«Writing code should be like learning to read or math»

«Writing code should be like learning to read or math»

Former Minister of Culture and Creative Industries of the United Kingdom

   Direct and concise, Ed Vaizey has in all probability been the minister of Culture of the United Kingdom that has more impelled the paper of the digital industries and, in particular, the one of the videojuegos. Last week he led the VI Videogame Industry Forum at the Fun & Serious Game Festival in Bilbao.

We keep asking if the videogame is art. Should not we have already overcome that phase?

This debate is silly because they are clearly cultural products and just as you have good or bad movies you also have good video games and other not so good ones. In my opinion, the stories told by videogames, creativity and innovation make them both a cultural and technological product.

   Why is the entertainment industry that generates more value is still treated as something less?

I think it's a generational issue. The politicians who are now coming to power are forty years old and have grown up with video games. In the last ten years the attitude has changed a lot. Video games are already beginning to be seen as very normal and within the English economy. It should be remembered that other media such as film and television have been between us for a hundred or fifty years.

What can be done to encourage them and put them in the place they deserve?

Politicians should understand what video games contribute to our economy and our culture and also to other aspects such as health or education. It is very easy for a politician to visit a car factory to take the picture but they should also go to shootings, to videogame companies because they also make a very important contribution to the economy. We should also celebrate that the abilities of these people are very difficult to obtain and that they are very qualified people.

How important is education at this point?

In the UK we think that writing code, programming, should be like learning to read or math. Children should understand that language even if they do not dedicate themselves to programming and also how the videogames they use are made, so we made the decision to include it in our educational program in 2010. But since you decide it until you see that it is successful politics spends a lot of time: you need to train teachers, modernize the classrooms ... On the other hand, you have to change the system of higher education, careers are outdated and you can leave with a diploma in computer science and not work in the industry because You have the skill you need and you do not know the technology either. You have to introduce companies in universities to create new degrees that are more suitable for companies.

Speaking of the universities. How do you think the 'brexit' will affect students and development studies?

I am very worried about the 'brexit'. We have highly successful higher education that attracts students from all over the world and from across the EU and now, for some reason, we consider them immigrants. Of course there will be a drop in applications and I think it should be made clear that we continue to welcome foreign students. Looking ahead to the next two years one of the big issues will be hiring workers outside the United Kingdom. The video game industry, more than any other, requires talents from outside and one of the things the British want is to regain control of the borders. Maybe we should introduce a visa system that allows these companies to hire the talent they need. The free circulation of citizens is the best, it is clear,

Three years ago they introduced the 'tax-credit', a tax incentive for the creation of video games. How has it worked?

It was a great fight to get the Finance Department to approve it but we thought it was necessary and fundamental. The incentives that already existed in Canada were causing us to lose talent and we did not attract investors. I think the industry has changed. It has been seen as a vote of confidence and means that the Government recognizes the importance of this industry. It is an important financial push and its repercussion will be immediate, unlike the changes in education, whose results will be seen more in the long term.

What are the challenges of the future?

The number one is to get people qualified, then financing and the third is to maintain a good digital infrastructure. As games are increasingly complex and move to mobile media, you have to be sure that you have a good infrastructure so that people can download and play these games.