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Africa Games Week held its sixth version final December, welcoming over 1,980 attendees to Cape City.
Over 360 firms have been represented, and 93 audio system contributed to the convention monitor. Over on the showfloor, greater than 250 African games have been showcased, the organisers mentioned.
Whereas the story of Africa Games Week is intrinsically linked to the South African games industry, it does aspire to symbolize and have a good time games professionals throughout the total continent.
“Conceptually, we have all the time had this concept that we’re constructing a platform for African sport builders to get entry to the worldwide market,” says AGW co-founder Nick Corridor, additionally CEO of interactive software program dev RenderHeads South Africa and CEO of games commerce physique Interactive Leisure South Africa.
“The basic downside that we’re making an attempt to remedy is that the global games ecosystem largely ignores Africa, each as a market and a improvement group. We’re very remoted. We do not have easy accessibility to issues like GDC, Gamescom, or the Tokyo Sport Present. A few of it’s geographical, as a result of South Africa is simply removed from in all places. We will not rapidly pop over to Gamescom. It is a 14-hour flight minimal, and that makes it costly.
“However then additionally there are logistical issues, like visas are all the time a problem. And there is this global mistrust of Africans. There’s an assumption we’re going to are available in and steal your jobs. So, it’s troublesome for African builders to get entry to that worldwide market.”
Earlier than Africa Games Week turned a factor, Corridor and co-founder and director Rex Bowden (additionally managing director of Catalyze, a enterprise company targeted on championing South African companies) used to run commerce missions for round 20 South African studios to go to GDC and Gamescom.
“The basic downside we’re making an attempt to remedy is that the global games ecosystem largely ignores Africa, each as a market and a improvement group”
Nick Corridor
“We did it a few instances,” Corridor continues. “And it was good, however there have been two principal restrictions on it: we might solely take South African studios – as a result of the South African authorities was backing it – and there have been additionally restrictions on who we might take. So, it wasn’t superb, however it did the job.
“When that funding programme acquired cancelled, we have been like, ‘Okay, effectively, we have seen the optimistic impact. Let’s increase the scope. Let’s make this for Africa. And if we won’t get our builders to the world, let’s deliver the world to us’.”
The duo settled on December for Africa Games Week so it would not conflict with every other main games occasions and to make the most of the summer season climate.
“It is [not] a really onerous promote to get builders from snowier areas [where] it is winter, and it is darkish,” Corridor says. “It is like, ‘Effectively, you get to come to Cape City for a bit’! It motivates folks to get on that 14-hour flight. And I feel we’re coming an increasing number of to that imaginative and prescient.”
Throughout the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisers ran the occasion on-line, to blended outcomes.
“It was an fascinating alternative for us to check out a concept, which was entry – we nonetheless do even have an entry downside,” Corridor says. “We’re far-off from in all places, even for our African cohort. So, the concept was, if we went utterly on-line, would we get extra folks from extra locations? And we did. Nevertheless it wasn’t the similar, and I feel an enormous a part of it’s as a result of the worth proposition is these significant connections you could construct over time.”
After COVID, Africa Games Week trialled a hybrid mannequin, each in individual and on-line. Corridor says it “helped a bit” however “wasn’t significant,” including that he felt that the folks attending on-line weren’t getting the true worth of the occasion.
Bowden continues: “It is too straightforward to sign off… You watch one thing for some time, and you then’re like, ‘I am going to do one thing,’ after which an electronic mail is available in, after which earlier than you recognize it, it is working in the background, and you have forgotten [about it]. And I’ve seen that throughout all industries. It’s totally troublesome. B2B assembly programmes are additionally very onerous to run.”
The occasion nonetheless streams its talks, however the duo says they’re eager to construct upon the foundations of the profitable bodily occasion.
