Emerging Skills for Digital Cultural Mediation: Rethinking Local Heritage Narratives through the Museum Serious Game I Codici del Tempo (Monteprandone, Italy)

In recent years, gamification has transformed cultural mediation practices, emerging as a promising strategy both in education and the tourism and cultural sectors (Khan et al., 2020; Marques et al., 2023; Peng et al., 2023). Serious games evolved into educational devices by combining learning and entertainment, with notable edutainment potential (Bellotti et al., 2012; Mortara et al., 2014; Young et al., 2012; Karagiorgas, Niemann, 2017). These tools are contributing to a broader transformation of cultural mediation by enabling interactive narratives and participatory experiences that redefine the relationship between visitors and local heritage. Through interactive storytelling and gameplay dynamics, gamification creates new ways to experience places and heritage, playing an important role in tourism promotion and destination storytelling (Negruşa et al., 2015; Pasca et al., 2024; Pradhan et al., 2025). It also supports participatory approaches to heritage interpretation, transforming tourism experiences into co-creative processes between visitors and cultural professionals (Neuhofer et al., 2012; Pasca et al., 2021). These developments require new interdisciplinary competences that combine narrative design, digital mediation, audience engagement, and heritage interpretation. In the museum context, gamification can turn visitors into active participants, enabling more immersive and accessible experiences (Bonacini, Giaccone, 2021; Mavrin et al., 2023) and fostering greater awareness of heritage conservation and sustainable behaviors (Dipasquale, Merlo, 2023). Despite growing interest in gamification in the scientific literature (Pozzi, 2020; Bonacini, Giaccone, 2021; Mariotti, 2022; Marques et al., 2023; Solima et al., 2023; Casillo et al., 2024), its limitations remain underexplored. Game-based experiences may prioritize entertainment over information, shifting the focus from heritage interpretation to gameplay. This tension becomes particularly relevant in the case of local cultural heritage, which is often little known and difficult to communicate. Against this backdrop, the present study explores gamification as a digital narrative tool, reflecting on the emerging competences required for designing such experiences. The case of “I Codici del Tempo”, a serious game developed in 2024 for the Museum of the Codes of San Giacomo della Marca in Monteprandone (Italy), is examined. The game invites players to solve a mystery connected to the museum’s heritage, strengthening connections with local history and introducing users to manuscripts associated with San Giacomo della Marca, a figure central to local identity but not well known, particularly among younger generations. The study investigates the strengths, challenges, and potential of gamification as a tool for cultural heritage enhancement and narrative innovation, focusing on how digital mediation practices can enhance local heritage and foster new narratives rooted in territorial identity. An exploratory qualitative approach was adopted, involving the game’s authors and different audiences through gameplay sessions, semi-structured interviews, and focus groups. This methodology provides preliminary insights into the effects of gamification on user experience, narrative engagement, and awareness of local heritage value. Beyond advancing understanding of the opportunities and limits of gamification in museums, the study also contributes to the debate on emerging skillsets in heritage institutions by highlighting the growing importance of hybrid competences that combine digital literacy, storytelling, cultural mediation, and participatory design.