Gamification in Architecture: The Future Interface in Design as an

Incentive to Participatory Democracy

Daniele Battista

, Liliana Cecere

, Francesco Colace

, Caterina Gabriella Guida

Angelo Lorussso

and Domenico Santaniello

DiSAMIS, University of Salerno, Fisciano (SA), Italy

DIIn, University of Salerno, Fisciano (SA), Italy

DICiv, University of Salerno, Fisciano (SA), Italy

{dbattista, lcecere, fcolace, caguida, alorusso, dsantaniello}@unisa.it

Keywords: ICT, Gamification, HBIM, Virtual Reality, Social Inclusion, Education.

Abstract: The research illustrates an innovative approach to urban planning by using a collaborative digital platform

that encourages involvement and interaction between citizens, technicians and administrators. Leveraging the

proposed digital platform, the citizen becomes a promoter of urban renewal, triggering processes of inclusion,

participation and civic engagement. The study focuses on the use of BIM (Building Information Modeling)

as a base model that becomes the setting for a desktop gaming platform: it determines a virtual three-

dimensional (3D) interactive environment, based on a desktop application, for the training of citizens and

their collaboration for the creation of new design ideas, as well as for proposals for the refunctionalization of

existing buildings. In this way, the ultimate user becomes itself designer, creator of an intervention, thinking

about spaces and hypothesizing different functions. It is thus strengthened the role of active participation of

citizens and governance of the territory of the P.A., which becomes a subject able to manage contributions of

different nature, with a view to co-design and co-production of services. Furthermore, the successful

integration of HBIM (Heritage Building Information Modeling) and the application opens the way to new

applications of involvement, learning and interactive training, which require a detailed and reality-based built

environment as a context in which to act.

1 INTRODUCTION

The diffusion of ICT among households, which has

increased in recent years, appears to be held back by

the persistence of material and immaterial factors of

exclusion, demonstrating how there is often no

correspondence between the digital opportunities

offered and actual use(Yun, 2023). While in the

creation of knowledge and its application and

diffusion many of the monitored indicators show

improvements, in Italy it seems that the overall

participation of citizens remains at a relatively low

level and, in general, the objectives of eParticipation

https://orcid.org/0009-0005-8418-8374

https://orcid.org/0009-0007-2824-7565

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2798-5834

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9330-0680

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0831-5694

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5783-1847

are not fully achieved, continuing to lag behind the

average of E.U. countries. Among ICT applications,

eGovernment represents an opportunity to increase

public administration efficiency and improve

relations with citizens(Casillo, Cecere, Colace,

Lorusso, et al., 2024). Technology takes on

extraordinary potential, becoming an enabling tool

for the construction of policies and practices of social

inclusion and development, in line with the principle

of user-centeredness recalled in the European and

national guidelines for the development of ICT in

Public Administration (objectives of the Three-Year

Plan, based on the indications emerging from the new

Battista, D., Cecere, L., Colace, F., Guida, C. G., Lorussso, A. and Santaniello, D.

Gamiﬁcation in Architecture: The Future Interface in Design as an Incentive to Participatory Democracy.

DOI: 10.5220/0013474900003932

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2025) - Volume 1, pages 801-811

ISBN: 978-989-758-746-7; ISSN: 2184-5026

801

European programming 2021-2027, on the principles

of the eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 and on

the actions provided by the Tallinn eGovernment

Declaration (2017-2021), whose indicators measure

the level of digitization throughout the E.U.). The

idea of "shared administration" involves the

interaction of various actors and collaboration

between institutions and citizens. In this context, the

role of public communication becomes crucial, both

as a tool to promote listening to citizens and solicit

new ideas and proposals, and as a way to raise

awareness of the value of the resources belonging to

the community and the importance of citizen

participation in its realization.

To overcome participation problems, many

governments have turned to social media and social

networking tools, with three potential communication

strategies: representation, citizen engagement and

networking with the public. The networking approach

emphasizes a dialogue, while engagement invites co-

production of content without necessarily involving

contributors in the dialogue(Battista & Uva, 2023).

