Kids, parents vital to her game plan
THE US has Xbox, Asia has Nintendo . . . and Africa has Regina Kgatle.
On Mandela Day, Kgatle, a student at the University of Cape Town, launched her bid to get her African-centred educational computer games into the hands of children across the country.
It’s the latest step on a journey that has taken Kgatle, 24, from her parents’ garage in Hammanskraal to Arizona in the US, where she accepted a Facebook award for changing lives through technology.
Kgatle’s games have a distinctly African feel, and industry leaders admire her attempts to tackle problems such as gangsterism and the education crisis.
“One of the things that makes Regina’s approach interesting is that it’s in the trenches of the fight against lack of education opportunities,” said Glenn Gillis, owner of gaming company Sea Monster.
In her Pac-Man-styled game The Pull of the Gangster, for example, players flee violent gangsters and flying syringes while trying to save their friends from a gang boss.
Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille was impressed when she saw the game and is exploring ways to help Kgatle. “We want Cape Town to become the digital capital and centre of ideas in Africa, and initiatives such as [this] assist us in furthering that goal,” she said.
Kgatle, a final-year electrical and computer engineering student, builds arcades and designs her own games. “My parents owned arcades in our garage and a lot of kids were always there playing. But parents were not happy, so I figured that I should make games that parents and kids love. Kids love playing and parents love for them to be studying, so maybe we can meet halfway. Which is why I researched the primary school curriculum.”
Kgatle believes the global gaming industry is hungry for something from Africa.
“A game made by Cameroonian guys went viral. They gamified African myths,” she said.
“Because we have different experiences we’ll make games no one else is making. The Japanese have their style, the US has its style. Everyone is waiting for Africa to release something.”
Her company, 67 Games, was launched at Kannemeyer Primary School in Grassy Park, where children tried her 12 games.
Kgatle aims to roll out arcades to 67 underprivileged schools, but for now rents them to schools and events, including children’s parties. For every two schools that rent her arcades, she takes them to a struggling school for free.
Everyone is waiting for Africa to release something