Understanding the Key Factors Influencing Continued Use Intention Toward Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)-Themed Virtual Reality Games
It addresses the challenge of preserving ICH through digital means for cultural institutions and developers, but is incremental as it extends an existing model to a specific domain.
This study tackled the problem of low user engagement in Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) preservation by developing a VR game for the Qinhuai Lantern Festival and identifying key factors like sensory and emotional experiences that influence user acceptance, with results showing significant statistical effects (e.g., beta = 0.401 for sensory experience on perceived usefulness).
Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) faces critical challenges in the digital age, including reduced public engagement, restricted accessibility, and difficulties in communicating complex cultural practices to modern audiences. Virtual Reality (VR) games present promising opportunities for ICH preservation and transmission, yet little is known about factors shaping their user acceptance. This study introduces a VR game centered on the Qinhuai Lantern Festival, a representative ICH case. We extend the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by incorporating sensory, emotional, and cultural dimensions as external variables, offering a framework for examining user acceptance of ICH-oriented VR applications. We conduct a survey with 299 respondents and apply structural equation modeling. Findings show that sensory experience significantly enhances both perceived usefulness (beta = 0.401, p < 0.001) and cultural experience (beta = 0.523, p < 0.001), while emotional experience strongly predicts positive attitudes (beta = 0.428, p < 0.001) and emotional loyalty (beta = 0.517, p < 0.001). Moreover, sensory, emotional, and cultural dimensions positively influence users' attitudes and behavioral intentions. The findings provide practical guidelines for the design of future ICH-based VR games.