Rhianna Pratchett criticises John Cridland's call for coders with ‘artistic flair’ because 'nobody wants video games designed by spotty nerds’

Cridland’s comments have been dismissed as insulting and out of touch

CBI director general, John Cridland: 'We need people with artistic flair' (Getty Images)

Rhianna Pratchett has criticised the head of Britain’s bosses for comments he made about the gaming industry .

In an interview with The Independent, John Cridland, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, said extra coders were needed in Britain to support the booming computer games industry.

“We need extra coders - dozens and dozens of them but nobody is going to play a game designed by a spotty nerd,” he said. “We need people with artistic flair.”

Pratchett, the daughter of the late author Terry Pratchett, has written for video games including Tomb Raider and Heavenly Sword. She joined the backlash against Cridland’s comments on Twitter, dismissing them as “insulting and out of touch”.

Pratchett’s frustration was echoed by a number of coders and gamers, with the hashtag #notaspottynerd. One user wrote: “As a spotty nerd, coder and game dev, #notaspottynerd is not okay. We do need diversity though, spotty nerds or otherwise!” Another added: “What's wrong with being a spotty nerd anyways? Power to ANY person who makes the games they want.”