African movies that would make for a great videogame premise.

[videogamestashbox.com]

Decided to make something different:

TOPIC:
I recently got into African movies as a source for gameplay scenarios and figured I'd share some.......

CONTEXT: (feel free to skip)
While I've done game desgin & Development in the past I've never wanted to work in the industry proper(I'm not going to go off into why)

But a while back when I was in my software engineering senior year working on a student research project; I randomly came across a fox news talking head talking about Arabs being upset because they were kicked out of Spain XXXX years ago. I'm was well aware of the inquisition but as a rational for todays issues I shrugged it off as standard fair fox news nonsense.

After awhile I wondered why Arabs took the long way over the desert then sea into Spain instead of going south into ethiopia or after crossing the desert south into niger bend. Those question served as the impetus to look into the history of those two specific locations which then lead eventually to General African history, culture, spirituality, etc.

Thanks FOX news!?! ......................


After reading history, folk tales, etc. the types of games I was interested in making changed drastically and started looking into African games, languages, and divination systems for base gameplay mechanics. Similar to how a chef looks for ingredients to use in their creations. I.e you don't look for pre-made dishes to copy, you look for the pepers, rice, meats, etc you can use to make your own dish.

After comming across these painting by a french book illustrator......

My mind flooded with Squaresoft type RPG's(the art work seemed similar to some of their water color concept & instruction book art pieces)
Then it hit me that no one is going to give me the budget and team of 30ish +/- to make a game like that. While I never wanted to work in the industry before that realization sealed it.
I.E what ever I do it has to be by "me/us" on "my/our" own terms.

I also really got into African movies as a source for gameplay ingredients and figured I'd share some.......



MOVIES:

The Origin - Nigeria(Igbo)




Beetle - Brazil



Magic Drum - Nigeria(Igbo)
(there is a 2 part movie prior called "scorpion god" but the recording is shot)



Hamza - Nigeria(housa)



Ceddo - Senegal

 

[Captain Crunch]

Hmmm

 

[Slystallion]

If your passionate about it and can get gameplay mechanics groundwork with a solid concept and your passionate about it you can definitely pitch it to someone to complete it

 

[BulletProof]

Kickstarter.

Find some decent programmers and artists.

If you're not a writer, find one to write the plot.

 

[videogamestashbox.com]

If your passionate about it and can get gameplay mechanics groundwork with a solid concept and your passionate about it you can definitely pitch it to someone to complete it

Kickstarter.

Find some decent programmers and artists.

If you're not a writer, find one to write the plot.

Good looking out family, I appreciate the encouragement.

Right now I'm in research mode looking for ingredients I can build with right now. For instance if you go back to something like D&D you see the ingredients for later complex games. things like hit points, random encounters, armor, conversations, etc Those things were used as base ingredients in a lot of games.
Note: thats just talking about D&D "Dungeons and Dragons".
What happens is people add more dishes without ever updating the overall menu.

I like to think of it as once you've drove down the road and taken many different turns(roads) at some point someone needs to go back and see what was down some of the other branches(roads). I'm looking to see what's down some of those other roads that maybe useful. Hence the research mode I'm in now.

 

[videogamestashbox.com]

Good looking out family, I appreciate the encouragement.

Right now I'm in research mode looking for ingredients I can build with right now. For instance if you go back to something like D&D you see the ingredients for later complex games. things like hit points, random encounters, armor, conversations, etc Those things were used as base ingredients in a lot of games.
Note: thats just talking about D&D "Dungeons and Dragons".
What happens is people add more dishes without ever updating the overall menu.

I like to think of it as once you've drove down the road and taken many different turns(roads) at some point someone needs to go back and see what was down some of the other branches(roads). I'm looking to see what's down some of those other roads that maybe useful. Hence the research mode I'm in now.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

...I tried making a game myself in 2012. That's what even got me into the whole 3d thing. I was completely clueless lol. I didn't even know how to start, what to learn e.t.c. Eventually I learnt of some game engine like that...

...But it wasn't enough. I didn't have any programming experience. I was trying to learn so much at once. Heck I tried to even learn Unreal script. That was what finally broke me. I love the idea of programming and all but I just couldn't settle down to learn it. 3d game programming was just like rocket science to me. Too much stuff man ugh. Classes blablabla, ughh. I almost gave up on game development at that point...

Yeah I started out making maps in strategy games like age of empires but I could never get anyone to play on the maps I made. Eventually I went on to tinkering around with two Unreal tournament game mods other guys had given up on. They stopped development and gave away all their code & models to the public to play with. One guy showed how to compile his source code which allowed me to tinker then recompile it to see what the changes did. Eventually using my native programming knowledge as a base I learned how to code in unreal script by using that method.

...Back then I was really into the anime; 'Soul eater' and was fascinated by the whole Reaper thing. I pitched the idea and he loved it as well. We came up with a story that revolved around two recently deceased teenagers who became reapers blablabla lol...

Same here I grew up on anime. I like stuff like cowboy bebop, ghost in a shell, boogiepop phantom, samurai champloo, vampire hunter D, etc.
That said I've become really self conscious of where my influences come from and try to keep them in check. After working with other people I've noticed that people have a tendency to draw heavily from what they already know and normalize it as though there isn't anything else. I've made a conscious decision to look at lots of traditional games and art styles throughout the "African World"

There is a rich visual aesthetic history to draw from and I've been big into drawing as much in as possible. Ernie Barnes is my favorite right now because it's so distinct. When you see anime you know what it is because it's visually so distinct and Ernie Barnes art work is distinct as well.

