A QUALITATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS OF AFRICAN VIDEO GAMES DEVELOPED BY STUDENTS

Oluwarotimi Randle; Rebecca Y. Bayeck

doi:10.60543/ijgsi.v3.n2.06

Oluwarotimi Randle University of the Witwatersrand https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7948-1681
Rebecca Y. Bayeck Utah State University/ University of the Witwatersrand https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8352-7331

DOI: https://doi.org/10.60543/ijgsi.v3.n2.06

Keywords: Indigeneous, South Africa, Culture, Video Games, Cultural Representation, Participatory culture

Abstract

It is necessary to move away from non-colonised perspectives in video games. There have been numerous issues with the representation of Africa and the portrayal of Africans in video games. It is necessary to discuss the essential aspects of Africanisation in video games to ensure that the African perspective is represented clearly. By utilising the participatory culture framework, students were grouped together to create video games with African themes. Students developed 17 unique games, all based on African themes. Eight unique characteristics were extracted from the video games. These characteristics include aesthetics, music and dance, mythological creatures, religion, race, play style, landscape, and language. This paper aims to inspire the representation of the rich African heritage in video games of African origin. In this way, we can ensure that the knowledge of indigenous African entities is projected, transmitted, and protected, despite the prevalence of Western approaches worldwide. Therefore, the paper recommends proper representation of African culture in both local and Western games and suggests further research to better understand the African phenomenon.

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Author Biographies

Oluwarotimi Randle, University of the Witwatersrand

Olu is an academic in the Faculty of Humanities. He has a PhD in Information Systems which was completed in 2018. Olu has a master’s degree in computer science with a focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and computer games. The focus of his master’s study was the African board game Mancala (Awale). His Research areas include Decolonization in Digital Media (Video Games),Digital Humanities, Impact of Video Games of social cultural issues, Computational Linguistics, Utilization of Machine learning techniques in video and board game development, Gamification, Interactive media and Web usage. Olu is the lead researcher at the Games Artificial Intelligence and Culture (GAIC) Lab.

Rebecca Y. Bayeck, Utah State University/ University of the Witwatersrand

Dr. Rebecca Y. Bayeck is an assistant professor in the Department of Instructional
Technology and Learning Sciences at Utah State University and a research associate in the
Department of Digital Arts at the University of Witwatersrand. She holds a dual Ph.D. degree
in learning design and technology and comparative international education from the
Pennsylvania State University. Her research lies at the intersection of learning sciences,
educational technology, literacy studies, digital humanities, the interdisciplinary field of game
studies, and emerging technologies such as AI, where she focuses on critical AI literacies.
She is also interested in how culture shapes learning, design, and literacy practices in
different environments, including online and exhibition environments.