Last week we had the news of the Business of Gaming Forum hit the home button. This week it all about the Mosi and the Springbok. No that isn’t the name of a new rock band, but would make a great name none the less. What it actually is two parallel projects that are going to have a radical impact in the market There is a huge abundance of gaming year in South Africa, and believe or not, much of it within the development sector. Comic-Con Africa once again will act as the catalyst of growth and will team up within the industry leaders and provide the community with an international platform

Project Mosi

This is the brainchild of Mario Rizzo, who is a 17-year-old veteran of the international gaming industry. Project Mosi is both ambitious and seismic in scope, as in essence a viable plan to establish the very first video game hub on the continent of Africa. The goal is the start of producing games in and African Studio for the international market. Rizzo’s remarkable career in the gaming world has included being a game designer as well as executive producer on some of the most well-recognized titles. Most notably Star Wars, FIFA, Battlefield, and Warhammer. He has also held key senior management roles at Sony Interactive, Electronic Arts and Ubisoft. The primary goal will be to create the world’s first AAA game hub in Africa designed by Africans.

Mario’s team, which will be supplemented by former product manager Gerald Tan. As well as marketing and art director Nathan Newman, who both have a 15-year record with both video games and marketing. Right now, virtually all the top games come from either Europe, Asia or the USA. The current mindset is that gaming development is not a viable career choice here in South Africa. However, top academic institutes like Wits and Vega offer game design and development courses. But as we well know completing a course in an institute is only the beginning, what happened next is where the real challenge comes. This is where Project Mosi plans to step in, to help forge a path forward. Incidentally, Mosi is Swahili for “firstborn.

Project Springbok

This is the other project that will run parallel to Mosi. It will allow 40 local developers to showcase their current work at a global level. To be eligible for this FREE initiative, developers will have to register through the portal http://bit.ly/CCA_ProjSpring and meet key requirements. Only entries that meet the requirements will be accepted. All candidates who qualify will have their games will be set up at Comic-Con Africa 2019. Here visitors will be able to sample their work and vote for their favorite game. The game that gets the most votes will be funded by CCA. These will get on to Steam, which is the leading digital platform for games. This will make your game available to an international market for purchasing.

Of course, there are terms and conditions, which we strongly advise being read before submitting your application. However, this is an amazing opportunity to showcase one’s talent.

‘Comic-Con Africa calls all local game developers to apply for Project Springbok and to keep Project Mosi firmly on their minds. With the might of Mario Rizzo and his team, international gaming recognition is on the horizon for South Africa and we have the talent and the will to raise this firstborn into an indomitable adult’