VIDEO GAMES IN KENYA

Video games have evolved from the days of the Atari to today’s sleek Xboxes,Wii’s and quad core smart phones which spot more processing power than the original ‘mainframes/supercomputers’. The evolution has not only been technology wise…financially video games have also become some of the most profitable entertainment products with games such as call of duty and grand theft auto estimated to have grossed more than 1 billion dollars each(imagine being given 80 billion Kenya shillings!!Compare that with Safaricom's investments/profitability and you’ll see that video games are just the ish!!).It was therefore to be expected that Kenya would soon join this industry hoping to get a piece of the pie that everyone seems to be digging into. Being the ICT powerhouse (arguably) in the region has its benefits such as the availability of skilled labour, availability of fast Internet e.t.c enabling online collaborations and research and more importantly giving exposure to the IT savvy generation,  growing rapidly in Kenya are some of the pillars that are shaping this industry.

One of the first if not the first video games that came out of Kenya is Adventures of Nyangi created around 2006-2007,by Wesley Kiriiny who at that time owned a company by the name Griwamgrafix.It is a  3D action-adventure video game where the main character, Nyangi, has to find some rare African artifacts.The game may lack the high end looks that commercial games like GTA have,considering it was a one man show hence sacrifices had to be made in some areas. The fact that makes the game stand out is that Kiiriny, created the game engine that powered Adventures of Nyangi.Today Wesley and a Ghananian partner,Eyram Tawia currently run Leti Games located at East legon in Accra, the capital of Ghana.What we admire about  Leti games is that it is a global team.The two main partners are from different countries(Kenya and Ghana) and they came together to try and develop something from Africa and are succeeding.The two recently presented a talk on "The Emerging Landscape of African Game Development" at the 2013 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Wesley led the way and today a few other game companies have started in Kenya.One of the teams that is exploring this ‘new frontier’ for Kenyans is University of Games who just released Election Thief an Android based video game a few weeks ago-March 2nd just before the General elections held on March 4 at the PAWA 254 Hub,Nairobi.

The University of Games comprises of brothers Brian (Lead Programmer) and Blaise Kinyua (Marketing), Joseph Kariuki (Project Manager) and Herbert Kimacia (Artist).Brian Kinyua was able to secure funding/seed money from the Kenya ICT Board 'Tandaa' round 2 grant.Using these funds Brian brought together the rest of the team and formed University of Games.
As the name suggests Election Thief's plot was inspired by the 2007 disputed elections that resulted in post election violence.The game,which is free, challenges users to track down and chase a bad guy who has stolen some votes during the presidential elections by playing the character Omu in the game.UoG also has web based games on their website that anyone can play so do check it out.

Another force in the local games development industry is Planet Rackus made up of Joe Murithi Njeru - Business Development,Roger Tenenmberger - 3D/ Motion Designer,Fred Kioko - Producer and Jimmy Gitonga - Content Developer.The Nairobi-based mobile game development company launched its racing game Ma3Racer,and last year won the entertainment category plus overall in PivotEast(mobile startups pitching competition) 2012. The free game is currently available at Nokia’s Ovistore and an Android version is currently in the works.

HomeBoyz animation were also involved in a video game project with WarnerBros/Virtual Heroes Inc back in 2008-2009.The project's deliverable was the video game called Pamoja Mtaani.I'm not sure if the game really did reach and have an effect on the intended target but it was a good start.The game even won Warner Bros an award in the core competence category in June 24, 2009, the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC) presented their 2009 Business Excellence Awards to eight standard-setting companies, including Warner Bros., for their innovative programs working to combat global disease.


However the rate at which the industry is developing is quite slow which may be attributed to several factors beyond the scope of this article.Some of the things which may need to be addressed to accelerate the industry include setting up of specific courses and even colleges that will be focusing on training Multimedia artists,CG artists and Game programmers among other related professionals. In addition professionals and scholars who have done mathematics/electronics/engineering/physics e.t.c will also be required if we are to create high quality stuff for the market. Their knowledge will be invaluable in creating new tools/adopting new tools and techniques as necessary and leading in Research and Development. Not only that, our Government will also need to give incentives to local developers/game creation companies to stimulate growth and attract talent from other countries which will enable knowledge sharing, technology transfer among other benefits. Matters such as piracy and copyright protection will also need to be looked into to ensure that they are not a bottleneck to local content developers seeking to bring their games into the market. The Kenyan citizens will also need to play their role by buying the products and contributing to the success of such ventures in any way they can.Maybe the Jubilee coalition should start by having the computers that will be distributed to primary school students preinstalled with the open source Blender 3D for a start. Basically it is a whole new eco-system that will need to exist for the industry to have an impact and contribute to economic and social development as it should and companies such as University of Games,Planet Rackus and Homeboyz have taken the lead in that direction.