Several initiatives have led to the creation of

eParticipation platforms, enabling digital

participation online via ICT technologies. Various

examples in recent years have demonstrated the

potential of digital technologies to facilitate social

inclusion and urban regeneration processes. Through

collaborative digital platforms, we have gone from

simple sharing of information between citizens and

P.A. to the birth of co-design processes of services,

up to forms of self-organization. These include Easy

Vocal System (Evs), i.e. tools for vocal navigation of

sites, to make the portals of public administrations

more accessible and usable; Public Participation Gis

(Ppgis), i.e. tools that use methods such as Gis

(Geographic Information Systems) technology for

participative decision making; Knowledge

Management tools to collect, organize and distribute

knowledge to those who need it, at the time and in the

context in which it is required; decision support

solutions. The use of collaborative digital platforms

in the perspective of a shared administration has

already experimented in the case of the Miramp

project in Turin (Kang et al., 2022), born in the wake

of a pilot experience, Crowdmapping Mirafiori Sud,

whose main purpose was to determine whether the

use of ICT, in particular the method of participatory

mapping (crowdmap), could generate and support

processes of social inclusion (Sethi, 2017). Even

though these solutions have been introduced, citizen

participation remains at a low level, so eParticipation

objectives have not been fully met. One of the main

reasons identified, why initiatives to date have not

achieved sufficient participation, is the problem of the

digital divide and social exclusion (Sethi, 2017).

Local governments mostly stick to representation,

applying "push strategies" to provide one-way

information. There is a substantial immaturity of web

strategies, which are not modulated on citizens'

empowerment needs. Few studies investigate real

interaction with stakeholders, especially through the

experience of quieter voices, recognized as a key

advantage in online crowdsourcing approaches in

participatory design, and even fewer focus on how

content type influences user engagement(Brabham,

2009). Governments have not yet been able to

effectively use data inferred from social media as

crowdsourcing tools, replace traditional data

collection, rigger funding mechanisms, particularly in

"bottom-up" initiatives, and new forms of citizen-led

urban regeneration (Seltzer & Mahmoudi, 2013;

Stiver et al., 2015). The present research aims to

explore this potential critically.

To engage citizens and encourage digital learning,

there are several examples of learning based on 3D

gaming environments, often web-based to overcome

problems with hardware devices available to

individuals, widely recognized for their value in

learning and training (Cook et al., 2012; González &

Blanco, 2008). In the area of Engineering and

Architecture, some studies rely on the use of 3D

design technology such as Google Sketchup or

Building Information Modeling (BIM) and different

applications of ICT for the dissemination of cultural

heritage (Casillo et al., 2023; Edwards et al., 2015;

Sylaiou & Papaioannou, 2019; Tommasi, 2021;

Wojciechowski et al., 2004). However, the

outstanding challenge remains in building a realistic

and detailed large-scale setting in the 3D game

engine. This is dictated by limitations due to most 3D

game engines, not being designed to create

architectural buildings with complex shapes and rich

detail, and by interoperability issues between various

3D design software and traditional game

engines(Casillo et al., 2022). Today, these limitations

are overcome thanks to advances in data

interoperability in BIM modeling software and the

new development of Web3D technology: thus, the

conditions are in place to import an existing 3D

design, and hence a Heritage Building Information

Modeling (HBIM), to create a complex and realistic

building environment for an immersive virtual

experience(Casillo, Colace, Gaeta, Lorusso, et al.,

2024; Chen et al., 2017; Guida et al., 2021; Matos et

al., 2022). Despite the development of BIM

applications, the use of the three-dimensional model

to create 3D interactive computer games is still an

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802

unexplored field. Existing research on BIM-based

computer games is based on the application of stand-

alone games to be installed on the user's computer,

although an approach that leverages Web browsers is

preferred to allow greater inclusion and sharing.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

In a span of four decades, video games have not only

surpassed but also outperformed traditional forms of

mass media, such as television and film, emerging as

the preferred vehicle for delivering immersive

experiences(Casillo, Cecere, Colace, Lombardi, et

al., 2024; Della Greca et al., 2024). Parallel to the

expansion of the video game market, a growing

interest has emerged in the potential use of these tools

as educational media. The market for serious games,

valued at $2.5 billion in 2015, has more than doubled

by 2020, indicating a growth trend that portends

further development in the future (Shipley & Utz,

2012). This significant increase in the market testifies

to the growing interest of the entire industry in this

mode of learning, suggesting a shift in the educational

approach.

