By Charles Mgbolu and Gaure Mdee
There is a new action adventure video game listing on Xbox Series X, Playstation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows that powerfully resonates with Swahili cultural themes.
Tales of Kenzaru: Zau, developed by Abubakar Salim, a British-Kenyan actor and entrepreneur, is a gaming series narrated in Swahili and follows the adventures of Zau, a young shaman who ventures into the beautiful yet treacherous lands of Kenzera to capture spirits that could bring his dead father back to life.
Salim’s inspiration for the game can be traced back to his personal experience grappling with loss and grief when his father passed away from cancer a few years ago.
Zau's course in the game is mangled with ravines, waterfalls, and powerful spirit foes that he must battle viciously before advancing.
Reviewers have praised not just the fight sequences that leave gamers excitedly twitching their fingers as Zau fights to stay alive, but also the rich African vibes the game oozes with.
Gamers get to see Zau go through scenes heavy with African themes, from the colourful tapestry of rich palatial homes, the brown denseness of the vast sahara desert to the bellies of thick green foliage that symbolise Africa’s rich rain forests.
‘’It is interesting to see games like tales from Kenzara telling a story from an African narrative. Its like a breath of fresh air. It's something different, something more unique. Obviously, this inspires people from Africa to know that they are seen globally,’’ Leon Oscar Lwoga, an independent game developer, tells TRT Afrika.
‘’The games help them relate to people who are like them in many ways. It is good to see that there is a lot more emphasis on telling the African point of view,’’ he adds.
The game once again reflects the growing popularity of afrofuturistic themes in art.
Afrofuturism is a movement in literature, music, and art that features futuristic or science fiction themes that incorporate elements of black history and culture.
Afrofuturism is experiencing a resurgence with the thirst for new perspectives on African stories. The success of Hollywood blockbusters such as Black Panther has further popularised the theme.
‘’Gaming is not fully developed in Africa; it can be a form of entertainment and also a way to tell stories. Like movies and books, games can be a way to tell stories,'' says Lwoga.
‘’It exposes the rest of the world to what we are capable of. I think a lot of people really do not know what this continent is about. Or they have this narrow view of some of the things we face. When you have games by Africans on Africans, it’s a way for us to share our history,’’ he adds.
The global video game industry is a billion-dollar business and has been for many years.
According to research company Statista, revenue from the worldwide gaming market was estimated at almost 347 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, with the mobile gaming market generating an estimated 248 billion U.S. dollars of the total.
According to a study by game analytics company Newzoo, the number of gamers in Sub-Saharan Africa increased from 77 million in 2015 to 186 million in 2021, of which 40% are from South Africa.
The gaming market is constantly evolving, and technological advancements are opening new possibilities for game developers to create more immersive and engaging experiences through emerging technologies like cloud and VR gaming.
‘’This is really going to inspire a lot of game developers from Africa to feel like 'if someone like me made this high quality game; well, I think I can do something similar’ '', Lwoga concludes.
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