Fine art and games

Landscape paintings by a group of 19th Century American artists have been the unlikely source of inspiration for the look and feel of the new Harry Potter video game

Growing up

Concept art of the Triwizard level (Warner Bros copyright) Enlarge Image

"The aesthetic is growing up," explained the game's art director, Alex Laurent. "Earlier games were aimed at a younger audience so the game had to grow up with the films."

Mr Laurent is a relative newcomer to the world of games. He joined Electronic Arts (EA) a year ago, coming from George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic.

As visual effects director there, he worked on titles like The Mummy, The Day After Tomorrow, Star Wars: Episode 2 and Minority Report.

For the Goblet of Fire game, Mr Laurent wanted to apply some techniques of the film business to recreate the brooding atmosphere of the film.

He found his inspiration in the world of fine art.

/BBC.co.uk