My hopes for the African gaming industry are that it starts to feature more prominently internationally and that African games are nominated and win international game awards. I believe that the global game industry is expanding to include a more diverse set of gamers who deserve to be represented in games. I would like to see more inclusion and diversity in the characters being created and the stories being told internationally.
I would love to see more of our mythology shown in African games. When you think mythology, you’re usually thinking Greek, Roman, or Norse, and the only African mythology that’s popularly touched on through media is Egyptian. It would be cool to see more African mythology and spiritualism used to create fascinating stories and gameplay. Telling more of our history in our games is something I would also like to see. Just more African period piece type of games, whether it’s a historical period or an Afro-futuristic period being shown.
I would like to see more structured and paying roles within the game development industry. Many people that I have interacted with have day jobs and game development is treated more or less like a hobby which is something that needs to change.
The advice I would give [writers who might be interested in being involved in creating games] is just to get started. If you want to write a game, do it. There is no better time than the present. I was accepted into the Pixelles Portfolio writing program earlier this year and it was huge! Unfortunately, I could not continue because I started a new job and there was just a bit too much on my plate to handle. However, that does not mean when you fail, you need to give up. It just means, try again until you create something you love.