Sussex landmarks star in a computer game adaptation of a Christmas family favourite.

Computer game developer Crash Lab has created The Snowman and the Snow Dog game adaptation for iPhone, iPad and Android.

The game features the same characters and the same hand-drawn style which will be seen in the new film, to be shown at 8pm on Channel 4 today.

Game users fly with The Snowman, Billy and The Snowdog over Hastings, London and the North Pole collecting snowflakes, angels, snowmen and other items from the film.

A spokeswoman for Channel 4 said: “They do not fly over Hastings in the film but in the game the pier and town are indeed Hastings.

“The production team thought that Hastings would be a good match for the boy’s home town in the game as represented in the film, plus it also includes varied landscapes and interesting landmarks such as the pier and the castle to fly around and hide items in.”

Television producer Ruth Fielding said author Raymond Briggs, who lives in Ditchling and taught art at the University of Brighton, was reluctant to do a sequel.

She said: “John Coates, the producer and commissioner of the original film, finally got Raymond to agree to a sequel, mainly because everyone involved in the project worked on the original and it’s been made with real love.”

Colin Macdonald, the commissioning editor for Games at Channel 4, said: “The tremendous experience of the team at Crash Lab shines through in their technical, artistic and design capabilities and as a result I know we’ll have an experience that kids and adults alike will love and enjoy.”

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