SQUISH, SQUASH, SEMBLANCE

We spoke to Ben Myres, Nyamakop’s creative director, the studio behind Semblance, the first African- developed game on a Nintendo console.

POPULAR MECHANICS: Why Switch?

Ben Myres: We liked the idea of being on a new platform. After a bit of research, we also realised that it would be the first African-developed game to be released on any Nintendo console ever. So that was an exciting story, and it meant that no matter what happened with Semblance, it would always be a part of history. There were a few other games racing us, but when we launched on 24 July 2018, we were the first!

PM: How did your pitch to Nintendo go?

BM: It was pretty funny – we went to our first set of international game shows, including the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. There, we managed to get hold of a Nintendo developer representative, and set up a meeting. We met them outside in a park, and I had to use my body to shield our laptop screen from the sun as Cukia ‘Sugar’ Kimani, Nyamakop’s other founder, pitched a little slide deck of the game. It was over in about 10 minutes, and we were approved for development. After that, we got our dev kits, and even got a few official Nintendo features for Semblance. It’s been a wild ride for a couple people starting a studio straight out of university.

PM: Have you always been fans of Nintendo Switch as a gaming platform?

BM: We love the Switch for so many reasons. It’s probably my favourite console ever. I just love the design of it. I really can’t wait to see the stuff people come up with for the Switch because of all the wild inputs you can have with it.