From Spatial Representation to Participatory Engagement: Designing a UCD–BDD Virtual Pilgrimage Environment

Abstract

This study addresses the impact of pandemics, economic limitations, and physical constraints on physical pilgrimage by proposing and evaluating a culturally sensitive, ritual-oriented virtual Boudhanath Stupa environment. Using user-centered design (UCD) and Behavior-Driven Development (BDD), the project created interactive ritual nodes on a Minecraft–VR platform, combining spatial configuration, symbolic elements, and exploratory freedom to move beyond static representation toward participatory engagement. A mixed-methods evaluation with 50 participants from diverse backgrounds and 2 Tibetan Buddhist experts showed positive feedback for aesthetic experience (M = 4.36) and user control (M = 4.62). Despite its non-photorealistic style, the environment was able to evoke a strong sense of presence and was recognized by experts as a “digital Dharma gate” suitable for younger audiences and those unable to travel to sacred sites. Limitations include a small sample size, a short evaluation period, and a lack of social interaction features. Future development will enhance guidance and feedback, expand narratives, support community co-creation, and introduce multi-user functions, providing a scalable framework for virtual religious cultural heritage.

1. Introduction

Religious cultural heritage sites serve as vital vessels of cultural memory, often embodied through spatial, emotional, and performative bodily ritual practices. More importantly, they are key venues for fostering intergenerational transmission, helping to reinforce cultural identity and pass traditions on to younger generations. Among many sacred sites, the Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal—recognized as one of the largest Buddhist stupas in the world and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site—has long been a major pilgrimage destination. Devotees engage in fully embodied ritual actions here, such as circumambulation (kora) and offerings, and refer to it as the “Wish-Fulfilling Stupa” [1,2]. However, contemporary challenges—such as travel restrictions caused by the pandemic, economic hardship, and physical disabilities—have severely disrupted the possibility of in-person pilgrimage, further prompting interest in virtual pilgrimage alternatives [3,4]. While 3D scanning and immersive visualization technologies have enabled the rapid digital preservation of cultural heritage [5,6,7], most existing systems remain predominantly passive and display-oriented, lacking support for the interactivity and ritual authenticity essential to religious participation. Conversely, developing highly interactive, fully customized virtual ritual environments often requires a significant financial and time investment, making them difficult to scale and reuse [8,9,10]. In particular, the intended audiences of this study include those who wish to experience a Buddhist sacred site but are unable to travel, as well as those who have already visited the Boudhanath Stupa and seek to revisit their experiences. To address this gap, this study proposes a prototype design model for a culturally sensitive, ritual-oriented virtual pilgrimage environment. The approach integrates user-centered design (UCD) [11] and Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) [12] to move beyond a static spatial representation and enable meaningful, participatory engagement. Using the Boudhanath Stupa as a case study, the model is implemented on an accessible Minecraft–VR platform. Minecraft has frequently been used for cultural heritage due to its accessibility, making it suitable for broad audiences. In contrast, VR provides the embodied immersion sought by participants desiring ritual authenticity. Together, the Minecraft–VR approach balances accessibility with depth of engagement. The development process comprises four phases, with the fourth dedicated to evaluation, as summarized in Figure 1.

1.

Contextual Inquiry: Identify user needs, ritual practices, and cultural context through a literature review and on-site observations.

2.

UCD–BDD Scenario Design: Apply UCD principles to aligning interaction concepts with user abilities and cultural backgrounds and use BDD to define key ritual nodes and formulate Gherkin-based interaction scripts.

3.

Prototype Development: Construct the virtual Boudhanath Stupa in Minecraft, integrate embodied VR interaction, and ensure symbolic, spatial, and sensory fidelity.

4.

Formative Evaluation: Test the prototype with 50 participants from diverse backgrounds and 2 Tibetan Buddhist experts, combining quantitative and qualitative methods to assess its usability, engagement, and cultural appropriateness.

2. Related Works

This section reviews the theoretical and practical background relevant to the study, outlining the cultural and ritual context of pilgrimage, the current applications of virtual pilgrimage, and the rationale behind the chosen methodological framework and platform. Together, these elements establish the theoretical foundation for the subsequent design and implementation.

