive history, ensuring the endurance of Guangzhou’s industrial and creative park cultural heritage for future generations.

Virtual Reality (VR), a state-of-the-art digital technology, includes headset devices and motion-captured controllers to provide immersive experiences in 3D environments⁴. VR technology has advanced rapidly in recent years, with improvements in graphics, motion tracking, and haptic feedback, enabling more realistic and engaging experiences^5,6. Many research and commercial industries, such as media, education, and healthcare, have become aware of VR’s potential in virtual training and collaboration⁷. Thus, VR technology gradually extended its scope beyond video games⁷.

Digital preservation of cultural heritage has become increasingly important in the face of threats such as natural disasters, war, and urbanization⁸. VR technology offers a powerful tool for preserving and disseminating cultural heritage, allowing users to explore and interact with digital reconstructions of historical sites and artifacts⁹. For instance, VR can use computer graphics to display intangible cultural heritage (ICH) to audiences through 3D visualization. The online VR platform can play as digitized representations, known as “Virtual Avatars,” transcending geographical limitations and facilitating the dissemination and education of ICH.

VR has also shown promise in the field of immersive learning, providing learners with interactive and engaging experiences that can enhance knowledge acquisition and retention¹⁰. Immersive learning environments created with VR technology can simulate real-world scenarios, allowing learners to practice skills and apply knowledge in a safe and controlled setting¹¹. This approach has been successfully applied in various domains, including medical training, architectural education, and language learning^12–14.

User experience design plays a crucial role in the success of VR applications, as it directly reflect user engagement, satisfaction, and learning outcomes¹⁵. Designing effective VR experiences requires careful consideration of factors such as usability, presence, and emotional engagement¹⁵. A suitable practice in VR user experience design should include providing clear instructions, minimizing cognitive load, and ensuring smooth navigation and interaction.

Our comprehensive research indicates that both domestic and international studies have concentrated on the transformation and advancement of VR in domains such as art, cultural artifacts, and intangible cultural heritage. These instances frequently leverage local cultural characteristics to produce digital creative content products that exhibit distinctive regional and ethnic attributes¹⁶. This approach promotes the integration of contemporary design with traditional craftsmanship, benefiting for cultural education^16–19. By utilizing VR features and applying best practices in user experience design, we aim to enhance cultural education and provide a dynamic and immersive learning experience that showcases the developmental journey of Guangzhou’s historical industrial and creative park culture.

Our research has yielded significant results. The initial concept of the VR platform was introduced at the 2023 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality²⁰. In comparison to previous articles, this research represents a substantial advancement. It has enhanced interactive elements and conducted a user test experiment.

Related work

We aim to develop a VR platform that provides an immersive experience, showcasing the historical journey of Redtory, including the Eagle-Coin Food Factory’s history and the artistic development of the creative park. The architectural layout of Redtory is somewhat dispersed with 160,000 square meters¹. If we recreate it accurately, the extensive size of the park may lead to user disorientation, negatively impacting their overall experience. Thus, we need to consider whether it is necessary to fully restore the original heritage site for VR exhibitions of cultural heritage.

The background research has reviewed numerous VR projects primarily focused on fully restoring heritage sites. However, user feedback indicates issues related to interactivity and entertainment value²¹. Conversely, some VR projects have successfully designed linear scenes, integrating dispersed elements to enhance the tour experience with a cultural education purpose^22,23. For example, Bruno designed a Italy’s VR tour system. The VR system includes exploration of Mediterranean archaeological sites within a 15-20 minute tour²³. The interactive elements can attract Italian youth to explore Rome’s history and culture online.

The Italian projects show that the complete restoration may not be necessary in the educational tour. Thus, the study aims to design the virtual tour with balancing restoration and creation. The study designs a series of interactive elements to enhance the user experience while providing a storyline to introduce Redtory’s history and fulfill its role in cultural heritage education.

Concept design

After gaining a profound understanding of the historical and cultural significance of Redtory, it is essential to consider how to transform cultural knowledge into a VR platform with immersive experiences. Our investigation has revealed various theoretical studies on game typologies, such as the Bartle taxonomy, Keirsey’s personality type, and Chris Bateman’s DGD1 model^24–26. It is crucial to select the appropriate platform interaction type based on the specific requirements of historical and cultural content.

