After his participation in gamescom 2019, the biggest video game show in Europe, we met Yves Afoutou, who represented Senegal for the Enter Africa project.
The Kölnmesse – a venue in the city of Cologne with 11 buildings, a total area of 218,000 m², 1153 exhibitors, and around 373,000 participants, called “Human Wave” – was conquered by gamescom. The participation of representatives from 15 African countries in gamescom 2019 has helped to break down some prejudices about gaming in Africa.
Yves, what was your daily routine like?
The days were particularly labor-intensive. We lived in Düsseldorf, a peaceful and rather bourgeois city because it was no longer possible to find accommodation in Cologne. gamescom is so popular that people book their accommodation a year in advance.
Every day we took the train to Cologne. The schedule was very strict. We got up early, around 5 a.m., and had breakfast at 6 a.m. so we could take the train at 8 a.m.
The stand was open to the public from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Our Enter Africa team consisted of 25 members, each of whom looked after the stand in pairs and took turns every hour. The work was intense, you had to stand all day, but that didn’t cause me too many problems because I am a trainer by profession. It was important to exchange ideas with the visitors about the projects and opportunities of the African continent and to accompany them so that they can play the games like Minecraft.
What was the perception of the visitors?
Seven mobile games designed in Africa were selected for our booth. I asked one of them called “HA!!!!! BUGGY”, designed by Dadja Bassou, an independent consultant for mobile apps and a member of the Enter Africa Senegal team. Some visitors were skeptical about these “Made in Africa games” from the outset. They thought they were too easy to play, but after trying them out, their perception completely changed and they realized that the games had not only fun and quality but also a real level of challenge and complexity in them.
In addition to these video games, the main attraction of the Enter Africa booth was the BUSARA board game. It consists of cards and wooden boards from Addis Ababa – all packed in wax and specially designed for this project in Côte d’Ivoire. The game was a huge success with the audience, not only because it was one of the few board games presented, but also because of its authenticity and the social closeness it offered.
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What contribution does participation in such a show make?
It’s a great opportunity and a real stepping stone for us to have participated in this show and showcase a part of the African gaming landscape that is full of unknown talent due to a lack of presence on the international scene. There is a significant gap that we have begun to fill thanks to the representation of Africa at Gamescom. The world has now opened its eyes to a reality it did not know, and we have a duty to satisfy that curiosity by responding positively.
In conversation with the person in charge of the Microsoft booth, I was able to give an overview of the behavior of players in Senegal. They mainly use tablets and smartphones. This is due to the popularization of mobile phones by telephone operators, which in turn is due to high costs, the lack of distribution partners, and the inaccessibility of game materials (PC gamers, consoles) in Africa. The focus was on how the manufacturer can best meet local needs. For example, through his XCLOUD project and His Xbox One controller, he was able to make some games from his catalog available on mobile, thus promoting mobile cloud gaming (possibility of online gaming) in Africa.
I have also noticed that there is a glaring lack of information about gaming data in Africa and that there are also companies based in Europe that would like to have an overview of concrete figures.
One of the goals of the Enter Africa project is to deconstruct the stereotypes and prejudices associated with the African continent. By participating in gamescom 2019, we have come closer to this goal and it can be said that the perception of Africa has changed among some people.