Using the Roblox Video Game Engine for Creating Virtual tours and Learning about the Sculptural Heritage

Abstract

This paper describes an experience to incorporate the realization of virtual routes about the sculptural heritage of a city in the classroom by developing a simulation of the urban environment using a video game engine. Video game engines not only allow the creation of video games but also the creation and navigation of in-teractive three-dimensional worlds. For this research, Roblox Studio has been used, a simple and intuitive program in which no previous programming skills are required. During the 2018/2019 academic year, a pilot experience was carried out with 53 secondary school students who were given the task of designing a virtual environment in which they had to include 3D models of the sculptural her-itage of the city of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Before starting the experience, the par-ticipants answered a questionnaire to obtain a previous idea of the students' knowledge about the creation of video games. Once the activity was finished and in order to evaluate the result of the activity, the participants answered a final questionnaire. The students emphasized that after the activity they are more aware of the sculptural heritage of Santa Cruz and that they consider themselves capable of creating their own interactive worlds with Roblox.