Bartle’s taxonomy categorizes game players into four types: socializers (interacting with other players), killers (acting upon other players), achievers (acting upon the game world), and explorers (interacting with the game itself)^24,27. Redtory does not involve violent elements so our primary focus is on socializers and explorers. Socializers usually focus on the community and interactive mechanisms, while explorers are driven by interactive mechanisms and the game world itself^24,28. If we adopt the perspective of socializers as our theoretical foundation, it becomes crucial for this VR platform to incorporate multiplayer online collaborative experiences. Redtory was transformed from an industrial heritage site to a creative park. It represents a historical process and serves as a testament to Guangzhou’s industrial development, decline, and the emergence of the tertiary sector in the 21st century. Consequently, the research on the platform should primarily concentrate on disseminating cultural and historical knowledge to touristes, rather than placing excessive emphasis on online communication. Thus, adopting the role of explorers, where users actively explore and comprehend historical development, aligns more closely with our research objectives.

Bartle’s taxonomy highlights that explorers derive enjoyment from the exploration of knowledge and rules^24,27. Therefore, it is necessary to design an interactive flow based on knowledge to fulfill the core desires of explorers. Theoretical research in game design suggests that using linear storylines can effectively guide users and familiarize them with the interactive mechanisms within the system^24,29. We propose the design of an immersive storytelling experience that enables explorers to interact with the virtual world. Through immersive narratives, we aim to guide explorers in understanding the history of Redtory and the development of Guangzhou’s creative industry during the exploration process, thereby satisfying their fundamental desire for discovery.

Several VR applications have successfully employed narrative experiences to engage users and convey educational content. For example, “Virtual Museum of the Stolen Cultural Objects” allows users to explore a virtual recreation of a famous stolen painting, providing an immersive experience that contextualizes the artwork’s history and significance³⁰. Another notable example is using an immersive virtual reality (IVR) environment, which presents a virtual museum featuring famous Chinese paintings, accompanied by narrated stories that offer insights into the artworks and their creators³¹. Similarly, EMOTIVE projects enables users to explore the European digital heritage, memory, identity and cultural interaction through an interactive narrative experience³². These applications demonstrate the potential of VR narrative experiences to engage users and convey educational content related to cultural heritage and art.

To design an engaging storytelling flow, it is crucial to review existing theories. Virtual Storytelling (VST) involves designing narrative processes, providing users with an immersive linear journey. Based on the theory, we design a historical storyline that revolves around Redtory’s evolution from the “Old industrial era” to the “Creative industry.” In this narrative exploration, users (explorers) can actively engage and delve into the cultural context. The project includes various interactions with historical elements. Our primary goal is to enhance the user experience while effectively conveying cultural education via interactive storytelling experiences. Figure 1 illustrates the conceptual flow of the project.

Figure 1.

Concept flow.

System overview

The VR Platform has two key facets: restoration and creation. In the restoration aspect, the study use 3D modelling software sucah as Quixel Mixer and 3ds Max to recreate various surface. Unreal Engine (UE) provides top-tier rendering capabilities, an extensive interactive script library, and seamless compatibility with mainstream VR devices³³. Therefore, we use UE 5 as the main development platform in the creation aspect. Specifically, UE 5 is employed for designing the narrative scene.Mixed Reality Toolkit for UE (MRTK) adheres to the OPEN XR standard to support various XR devices^34,35. Therefore, we use MRTK to develop the navigation system and interactive elements. The project uses the Oculus Quest 2 controller as the basic development object.

Landmark restoration

The study starts with a survey primarily centered on gathering online information about Redtory landmarks. The on-site investigation can not become the major background study because of the ongoing demolition activities at Redtory while many existed building has gone. Utilizing digital methodologies, we systematically document and preserve the cultural, historical content, and related cultural products associated with Redtory. The restoration elements are meticulously classified into landmarks and small artworks. Employing 3D software for modeling and creating high-resolution textures through Quixel Mixer³⁶, we ensure a comprehensive restoration process. Figure 2 provides a visual comparison between real (past) images and the restoration presented on the VR platform. Our objective is to restore significant landmarks with high-quality computer graphics. We aim to offer users an attractive visual impression and kindle interest in exploring the VR platform.

Figure 2.

