Multi-user and immersive experiencesin education: the Ename 1290 game,based on the use of MicrosoftKinect and Unity

Abstract: Ename 1290 is a virtually reconstructed heritage application aimed toserve as an educational tool. With the emergence of media andinteractive technologies like the Microsoft Kinect, users are now ableto virtually explore and experience the reconstructed heritageenvironments and learn about the medieval world in a more excitingway. The present Ename 1290 application is designed in a single usermode of interaction and hence offers a very limited opportunity forsocial interaction, collaboration, and learning. In this thesisproject, we have added a multi-user support in the present Ename 1290application with real-time motion detection through the use ofMicrosoft Kinect and Unity. Moreover, this thesis also explores thedesign issues related to user embodiment in a multi-user basedcollaborative virtual environments, in particular a humanoid avatarfor user representations through the use of Kinect. By collaborativevirtual environment, we mean the current Ename 1290 application whichoffers a space for interaction and collaboration. Following this, webuild a prototype which supports multi-user and showed how the designissues are addressed in the proposed system. We also hypothesize thatthe combination of Kinect-based multi-user collaborative virtualenvironment and educational live-action role play can provide a uniqueteaching and learning experience where users can learn through role-playing that is interactive and immersive. Evaluation of acollaborative virtual environment is a difficult task because itincludes factors such as immersion, social interaction, communication,pedagogical practices and task involvements, etc. Finally, we proposedan evaluation framework aims to evaluate the technical, human, andpedagogical aspects of the proposed system. This evaluation frameworkis divided into four stages with each stage designed to address aspecific evaluation goal.