You know, with games like Ghost of Tsushima, Conquers’s Blade, Anno 1800, The Witchers, Red Dead Redemption and Total war: Three Kingdoms, they all share something in common. All of these games are based on strong cultures from various countries/continent. Themes that we’ve seen, time and time again.
However, when I tried to think about games based around the continent of Africa, aside from the fantastic game that was Assassin’s Creed Origins, nothing came up. At first, I was kinda bummed out as usual, but now I felt like this might be a great opportunity for the booming video game industry in Africa to capitalize on this untapped gold and turn it into asset.
As I’ve gotten older and wiser, my thirst for knowledge when it comes to the continent of Africa never seems to be quenched. I’ve been reading books and watching historical videos in my spare times. What I’ve learned was that Africa is so damm rich is lore, culture, history and mythology that it borderline pissed me off that none of these great things were ever taught to me in schools or shown in media. Not even a little bit to get our young curious minds enticed to learn more.
It’s even more prominent in the games that we play today. Think about it? You want a game about Europe or some of its various countries? You got it! You want a game about the Americas? Here’s 20 games! You want a game about various Asian cultures? Come on now, there’s thousands! However, rarely are there any AAA games based on Africa. And I mean BASED! Not those games that just talk about the wildlife. Games were you have fun but subsequently learn more about the people the game is based about.
And what I also mean is, not just the continent as a whole but just a game about any of the Africa countries. Whether it be a historical RTS, or a game about taking the rich mythology of various African countries and making some dope adventure game from it.
I’m pretty sure Ancient Egypt isn’t the only African kingdom that rose to power and had a massive influence. There’s more, so much more that it’s amazing we went this long with anything to reflect it.
That’s why I think this needs to change. Games today are an amazing way to tell stories. It’s a combination of various medias and can be used to expose a demographic to a culture that they didn’t know before. It’s clear that Africans need to cease this opportunity and take matters into their own hands, which they already have to be fair. I’m just starting to grow impatient.
It’s not enough to cry for diversity and demand other game developers to add one or two black characters. It’s up to us to write our own stories. Don’t get me wrong. If a well established game developers/studio wants to take a crack at it, I’ll definitely won’t impose, it as long as it’s not misrepresenting the African community. We don’t need anymore of that!
Nevertheless, it would be nice to have games based on Africa, been made by African video game developers with studios based in Africa so that they could reap the benefit of their harvest. Now, this also includes all the African Diasporas as well. We all gotta do our part and tell our stories. If you got the opportunity, take it and make a change. Plus, the gaming industry is a booming market right now. It’d be foolish to discourage such endeavor.
These are just my thoughts on it. Let me know how you feel about the lack of games based around the Motherland.