Landmarks: comparison between real and virtual.

Narrvative scene

The first impression is rooted in the realistic graphics crafted to engage user interaction. Our goal is to present an immersive linear storyline that sustains user engagement throughout the exploration experience. The study designs the main storyline, presenting the timeline from the “old industrial era” to the “creative industry” based on the history of Redtory. There are four key scenes, as shown in Fig. 3: Starting Scene, Factory Buildings, Historical Square, and Creative Corridor. The project aims to integrate these scenes to depict the transformation history of Redtory. Figure 3 displays brief information with previewed 3D environment images.

Figure 3.

Overview of VR redtory storytelling scenes²⁰.

Starting Scene aims to use 3D visual panels and landmarks to display an overview of Redtory. Tourists can gather basic information about Redtory from the first scene. Factory Buildings represent the interior and exterior of the workshop during the Eagle-Coin Food Factory period. The industrial elements, such as the production line, vividly display how Guangzhou’s industrial sector grew after the new country was established. However, a question arises: How did the Eagle-Coin Food Factory transform into Redtory Creative Park? The Historical Square provides an opportunity for tourists to select different timelines, helping them understand the transformation process. The Creative Corridor allows tourists to interact with lights and images, showcasing Redtory during its creative park period.

Navigation

During an on-site museum or exhibition tour, if a tourist wants to return from the end to the beginning or the middle collections, they need to go through every scene, causing significant inconvenience. These inconveniences can be easily resolved during a virtual tour. The team can design a transport system to help users switch between different scenes by selecting menu panels. Thus, the study designs a navigation system that contains the transport and storytelling functions.

The map navigation module is designed for transport purposes, mainly addressing two key questions from tourists: “Where are we” and “How do we get there?” For the first question, the module includes a 3D map displaying the current location of users, with the names of key positions shown, as depicted in Fig. 4a. Additionally, users can open the teleport menu to select different key scenes for immediate transport.

Figure 4.

Redtory navigation system.

The story navigation module is designed to enhance the storytelling experience. When the tourist enters a new scene, the module will appear to provide a visual path as guidance, as shown in Fig. 4b. The module encourages the tourist to visit different collections in the scene if they haven’t been to them. If the tourist has visited each corner, the module will indicate to the user to move to the next main scene. To prevent interference with tourists’ perception, the visual guidance persists for a 8-second duration. Additionally, the module also uses a 3D yellow icon to highlight important landmarks. If the user has read the related information panel, the icon will adjust its transparency to minimize distraction for users.

Interactive elements

The immersive experience doesn’t only rely on the high-quality graphics of 3D visualization. More importantly, how to use interactive elements to encourage users to stay engaged is a crucial aspect after the initial impression. Therefore, it is necessary to design various interactive elements for the collections and scenes. The study aims to encourage users to engage with objects, scenes, and lighting, fostering their enthusiasm for exploration while imparting cultural education content. The interactive elements can be divided into three parts: Regular Collections, Landmarks, and Interactive Art Devices.

There are plenty of regular collections in Redtory, especially in Factory Buildings. If the platform displays all collection text information, it might distract the user’s attention. To avoid this issue, the study uses a directional arrow on top of each collection. When the user approaches the collection, the magnifying glass icon will show up, and the user can click it to open a 3D panel with related information, as shown in Fig. 5a. The user can use the controller to read the collection’s information.

Figure 5.

Redtory interactive elements design.

Landmarks aim to display pivotal historical significance for Redtory. Compared to regular collections, it is necessary to design a more attractive and customized interactive method to help users better engage with Redtory’s history. Containers serves as a landmark when on-site accessing the Redtory creative park. Thus, we restored the container landmark in the Starting Scene, as shown in Fig. 5b. When the user clicks the information icon, it will display Redtory’s detailed geographical location via 3D visualization. The user can select different key sections’ information by clicking the icons on the 3D map.

The study aims to design an interactive scene in the Historical Square to present the transformation from Eagle-Coin Food Factory to Redtory Creative Park. To vividly display the progress, the study designs a switching bar in the center of the square. The user can switch to different periods of Redtory from 1950 to 2012 via the bar. When the user selects a different year, the elements such as buildings, walls, and decorations will change back to the selected year, as shown in Fig. 5b. Users can dynamically obsever the history process via VR technologies.

