Where Does Value Take Shape? An AI–Human Serious Game Design Experiment on the Poème Électronique

Abstract

This article presents a design experiment investigating whether and how cultural heritage values may emerge in the development of a serious game created through generative AI. Centered on Edgar à GoGo—a game based on Edgar Varèse’s Poème Électronique—the study explores whether meaningful aspects of the heritage item can take shape in the game’s components, even in the absence of explicitly formalized values. The game concept was generated using ChatGPT within the Co.Lab design framework, followed by a prototyping phase in which the authors, acting as developers, posed implementation-driven clarification questions. The resulting prototype was evaluated by experts familiar with the original work, whose feedback highlighted both latent value alignments and critical omissions. While some values weakly emerged through the AI’s design logic, others were absent, prompting reflective discussion. The study proposes a hybrid, iterative approach to value-sensitive design in cultural heritage games, positioning expert evaluation as a crucial layer for value articulation and refinement.This work has been supported by the project PNRR - CHANGES (Cultural Heritage Active Innovation for Next-Gen Sustainable Society), Grant Agreement PE00000020. It is also part of the research within IRACF – INTERNATIONAL ROUTES: ARTS CREATING FUTURE (INTAFAM_00055).