2.1. The Cultural and Ritual Context of Pilgrimage

In Buddhism, the stupa is a sacred architectural structure built to enshrine the relics of the Buddha, serving as a central place for devotion, ritual activities, and spiritual practice. Its canonical basis derives from the Buddha’s teachings in scriptures such as the Dirgha Agama Sutra, which emphasize the establishment of reliquary stupas as a means for public veneration and inspiration for future generations [13]. The term stūpa can be traced linguistically to the Vedic period. According to Giuseppe Tucci, its original meaning was “heap” or “elevation”, and it was often used to denote altars symbolizing the connection between heaven and earth [14,15]. Architecturally, early stupas such as the Sanchi Stupa feature a hemispherical dome (anda) set upon a circular base (medhi), with a circumambulatory path (pradakshina patha), embodying cosmological symbolism from both Buddhist and pre-Buddhist traditions [16]. Among many sacred sites, the Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu, Nepal, holds a particularly significant religious and cultural position . The structure itself is a three-dimensional mandala, with each architectural element symbolizing a spiritual path toward awakening: the large white dome represents water, the thirteen-tiered golden spire signifies the stages of spiritual progress, and the four all-seeing eyes of the Buddha face in all cardinal directions [17]. It stands as the spiritual heart of the Nepali Tibetan Buddhist community, not merely as a historical heritage site but as a living, continually enacted space. Each year, hundreds of thousands of devotees engage here from sunrise to sunset in rituals such as circumambulation, chanting, prostrations, and offerings, making it living cultural heritage animated by collective faith. Ritual practices at Buddhist pilgrimage sites do not merely record meaning but actively produce it [18]. These embodied religious acts are not simply symbolic gestures but serve as essential means for devotees to internalize cultural values and cosmology. As Bourdieu states, “Space has no meaning without practice” [19]; thus, the sacredness of a stupa must be manifested through active participation and interaction. Among these, the most central ritual is circumambulation (pradakṣiṇā), performed by walking clockwise around the stupa with the right side facing it. This practice, which dates back to early Buddhism, is vividly depicted in reliefs at Borobudur and the Amaravati Stupa and explicitly recorded in scriptures such as the Sūtra on the Merits of Circumambulating a Stupa [20,21]. It is believed to generate immeasurable merit, including liberation from suffering, the accumulation of virtuous karma, and the attainment of both worldly and spiritual benefits. However, circumambulation is not merely an act of physical movement; it is an integrated practice that unites body, speech, and mind. Unlike tourists who walk around a stupa out of curiosity, devout practitioners recite mantras, chant sutras, and may even perform prostrations and make offerings during the process. Tibetan Buddhist master Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche likewise emphasizes that visiting sacred sites and dedicating one’s physical actions can accumulate vast merit [22]. Thus, the space surrounding a stupa constitutes a sanctified realm imbued with ritual energy, supporting practitioners in the continuous cultivation of both body and mind.

2.2. Previous Virtual Pilgrimage Practices

To understand the current landscape of virtual pilgrimage experiences, this section evaluates a selection of representative systems. The platforms summarized in

Table 1. Representative virtual pilgrimage platforms, ordered by immersion level.

Platform	Mechanics of Interaction	Dynamics of Ritual	Aesthetics of Pilgrimage	User Control and Freedom
Journey with Ignatius	Mobile app interface with clickable videos, articles, and audio; information browsing.	Linear daily/weekly devotional flow, following a set schedule.	Themed locations and saint biography excerpts create atmosphere through imagery and text.	Medium: Users choose reflection content, while pace and themes are preset by the platform.
Google Arts and Culture	Visual tour: Pan and zoom to explore high-resolution 360-degree panoramas or online exhibitions.	Passive viewing: User consumes rituals as linear cultural content and scenery.	Sensation and discovery: Evokes visual pleasure and joy in finding historical and artistic details.	Low: Predetermined paths and views allow for minimal personalized practice or exploration.
Muslim 3D	Desktop and mobile app; gamified tasks; 3D navigation and scripted triggers for actions.	Scripted simulation: Preset storyline with simplified ritual tasks.	Uses 3D simulated visuals and map-guided visits to sacred sites to evoke awe and reverence.	Medium: Free exploration within a main mapped route.
Pilgrimage to Pureland	Cultural VR embodied interaction: Exploration and movement via designated points.	Visual and task interaction: Combines viewing 2D murals with task-based actions like NPC conversations in a 3D scene.	Dunhuang’s murals hold major cultural significance, with sophisticated aesthetics that emphasize the spirituality of their depicted stories.	Medium: A guided narrative aimed at teaching the history and art of the Dunhuang murals.
The Holy City	VR embodied interaction: Gameplay includes completing challenges, solving puzzles, and unlocking clues at sacred sites.	Task-oriented: Integrated with observing ritual performances. Progression involves visiting key sites tied to specific faith practices.	Strong focus on visual authenticity through volumetric filming and photogrammetry. Highlights interfaith coexistence and shared values, enhancing the sense of spiritual unity.	High: Semi-guided exploration: Users travel through predefined sacred sites but can interact with puzzles and clues at each location.