In order to preserve the memories of Redtory, it is necessary to collect the images capturing each Redtory art corner from the Internet. Therefore, we create an image database to categorize them. The images are divided into five groups based on their color trends. The study aims to design an interactive device to vividly display the images, helping tourists remember Redtory. In the Creative Corridor, there is a 3D panel that users can interact with by clicking on the screen button. This device helps users select different colored lights for each spotlight in the scene, as shown in Fig. 5c. When the spotlight color changes, the images also change and are selected from the specific color group. For instance, users can select the deep blue color to display the night sightseeing of Redtory, while the showroom lighting also tends to deep blue to fit with the image style. By providing users with an interactive mechanism to alter the lighting and image, we aim to enhance their engagement through active exploration and read more image from Redtory.

Evaluation

Conducting a user test is a critical step in assessing the stability and effectiveness of the VR platform. To ensure comprehensive evaluation, the study incorporated comparative user testing. Comparison studies play a crucial role in evaluating the effectiveness of specific conditions, particularly in the VR field^37,38. By comparing VR with traditional tools, we can gain valuable insights into the advantages and disadvantages of VR technology. Therefore, in this study, a comparative approach was adopted as the second-round experimental method to assess the effectiveness of the VR platform.

With meticulous attention to detail, the research team recruited a diverse sample of 40 youth participants from the Guangzhou area, specifically targeting this demographic due to their relevance as the primary audience for digital cultural education initiatives. This selection aims to capture valuable insights and feedback from the individuals who would benefit the most from the VR platform’s immersive educational content. All participants signed an informed consent form and agreed to participate in the study.

Participants

The study involved 40 youth participants from the Guangzhou area to assess the system’s effectiveness. These participants had similar educational backgrounds, and none of them had any prior visiting experience at Redtory. Table 1 illustrates the division of participants into two groups, with 20 participants in each group. The experiment compared VR and brochure exploration, utilizing different media for visiting Redtory as the contrasting condition in each group. Concerning the uniformity of information quantity between the two groups, the study made efforts to ensure that the virtual Redtory environment and the traditional brochure contained comparable levels of information. The virtual environment was designed to mirror the information presented in the brochure, including key features, historical details, and visual representations of the Redtory Creative Park. Group VR participants utilized VR devices (Oculus Quest 2) to explore the Virtual Redtory, while Group Brochure participants engaged in traditional reading by physically examining the brochure (Fig.  6). All participants were given a maximum time limit of 30 minutes to explore the content.

Table 1.

Demographics of the participants.

	Group VR	Group Brochure
Number of participants	20	20
Background	Bachelor Degree	Bachelor Degree
Average age	21.2	21.8
Male: Female	1:1	1:1
Exploration media	VR Platform	Brochure

Figure 6.

Group brochure participants.

Group Brochure could read the brochure for 30 minutes independently. During the exploration process, there was no additional guidance or explanation provided by the research team. However, the team monitored the time and informed the participants when the allotted 30 minutes had elapsed. In fact, most participants in Group Brochure completed their exploration within 20 minutes, with an average exploration time of 15.55 minutes.

Regarding the learning curve for VR devices, the study acknowledges that participants in Group VR may have required some time to familiarize themselves with the Oculus Quest 2 headset and controls. To mitigate this issue, the team provided a brief tutorial and practice session for all participants in Group VR within 10 minutes. This ensured that participants were comfortable with the device and could effectively navigate the virtual environment. After the tutorial, participants also could independently explore the VR environment for 30 minutes via the navigation system. The average exploration time is 25.7 minutes.

All reading content provided to the participants was in simplified Chinese, considering their regional language preferences. Following the exploration, all participants were required to complete the questionnaire session to help the research to evaluate its effectiveness.

