Former acclaimed film producer David Puttnam believes games can have an enormous influence on the modern world

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 are not only essential to our industrial future, it provides a technology that should be a bridge rather than a destination. Games can help people to better understand the world around us."

He spoke of a game about climate change – a subject, he says, is close to his heart. "We can enjoy and rejoice in what we already have," he says. "Or we can use our imaginations to create possibilities and games can be a very effective instructor."

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-Seventies when finance was lacking in the UK film industry.