Video game pokes fun at Jacob Zuma
A group of South African game developers have launched a video game called Zumagotchi, describing it as “your favourite South African president, in the palm of your hand”.
The game was developed for Windows PC and costs R29.99. An Android version of the game is bundled as a “free extra,” the developers say.
Asked about the people behind the game, a spokesperson for the group said that they are a little skittish about revealing their identities at this stage.
“We don’t have a newspaper or a massive legal team behind us,” they said.
They were willing to reveal that the team consisted of four members, with one person doing the programming while 3 others worked on the art of the game.
While the game borrows its name from the Tamagotchi “virtual pets” that were popular in the 1990s, the developers say that Zumagotchi doesn’t exactly mimic the mechanics.
Rather than caring for Zuma over a long period, as you would have to with a Tamagotchi, Zumagotchi is more fast-paced and built to be enjoyed in a single sitting.
“As a work of satire, the joy is in the laughs it’ll bring. So while the game is designed to be fun to play (and we hope it is), it’s really all about delivering smiles by the truckload,” the company said.
The Zumagotchi website contains various quotes poking fun at President Jacob Zuma, including “If I had to give Zumagotchi a review out of 100, I’d score it 939 million, 3 thousand and 60 thousand”; and “It’s hard to believe this website cost less than 40 million rand to develop”.
Queried about the mechanic of the game, the developers said that the Zumagotchi has 3 sliders that must be managed: Hunger, energy, and fun.
They did not want to give away any of the jokes in the interview, but said that there are various ways players will be able to ensure that the Zumagotchi’s hunger levels are low, while fun and energy levels have to be kept up.
Commentary that comes up during the “mini-games” (which affect the Zumagotchi’s fun levels) revolve around Marikana, flinging poo at Helen Zille, and E-tolls, the developers said.
“This is the type of project that could put video gaming on the map in South Africa.”
“Hopefully people will sit up and think: ‘they’re actually charging money for it; it actually has a bit of message; and it’s not just shooting hookers in the face’ (which is what people think games are all about),” they said.
The game is available through the Zumagotchi website for R29.99.
Update: In response to criticism about the last quotation in the above article, a spokesperson for Zumagotci provided the following statement:
It seems people are misunderstanding my sentiments about “putting gaming on the map” in South Africa. I didn’t mean bringing it to the attention of gamers, and those who are already actively involved in SA’s burgeoning gaming community. I meant bringing it to the attention of the broader South African public. To the people who don’t play games, the people who are unaware of its power as an art form.
I’m fully aware that there’s a thriving game development community in South Africa. I’m fully aware of the existence of Make Games SA. I’m fully aware that SA-made games are gathering attention all over the world. But just as a comment beneath your article points out, the average South African is not aware of this. Zumagotchi has the power to make them aware of this, because it could encourage them to go further down the local gaming scene’s rabbit hole.
If it encourages even one South African to discover that SA is full of opportunities for game development, or that games can be far broader in their purpose than they’d expect, then Zumagotchi has been a success. So my intention was not to accidentally belittle the awesome work our local developers do, and I’m sorry that that’s how people have interpreted it. I should’ve probably been clearer with my statements.
Zumagotchi’s power doesn’t lie in the fact that it’s a video game. Its power exists because it’s a statement, not only thanks to its obvious political undertones, but because it highlights the boundless potential of video games. Its power doesn’t lie in the fact that it’ll get gamers talking (which it already has). Its power is that it’ll get EVERYONE talking. All South Africans. All over the world. Even though Zumagotchi is a silly, funny little thing, it’ll force them to realise the power of video games (even if it’s only subconsciously).
Brett Murray’s painting of The Spear had all South Africans rediscovering the power of traditional art, and had them all talking and debating and arguing and laughing and visiting art galleries and shouting at one another.
Zumagotchi could have the average South African discovering, perhaps for the first time, that these things, these video games you and I have loved for so long, have that exact same power. And maybe it’ll encourage people to share our love for them, to pay attention to video games, to play them and appreciate them.
And perhaps even to engage in the tumultuous journey of making their own video games.
This article first appeared on MyBroadband.
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