TIGA, which is apparently the sector council for videogames, is urging developers to mine fiction for fresh ideas. Some good ideas here (ie, skipping the middleman of a Hollywood adaptation and paying the pub/author directly for partnerships), but I still get this creeped-out feeling like TIGA is a one-eyed funeral home embalmer with blush powder smeared on his cheek and his fly unzipped.

The organisation is currently working with Penguin and Bloomsbury on potential iPhone projects and is keen for other publishers to get involved. Publishers can meet developers online via the Creative Industry Switch initiative which TIGA is running with NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and Education) for a further six months, focusing on TV, films and books.

Chief operationg officer of Monumental Games, Paul Mayze, points to the “thousands of unexplored opportunities in literature” for games developers. He said: “Every game developer knows that working with existing IP (Intellectual Property) is a great way to improve the risk/reward ratio in a highly competitive industry.” However, many collaborations are limited to video game renditions of Hollywood blockbusters, such as Harry Potter, he said. “Why were we waiting for Hollywood when we should have been checking out Waterstone’s?”.