The next big, chart topping, block buster, fanatic attracting and purely awesome video game may just come out from Kenya so for readers outside our physical borders watch this space!!As for our brothers and sisters in Kenya keep up the spirit and always remember…You are the industry!


Onto other news:
This years animation festival is set to take place in 9.30am - 4.30pm, Friday 10^th May -Saturday 11^thMay 2013.However unlike previous years the lead/main organisers Kenya Film Commission will be hosting it together with a one-day National Film Conference,we'll know what it's all about exactly on that day.So get your stuff ready,prepare your Sunday best clothes(yes toa ile jeans ya black ulipewa Christmas) and make sure on that day ume Toklezea.

3D PRINTING-A LOOK AT KENYA

2012 was an interesting year. It’s the year that saw the Daily Beast(Newsweek) put their last print edition and embrace digital issues fully, the Higgs Boson/field ‘discovered’, London hosted the Olympics again and TIME magazine listed 3D printing(Makerbots Replicator) among the best inventions of 2012.

3D printing is becoming a consumer product and is widely being embraced. Among those leading Kenya in adopting this ‘new’ technology are some enterprising Kenyans(offices located in Westlands, at the junction of Mpaka road and Parklands road. Opposite Fedha plaza inside the Mayfair apartments suit 4) who have seen the trend and have already brought 3D printers to Kenyan shores. The team deals with 3D printers called UP, from a company Delta Micro Factory Corporation , a Chinese firm that is establishing a name for itself in the 3D printing world. The same UP printers which are sold under the brand name of AFINIA in the USA ,won awards in Best overall experience, easiest setup and ease of use categories in a ‘competition’ pitting 15, 3D printers from different manufactures carried out by MAKE.The company sells the products at a fair cost (120,000Ksh-190,000Ksh) considering the logistics of bringing them to Kenya and support they offer to buyers.

 Now that they are here and more will be coming from other suppliers as  interest in the technology increases, the next logical question would be what can they do for a consumer/client/customer? To answer this question we will look at some of the uses 3D printing technology is being used for in other parts of the world. A company by the name Organovo is utilising 3D printers to print human tissue (bioprinting), a development that may see us printing human organs in the near future. That Autodesk (a leading supplier of CAD/3D software products who have also partnered with Makerbot among many other firms) entered a partnership with them to create software that will design and print living tissue just goes to show how this technology will be revolutionary.

Just recently a UK based firm that makes dolls created an app available in the appstore that enables users to create customized dolls and have them printed and delivered to where they wish.3D printing is also being used to create custom jewellery, guns (this will need controlling), prototyping (e.g. at Reebok), 3D replica creation in Museums as Dr. Louise Leakey is doing through through the site AfricanFossils.org , and ideas are being floated on how to use/integrate this technology in classrooms to enhance the learning experience-check out Nairobi University's Fablab.(Fablab also offers 3D printing services to the public-billed per hour at sh 2000 according to Mr Abwao)

Local 3D Artists/CG artists have an opportunity to make money in this new development. They can offer their skills to potential customers e.g. to create a model for a customer who lacks the knowhow, edit CAD files for clients and prepare them for 3D printing, Make cool stuff and print them for retail in the local gift shops/supermarkets e.g. KICC souvenirs/memorabilia for tourists, Museum artifacts models e.t.c.The soft copy 3D models may also be sold online. In addition the CG artists will also be crucial in offering training.

3D printer render

The applications of 3D printing are too many to tackle in this article but what is clear is that Kenya needs to step up and join the world in putting 3D printing to use. Maybe we can start by integrating open source 3D software into the solar powered laptops that will be distributed to every school age child in Kenya. Secondary schools may also be encouraged to start 3D clubs whereby students will get to know the basics of 3D early hence be able to integrate it into their field of specialization when they go to university. So mboss anza kazi…..You are the industry!