encompass a variety of formats, including web-based interfaces, mobile applications, game-engine-based environments, and immersive virtual reality. Platform selection was conducted through searches in academic databases and publicly available resources, using keywords such as “virtual pilgrimage,”, “digital sacred site”, and “immersive religious experience”. Collected data included published journal articles, official websites, and demonstration videos. For downloadable platforms, hands-on user testing was performed to identify representative cases from different religious traditions for evaluation. To assess the state of existing virtual pilgrimage platforms, this study draws on the MDA framework proposed by Hunicke et al. [23]. This framework deconstructs interactive experiences into Mechanics, Dynamics, and Aesthetics, enabling a systematic analysis of platform design. While MDA is often regarded as a game analysis tool, it has been widely applied in adjacent fields as a means of evaluating complex interactive experiences [24,25]. The framework consists of three components: (1) Mechanics, the system’s rules and components; (2) Dynamics, their run-time behavior in response to player input; and (3) Aesthetics, the emotional responses evoked in the player. To make the framework more applicable to deep cultural experiences, this study further integrates the core principles of user-centered design (UCD) [11]. UCD emphasizes that design should address users’ real needs, contexts, and goals rather than merely serving as a demonstration of technology. Building on an extended version of the MDA framework and highlighting the core value of UCD, this study proposes a four-dimensional analytical model. In addition to the three components of MDA, an additional dimension—User Agency and Experiential Freedom—was introduced. Rooted in UCD’s emphasis on “user control and freedom” [26,27], this dimension examines the extent to which the system returns the initiative of the experience to the user, allowing them to construct a personalized journey according to their own intentions, pace, and goals. This selection reflects the need to combine the widely recognized analytical strength of MDA with the user-centered emphasis of UCD, ensuring that the framework simultaneously addresses the mechanics of interaction, ritual dynamics, cultural–aesthetic experiences, and the degree of user autonomy essential to virtual pilgrimage. The four core dimensions of the analytical framework are described as follows:

1.

Mechanics of Interaction: This dimension assesses the fundamental modes of interaction provided by the system. We examine the complexity and variety of its mechanics, ranging from basic visual navigation such as clicking, dragging, and app-based text responses to more complex gamified mechanisms, including 3D character navigation, quest systems, and embodied VR gesture controls. The goal is to understand the level of physical and functional interactivity the platform offers to users.

2.

Dynamics of Ritual: This dimension evaluates the system’s effectiveness in reproducing authentic patterns of pilgrimage behavior. We analyze whether the experiential flow generated by the platform leans toward linear information delivery and script-driven task sequences or supports user-constructed, non-linear, performative rituals.

3.

Aesthetics of Pilgrimage: This dimension examines the spectrum of emotional and spiritual experiences evoked by the platform. We assess whether its aesthetic engagement primarily centers on sensory pleasure (sensation) and a sense of exploration (discovery) enabled by high-resolution imagery or whether it extends to more faith-related expressions of devotion (expression) and commitment (submission), as well as more diverse aesthetics such as narrative or fellowship.

4.

User Control and Freedom: This dimension assesses whether users are provided with strong, moderate, or limited autonomy during the experience. It considers the linearity of pathways, the level of control over pacing, and the range of choices in ritual interactions to evaluate the potential for constructing a personalized experience.

Drawing on the above analysis, this review reveals a pattern and a fundamental dilemma in current virtual pilgrimage practices: the complexity of a platform’s interaction mechanics is positively correlated with the depth of its ritual dynamics and the user agency it can support but often comes at the expense of high development and maintenance costs. For example, while Google Arts and Culture excels in delivering sensory experiences, its passive interaction mechanics result in a lack of ritual dynamics and extremely low user agency. Gamified platforms such as Pilgrimage to Pureland and Muslim 3D, which incorporate more complex interaction mechanics, are often constrained by linear scripted narratives. Even platforms like The Holy City, which offer the highest level of user control, face significant challenges due to the complexity of development and the substantial resources required, challenges that frequently lead to discontinued updates once the maintenance costs become unsustainable. In summary, the existing practices generally fail to combine two critical goals: enabling high user autonomy while supporting profound, repeatable ritual participation in a cost-effective, scalable way. Addressing this gap is the central aim of the present study, implemented through a methodological framework specifically designed to bridge cultural authenticity with interactive engagement.

