Research on Emotional Design for VR Games in Digital Cultural Heritage: A Case of Tianjin Marco Polo Square’s Virtual–Real Integrated Digital Scene

As the core repository of historical memory, the revitalisation and utilisation of cultural heritage (CH) are paramount to cultural transmission. Currently, virtual reality (VR) has become a mainstream method for public engagement with cultural heritage, but existing research mainly focuses on knowledge transfer efficiency while neglecting emotional factors’ key role in heritage identification and dissemination. This study examines the VR-based CH experience for Tianjin Marco Polo Square via multi-stakeholder collaboration, exploring how emotional design affects users’ CH learning and identity formation. Findings show emotionally driven VR games enhance immersion, engagement, resonance and learning outcomes through multisensory immersion, goal-oriented interaction and narrative connections. Theoretically, a three-tier “instinct–behaviour–reflection” emotional design framework integrated with constructivist learning theory is built to tackle emotional deficiency in CH communication. Practically, it verifies that affective VR games upgrade CH transmission from unidirectional dissemination to dynamic inheritance, establishing a new participatory culture paradigm.