Thorunn Howatt
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 13/01) - Jeremy Morrison turned his art into a game. Then he turned the game into charity. Now he hopes to turn his good idea into profit.

Armed with electric hand tools, some sheet metal and a bit of paint Morrison spent hours designing his art. He realized while working on his project that his pieces could be used as games that were "probably something that kids would enjoy."

"I like to create things," said Morrison who added, "In the end I want to sell games."

The crude game boards -- gaudy circles and lines of fluorescent paint blobbed onto sheet metal -- evolved into clever activity centres.

Skill and fun are the bottom line.

One of the concepts consists of horseshoes made out of refrigerator-magnet material. They are aimed at a steel pole welded to a plate-metal base.

At least two people are needed to make Morrison's games competitive.

"Nintendo doesn't require interactivity," he said and added, "We need that. We learn social skills from games."

He objects to so many video games being played by modern youth.

"I think my games are the type of thing that will keep kids in line," he said.

Morrison's games have three main concepts; aiming, strategy, and interaction.

When Morrison arrived in Yellowknife, he found himself with extra time on his hands and was looking for something interesting to do in a creative environment. Working on the games gave him an outlet but he didn't have a venue to exhibit his work or anyone interested in funding his project.

"At that time I was willing to do it as a concept. Initially I thought it would be done in front of city hall on the front lawn," he said.

But then he walked into The Side Door, a non-profit youth centre and asked director, Kevin Laframboise if the facility would be interested in the games.

"He came into the center presenting a game and the kids gave it a try," said Laframboise. The center wants to find an alternative to video games as entertainment.

"We're trying to get away from the arcade feel," he said.

So Morrison hit the pavement looking for cash donations to be used for material to make the games. Companies like NWT Rock Services chipped in $1000 and Paul Brothers Welding donated the time to put together the horse-shoe platform.

Yellowknife's kids get some new games to try out in the center and Morrison has a venue to test and promote his products

The exchange seems to suit them both.

"We're scratching each other's back," said Laframboise.

Morrison, a 24-year-old high school drop out has big dreams. He wants to start promoting the games in Yellowknife then sell them to the rest of the world via the Internet. He thinks the city has the perfect climate for games like horse-shoes that are traditionally played outside.

The light magnetic horse-shoes can be played all winter inside the warmth of a home.