2.3. Methodological Frameworks: UCD and BDD

This study adopts a dual methodological framework that combines user-centered design (UCD) with Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) [12]. UCD emphasizes an iterative, participatory process in which insights from users and cultural stakeholders are systematically gathered, interpreted, and translated into design decisions [11]. In this study, the UCD process involved three main components: (1) identifying users’ needs, abilities, and cultural backgrounds through interviews and contextual inquiry; (2) developing personas to represent typical user types and pilgrimage contexts; and (3) conducting iterative prototyping and testing, enabling users to directly evaluate preliminary virtual environments and provide feedback for refinement. In the context of religious cultural heritage, UCD ensures that the design not only meets usability standards but also preserves ritual meaning and spiritual authenticity, integrating sensory, symbolic, and performative dimensions into the interactive experience. BDD, on the other hand, is a software development methodology designed to enhance the collaboration and communication between developers, testers, and other stakeholders. First introduced by Dan North [26] in his seminal blog post “What’s the Point of Stories?”, BDD addresses the limitations of traditional user stories—such as the template “As a <user>, I want <some feature>, so that <some benefit>”—which often result in vague, abstract requirements rather than concrete, observable behaviors. Instead, BDD replaces these ambiguous narratives with explicit behavioral examples expressed in the Given–When–Then format, thereby shifting the focus from abstract functions to specific, testable scenarios. In this study, the BDD process consisted of three key components: (1) identifying ritual sequences, such as circumambulation, flower offering, and chanting, as culturally grounded behaviors; (2) defining the triggering conditions, actions, and expected outcomes for each ritual using the Given-When-Then format; and (3) translating these behavior specifications into actionable development tasks for implementation in the virtual environment. In recent years, BDD has been applied beyond large-scale software systems to domains such as game narrative design and tourism experience design [27,28], demonstrating its potential for managing complex cultural interactions [29]. Here, BDD serves as the formal bridge between the contextual insights produced by UCD and the precise specifications required for technical implementation, ensuring that the final system reflects users’ authentic lived experiences.

2.4. Platforms for Accessibility and Immersion: Minecraft and VR

To address two common challenges in digital cultural heritage—high production costs and the lack of an embodied experience—this study adopts a technological solution that combines the accessible environment of the video game Minecraft with the deep sensory immersion offered by virtual reality (VR), thereby leveraging the strengths of both platforms. The choice of Minecraft as the base platform was made to address the core challenges of “accessibility” and “interactivity” in virtual pilgrimage environments identified in the literature. Compared to resource-intensive custom 3D modeling, Minecraft offers a lower barrier to entry, high accessibility, and a low-cost platform that allows researchers to modify or expand the environment in response to end-user feedback. Beyond being a globally popular game with billions of downloads, Minecraft has already been proven to be an accessible and interactive platform for cultural heritage applications. As Fernández and Medeiros note, Minecraft is among the most effective platforms for conveying digital cultural heritage, particularly adept at representing architectural heritage [30]. Its application as an educational tool has also gained international recognition, with UNESCO acknowledging the potential of video games to promote cultural heritage awareness and participation. Méndez et al. highlight Minecraft’s capacity to convey essential architectural concepts such as spatial circulation, building typologies, and functionality elements critical to interactive cultural heritage experiences [31]. It has also been used as a digital twin platform for virtual urban exploration and social interaction, serving as a valuable reference for urban planning [32]. However, because Minecraft constructs its worlds using 1 × 1 × 1 blocks, it has inherent limitations in visual realism. To overcome these constraints and enhance embodied interaction, this study integrates VR technology. VR is a powerful medium capable of reproducing real-world scenarios or creating alternative scenarios through immersive digital environments, fostering emotional attachment via virtual tourism [33]. As discussed in Section 2.2, VR offers the highest level of immersion in virtual pilgrimage applications, making it an ideal tool for engaging wider audiences and conveying the cultural significance of a site. Furthermore, VR can help trigger memory recall through connections to the past or generate new meaning through interaction. As Guttentag observes, the “virtual walkthrough” is an extremely effective way to present and understand spatial concepts [34], enabling visitors to explore without being constrained by time or location [35,36], thus meeting the needs of those unable to visit in person or wishing to revisit a sacred site.

3. Design and Methods

This study follows an iterative, user-centered design process to develop and evaluate an interactive virtual pilgrimage environment: the Virtual Boudhanath Stupa. This section outlines the design process in three main stages: (1) Contextual Inquiry and Design Specification, translating user research into BDD scenarios; (2) Environment Implementation, detailing the construction of the virtual space in Minecraft and VR; and (3) User Experience Evaluation, describing the research methods used to assess the final prototype.

3.1. Phase 1: Contextual Inquiry and Design Specification

This contextual inquiry aimed to capture not only the architectural form of the Boudhanath Stupa but also its embodied ritual practices and the cultural meanings behind them. Our fieldwork began with on-site surveys and precise measurements of the stupa’s dimensions to ensure architectural and spatial accuracy. This was followed by a full-day user behavior observation study, documenting the sequence and variety of spiritual activities performed by devotees and pilgrims on site. The recorded observations are shown in Figure 2.

