PyraMaze VR: An Immersive Gameplay for Ancient Egypt Learning

Abstract

Studying ancient Egyptian culture is challenging due to the extensive timespan and societal changes over millennia. Advanced 3D and VR technologies enable immersive virtual exploration with detailed reconstructions, allowing students to engage deeply with the material and enhance their understanding. In this work, we present PyraMaze VR: a virtual reality game that immerses players in the depths of an ancient pyramid, offering an innovative educational tool. Within the pyramid, players must decipher numerous puzzles related to ancient Egypt to navigate back to the modern world. Throughout gameplay, players gather information about ancient Egyptian culture by solving puzzles scattered across the map. Experimental results reveal that PyraMaze VR is not only an effective learning tool, enhancing players' understanding by approximately 34.7%, but also achieves satisfaction scores of 4.0±0.57 out of 5. This achievement surpasses traditional learning methods by around 12.4% and alternative games by 4.0%.