Experiment flow

Figure 7 displays the experiment flow. The questionnaire consists of two sections: the Learning Experience Questionnaire (LEQ) form and the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) form. The study has communicated with the Redtory staff to ensure that the LEQ form contains the key information about Redtory. The primary objective of the study is to utilize the LEQ form to evaluate the extent of content learned from the exploration and compare the learning efficiency among different groups. Additionally, the study employs the UEQ to assess the VR user experience across various aspects³⁹. Compared to the UEQ form, the LEQ form has not undergone validation through user testing. To address this, both Group VR and Brochure participated in a pre-test to complete the LEQ form. To minimize the effect of participants remembering the pre-test questions and quickly locating the answers in the material, we have a one-week time gap between the pre-test and the experiment, allowing participants to forget the questionnaire. After a week, Group Brochure read Redtory’s brochure and answered the LEQ form again as a post-test. If the data from Group Brochure shows a significant improvement in scores between the pre-test and post-test, it indicates that the LEQ form is sensitive enough to detect learning gains from the brochure. This validation step is crucial because it provides confidence that any learning improvements observed in the VR group can be attributed to the interactive VR experience rather than a flaw in the questionnaire design. By ensuring the LEQ form’s effectiveness with Group Brochure, we can proceed with the interactive experiments with Group VR, knowing that the questionnaire is a reliable tool for measuring learning outcomes.Then Group VR will then participate in the interactive experiment and complete the questionnaires (LEQ and UEQ forms).

Figure 7.

Experiment flow.

Questionnaire details

The LEQ form consists of ten single-choice questions, covering the most essential and representative aspects of the Redtory factory’s history and its transformation into a creative park, as presented in Table 2. The questions were carefully designed to assess participants’ understanding of key date, locations, people, buildings and cultural elements from the Redtory story. Each question is worth 1 point. Thus, the total score of the form is 10 points. After participants complete the form, we collect their score data. For example, if ten students score 8 points and ten students score 4 points, with each group comprising 20 students, we calculate the average score as follows: (10 $\times$ 8 + 10 $\times$ 4) / 20 = 6.

Table 2.

Learning experience questionnaire (LEQ) form details in english.

	Question type	Question detail	Key aspect
Factory history	Single choices	Which decade was Redtory built	Date
	Single choices	Where is Redtory Location	Location
	Single choices	Select Redtory building Style	Building elements
	Single choices	Select the first owner’s name of Redtory	People
	Single choices	How many workshops in the Factory	Building elements
Creative park	Single choices	When the creative park was built	Date
	Single choices	Select the most famous landmark in Redtory	Cultural elements
	Single choices	Select the existed exhibition in Redtory	Cultural elements
	Single choices	Select the existing IP name in Redtory	Cultural elements
	Single choices	The close time (Year) of Creative Park	Date

The UEQ form comprises 26 items in a semantic differential format, rated on a 7-point (1 to 7) Likert scale³⁹. These items are categorized into six scales: Attractiveness, Perspicuity, Efficiency, Dependability, Stimulation, and Novelty³⁹. The UEQ has been validated in numerous studies, demonstrating its reliability and validity^40,41. Laugwitz provided evidence for its construct validity and reliability. Laugwitz reported Cronbach’s Alpha values ranging from 0.65 to 0.89 for the six UEQ scales, indicating good internal consistency reliability⁴¹. Regarding the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy, Schankin reported KMO value is 0.878, indicating that the questionnaire items are suitable for factor analysis⁴².

Ethical approval

This research adhered to pertinent guidelines and regulations, aligning with the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki. The study protocol received approval from the Center of Experimental Teaching at Guangdong University of Finance. Before their involvement, participants provided informed consent by signing a consent form, expressing their agreement to participate in the study.

Data result

The data results section can be divided into two aspects: the LEQ form and UEQ form. The study aims to evaluate the knowledge acquired from the platform based on the LEQ form. Using the LEQ form data, the focus is on assessing whether it aligns with specific indicators in the UEQ form. Additionally, the UEQ form helps measure users’ overall emotional satisfaction during the exploration.

LEQ form data

Before the experiment, we assessed participants’ initial knowledge through a pre-test. The statistical analysis of individual score distributions between Groups VR and Brochure yielded a p-value of 0.578. This value suggests that there was no statistically significant difference in baseline knowledge between the two groups prior to the intervention. Additionally, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the median score for all participants in the pre-test phase was 3. These pre-test results collectively indicate that both groups started from comparable levels of understanding, ensuring a fair basis for comparing the effects of the VR experience and the traditional brochure method.

Table 3.

LEQ form data.

