Persuade or perish: moving virtual heritage beyond pretty pictures of the past

The creation of virtual worlds based on our cultural heritage is an area of endeavour that, although no longer in its infancy, is still struggling to generate worthy content. As in the past, the media of first drawing and then photography were adopted to document historical places, objects, and cultures. Thus, today's virtual heritage products are beginning to serve these functions, but is the VR-based content that is being created really taking advantage of the medium? Who is creating the content? Who is the audience? Are the creators and audiences working together in fruitful ways? Pretty pictures alone will not convince users that virtual heritage (VH) is worth the time, personnel, and expense needed to build credible virtual worlds. The VH industry can move and (considering the power that VH has to document, teach and inspire) should move without delay toward multifunctional historical simulations to suit a diverse audience.