In the analysis conducted by the authors

(Pasqualotto et al., 2023), the "challenges" related to

the use of video games as educational tools are

highlighted. The need to design serious games

capable not only of arousing players' initial interest in

the subject matter, but also of maintaining that

interest over time, thus ensuring effective learning, is

emphasized. In addition, the importance of engaging

gameplay, closely related to the educational content,

is reiterated in order to prevent the game experience

from becoming monotonous, while at the same time

being able to effectively convey the acquired notions

outside the playful environment. Designing an

engaging and motivating serious game requires in-

depth knowledge of the topics covered, pedagogy and

game design dynamics, often involving synergistic

collaboration between experts from different

disciplines (Lazarinis et al., 2022). The main

difficulties in implementing a serious game relate

primarily to the combination and balance between the

playful elements and the educational content.

Scholars in the field suggest that this integration can

take place through two distinct approaches: an

endogenous approach, which incorporates the

educational content into the structure and rules of the

game, making the gameplay itself a learning tool; and

an exogenous approach, which involves a separation

between educational content and gameplay,

indicating that the game simply serves as a vehicle for

the transmission of the topics (Roumana et al., 2022).

The entire body of literature on the topics of

"serious gaming" and "gamification" is unambiguous

in emphasizing the need to develop new ways of

transmitting information and acquiring skills, making

them more interactive and engaging. Unlike

traditional learning environments, serious games

place the emphasis on the learner, whether used in

formal education or in more specific contexts such as

vocational training, military training or situations

where real simulations are impractical due to time or

logistical issues. In addition, a working group

presented a game app developed in Unity using 3D

models of a Greek temple and a Roman statue. It

shows that learning about cultural heritage through

gaming, especially in Virtual Reality, is more

engaging and realistic than traditional methods. The

application has potential for educational use in

various contexts and can be expanded with other

digital assets (Lazarinis et al., 2022).

In particular, serious games applied to cultural

heritage preservation stand out for their crucial role in

promoting interest in historic monuments and sites. In

a context in which these assets are threatened by

various factors, such as natural disasters, aging,

climate change, and urban development, it has

become a priority international goal to preserve

interest in these places not only among those who

hold decision-making responsibilities at the territorial

level, but especially among new generations, who are

destined to inherit these assets. Community

involvement, particularly of young people, can be

fostered through 3D technologies and, in particular,

games based on virtual or augmented reality.

Augmented reality, by facilitating a special

interaction between user and environment, emerges

as a particularly effective tool for narrating not only

the physical environment, but also the intangible

heritage of a place (Cantone et al., 2023).

An illustrative case study concerns the creation of

a serious game using virtual reality and Global

Positioning System (GPS), based on the concept of a

"treasure hunt," designed to explore the

Archaeological Park of Pompeii (Clarizia et al.,

2022). In this game, users are guided to explore the

actual site to locate points of interest (POIs) and

discover its historical anecdotes and key features. The

game's educational-oriented design involved experts

in the field in selecting routes and identifying the

most relevant POIs, incorporating short descriptions

within the game to effectively convey key

information about the visited site.