	Group VR	Group Brochure
Average score (Pre-test)	2.70	2.55
Median score (Pre-test)	3.0	3.0
Average score (Post-test)	6.79	6.25
Median score (Post-test)	7.0	6.0

The results of the post-intervention assessment are presented in Table 3, which displays the average and median scores for each group. Statistical analysis of the post-test data revealed a p-value of 0.259 when comparing Groups VR and Brochure. While this value does not reach the conventional threshold for statistical significance, it suggests a more pronounced difference between the groups compared to the pre-test results (0.578). This trend warrants a closer examination of the post-test data. Comparing the experimental outcomes with the pre-test , we can identify two noteworthy patterns:

• Group Brochure’s post-test demonstrated a substantial improvement in the post-test, with average scores increasing by 145.10% compared to their pre-test results. This significant gain validates the LEQ form’s effectiveness in assessing learning outcomes.

• The VR group exhibited a remarkable improvement in their post-test results, with average scores increasing by 151.48% compared to their initial performance. Notably, the VR group’s post-test scores surpassed those of the Brochure group by 8.64%, a pattern also reflected in the median values. These findings indicate that the VR platform demonstrated efficacy in facilitating cultural learning compared to traditional methods.

The above data show that the VR tour can provide a better learning experience than traditional learning, with minor advances. The next step is to determine the reason for this result and evaluate users’ emotions, so we turn to the UEQ form to analyze individual experiences.

UEQ form data

Analysis of the UEQ form results, as presented in Table 4, reveals that 24 out of 26 indicators received positive median scores, while two indicators remained neutral. The neutral indicators were ’Slow’ and ’Complicated’. This trend is corroborated by the average scores, which also place these two indicators near the neutral point. Additionally, the mean scores indicate that the ’Difficult to learn’ and ’Unpredictable’ indicators fall within a slightly positive range (between 4.1 and 4.9), suggesting minor positive perceptions in these areas.

Table 4.

UEQ form data in group VR.

Scale	Left	Right	Average value	Median value	Variance value
Attractiveness	Annoying	Enjoyable	5.4	5.0	0.8
	Bad	Good	5.9	6.0	0.7
	Unlikable	Pleasing	5.2	5.0	1.0
	Unpleasant	Pleasant	5.5	5.0	1.4
	Unattractive	Attractive	6.1	6.0	0.7
	Unfriendly	Friendly	5.6	6.0	0.9
Perspicuity	Not understandable	Understandable	5.1	6.0	1.8
	Difficult to learn	Easy to learn	4.6	5.0	2.4
	Complicated	Easy	4.1	4.0	3.1
	Confusing	Clear	5.0	5.0	2.1
Novelty	Dull	Creative	5.2	5.0	2.2
	Conventional	Inventive	5.4	5.0	0.8
	Usual	Leading edge	5.3	6.0	2.5
	Conservative	Innovative	6.1	6.0	0.7
Stimulation	Inferior	Valuable	5.7	6.0	1.2
	Boring	Exciting	4.7	5.0	1.5
	Not interesting	Interesting	5.1	5.0	1.7
	demotivating	Motivating	5.5	5.0	1.4
Dependability	Unpredictable	Predictable	4.7	5.0	2.3
	Obstructive	Supportive	5.5	6.0	1.7
	Not secure	Secure	5.2	5.0	1.6
	Does not meet expectations	Meets expectations	5.3	5.0	1.9
Efficiency	Slow	Fast	4.6	4.0	1.1
	Inefficient	Efficient	5.6	5.0	0.7
	Impractical	Practical	5.3	5.0	1.7
	Cluttered	Organized	5.2	6.0	2.2

Our analysis of response variance in the UEQ revealed varying degrees of consensus among participants. The indicators were grouped into three categories based on their variance values: low variance (0 to 0.99) for seven indicators, indicating high agreement; moderate variance (1.0 to 1.99) for twelve indicators, suggesting some diversity in opinions; and high variance (above 2.0) for seven indicators, demonstrating significant disagreement. The indicators with high variance were ’Dull,’ ’Difficult to Learn,’ ’Unpredictable,’ ’Complicated,’ ’Usual,’ ’Confusing,’ and ’Cluttered’.

The study concludes the average values in six scales: Attractiveness (5.6), Perspicuity (4.7), Novelty (5.5), Stimulation (5.2), Dependability (5.2), and Efficiency (5.2). All scales are positive, while Perspicuity is on the slightly positive side.

