To many, video gaming may seem like a hobby, or a way to pass the time. But it's increasingly being used as a tool for education. One studio in Cameroon is using the gaming platform to change young Africans' perceptions -- and introduce heroes that they can relate to. CGTN's Oliver Jarvis and Eric Mukenga visited their offices in the capital Yaounde, and filed this report.

Kiro'o Games is helping to rebrand the continent. The Cameroon-based video game creators have developed a platform that allows gamers to play African stories, with African characters.

MADIBA GUILLAUNE OLIVIER CEO, KIRO'O GAMES "We decided that we have to make games in a unique way, that would not just be changing the colour of what somebody knows - like black Superman, or black James Bond. We didn't want that. We wanted something very, very African-rooted, but with a universal quality."

The idea for an all-African gaming platform came about in 2013 when three self-proclaimed geeks linked up to open a studio deep in the capital, Yaounde.

They had a plan to change the way Africa was perceived through gaming, a concept that they still stick to.

DOMINIQUE YAKAN BRUND CO-FOUNDER, KIRO'O GAMES "We need our youth to create their own universe of imagination, using this huge possibility of cultures we have here in Africa. I think it helps for them to see themselves as a more interesting person, and a more capable person for the development of Africa."

Today, a team of 15 work 10 hour days to bring their ideas to life.

Their new mobile game "The Responsible" draws inspiration from the best and worst of life on the continent.

MADIBA GUILLAUNE OLIVIER CEO, KIRO'O GAMES "In The Responsible, work is 10% - the office work. It's more about the wars that you will have between the good and the bad guys, and the corruption, the fact that people put pressure on you to steal money. That's something that we really want to show in the game. That is very African-centred."

Kiro'o Games' follower base has grown rapidly since its launch. It now stands as one of the giants in video game creation on the continent and has become a key player in providing the youth with a new set of heroes.

MADIBA GUILLAUNE OLIVIER CEO, KIRO'O GAMES "On this continent, you know, we are raised to fail. We are raised with the idea that we are the last thing in humanity. I don't wish it to anyone to feel that way. Since you were a kid, everything you heard about is - you can't do it. No one can do it. It's about survival. Everything is about money. When you make something so excellent, there are a lot of young people who have a model now."

OLIVER JARVIS YAOUNDE, CAMEROON "Here at Kiro'o studios, the team has managed to immerse gamers in a uniquely African experience and in turn, acquired a large youth following. It goes to show, how something as simple as a game can help change the perception of a continent. OLIVER JARVIS, CGTN, Yaounde, Cameroon."