Although he has a variety of interests, Bruno Samper’s real passion is art and video games. With a university degree in the plastic arts, he is totally committed to the concept of representation through painting, photography, films and digital media.

“Interactivity via computers is only a process of metaphoric representation of the real world,” he argues. This concept underlies his incredibly single-minded career path. In 1998, Samper decided to return to Montpellier, his native city, and prove that it is possible to develop sophisticated, interesting projects outside of Paris. He then launched an online review and multimedia design studio whose first video game was purchased by the French National Contemporary Art Fund; he also developed the first virtual announcer, Barte, for the Arte TV channel. This character gave him the idea of developing a “new age” online game in which the enigma can only be solved through dialogue between the player and the game’s hero.

The gaming universe was inspired by English science fiction writer J. G. Ballard, author of Crash and Super Cannes, whose constant shifts between myth and reality are perfectly suited to the dreamlike flashbacks that periodically elucidate the mystery that the player is challenged to solve. Players will be able to venture into the mysterious universe of the Oracle of Shepperton in less than a year, as soon as Bruno Samper puts his daring ideas online.

Achievements since winning the grant

Bruno Samper is waiting for an answer from television channel Arte’s Théma committee for the production of a documentary to accompany his interactive game project, L'Oracle de Shepperton. The grant winner has also created a multiplayer video game titled Profusion (hailed by the magazine Technikart). Samper also produced New Year greetings cards for the Veuve Clicquot Champagne brand. In July 2006, he completed the design and production of an Internet site for the Palazzo Grassi, the museum housing the François Pinault collection in Venice. http://www.palazzograssi.it/
Coming soon: an all-new interactive gallery for television channel Arte.