Animal Crossing: cultural heritage and virtual historic landscapes

Animal Crossing: New Horizons - a sweet game designed purely for therapeutic relaxation, or a deep dive into cultural heritage?

From the very beginning, Animal Crossing players and heritage organisations alike have used the game to express interest in the past. From online museum exhibitions to medieval castles to the ever-popular cottagecore aesthetic, this video tells the story of how Animal Crossing is contributing to the creation of new ways to go about virtual heritage. Gaming has the potential to engage new audiences with heritage and it can foster creative interpretations about the past. With its cute graphics and endless customisation, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is an unexpectedly perfect game to explore virtual historic environments.

In my first video essay analysing history within media, I talk about how Animal Crossing: New Horizons is playing a part in the way people interact with the past using their online spaces. Watch the video on YouTube here and scroll down to find the timestamped footnotes!

01:06 [1] "Cultural Heritage", Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_heritage

Here, I commit #1 Student Sin by referencing Wikipedia. My reason for this is that Wikipedia is designed to give internet browsers a crash course on the topic, which happens to be precisely what I aim to do in the video. I hoped it would be a good way to get everyone on the same page quickly.

02:13 [2] "AniMERLCrossing: A Gallery of Smocks", Museum of English Rural Life, https://merl.reading.ac.uk/explore/online-exhibitions/animerlcrossing-smocks

This is an inventive online museum exhibition that was the inspiration behind the whole video!

03:00 [3] "Animal Crossing Art Generator", Getty Museum, https://experiments.getty.edu/ac-art-generator

04:42 [4] Andrew Reinhard, Archaeogaming: An Introduction to Archaeology in and of Video Games (New York: Berghahn Books, 2018), pp. 2-6

06:04 [5] Aris Politopoulos, Csilla Ariese, Krijn Boom, and Angus Mol, "Romans and Rollercoasters: Scholarship in the Digital Playground", Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology, 2.1 (2019), 163–175

This is about the successful "RoMeincraft" project. Although similar to Animal Crossing's virtual historic environments, Minecraft does not have the same level of inter-player creativity or the ability to share creations so easily.

06:14 [6] Erik Malcolm Champion, "Games People Dig: Are They Archaeological Experiences, Systems or Arguments?" in Communicating the Past in the Digital Age (London: Ubiquity Press, 2020), pp. 13-26

06:39 [7] Ethan Watrall, "Digital pharaoh: Archaeology, public education and interactive entertainment", Public Archaeology, 2.3 (2002), 163-9

06:58 [8] "The Great Fire of London Children's Game", The Great Fire of London, http://www.fireoflondon.org.uk

To reiterate, I am not trying to bash this game! The visuals are lovely and it's well put together. But there are many other game mechanics that could be implemented instead to make a far more engaging game.

07:14 [9] "No More Chocolate-covered Broccoli: Collaboration between Game Designers and Historians is Key", Play the Past, Jan 23, 2013, http://www.playthepast.org/?p=3489

07:54 [10] "High Tea", Preloaded, https://preloaded.com/work/wellcome-collection-high-tea/

This game goes much further with its mechanics, making good use of the potential of video games while keeping an eye on its portrayal of the history. However, a virally popular video game, it is not.

08:37 [11] "why is cottagecore so gay", Rowan Ellis, Youtube video, Jul 30, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5odKiL7jRW0

An in-depth look at what the cottagecore aesthetic is about, who is using it and why it's so popular.

11:17 [12] "Your 'Animal Crossing' Character Can Now Wear Makeup From Givenchy Beauty", Nylon, Jul 22, 2020, https://www.nylon.com/beauty/givenchy-beauty-created-makeup-for-animal-crossing

"You can now visit Nintendo's official island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons", Nintendo Life, Nov 20, 2020, https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/11/you_can_now_visit_nintendos_official_island_in_animal_crossing_new_horizons

"The official Biden HQ in Animal Crossing has poll booths, ice cream, and no malarkey", The Verge, Oct 16, 2020, https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/16/21519505/joe-biden-animal-crossing-new-horizons-biden-hq-campaign-election

11:29 [13] "You Can Now Visit Singapore in 'Animal Crossing', CN Traveller, May 15, 2020, https://www.cntraveler.com/story/you-can-now-visit-singapore-in-animal-crossing

11:41 [14] "Missing travel? Take a virtual trip to a Japanese island with Animal Crossing", Japan Times, Dec 19, 2020, https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/19/national/sado-island-animal-crossing/

11:58 [15] "Monterey Aquarium", Twitch Channel, https://www.twitch.tv/montereyaq

12:29 [16] "The Animal Crossing Diaries", National Video Game Museum, https://thenvm.org/the-animal-crossing-diaries/