Dancing a treasure: A videogame to motivate young audiences toward Spanish dance

Abstract

The increasing in the average age of performing arts audiences is a worldwide problem. If we focus on Spanish dance, the problem becomes more serious. Several studies alert that the dance situation in Spain is critical: the number of spectators in this discipline has been decreasing in the last ten years, reducing its numbers by a half in this period. On the other hand, there is an incipient current that advocates the use of new technologies -especially, videogames-to attract young audiences. This article details the creation process of "Dancing a treasure", an educational videogame aiming to motivate the youngsters towards the Spanish dance. First, we discuss the Application Domain Research Document (ADR Document), a design document to help new researchers by shortening designing times in similar projects. Next, we detail the videogame design decisions based on the lessons learned from the ADR phase. Finally, we argue the most important points of the development and production phase. This work aims to set a precedent for the design and development of videogames based on performing arts, simplifying the work of other developers facing a similar project.