Evaluating knowledge transfer mechanisms and outcomes of VR/AR for cultural-heritage serious games

This study, conducted at the Shimao archeological site in Shaanxi, developed content-equivalent VR and AR serious games using a stratified randomized parallel-group design (N = 80). A 45-min experiment with assistant-blinded and analyst-blinded procedures collected pre/post knowledge tests, interaction logs, EDA, and HR data. Results showed that the VR group had significantly higher posttest knowledge than the AR group, F(1,78) = 4.21, p = 0.043. No significant difference in higher-order cognition was found (Mann–Whitney U = 698, p = 0.27). EDA showed a main effect of technology, with peaks correlating to knowledge gain (r = 0.42, p < 0.001). VR exhibited greater exploratory density with comparable efficiency. An in situ Coupling Index (CI) analysis revealed VR outperformed AR at low CI, while increasing CI brought AR to parity or better in higher-order outcomes. These findings support a dual-path design for XR heritage education, emphasizing immersion for spatial tasks and coupling for semantic transfer.