ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on heritage projects that explicitly and intentionally seeks to convert culture into heritage to those which do not. It examines institutional actors to those working within vernacular frames. The chapter explores some projects that make use of digital technologies not just as tools for cultural heritage work, but also as spaces in which heritage itself may be built. It reviews an unproductive example: a children's video game. In 2003, Disney Online, a division of Disney’s video game and interactive media subsidiary, launched a massive multi-player online game space called Toontown Online. This game was conceived of by Disney as a platform that could meet the needs of "kids as well as adults looking for a non-violent game alternative". The game allows participants to play together, communicate in safe environment, and undertake challenging quests. Many users noted technological aspects of Toontown Rewritten that they felt did not adequately capture the original experience of play or the virtual space.
