Games at the Slovak National Gallery
If you are looking for games in museums, the Slovak National Gallery (SNG) in Bratislava has currently two games and a gamified interactive experience on offer.
The first one is a Scavenger Hunt with monthly changing challenges and objects to collect that has been embedded into the digital guide app called Atlas SNG. Secondly, a short adventure game can be found in the permanent exhibition Sacred Art and the latest addition is an interactive installation in the temporary exhibition Fruits of Discord – Portraying the Ottoman Presence. As you can see, games permeate the whole museum, from permanent to temporary exhibitions, and they are tied to other services the museum has to offer as we will discover when reading on.
From Church to Exhibition Game – Find artworks on display in their original place
As the title might give away, this game is located at the Sacred Art permanent exhibition. It was developed in collaboration with the indie game studio Nohavmede and launched in 2024. By interacting with a touch screen, visitors can explore two iconic buildings – the St. Martin’s Cathedral in Bratislava and the Jasov Monastery located in East Slovakia. The goal of the game is to find six items in both buildings, of which two are displayed in the surrounding exhibition.
By clicking on one of the buildings, the isometric perspective is enlarged and players can go on a discovery tour through the building by taking the building apart bit by bit uncovering its interior life. The game world is very interactive. Players can wander through the buildings and discover them by clicking on various components. Clicking on items that need to be collected unlocks additional information or short side-quests assembling artworks by uncovering its parts. But the player is also free to simply explore the building and to interact with each small detail of its world. Components will react to taps with movement or sounds, like a mouse darting away squeaking prompted by a click. Only then you can make a fun sound collage by typing on multiples.
Game elements at work are exploration, discovery, content-unlocking, challenge, puzzle. The development team refused to add classic game elements such as points, badges, levels and time pressure, because they agreed the exhibition setting was just not right for it. The goal for the player is to discover all the objects within the cathedral and monastery but without a rush, also going back and forth between touch screen and the physical exhibits.
Creating a game for this exhibition was not at the top of mind for the museum team. However, the team agreed that the exhibition should contain an interactive element and defined the needs and requirements it should meet. These were extending the story of some of the exhibits in the space and opening up ways to getting closer to the original context as well as building connections between the SNG and external collections. It soon became obvious, that the best format to achieve that would be a game.
The aim of the development team was to create a simple, easy to play and short game avoiding content overload. The museum’s goal was to provide visitors with information and a playful way to learn about the works’ original function, location, and creation in a fun and simple way inviting them to have a closer look at the artworks and engage with them in a different way.
“If we had only wanted to develop a fun game, we would have done things differently. We would not have made the game as accurate and link it to other collections in Slovakia.” Highlights Michal Čudrnák, Head of Digital Collections and Services.
The beauty of the game lies in its simplicity, its nicely illustrated clean isometric perspective design, few but powerful game elements and interactive effects. It’s easy to navigate through the buildings and the gameplay is self-explanatory. It invites visitors to look closer at artworks exhibited at an arm’s length and extends an invitation to discover them at their original locations opening up bridges to other collections and monuments.
Scavenger Hunt through the Gallery
The Scavenger Hunt invites visitors to find and collect five objects at display dispersed throughout the exhibition spaces. The successful collection of all objects is rewarded with a discount for the shop or a free coffee or lemonade at the café. The game can be accessed directly at the landing page of the app or some visitors also stumble upon it during their visit.
Difficulty is given to the game by not giving tips on the exact location of the objects, maintaining the right flow and balance. As first clues, the five objects are depicted in black-and-white photos and a short description in the app. After having found the object on display, the image will convert into a colourful image and further information on the object is unlocked.
The objects of the Scavenger Hunt are changed every month and they related to the creative programme happening at the atelier for families in an attempt at linking it with other services provided by the museum which makes it a perfect tool for returning visitors.
“Most apps have the problem of not giving you the incentive of using them again or continue using them post-visit. We have not yet collected data about the value it has for returning visitors, but we definitely can say that the Scavenger Hunt is the most used feature of the app and the highlighted objects the most visited artworks.” – Michal Čudrnák.
The Borderlands Interactive Gamified Installation at the “Fruits of Discord – Portraying the Ottoman Presence” temporary exhibition
What was it like to live in the war-torn fortresses on the Hungary-Ottoman Border? An interactive station including game elements, playful design and a strong narrative allows the players to put themselves in the shoes of the besieger or besieged at three fortresses. This interactive experience consists of three screen walls and a table with buttons to select the three fortresses, and instructions of how to play. The player uses an integrated rotating ball to navigate through the experience. The goal is to explore them all by finding interactive elements within the battle scenes and discover the stories behind the Non-Player-Characters.
From religious art to contested fortresses, the examples at SNG demonstrate that virtually any topic can serve as inspiration for game development. While games are becoming increasingly present in museums, SNG’s approach reminds us that not everything needs to be gamified. Rather than immediately deciding on a game format, it may be wiser to first identify the underlying needs and let those needs determine the most suitable format. The Scavenger Hunt is a great example of sustainable game development. Rather than creating a one-time experience, SNG designed the game as a flexible container for evolving content, ensuring long-term relevance and adaptability.
A big thank you to Michal Čudrnák who was so kind to lead me through the exhibition spaces at SNG and gave insights into how the games were designed and produced.
Photo credits: Slovak National Gallery