Gamiﬁcation in Architecture: The Future Interface in Design as an Incentive to Participatory Democracy

803

Of course, the choice of the most suitable game

interface depends on the specific objectives and target

audience. In one specific example (Petridis et al.,

2021), the authors developed a web app rather than a

serious game, designed as an inexpensive and easily

customizable alternative for teachers. Through this

web interface, teachers can upload a background

image, which serves as the main game area, and

identify on it a series of points of interest (POIs)

associated with text descriptions, photographs, video

clips, external links, questions, and quizzes. Defining

these POIs and adding related material allows

teachers to set scores for various activities and set a

minimum score to pass the tests. A practical example

illustrated in the article concerns the ancient Greek

city of Amphipolis, in which the graphical interface

recalls elements of ancient Greece, the cursor is

represented by Pegasus, and pop-ups with ancient

philosophers present the teaching materials uploaded

by teachers for each POI. Students, after acquiring the

necessary knowledge, must answer questions, each

associated with a different score based on difficulty;

having reached the minimum required score, they

receive a virtual certificate of completion.

The "Smarter Household" project implemented an

energy monitoring system in 19 social houses in the

United Kingdom by connecting users to tablet

devices. A serious game was used to raise residents'

awareness of energy consumption and promote

efficient behaviors. Preliminary results show the

potential benefit of participants applying the lessons

from the game to their daily activities.

A particular case of a serious game focused on

cultural heritage preservation is the game

"Architectural Jewels of Lublin," presented in a

specific article . This game combines physical and

digital space in an intriguing way, incorporating

advanced computer technologies. It is a board game

enriched with computer elements, developed to

promote the history of the city of Lublin and increase

players' knowledge of architectural monuments. In

the course of the game, two players compete by

placing 3D printed models of the monuments on the

Old Town map, answering questions about the city's

history. The educational goal is pursued through the

correct placement of objects on the board, which

trigger educational questions or provide detailed

descriptions in case of error. A study conducted on a

sample of 98 students showed that those who

participated in the game achieved an average level of

knowledge 80 percent higher than students not

involved. The project, "Gaming & Geography,"

focuses incece on integrating video games into

geography teaching by proposing a reflective analysis

model to facilitate the educational incorporation of

video games, demonstrating that students actively

participate in virtual geographic contexts and reflect

on them. The researchers support the use of the

model, pointing to a significant contribution to

considering video games as legitimate geographic

tools (Morawski & Wolff-Seidel, 2023).

Finally, the integration of gamification into the

sustainable design course at Chulalongkorn

University in Thailand explores how during a three-

year period, nine eco-game projects were tested,

revealing improved environmental and design

learning. However, effectiveness is affected by the

complexity of the game rules, the length of the testing

period and the students' concentration. The article

suggests that although gamification promotes playful

and design learning, further research is needed for full

systemic integration and to promote pro-

environmental behavior change. In addition to

introducing new educational approaches, serious

games are emerging as useful tools for stimulating

active citizen participation in decision-making

processes, especially in complex urban issues. These

games offer political representatives and urban

planners the opportunity to use innovative tools to

illustrate complex urban issues, facilitate

participation, and overcome power and trust barriers

between different stakeholders (Ampatzidou et al.,

2018). Due to their unquestionable application

potential, serious games can make citizens

participants in the decision-making process and

involved in shaping the interventions themselves.

In summary, reviewing the existing literature, it is

clear that digital technologies, with a particular

reference to serious games, are a valuable support for

triggering processes of confrontation and growth in a

variety of contexts.

3 THE FRAMEWORK OF THE

PLATFORM

The need to encourage the involvement of all groups

of citizens in the interventions of re-functionalization

and enhancement of the built abandoned heritage has

led to the birth of a new interactive platform. The goal

is to promote social inclusion through the training of

the citizen who, with his ideas, enters into the design

of the spaces of which he will be the final user. Digital

technologies significantly increase the access and

availability of participation. The platform is designed

to reach as many stakeholders as possible and involve

different citizens. The analysis of data from the Italian

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804

National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) on the

relationship between citizens and ICT shows how the

use of the Internet is growing strongly: young people

are confirmed as the most frequent users of the web,

but the spread is beginning to be significant also

among those aged 65-74, reaching 41.9%.

