Heritage Sites and Video Games: Questions of Authenticity and Immersion

Abstract

Can video games afford authentic heritage experiences, comparable to physical visits to a heritage site? How is authenticity of historical settings related to the player’s immersion? This article explores these questions by looking at the notions of experience and authenticity in tourism/heritage studies and the experience economy and mapping them onto the layers of game immersion. As both video games and site visitation are user-centred designed experiences, they share most of their experiential dimensions: five strategic experiential modules (SEMs) (sense, feel, think, act and relate). Linked through the SEMs, five forms of heritage authenticity reveal close correspondence with five (out of six) dimensions of game immersion/involvement. Therefore, player’s perception of heritage authenticity in historical settings seems to be intertwined with immersion/incorporation. The dual framework of authenticity/immersion presented here allows for detailed analysis of both, the central example being Assassin’s Creed Unity with its famous representation of the Notre-Dame cathedral.