This image presents a timeline of the daily ritual activities at the Boudhanath Stupa, spanning from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and illustrates eight representative forms of devotional practice observed on site:

• Prostration—Performing full-body bows to express reverence and devotion;
• Smoke Offering—Burning incense or aromatic plants to purify the space and invite blessings;
• Chanting—The recitation of sacred texts or mantras to accumulate merit and cultivate mindfulness;
• Flower Offering—Presenting fresh flowers as an act of reverence, symbolizing purity and impermanence;
• Prayer Wheel Turning—Rotating large or handheld wheels inscribed with mantras, believed to generate spiritual merit;
• Giving Alms—Providing food or necessities to those in need, including feeding stray animals, reflecting compassion;
• Meditation—Engaging in seated contemplation to cultivate inner stillness and spiritual insight;
• Light Offering—Lighting rows of butter lamps, symbolizing dispelling ignorance and the aspiration for enlightenment.

Although arranged here along a timeline for visual clarity, these activities are not performed sequentially; rather, they occur concurrently and repeatedly throughout the day. Together, they form the cultural and spiritual framework that the Virtual Boudhanath Stupa seeks to preserve and simulate in its interactive design.

Based on the literature review, fieldwork, and prior research, we applied the BDD method to propose a preliminary design framework in an earlier study [37,38] which was subsequently expanded and refined following interviews and testing with the initial prototype experience. In this phase, the entire pilgrimage process was deconstructed into seven primary “ritual nodes”, as shown in

Table 2. BDD scenarios for the core ritual nodes of the virtual pilgrimage.

1. Start
Given	the user is standing at the entrance
When	the user steps on the start “floor”
Then	the stupa shows
2. Smoke Offering
Given	the user is walking clockwise around the stupa
When	the user reaches the incense station
Then	incense smoke appears
3. Giving Alms
When	the user reaches a donation spot
Then	the user gives the food offering to an animal
Given	the animal is happy
4. Chanting Mantras
Given	the user reaches a music player desk
When	the user puts a record on the desk
Then	chanting audio plays
5. Flower Offering
Given	the user is going to a temple
When	the user sees a Bodhisattva statue
Then	the user puts a flower on the desk
6. Spinning the Prayer Wheel
Given	the user completes a full circumambulation loop
When	the user enters the prayer wheel room
Then	the user is positioned in front of the relic stupa
7. Lighting a Lamp
Given	the user stands in front of the relic stupa
When	the user puts the light on the offering table
Then	a firework effect is triggered to signify the completion of the pilgrimage
Hidden node
Given	the user finds a Guru Rinpoche’s thangka
When	the user enters the thangka
Then	the user finds themself in a pure land

.

Each node is grounded in specific, observed behaviors of pilgrims and corresponds to a particular geographical location within the stupa site (Figure 3). Notably, prostration and meditation, although commonly practiced at the Boudhanath Stupa, were not included as interactive nodes in the current design. Prostration was excluded due to the limitations of VR locomotion and safety concerns associated with requiring full-body movement with a headset. Meditation, while spiritually significant, was omitted from this iteration because its extended, introspective nature did not align with the project’s focus on short-form, guided ritual interactions; however, it remains a candidate for inclusion in future expanded versions to support deeper contemplative engagement.

As illustrated in the comparative map in Figure 3, these nodes were designed to create a one-to-one spatial correspondence with key ritual locations at the physical site, ensuring a reflection of the real-world pathway. However, the virtual environment also leverages unique affordances to go beyond mere replication and offer experiences that extend and enrich real-world practices. A key example is the creation of an accessible interior chamber for lamp offering- a centrally important ritual—which overcomes the physical inaccessibility of the stupa’s inner sanctum. This transforms the digital replica into an extended sacred space, enabling the participants to perform offerings in a way that is both symbolically and spiritually significant. In addition, we introduced a hidden ritual node representing a pure land realm within the virtual environment. This concealed space can only be accessed by discovering a symbolic thangka “portal” and crossing a reflective water pool, leading the participant into a serene, sanctified realm dedicated to Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava). Here, users can engage in prostration, offering, and contemplation, embodying a journey into a master’s mandala. This design not only highlights the narrative and symbolic depth of the virtual pilgrimage but also demonstrates how digital environments can provide complementary, transcendent experiences alongside their real-world counterparts.

