Gaming in South Africa: Developers take video game from dorm room to the world

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The South African video game Semblance was first developed by two students as a university project. But now, its being played by tens of thousands of gamers in countries as far afield as China, Russia, America and Brazil. CGTN's Terry Wangari walks us through how the title came about, and what it means for the country's blossoming gaming industry.

The game features great design, music, and unique mental challenges. But unlike most popular games, this one was not developed in any of the big international studios. It was created in Africa.

Cukia Kimani and Ben Myers met while they were both studying game development. They developed a university project called Semblance, and on the advice of their lecturer, they decided to take it further and designed one of the most popular indie video games to come out of South Africa.

CUKIA KIMANI NYAMAKOP CO-FOUNDER "So it's something where the technology that I was building and Ben's designs put together started to create something new and fresh. Even the music that was being done in Cape Town. We were always pushing the boundaries."

The developers did not think their first offering would be the one to help them get a piece of the global gaming industry. The industry is estimated at over one hundred billion dollars - which is more than the broadcast rights for many major sports.

BEN MYERS NYAMAKOP CO-FOUNDER "We can't reveal sales numbers because of all these NDA's storefronts have, but it's been played by tens of thousands of people from when we started developing it until now when it's purchasable. It's played by people all over the world."

The duo now run a company and studio called Nyamakop. They have travelled all over the world to show Semblance at prestigious gaming events like PAX East, Gamescom, E3, and EGX.

"I think it. I like the fact that these are South Africans that are making these games and it's not big name brands, it's actual guys from, guys that are starting out in the scene and it's cool."

"But it's good, it stimulates your brain. So you play games as well as thinking at the same time. So it's not like your a couch potato, you're actually thinking. You know what they say, you sit there and play video games and you're like brain-dead but you're not."

The gaming industry in South Africa made around 71 million dollars in 2016, up from 2 million in 2014. Revenues hit 118 million dollars last year and international publishers and investors have taken notice. Semblance launched for purchase in July 2018 and is now available on PC, MAC, and Nintendo Switch.

Nyamakop was invited to Africa Games Week - another industry event held in Cape Town - to showcase Semblance and impart some of their knowledge to young game developers.

CUKIA KIMANI NYAMAKOP CO-FOUNDER "It's good to see that there's a great interest of people trying to find out what's happening in Africa, in video games because we're making it hot, we're making it hot."

BEN MYERS NYAMAKOP CO-FOUNDER "And what I spoke about was just like hustle pretty much. Hustle as this idea is everywhere in Africa and so I was just teaching about how you can overcome the disadvantages you have been in South Africa making games and use it to your advantage."

Nyamakop's founders say their next move is to join the groundswell of African digital storytellers that are using games to explore the continent's folklore.

NICHOLAS HALL CEO OF INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT SOUTH AFRICA "There's an opportunity now for African creatives, African developers to start sharing stories that the world hasn't seen before and I think that is one of the keys selling points that we can offer the international markets."

According to research firm Newzoo, South Africa ranked third last year in gaming industry revenues on the continent, second was Nigeria at 172 million US dollars, and Egypt was first at 193 million dollars. TW CGTN.