Community heritage interpretation games: A case study from Angaston, South Australia

The residents of Angaston in South Australia have worked on interpreting their town’s history since the early 1990s. Heritage walks brochures and interpretive plaques attracted, and continue to attract, steady interest from adults interested in history. An attempt to broaden the audience base to include children and ‘younger people’ in general led to the development of an interpretive game designed as a choose‐your‐own adventure and intended for conversion to CD as a computer game. Although the town had an interpretation plan and keen local historians, the project ultimately shed its historical base and became a cartoon‐like ‘choose your own adventure’ game that did not attract its intended market. This case study demonstrates the difficulty of achieving heritage interpretation with integrity when working within the complex dynamics of a small community. Some strategies to assist community‐based interpretation projects are suggested.