Nevertheless, it remains evident that 41.6% of users

have low digital skills. The European Parliament and

the European Council identify e-skills as one of the

eight key competencies for lifelong learning,

necessary for each citizen to succeed in the social

environment . To maximize social inclusion and

avoid the digital divide, the architecture of the

proposed solution foresees the involvement of

different social categories, avoiding limitations and

discrimination in contributing to the initiative,

whether it refers to the availability of technology,

their education or their resources. The platform will

be developed and optimized for different devices to

overcome the first barrier and thus include younger

citizens who do not own a P.C. The online channels

will work favorably towards the young, educated and

"technologically qualified" sector of the population.

With a clean and immediately understandable

interface, the platform includes online surveys and

social media frameworks such as a discussion forum

and commentary function. The result is a

communication tool that is no longer unidirectional

but rather bidirectional, providing a wide-ranging

communication between citizens and decision-

makers, obtaining a correct, unlimited and not a

fragmented flow of information (Rose & Sæbø,

2010). Users are rewarded through a score; each user

will reward one idea, determining a ranking based on

the most popular projects.

The framework has been implemented as a

Desktop application, on an experimental basis, using

the development tools offered by the Oculus and

Unity 3D environments. It was therefore modeled a

three-dimensional environment in which users could

move freely. As for the method of interaction with the

virtual world, it was chosen to use a controller based

on real-time hand tracking. The movements of hands

and fingers are recognized by special sensors present

on Oculus visors to interact with the virtual world.

BIM modeling is inserted into the virtual environment

as a container where users can make their design

choices. In addition, libraries of 3D objects are

prepared with which users can interact directly

through Hand Tracking controllers, offering the

possibility to position objects within the space freely.

Two main categories of users are part of the system:

expert users, who have the task of updating and

enriching the library of object families, both standard

and ad-hoc created for the specific intended use;

simple users, on the other hand, interact with the

virtual environment by making changes and

customizations. An external forum platform allows

all types of users to discuss design ideas. Any

feedback from the discussions will be given to expert

users who can then make changes to the design.

Therefore, the objective of this architecture is to

offer an integrated collaborative environment able to

put users in communication with the P.A. to develop

a project idea based on the real needs of the user who

will become the final user. It was also developed an

integration with the main social platforms to allow a

rapid sharing and dissemination of ideas and content.

To promote social inclusion and eliminate the digital

divide, the desktop application, with a user-friendly

interface to ensure clarity and ease of use regardless

of the level of education and personal skills, is

directly integrated with other social media for

immediate sharing of published projects. It has been

studied how the immediacy and simplicity of the

interfaces of social networking platforms, such as

Facebook and Instagram, has allowed people to

integrate these sites into their daily practices, showing

a significant contribution to public life (Kleinhans et

al., 2015; Rodríguez-Domínguez et al., 2011) both in

providing online information and for a better dialogue

with citizens. The application provides an online help

section at the start to illustrate functionality and how

to insert one's contributions. There are then three

successive levels of interaction:

3.1 Choice of Function

In this first level, it is possible to estimate between the

alternatives of new functions pre-viewed for the

recovery of public spaces, which held optimal from

the customer. To carry out a pondered choice,

selecting every possible function, a popup is opened

that allows to visualize an interactive map dialoguing

with the GIS (Geographic Information System)

platform, updated real-time, that helps to

individualize the location of such acts-activities on

the territory examined, with a ray of investigation up

to 10 Km. Confirmed the choice, the percentage of

consents for every available option will be visualized.

In addition to the hypothesized functions, there is the

option of free choice to suggest further functional

proposals that will be launched and, if necessary,

validated by officials of the P.A. designated to

pronounce on the suggested proposals.

Gamiﬁcation in Architecture: The Future Interface in Design as an Incentive to Participatory Democracy

805

3.2 Table and Figures

The gamification section of architecture was set up to

involve a large segment of users to eliminate the

existing barriers between technical designers and

citizen end-users. Several previous studies,

examining both the history and possible future

scenarios of architectural design, showed that the

latter would likely incorporate the interactivity

achieved by gaming. Computers had brought about a

new way of visualizing designs, allowing them to be

viewed at different scales and with considerable

precision, but resulting in model presentations that

were just as "static" as those previously available.

