Space Invaders at FACT

Tonight I went to a preview of the new interactive exhibition at FACT, which will run from tomorrow until 21st February next year. The subject is Art and the Computer Game Environment, and it comprises numerous playable computer games of various vintages (Tetris to Grand Theft Auto), exploring the relationship between the real and the virtual, and the blurred boundaries between game environments and physical environments.

Fans of the online game Counter-Strike can play with a modified version in Riley Harmon's live sculptural installation, What It Is Without the Hand That Wields It. With every death in the game, the piece dispenses a blood-like liquid onto the wall - a physical manifestation of the game's violent action.

Seeing the bags of "blood" on the wall is quite an arresting spectacle.