Play as art: Changing how we view video games

London – At our Future of Media Network Evening, held at The Future Laboratory HQ last week, LS:N Global senior journalist Peter Firth interviewed Ceri Williams, co-creator of Morphopolis, a new kind of video game, where the game play is slow and sublime rather than fast and violent.

Described as an ‘interactive Where’s Wally?’ by Williams, Morphopolis is set in an insect world, in which players follow a grub as it travels through the landscape, discovering hidden treasures and slowly morphing into a fully grown insect.

Neither Williams nor his partner Dan Walters have backgrounds as games designers, which explains why Morphopolis looks so different. It is painterly and almost like art. ‘Everyone has a console in their pocket,’ said Williams. While acknowledging that the debate over whether video games can ever be art may not be over, he told Firth: ‘It is the most accessible art form there is – if it is art.’

For more, watch the video above and read our Innovate profile of Morphopolis.