Abstract
The evolution of communication strategies in society now enables culture and entertainment to reach different forms of diffusion such as digital media. Museums and other heritage institutions start to change their storytelling styles, in order to offer different and engaging experiences. An example is to use Interactive Storytelling as a communication media to guide and provide visitors with information on the presented heritage, while increasing amusement and curiosity about the collections of items and transforming exhibits into narrative spaces. Such changes reshape museums' identity in society, turning them into institutions of culture and education diffusion, competing with other entertainment places like cinemas and theaters. In this thesis we propose the ISGT system, a Storytelling engine that guides visitors in interactive exhibits with an augmented reality character. Using the YDreams' Showroom and technology as a case study implementation, we were able to simulate an exhibit with the virtual guide, which provided users with suggestions and information on a collection of items. While the results suggest an increase of visitors' curiosity and the duration of interactions with the presented heritage, we believe that the system's purpose is to provide a customizable base for creating case-by-case guided tours with a minimal development effort.