Games 'can be at the heart of the UK economy'

Former acclaimed film producer David Puttnam believes games can be at the heart of the UK economy.

Lord Puttnam, who worked on movies such as The Killing Fields and Chariots of Fire, told an audience at GameCity in Nottingham this afternoon: "Games provide interaction and it is that interaction which can spark imagination.

"I saw children playing s climate change game and they spent their time at first destroying the planet but then they went back and looked at how their actions had consequences and it wad a great learning tool.

"Games can help people to better understand the world around us."

He also said the issue surrounding tax breaks in countries such as Canada and France could benefit the UK.

"There is a chance for people to gain experience abroad and then use that to realise their ambitions back in the UK," he says.

He said he had gone to America to make films such as Midnight Express in the late 1970s when finance was lacking in the UK film industry.