3.2. Phase 2: Environment Implementation and Prototyping

The construction of the Virtual Boudhanath Stupa began with spatial layout planning, with the primary design focus on ensuring strong connections to the real site. Drawing from the literature, architectural floor plans measured on site, data from Google Maps, and photographic documentation, we reconstructed the core structure comprising the hemispherical dome and the surrounding circumambulatory path at scale. Based on the previously defined seven primary ritual node framework, each virtual interaction node was aligned with its real-world counterpart (Figure 3), such as the ritual space at the north entrance and the Jamchen Lhakhang Monastery on the west side, thereby recreating the symbolic spatial relationships of the site. Through spatial alignment and the modeling of key Buddhist symbols (e.g., the Buddha’s Eyes), we aimed to create a virtual ritual environment rich in authentic elements and symbolic meaning. Although spatial and symbolic fidelity was achieved to a high degree, we adopted a dual strategy to address Minecraft’s inherent visual limitations. First, we used Minecraft Java Edition, which offers the most comprehensive support for third-party mods, and installed shader packs to significantly enhance the visual presentation, including realistic lighting, dynamic skies, and more textured materials. Second, for details that shaders could not adequately convey, we embedded high-resolution photographs from the actual site at specific ritual nodes. For example, when users reach a particular ritual interaction point, the interface displays real-life images of the local reliefs or surface textures. This hybrid approach combining game visual enhancements with real photographic media maximizes Minecraft’s strengths in spatial navigation while delivering a culturally contextualized and ritually rich experience. Figure 4 shows a comparison between the real and virtual environments, which was evaluated through user testing to understand its impact on the aesthetics of pilgrimage.

Secondly, to transform the Virtual Boudhanath Stupa into an immersive and embodied ritual environment, this study implemented the Vivecraft VR mod in combination with an HTC Focus 3 head-mounted display to deliver the full experience.

3.3. Phase 3: The User Experience Protocol

3.3.1. Participants

A total of 50 adults aged 18 and above were recruited through a public call on social media using purposive sampling to ensure that the participants possessed a basic understanding of ritual practices and the ability to provide reflective feedback. The sample intentionally included diverse religious backgrounds, consisting of 31 formally ordained Buddhists, 10 practitioners of Taiwanese folk religion, and 9 participants with no religious affiliation. The Buddhist group’s familiarity with the ritual was essential to evaluating the spiritual appropriateness of the environment, while the other two groups provided perspectives on accessibility and cultural dissemination potential. The age distribution was 18 to 34 years for 19 participants, 35 to 54 years for 24 participants, and over 55 years for 7 participants. Notably, 42 percent of the participants were first-time VR users, and 72 percent had never used Minecraft, which highlighted the importance of designing an environment with high usability and clear guidance. To strengthen the interpretive validity, two Tibetan Buddhist experts, one khenpo (a senior monastic scholar holding the highest academic degree in Tibetan Buddhism, comparable to a doctorate in Buddhist philosophy) and one young recognized reincarnated Rinpoche (an honorific title for a reincarnated lama, regarded as the rebirth of a previous spiritual teacher), also participated in the evaluation. They provided in-depth feedback on the ritual’s accuracy, potential misinterpretations, and the spiritual dimensions of the experience. This expert input was used to triangulate the user data and ensure cultural and spiritual appropriateness. Figure 5 presents an overview of both the general participant group and the expert reviewers.

3.3.2. The Procedure

Each participant’s session began with a three-minute orientation that introduced the cultural significance of clockwise circumambulation and provided basic instructions for navigation in the VR and Minecraft environment. Following the briefing, the participants engaged in a 15–20 min self-guided virtual pilgrimage. The primary objective was to complete one full circumambulation of the stupa while interacting with the seven primary ritual nodes, each corresponding to a significant location at the real-world site. The virtual journey also incorporated elements of expanded sacred space, utilizing the affordances of the digital medium—such as an accessible interior chamber for lamp offerings and a hidden pure land area—to extend ritual engagement beyond the physical limitations of the actual stupa.

3.3.3. The Data Collection Instruments

A mixed-methods approach was adopted for data collection, combining quantitative and qualitative components. The quantitative part consisted of a post-experience questionnaire based on the MDA framework, expanded with UCD principles to include a fourth dimension, User Agency and Freedom. The core definitions of these four analytical dimensions are provided in Section 2.2. Likert-scale items were used to measure each dimension, while open-ended questions captured the participants’ subjective impressions and suggestions for improvement. These data were supplemented with interviews from the two Tibetan Buddhist experts to enable cross-source triangulation.

Table 3. Development environment and mapping of analytical dimensions to questionnaire items.

Dimension	Virtual Boudhanath Stupa	Corresponding Questions
Mechanics of Interaction	Provide a gamified task environment with embodied VR interaction.	M1: Easily perform the interactions. M2: The operations easy to use. M3: Reflects a sense of presence. MQ1: How many activities did I complete?
Dynamics of Ritual	Support non-linear ritual interactions such as circumambulation, offering, and prayer, allowing for autonomous path selection.	D1: Feel it achieves the benefits of physically circumambulating? D2: Believe this experience can genuinely accumulate merit? D3: This experience can make people more willing to understand the meaning of Buddhist rituals? DQ1: Which part of the entire experience did you find the most interesting, and why? DQ2: Which part of the entire experience did you find the least interesting, and why?
Aesthetics of Pilgrimage	In addition to sensory experiences, incorporate devotional expression, a sense of engagement, and meaning.	A1: Its aesthetic presentation is pleasant and comfortable. A2: This experience conveys the sensation of making a pilgrimage to the Boudhanath Stupa? A3: This experience is beneficial for engaging with a sacred site and provides emotional rewards? AQ1: Is it worth recommending to others? What adjectives would you use to recommend it?
User Control and Freedom	High: A high level of autonomy, allowing the experience to be arranged according to their individual intentions, pace, and goals.	U1: Your level of liking for this experience. U2: Feel this experience would motivate you to participate in virtual stupa building? UQ1: Please provide feedback on the strengths of this experience. UQ2: Please provide feedback on the weaknesses of this experience and suggestions.

