DongSeasons: A Serious Game Journey into Dong Paper Cutting

Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) encompasses the cultural practices, expressions, and traditions passed down through generations. However, ICH faces significant challenges in preservation and dissemination, leading to increased focus on its digital preservation. In this study, we focus on the paper-cutting art of the Dong ethnic group and develop DongSeasons, a serious game (SG) aimed at the preservation and popu-larization of this art form. To guide the development of SGs that embody the essence of ICH, we propose a design strategy that integrates narrative, aesthetics, and interaction. Furthermore, the game incorporates interactive features and AI-generated drawing capabilities, enabled by a LoRA model specifically trained on Dong paper cutting to allow real-time generation of paper-cutting art. After completing the game devel-opment, we conducted two experiments to evaluate learning outcomes, user experience, and engagement. The results indicate the game's potential to foster user engagement and understanding of Dong pa-per-cutting and ICH.