The data show that the VR project can generate a positive experience to attract users to engage. However, there are still some minor issues, especially related to difficulty and playing rate. Thus, the related indicators show neutral or high experience differences within the same user group. This aligns with the LEQ form data, which indicates that the learning performance has minor advance than that of the desktop version.

Discussion

The collected data provides compelling evidence supporting the effectiveness of virtual tours in facilitating sightseeing and conveying cultural knowledge to tourists. Virtual tours surpass traditional reading methods in performance, offering a more immersive and engaging experience, especially in ‘Attractive’, ‘Good’, ‘Innovative’ and ‘Supportive’. The storytelling exploration not only elicits positive feedback in terms of user emotions but also imparts more knowledge than traditional book reading in the field of cultural dissemination. The user test results demonstrate the potential of virtual tours in preserving and showcasing cultural heritage, particularly in the context of ruined sightseeing locations. Significantly, virtual tours leverage the advantages of VR technology, offering visitors a unique and immersive experience that transcends time and place. These findings align with previous research, highlighting the positive impact of narrative storytelling on user experiences^21,22,29.

Despite these advantages, it is essential to acknowledge that the platform also has some weaknesses. Firstly, the control mode still presents a barrier to some participants, requiring additional tutorials. As a result, the ’Complicated’ indicator shows a neutral result in the median value with the highest variance. The weak data matches the previous research in pointing out the VR controlling challenges⁴³. Secondly, virtual tours tend to require a longer exploration time due to the medium’s immersive nature, which can make participants feel that the exploration progress is slower. The UEQ form data indicates the need for continuous improvements in the VR system to enhance user experience and overcome technical limitations.

In short, the test contributes valuable insights and serves as a data reference for Chinese historical scenes in developing their VR services. The VR cultural project focuses on designing an immersive storytelling experience to attract users while ensuring that every key aspect preserves the collections and events during Guangzhou’s cultural history. A good balance between interaction and education can lead to a successful virtual tour experience. By harnessing the power of virtual tours, cultural heritage can be effectively preserved, and the cultural history of Guangzhou can be revitalized and perpetuated effectively by attracting more youth to engage.

Conclusion

The study focused on the development and transformation process of the Redtory Creative Park in Guangzhou. It utilized VR technology to dynamically showcase the historical development of Guangzhou’s old industrial and creative park culture. The paper analyzed game psychology models and designed a narrative-driven exploration process that caters to the needs of explorers (users). Drawing on the VST framework and leveraging the UE as the development platform, the study designed scenes with a linear storyline flow. The platform offered accurate landmark attractions, efficient navigation systems, and immersive exploration interaction mechanisms. The study conducted a user test to assess the VR platform, revealing its successful ability to convey cultural heritage education.

This research contributes to the growing body of literature on the integration of VR technology in cultural heritage preservation (User Test Data Details in Supplementray Files). The use of the VST framework and narrative-driven exploration offers a new perspective on how digital tools can be effectively employed to balance simulation with interactive creativity. This balance is crucial for engaging users and enhancing their educational experience. From a practical standpoint, the project stands as a compelling case for harnessing digital tools to revitalize and perpetuate historical legacies, serving as a vital bridge between the past and the present. It can deepen the spreading of Guangzhou’s cultural history.

In conclusion, our study stands as a testament to the potential of immersive VR experiences in offering a captivating narrative that resonates with contemporary audiences while honoring the rich tapestry of our cultural heritage. As VR technology continues to evolve, this work lays the groundwork for future innovations in cultural heritage education and digital preservation.

Future work

Building upon these findings, future research could investigate the long-term impact of VR experiences on users’ understanding and retention of cultural heritage knowledge. Additionally, expanding the scope to include comparative studies across different cultural contexts would provide deeper insights into the universality and adaptability of the VR approach. Finally, exploring the integration of more advanced AI-driven personalization could enhance user engagement by tailoring experiences to individual preferences and learning styles.

Author contributions

Y(Yongkang).X. Y.X. and Y.L. conceived the experiment(s), Y(Yongkang).X. conducted the experiment(s), Y(Yongkang).X. and Y.X. analyzed the results, Y(Yongkang).X. and Y.X. worked on writing-review and Editing. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Data availability

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1038/s41598-024-72182-9.