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The Use of Digital Characters in Interactive Applications for Cultural Heritage

Digital characters are software entities that look and act like real or imaginary creatures in a computergenerated environment. They are considered an important element of interactive digital heritage applications that can add significant value and increase user motivation and engagement. This chapter presents a review of the use of digital characters for communicating and disseminating cultural heritage. It explores the wide range of applications that make use of digital characters and attempts to identify how the characters are used, what are their main features, and how are they contributing to the overall cultural experience. The chapter includes an overview of current state of the art in digital character design and implementation approaches, a taxonomy about the usage of characters in cultural heritage applications, and a discussion about prospects and pitfalls of digital character technology for heritage dissemination.