The questionnaire items are coded according to the corresponding analytical dimension. For Likert-scale items, the code consists of the first letter of the dimension name, followed by a number. For qualitative, open-ended questions, the code consists of the first letter of the dimension name, followed by “Q” and a number.

summarizes the development environment, analytical dimensions, and corresponding questionnaire items.

4. Results

This section presents the preliminary empirical evaluation of the Virtual Boudhanath Stupa pilgrimage environment. As the primary focus of this study lies in the design and construction process of virtual sacred sites, the purpose of this evaluation was to examine, through actual user feedback, the feasibility and potential improvements of the system in terms of interactivity, ritual representation, and atmosphere creation, rather than to conduct a strict validation of the virtual environment’s final effectiveness. In other words, this investigation constitutes a formative evaluation, aimed at identifying the strengths and areas for improvement in the design to inform the refinement and expansion of future iterations. All Likert-scale questions were rated on a 5-point scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). The analysis and results are as follows:

4.1. Mechanics of Interaction

This dimension assesses the ease of use, clarity, and user acceptance of the operational flow. The overall mean score across three indicators was 4.22 (SD = 0.57), reflecting highly positive evaluations. M1 scored highest at 4.80 (SD = 0.46), showing strong satisfaction with the guidance and feedback mechanisms. M3 averaged 4.20 (SD = 0.61), indicating a basic level of immersion. M2 had a lower mean of 3.66 (SD = 1.04), with higher variance linked to differing familiarity with VR or Minecraft, underscoring the importance of onboarding and intuitive interface design.

Behavioral evidence from MQ1 showed that all 50 participants completed the main circumambulation task, confirming clear navigation and pathway design. In advanced ritual node interactions, 36% completed all seven nodes, 28% completed four to six, and 36% completed three or fewer. This suggests a well-structured core process supported by BDD-driven flexibility, enabling the participants to engage according to their personal pace and interest. Notably, 64% completed four or more nodes, demonstrating accessibility even for first-time VR or gaming users.

The interviews identified three main barriers to full completion: unclear task prompts, insufficient or overly indirect guidance, and difficulty locating certain indoor nodes (e.g., prayer wheels, mantra playback). While the usability and clarity were strong, future improvements could focus on enhancing the prompts and ritual visibility to boost task completion and deepen engagement.

4.2. Dynamics of Ritual

This dimension evaluates how effectively the Virtual Boudhanath Stupa reproduces authentic pilgrimage behavior patterns and whether its experiential flow can evoke motivation and value recognition. The mean score was 3.93 (SD = 0.68), indicating generally positive evaluations.

For D1 (M = 3.86, SD = 0.81), most of the participants viewed the virtual ritual as spiritually effective rather than merely playful, though this score reflects the difficulty of matching the profound sensory and cultural weight of the real pilgrimage. The higher variance is linked to religious diversity, with the non-ordained participants less familiar with the idea of “spiritual benefits”.

D2 also scored positively (M = 3.74, SD = 0.88), suggesting openness to the ritual’s efficacy even in a virtual setting. Devout practitioners tended to affirm its merit, while others were more neutral. D3 achieved the highest score (M = 4.20, SD = 0.83), showing that the environment effectively sparked curiosity and interest in the meaning of Buddhist rituals across backgrounds.

The qualitative feedback revealed a balance between predefined ritual structures and emergent gameplay. BDD-driven nodes provided a coherent devotional pathway, while unplanned actions—feeding animals, entering the Buddha statue, “flying”—enhanced engagement and presence. Many participants reported no “least interesting” aspects, though some cited unfamiliar controls, difficulty with certain tasks, VR motion sickness, and Minecraft’s blocky aesthetics as limitations.

Overall, these results confirm that the virtual ritual dynamic supports both structured devotion and personal exploration while highlighting the challenge of delivering deep spiritual resonance on a non-photorealistic, game-based platform with an inherent learning curve.

4.3. Aesthetics of Pilgrimage

This dimension assesses the emotional and spiritual responses evoked in users. Despite initial concerns that Minecraft’s pixelated style might reduce its resonance, the mean score was 4.36 (SD = 0.63), indicating highly positive evaluations.

