“The Explorer”: Introducing The Potential of Kota Lama Semarang through Mobile Game

Abstract

The restoration process of Kota Lama Semarang over the past decade has made it a leading tourist destination in Semarang. However, government regulations still focus on restoration management and the management of Kota Lama Semarang planning, while tourism promotion has not received main priority. Promotion through various media, is absolutely necessary to encourage tourist visits to Kota Lama Semarang. This study aims to develop a promotional media for Kota Lama Semarang in a mobile game format. Method used to develop this mobile game is ADDIE approach using the visualization of iconic buildings in Kota Lama Semarang as the reference. The development process resulted a board game mobile entitled" the Explorer" to introduce various existing tourism potentials. Through the game testing stage, the hypothesis is obtained that mobile game is effective as tourism promotional media to increase tourists awareness of Kota Lama Semarang sites. The interaction model and visual reference system in the game "the Explorer" can be used as a tourism promotion model for various tourist destinations.