This is because they did not allow for the kinds of

interactions with viewers provided by video games

(Meder et al., 2017). Thus, the concept of playfulness

in architectural design was born. According to

Pennington and Perlberg (SIGGRAPH 2014), this

takeover was based in part on the observation that the

boundaries between design and game technology

were becoming increasingly blurred, which was

similar to the blurring of boundaries between cinema

and games, a trend that has only increased, to achieve

freedom and interactivity. Another boon of

playfulness and interactive design is portability.

Design ideas can be easily transferred between

portable devices with interactive design tools, no

longer locked in a desktop computer. Portability

enables real-world freedom. Thus, an immersion in a

virtual reality develops, where the user can immerse

himself in a virtual, reality-based architecture, where

the design of a space will be fully realized and

"experienced" virtually before the intervention is

even realized. The design possibilities are endless,

from the insertion of surfaces and objects to the

choice of materials. Through the gamification of

architecture, the user becomes a designer to improve

a given project's usability, livability and longevity.

3.3 Forum

Finally, there is a space for reports, divided into three

macro-categories: Criticalities, suggestions and

promotions of positive initiatives to enhance the site.

This space will also allow the opening of honest

discussions to activate the involvement of the various

stakeholders.

4 CASE STUDY

The Cultural heritage can be an essential element to

base intercultural and interdisciplinary dialogue with

citizens. One of the ways to initiate such actions is

through participatory planning, which involves the

target audience from the earliest stages of a given

project. After more than fifty years of

experimentation, the themes of industrial archaeology

are still an unexplored field of research, increasingly

linked to the strategic management of territories. The

redevelopment of abandoned sites is a significant

aspect of current urban policies. In this perspective,

this research is framed, which intends to involve the

citizens of the municipality of Battipaglia (S.A.), Italy,

urging them to become protagonists and designers of

an example of industrial archaeology, the former

tobacco factory Farina. The complex of the former

tobacco factory Farina, founded in 1920 under the

direction of SAIS, Società Agricola Industriale

Salernitana, is now owned by the City of Battipaglia,

a town known for being one of the most productive

agricultural areas of the Sele Valley, of which it is also

the main industrial center.

Today the tobacco factory, indicated as a building

identity, both for its size and location, requires a

particularly complex and challenging reuse project.

The complex is a disused building shown as an

emergency, which characterizes the landscape and the

identity of Battipagliese. Its favorable position and

unquestionable historical-architectural interest make it

a potential "cultural container" flexible to new

productive destinations. It is necessary to imagine a

wide range of possible functions as far as uses are

concerned. However, the potential effects of some

functions in terms of increased demand for mobility

and especially for parking must be carefully evaluated.

Today the complex is composed of rectangular blocks

aligned and parallel to the road. The neglect and

abandonment have devastating effects, turning

memory elements into rubble. In the process of

administrative innovation undertaken by the public

administration, the increasing space given to the

participation of citizens in decision-making processes

has improved the quality of administrative action,

allowing a better understanding of the context and the

consequences of the various possible alternatives.

With this aim, the platform was born, totally web-

based, developed on three levels: "Choice of a

function", where the user can decide between different

possible functions, based on an analysis of related

activities on the territory, easily identifiable through

an interactive map based on GIS information updated

in real-time; "Create your project", where the user

becomes a designer, and finally the section "Forum",

to activate collaboration and debate. Among the

possible functions for the former tobacco factory, at

the moment, the functions of Library, Fair Pole,

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806

Market and Film Set have been hypothesized. The

interactive map helps the user to orientate and to make

well-considered choices according to the different

needs. Among the proposed functions, 37% of the

users opted for the Fair Pole to promote a regeneration

process of the complex and the surrounding urban

context, focusing on enhancing and promoting local

products, preserving the heritage of biodiversity, as

well as the local agricultural products. An innovative

aspect is covered by the section that allows the user to

create his project, immersing himself in a three-

dimensional context in which to move. Through a

Scan-to-Bim procedure (Figure 1), starting from an

integrated survey through a synergic approach of

aerophotogrammetry methods and Simultaneous

Localization And Mapping (SLAM), an accurate

three-dimensional model has been generated,

corresponding to a Level of Accuracy 20 (LOA20).