A1 received the highest rating (M = 4.50, SD = 0.76), showing that careful design of the space, lighting, sound, and symbolic elements overcame the limits of non-photorealistic visuals. A2 (M = 4.12, SD = 0.92) suggests that the environment successfully conveyed sacredness and devotion, though the perceptions varied by religious background. A3 (M = 4.46, SD = 0.71) confirmed its strong emotional and spiritual benefits.

In the open-ended feedback (AQ1), users often described the environment as “immersive” and “realistic”, aligning with sensation and fantasy aesthetics in the MDA framework. Beyond terms like “fun”, participants used descriptors such as “dreamlike”, “magnificent”, and “awe-inspiring”, indicating the evocation of higher-order pilgrimage aesthetics. These results affirm that the Virtual Boudhanath Stupa functions not just as a simulation but as a space capable of triggering authentic religious emotions.

4.4. User Control and Freedom

This dimension examines the autonomy, control, and influence granted to participants and how these enhance enjoyment. It was evaluated as High because Minecraft’s Creative Mode, as an open-world platform, affords users a high degree of autonomy. The participants could freely decide whether to engage with ritual nodes and explore the environment at their own pace and intentions, which was a key reason for selecting this platform. The survey items (U1, U2, UQ1, UQ2) did not directly measure autonomy but provided supportive evidence of how the users perceived and valued this freedom, while also offering suggestions for improvement.

U1 scored highest (M = 4.62, SD = 0.64), showing that exploratory freedom, personalized engagement, and inclusivity greatly enhanced satisfaction. U2 (M = 4.06, SD = 0.82) indicated that accessibility could inspire deeper, creative future participation, suggesting the potential to evolve from a “space for experience” into a “collaborative creation platform”.

The qualitative responses confirmed that freedom did not fragment the experience but supported personalized practice and meaning-making, with participants using the environment for visualization, reflection, and even meditative contemplation.

Suggestions for improvement often reflected a desire for more agency rather than dissatisfaction—for example, adding reward systems (e.g., access to a pure land after 108 circumambulations), site explanations, or opportunities for social interaction. These indicate user interest in richer narratives, deeper informational content, and expanded interactive options to enhance the pilgrimage further.

4.5. Expert Feedback

In the interviews, both Tibetan Buddhist experts, a khenpo and a Rinpoche, praised the system’s ritual fidelity and cultural sensitivity. The Rinpoche emphasized its value for transmitting Dharma culture, particularly for younger people who cannot travel, describing it as a starting point that could inspire real-world pilgrimage. The khenpo observed that in Tibetan Buddhism, visualization is itself a form of virtual reality, blending reality and non-reality, as taught by Guru Padmasambhava. While the physical Boudhanath Stupa is irreplaceable, virtual circumambulation aligns with visualization practice and still has merit. Both experts confirmed that the design contained no elements contrary to Buddhist principles, and that presenting it in a gamified format made it more approachable and engaging. They concluded that the system is not merely a simulation but an accessible “digital Dharma gate”.

5. Discussion and Future Research

This study developed and a Minecraft–VR prototype of the Boudhanath Stupa using UCD and BDD, showing that ritual authenticity and user agency can be combined in an accessible, scalable format. The results indicate that despite its non-photorealistic style, careful spatial design, ritual node placement, and symbolic elements effectively conveyed sacredness. The sandbox environment enabled exploration, reflection, and personalization while preserving core practices like circumambulation and offerings. Expert feedback affirmed its cultural and spiritual appropriateness, viewing the gamified approach as an engaging, ritually sound method for reaching broader audiences. However, several limitations should be acknowledged. The sample size of 50, recruited via social media, may introduce bias related to the participants’ technological familiarity, potentially influencing the ease-of-use ratings. This study was limited to a single, short-term session of 15–20 min, leaving long-term impacts such as sustained spiritual engagement or motivation for physical pilgrimage unexamined. Platform constraints were also noted: while Minecraft’s cubic aesthetic proved effective, some users desired greater visual realism, and the current system lacks advanced social interaction features that could enhance shared ritual experiences. Future work should focus on

• Enhancing the guidance and feedback through clearer progress indicators, interactive maps, and meaningful rewards (e.g., unlocking a pure land scene after completing 108 circumambulations);
• Expanding the educational and narrative content with interactive explanations of the stupa’s history, symbolism, and rituals;
• Supporting community co-creation by enabling users to customize or collaboratively build within the environment;
• Implementing multi-user and social features to facilitate shared rituals, guided tours, and educational activities.

Overall, the prototype offers a promising, culturally sensitive model for virtual pilgrimage that balances authenticity, engagement, and scalability, laying the groundwork for future advancements in digital heritage experiences.