Anyway, things became tough down the road. We had fewer Skype meetings, less time to work on the game e.t.c and no concept artist. So we binned the project since he got a full time job lol.
quick game play video (it's pretty crude lol)

Hey welcome to the world man I had the same issues my team members started graduating on me. One guy was working for a military sub contractor so when he got busy ...yeah that was done LOL. That said the game looked stable to me. the moves collisions attacks all looked consistent with no bugs etc. I'd have like to see a better visual back drop but for a game in progress it was tight good job man

haven't given up on game development though. I've decided to just switch from 3d to 2d. So after playing tons of flash games and watching videos of 2d games I decided to give 2d a shot. After all, most people find it easier to make than 3d. But 3d in general has spoilt me.

Yeah, After you get used to one paradigm that happens. I'm strongly thinking about an HTML5/PHP(so anyone around the world can play it) 2D game that's based in Africa and I'm thinking "man how am I going to build that from the ground up". I'm just so used to 3D now. I'm thinking about building the environments in 3D using Unreal engine then making 2sec gifs out of the environments to use in the back drop with static 2D images as an overlay for characters and to signify their actions

I've been playing dark souls online alot recently and I just love the lore and the world so much. I love medieval fantasy: Knights, Lords, kings, Dragons, Castles e.t.c. I love Gothic and renaissance architecture as well.

That aside, I also recently developed an interest in African (Nigerian) mythology. Though It has been extremely difficult gathering information related to this since most Nigerians consider them to be evil or something lol. I was caught in the middle of the two.

Should I make a game based on my love for European fantasy despite being African or should I make a game that revolves around Nigerian mythology despite the fact that I knew little to nothing about it and just for the sake that I'm Nigerian.

​

I've only played demons souls so far and I love love love that game. The fact that they made dark souls more of a open like world intrigued me but I never got around to playing the game. I'm a big fan of the studio all around actually; I've been a big fan of their armored core games since ps1 days along with kings field which is where the demon/dark souls games come from. If you check the last pitch in the 1st idea pitch session I also had an 2D game idea set in that kind of European setting. You should check it out...
Watch Us Make A Game Using "Unreal Engine 3" (ps3/pc)
(more complete version with pictures)
Dropbox - pitches.pdf

luckily for me my desire to work artistically in Africa came from my knowledge of Africa so I never had to make that choice. It was my reading of history, folklore, Nigerian village movies, etc that made me realize how different it was to a lot of the themes in western media. You had the same elements(we're all human) but they were used different ...especially not as much violence for the sake of violence. Most of the stories have to do with society and community with action used more as a utility that moves the society one way or the other. It's a means to an end instead of an end unto itself I.E drama & violence merely for the sake of entertainment.

Instead of fighting off the impression western civilization has had on me ( all the shows and games I've played have left a mark on me) I've decided to embrace it.

I respect the fact that you can see that those things have had an impact on you. A lot of people think their idea's are just something they thought of out of thin air; like they haven't been influenced by their life's experiences (which are often "Eurocentric" in nature) That said I'm a bit saddened that you were placed(by no fault of your own) in a position to embrace it not so much purely out of genuine interest but also because you didn't have adequate access to your own heritage(which was/is caused by those same Europeans). But that's a whole nother topic so...

I hope you guys keep posting your progress because I plan to use this thread as a guide when I begin development of my game. I just hope all of the stuff here can be applied to 2d game development as well. For now I'll just continue making game mock ups and refining my workflow (I'm using blender to make my 2d assets and animations and Photoshop to refine them and to make them look 2dish lol)

I'll keep plugging away at the post. I'm glad they are of use and I have no doubt that this is useful to a 2D game. If anything Someone building a game from scratch might find it a harder fit because the model I'm using assumes the engine is already in place(note there is no dev slices for more fundamental things like controls, camera, etc)

I want to upload the game to a portal and I'm still trying to decide what engine or IDE I should use. my choices are Unity 3d (they now support full 2d development and I have little c# knowledge) or flash (quite popular I also have little experience with Action Script) or do you have better alternatives?

1st off I like the aesthetic. While it does remind me of some art styles I've seen before in games the execution of the style is Distinct, Simple, and very "clean" looking. I like!

I'd say either of those environments are great for 2D development and well supported to boot. HTML5 has a lot of native 2D(some3D) functionalities embedded in it now also. If you get the time please check out and support a Kenyan programmer who makes Chasys draw it's a great free tool. I use it instead of photoshop. Notepad++ is another great free tool I use also.

**Tiddly wiki(documenting) / Blender(modeling) / Chasys Draw(2D editing) / notepad++(DE) / HTML5-PHP-SQL(Coding) / Wamp(testing)**
Is a good free package for 2D game design & development.

Sorry for the rant by the way, I got carried away lol.

Same here

Watch Us Make A Game Using "Unreal Engine 3" (ps3/pc)

​

 

[videogamestashbox.com]

MOVIES:


Fulani - Nigeria




Omalinze - Nigeria