Figure 1: The 3D point cloud to the BIM model is achieved

by importing the point cloud in .rcp format into Autodesk

Revit 2021 software.

This model, created using Autodesk Revit software,

was exported in the .FBX format and imported into

the Unity3D game engine, which through the .FBX

file format allows importing geometric properties,

textures and other materials from BIM models. For

the development of the game, in addition to the model

of the complex, other 3D objects were also loaded

into the platform to be imported into the 3D

environment

objects,

again

.FBX

format.

Thus,

Figure 2: Demo application.

Figure 3: 3D online game environment. On the left, the

building is obtained through the HBIM model import. On

the right, two design proposals are created by users through

the insertion of furniture elements imported by users and

appropriately positioned in the scene.

an online 3D game platform is generated, using the

HBIM model of the tobacco factory to create an

online interactive 3D training environment, in which

the citizen takes on the role of an architectural

designer, proposing interventions and creating real

spaces within the reality-based container model. The

goal was to create a virtual environment easily

customizable in every aspect, to encourage the

training and creativity of the individual user. The

various elements can be imported and positioned in

the scene, with the double possibility of placing

through coordinates (X, Y, Z) or directly through

"Drag and Drop" (Figure 2). The various imported

elements can be scaled and modified through the

properties menu. The project, once completed, can be

shared (Figure 3).

Finally, the "Forum" section allows you to make

reports, filtered by a back-office system for the

management of reports consistent with the

administrative workflow and quality standards

required of the P.A. In this way, consultation and

informed participation become tools available to

users to lead to policies that better understand the

community's needs and increase support and trust in

public institutions and their actions. Among the

problems reported, the most numerous involve

interventions that would lend themselves well to the

activation of participatory processes with a modest

budget: the presence of architectural barriers and the

presence of multiple abandoned or disused areas.

Among the positive realities, on the other hand, the

presence of areas used for the primary school located

near the site, large areas used for parking that meet

the needs of the inhabitants and the various initiatives

Gamiﬁcation in Architecture: The Future Interface in Design as an Incentive to Participatory Democracy

807

developed before the pandemic in some of the blocks

used for recreational use were reported.

5 RESULTS AND VALIDATION

The case study's game environment underwent a

series of qualitative and quantitative verifications. In

fact, non-expert users tested the virtual environment,

not only to verify the effectiveness of the proposed

product and its various design proposals, but also to

assess the overall value of this type of proposal. The

validation phase consists of two distinct moments: the

first involves analyzing the results of the architectural

choices within the model to understand the proposal

for re-functionalizing the environment under study.

Subsequently, a second phase assesses the user's

experience, aiming to gather feedback and enhance

the product from the user's viewpoint. Thus, 34 users

were involved, who are part of the neighborhood of

the building under study, in order to gather

development evaluations of the neighborhood from

those who live in the neighborhood every day. From

the initial phase of the study, it became clear that the

proposal for a covered market area received the most

suggestions, as illustrated in figure 3. In fact, 27 out

of 34 users returned a setup within the virtual

environment that took into account various sales

points located within the tobacco factory, while only

5 out of 34 users proposed the setup of a library and

study area. Lastly, the remaining users suggested the

establishment of a restaurant, reception area, and

coworking space. Subsequently, questionnaires were

administered to the same users to verify the

effectiveness of the proposed game tool in order to

improve its appearance, functions, and purposes. The

initial part of the questionnaire aims to characterize

the user for statistical purposes. Below are the

questionnaire some responses appropriately collected

and grouped for better visualization. (Figure 4, 5 and

6).

