The Motivational Effects and Educational Affordance of Serious Games on the Learning of Cantonese Opera Movements

The preservation of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and the sustainability of an art form rely on the transmission of knowledge and continuous evolution in ways that can adapt to changing socio-cultural environments. This paper presents the development of a project that gamified the learning of Cantonese opera movements and evaluated its motivational effects and educational affordance. The serious game consists of a total of 30 foundation sets of Cantonese opera movements captured by a professional performer, which are challenged and scored against the player’s movement through a motion-sensing camera. An evaluation was conducted by other Cantonese opera performers (N = 4), whose positive responses support the learning opportunities that could be afforded and its potential in stimulating learners’ interest in Cantonese opera. Findings of this study implies the feasibility of applying digital game-based learning to the preservation of ICH.