Virtual Reality as a Tool for the Reconstruction and Dissemination of Cuenca’s Cultural Heritage: Cases of the “Puente Roto” Bridge and the “Cornelio Merchán” Building

This article presents the design, development and evaluation of two serious games in virtual reality, using the tools Unity and Blender, and the platform Firebase for the database management. The games aim to promote the learning of the history of two historical-cultural places of the city of Cuenca-Ecuador, through immersion, interaction and feedback. The application shows two scenarios, such as: the Puente Roto Bridge, which includes an animation of its destruction and, a historical and destroyed building more than 60 years ago, called Cornelio Merchán, and that was part of the historical legacy of the Salesians in Cuenca. The programming part focuses on the implementation of the logical, graphical and sound components of the games, as well as on the integration with Firebase for the storage and query of the data of the users, the scenarios shown, the scores and achievements. The languages C# and JavaScript are used for the development of the scripts in Unity, and the libraries Firebase SDK and Firebase Auth are used for the connection with the database. The algorithms and data structures used for the operation of the games are described, as well as the challenges and solutions found during the process. The evaluation of the games is carried out through an experimental study with 10 students, who play both games and answer a pre- and post-test questionnaire. The results show that the games are effective to improve learning and motivation of people, as well as to generate a positive and satisfactory experience.