No Story without a Backstory: The role and importance of the backstory in an augmented reality application for cultural heritage

Abstract

The research presented below is an early-stage research project regarding the role and importance of backstory in an augmented reality application for cultural heritage. Literature and desk research show little attention for backstory when developing a storyline for extended reality applications in the cultural heritage field. However when looking at cinematic productions, theme parks and games for example, it can be stated that backstory plays an important role as a storytelling element to create a cohesive and immersive narrative. The hypothesis presented by Scan4Stories is that adding a backstory to the applications designed for cultural heritage sites, could help enhance the immersivity of the experience. To test the hypothesis presented above, we will develop a prototype, examining how the backstory of characters can be presented to the audience in an extended reality application on a cultural heritage site. By eventually combining the results from literature research and the development of a prototype we aim to formulate preliminary results concerning the use of backstory in cultural heritage extended reality applications.