An In-Gallery Mobile Game at the J. Paul Getty Museum

Susan EdwardsJ. Paul Getty Trust

sedwards@getty.edu@jolifanta

Don’t build a mobile app

just for the sake of it

Mantra

How many of you have heard this?

“We need an app!”

How many of you have heard this?

“We need an app!”

Have Goals

Meet the needs of your visitors

Is technology the right tool?

GettyGames

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Have Goals

Meet the needs of your visitors

Is technology the right tool?

Educational Objective:

Encourage families to have fun

looking at art together

in the galleries

Paper edition

The Goals

• Provide visit planning for families• Un-facilitated • Gameplay = 20-25 minutes

The tool chosen Mobile web(Pilot project)

Benefitsof Mobile Technology

• Easily updated and edited• No printing costs (but development cost)• Any visitor with a smart phone can play• Provides interactivity

Challenges of Mobile Technology

• Visitors don’t look at the exhibition• Visitors don’t know the app exists• Visitors don’t use it because it doesn’t work

for them

Opposing Fears

Visitors will ignore the exhibition

Visitors won’t play the game

Balance the experience of the game with the experience of visiting the museum.

Balance

Common Problemswith in-gallery mobile

• Visitors get lost• Visitors get frustrated• High rate of early drop-off• Visitors are head-down in their phones• We make it too complicated• We don’t provide added value• We don’t test and iterate enough

Don’t make any assumptions!

Test everything!

Lessons for Success

Images: J. Paul Getty Museum

Build looking into the app

Understand your audience

Make it relevant to the museum experience

Give visitors ownership

Balance

“It was just what I was looking for – something to increase my son’s focus on the artworks during the

museum visit.”

Parent to child:

“Do you see something else next to the teapot?”

“My brother usually hates our regular museum visits.

This time, I saw him engaged for the first time.”

The Experience

• High number of players finish the game• Close looking observed in evaluation• Gives families a place to start in the

museum• Empowers parents to start conversation

about the art• Young players feel ownership of the

museum and the artworks

Don’t build a mobile app

just for the sake of it

Mantra

Mantra

Understand your audience

Susan EdwardsJ. Paul Getty Trust

sedwards@getty.edu@jolifanta