“I feel the main evolution is we have constructed an incredible platform,” Corridor says. “We actually have grow to be the vacation spot occasion. Nevertheless it’s determining how we maximise that worth. And it has to fill very totally different propositions for our African builders and for our worldwide builders. There was a little bit of misalignment there. What we have been doing over the previous three years is considering how we mesh these collectively.”
the attendees’ breakdown for the 2023 version, 54% of AGW’s attendees have been from South Africa, 14% from Europe, 13% from East African, 7% from West Africa, 6% from North America, and three% from North Africa.
“African builders usually need to come to Africa Games Week at the beginning in order that they will meet different African builders,” Corridor says. “It is an enormous networking alternative. One thing that we’re very explicit about [is] our talks. Anyone can go to GDC and listen to a discuss games. [But] there are such a lot of assumptions that go into these talks. It is assumed that you are going to have entry to this tax credit score [or prototyping grant] which is accessible. That is not true in any African state, and so the recommendation that they are giving does not maintain true right here. And it actually dilutes the worth of that discuss.
“Certainly one of the necessities that we have now once we deliver audio system is that they have to converse to the African actuality. And [that’s] additionally why we deliver Africans who’ve gone via this course of to share their expertise. It is an important platform for dialogue and knowledge-sharing… The opposite factor is clearly they get entry to folks like Microsoft [and so on].”
For worldwide visitors, there may be usually a business incentive to attend Africa Games Week, Corridor continues.
“They want new fascinating content material, and Africa is an unexplored market,” he says. “That is good, and we will present that. The issue – and that is the place the misalignment is – is that usually lots of our studios aren’t fairly on the degree the place they will meet the expectations of what the publishers and buyers want.”
Bowden highlights the worth of working a smaller occasion, making it simpler to create a number of factors of contact so attendees are ready to construct significant connections and have real conversations over the week, somewhat than quick conferences. That side satisfies each African devs and worldwide guests.
“We’re all the time making an attempt to discover extra of that,” he says. “[In 2022], there have been 20 of us sitting at a secret bar that we had discovered round the nook, and there have been full discussions between worldwide buyers and publishers in addition to African studios, simply discovering an answer to how we can assist open up alternatives with the governments in Africa. And that is one thing we have seen come via massively.
“We have been the solely ones getting funding in South Africa. In the final 5 years, we have seen it open up in numerous different African nations, it is very nice. So, that for me is tremendous thrilling.”
South Africa very a lot seems as the poster baby for the games industry throughout the continent, with a different ecosystem that’s going from power to power as we highlighted in our South Africa games industry in numbers article, and can proceed to spotlight all through the week with interviews with Free Lives, 24 Bit Games, Nyamakop, and way more.
“I feel South Africa’s in all probability the most mature games improvement ecosystem on the continent,” Corridor says. “The Egyptians and Moroccans are possibly on par with us. We’ve extra viable business entities right here than wherever else on the continent. Folks truly making games, and primarily making their earnings from games, both as a result of they’re servicing it or as a result of they’re making their very own IP, is a hit there.
“We’ve some large hits which have come out of South Africa. We make fascinating, high quality merchandise, and games that may compete on a world degree. I feel we have carved out a little bit of a distinct segment for ourselves when it comes to the kind of games that we make. I do not know if it is simply the actuality of dwelling in South Africa and having to take care of load shedding and every part else, however we’re very snarky in our games. We like to make enjoyable of different folks and promote them that. [Free Lives’] Broforce is an efficient instance of that, or Genital Jousting. QCF Design’s Desktop Dungeons. All of our games have a tendency to have this little little bit of satire and parody, and that is grow to be our shtick.”
The South African games industry has lots of momentum entering into the companies area as effectively, which Corridor attributes to the reality the nation is in the proper time zone for Europe and has cheaper labour than European nations.
“We’re not the most cost-effective, and we do not need to compete on worth. However in order for you high quality at a superb worth, come to South Africa.Loads of our companies firms have constructed very profitable companies on that foundation and it is given us entry to work on some superb games due to it. That is then in flip led to extra folks pondering, ‘Effectively, these guys labored on it they usually have been South Africans. What is going on on down there? Can we discover a good South African workforce to come and assist us do this stuff?’ So, finally, in the final decade, we have seen a speedy progress in South Africa.”