Figure 4: How easy was the interaction with the platform?

Figure 5: How comfortable did you feel using the virtual

reality environment?

Figure 6: Do you think virtual reality adds value to the

process of democratic participation?

6 CONCLUSIONS

The experience shows how digital technologies are

valid support to activate confrontation mechanisms

that can feed and foster the development of an

administration open to dialogue, triggering processes

of inclusion, participation and civic engagement.

Moreover, the network allows citizens to become

familiar with the P.A. initiatives, eliminating the

barrier between decision-makers and users,

enhancing the new systems of listening and user

involvement in the perspective of building a renewed

urban governance. The interactive three-dimensional

(3D) virtual environment of the Tobacco Factory,

based on a desktop application, allows evaluating

how HBIM and gaming technology have now reached

a level of development that enables the creation of

virtual environments for learning and user interaction,

overcoming the limitations due to data

interoperability in the transition from BIM model to

Unity3D game engine. The integration of BIM

modeling with desktop viewers proves to be an

effective solution for all applications that require a

sufficiently accurate built environment as a context.

0 5 10 15

neither easy nor difficult

quite easy

very easy

Question 3.

0 5 10 15 20

neither comfortable…

not at all comfortable

not very comfortable

quite comfortable

very comfortable

Question 15.

0 5 10 15 20

adds a lot of value

neither adds nor takes…

takes away a lot of value

takes away value

Question 16.

ERSeGEL 2025 - Workshop on Extended Reality and Serious Games for Education and Learning

808

By selecting the ap-propriate game engine and BIM

authoring tools, we created an immersive 3D BIM

learning environment.

In the future, it is planned to expand the prototype

realized on a Web platform, in particular by making

use of the new WebXR Device API standard. The

transition to a Web-based application would allow the

creation of a platform accessible to a much wider

audience and thus break down the barriers mentioned

earlier. This kind of technology would basically allow

anyone with a smartphone to access the virtual

environment and actively participate in developing a

project idea.

Implementing this environment prototype using

HBIM modeling to create a virtual game environment

has great potential in the AEC domain. For example,

a future perspective may be using proven Web 3D

technology to aid in training workers on construction

sites regarding safety measures. A further line of

development could concern the restoration sector,

allowing to act on the three-dimensional virtual

reality obtained starting from an ABIM

(Archaeological Building Information Modeling)

model and operate interventions on the model without

directly affecting the physical structure.

In the future of cultural heritage, extensive growth

is expected in the application of gamification and the

metaverse to engage audiences in innovative and

educational ways. A key area of development

involves the use of immersive experiences through

augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR),

allowing visitors to explore historical or artistic

environments interactively. Metaverses offer the

opportunity to create digital versions of museums,

archaeological sites and historical places, making it

possible to take virtual tours, interact with objects and

learn in immersive ways. Interactive narrative

becomes a popular form of engagement, allowing

visitors to take on roles in historical scenarios, make

decisions and influence the development of the story.

Educational role-playing games are another

important aspect, allowing players to immerse them-

selves in specific historical eras and face challenges

related to the historical context. Gamification systems

that offer incentives and rewards, both virtual and

physical, motivate visitors to actively participate and

continue to interact with cultural content. Global

collaboration becomes possible through gamification

and metaverse projects that involve participants from

all over the world, facilitating the sharing of cultural

knowledge and different perspectives. Artificial

intelligence personalizes experiences based on visitor

preferences, ensuring optimized engagement.

Blockchain technology finds application in

guaranteeing the authenticity of digital cultural assets

and managing the ownership of works of art, creating

a safe and reliable environment for enthusiasts and

collectors. Furthermore, the integration of

sustainability principles in gamification and

metaverse pro-jects promotes eco-friendly practices

and raises awareness towards the conservation of

cultural and environmental heritage. These

innovations represent just some of the potential

ahead, underscoring how gamification and the

metaverse will continue to transform how we interact

with our cultural heritage.

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