From tradition to interaction

Nowadays, an increasing number of videogames have incorporated cultural heritage elements that belong to a wide variety of regions. This has prompted a growing body of academic research regarding this topic. This paper presents the results of a systematic literature review, investigating how different aspects of cultural heritage are represented in entertainment videogames. A thematic analysis of 80 publications was conducted, categorising the studied cultural heritage elements into tangible and intangible themes of cultural heritage. Our review revealed that existing publications have extensively explored the representation of tangible cultural heritage in games, especially architecture and artefacts. In contrast, the representation of intangible cultural heritage has received significantly less attention, such as religious rituals, folklore, and symbolic references. Moreover, we observed that game designers tend to select cultural heritage elements familiar to their target audiences, which lied in depictions of historical periods, notable historical figures, and architectural styles. Finally, this review highlights gaps in current research including a narrow focus on certain game genres and a lack of in-depth study on the representation of intangible cultural heritage.