Corridor says he is anxious about “a little bit of stagnation in the industry” although, as established South African games companies are rising, however there are few new entrants.
“A part of it’s as a result of we do not have straightforward choices for entry to funding. From a market perspective, it is changing into robust, and so persons are having to make onerous choices round, ‘Can I comply with my ardour and my dream of constructing games?’ However [they] nonetheless want to put meals on the desk. And we have no entry to comfortable funding to litigate that. The opposite factor is we’re seeing rising strain from different industries wanting to take our expertise.”
Bowden notes that South Africa has the “largest playing software program improvement in the world” that means it recurrently poaches expertise from the games industry.
Corridor tells us {that a} junior at his firm was approached for a place in a playing agency that provided him 5 instances his wage, plus faculty charges coated for his children, and medical advantages. He says you merely cannot compete with that in games.
“Amazon can also be shifting in now,” he provides. “Amazon loves taking our engineers. And once more, related factor, they have [these] superb packages. So, that is a pressure. Individuals who keep in the area finally are keen about games, that is the factor they need to do, and they also’re ready to make these sacrifices.
“We’re additionally getting a mind drain. I’ve seen it with my very own engineers, there’s solely to this point they will go [in the games industry], however they have world-quality expertise they usually know they have world-quality expertise. They’re like, ‘Effectively, I can simply transfer to the UK, or I can go to Sweden and work for King’. So nonetheless keep in games, and there’s a greater profession path.”
“We want to see extra folks use that week to have their very own occasions, and use the platform that we have constructed to run their very own occasions”Rex Bowden
To unravel this difficulty, Corridor says the South African games industry wants extra folks opening up companies as entrepreneurs, and as soon as these companies exist, they want to find a way to scale, which is an enormous precedence.
Africa Games Week definitely already is a spot for South African companies to talk about and plan the subsequent step of their journey. And for the co-founders, the objective is to find a way to be that springboard for extra African nations, too.
“We have got 25 of the 54 nations represented,” Corridor says. “How can we get all 54? That will be nice. Certainly one of the different issues is that Africa Games Week is form of this umbrella [term] after which considered one of the occasions is Make Games Africa, which is the convention and the VIP day. However we wish to see extra folks use that week to have their very own occasions, and use the platform that we have constructed to run their very own occasions. We have seen that with Games For Change, for instance [which hosted Games for Change Africa as part of AGW]. They’ve introduced themselves on board. How can we develop that out? I might love to see a client present type a part of this ultimately.”
He notes that whereas there’s Playtopia in Johannesburg (extra on that at the finish of the week with our interview with Free Lives), Cape City does not actually have a big client games present. He describes it as a “lacking piece” that they would not essentially have to run themselves however may very well be tacked onto Africa Games Week.
That is precisely how Melbourne Worldwide Games Week turned a serious occasion in Australia, as Fran Kerlin advised us final yr: numerous occasions have been “bolted on” till it grew to grow to be this unmissable second, combining B2B and client occasions.
“That’d be one other means of getting an increasing number of African and worldwide delegates to come out, since you’ve acquired a number of issues occurring at the week,” Bowden says. “We might actually love to work with folks and say, ‘Okay, we’ll take these two days, however you are taking the subsequent. And in order for you the weekend, take the weekend. We would love you to try this, we might love to get our weekend again,” he laughs.
“And additionally it is a particular objective automobile to entry extra funding. Everybody sees Africa Games Week, and we will get funding from sure governments and companions round the world, which [in turn] brings folks in. So, we have got the French and the Swiss [governments] which have donated this yr, and we wish to get the UK authorities to begin doing that form of stuff as effectively. We have had the Canadians in the previous, and so forth. And so they deliver their delegations. We wish to work in that method. That was all the time the imaginative and prescient. Come do your occasion below our Africa Games Week model. Allow us to utilise it.”
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Africa Games Week offered GamesIndustry.biz with journey and lodging for the December 2023 occasion.