By Ngozi Egenuka
The intersection of African cultural heritage and video game development is gaining momentum, as three standout projects from the inaugural Echoes Game Jam prepare for public debut during Lagos Games Week this June.
Selected from a pool of eight teams, the winning entries—Wubit Studio’s ‘Building Obu’, Dream Team’s ‘Cradle’, and Digi-Negus’ ‘Queen Idia’—were recognised for their creative ingenuity and technical excellence.
These projects go beyond mere entertainment, serving as digital storytelling platforms that immerse players in Nigeria’s rich and diverse historical narratives.
‘Building Obu’ incorporates augmented reality (AR) to explore the cultural relevance of the Obu House Monument, a symbol of communal life among the Igbo people. In contrast, ‘Cradle’ offers a virtual reality puzzle experience, placing players on a quest to uncover the location of the Oba. ‘Queen Idia’ pays tribute to the iconic Benin queen who played a pivotal role in the political history of the Benin Kingdom, using interactive gameplay to reinforce the impact of historical figures in contemporary memory.
Speaking on the importance of local narratives, Director, Goethe-Institut Nigeria, Dr. Nadine Siegert, emphasised the need for African creatives to take ownership of their stories.
“We saw films in the last few years like ‘Black Panther,’ Wakanda and others that were global hits. But I feel like these are stories still conceptualised in the North. Now, it’s time for African creatives to really ask: What do we have, and how can we tell these stories?”
She praised the choice of historical themes drawn from the museum, noting that the developers could have easily focused on everyday urban issues like traffic or pollution but instead chose to explore deeper cultural narratives.
The Echoes Game Jam was launched as part of Goethe-Institut Nigeria’s ‘Dreaming New Worlds’ initiative. It brought together creatives from seven African nations, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, and Cameroon to reimagine history through the lens of digital entertainment.
Drawing inspiration from artifacts at the National Museum, Lagos, participants explored mediums such as AR, VR, WebXR, and mobile gaming to reinterpret African heritage in innovative ways.
With technical and mentorship support from AfricaComicade, over 100 developers engaged in a rigorous two-week training that featured masterclasses and workshops. The selected projects will undergo further development before being installed at the National Museum in Lagos, in partnership with the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Games Connect Africa, and the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC).
