Africa: “Rerouted” – a video game where players steal African artifacts

A video game released this week by a South African company features characters from across the African continent whose goal is to retrieve artefacts plundered by colonizers from Western museums and bring them home. It’s a playful take on a timely political theme.

Trailer for “This Is More than Just a Heist. It’s a Rescue Mission” rerouted and tell the audience.

It was developed by South African studio Nyamakop and released on several platforms on February 10th.

rerouted The film is set in the late 21st century, when political powers have signed a treaty promising to return authentic African artifacts housed in museums.

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Once these museums learn that only works that are on public display will be returned, they gradually remove them from display to avoid handing them over.

But they don’t rely on the game’s heroes. A group of people from African countries are ready to carefully re-loot 70 artifacts, including Ehotim masks from Burkina Faso, Ishango sticks from Congo, and Ngazi drums from Kenya.

Reflecting diversity

On paper, rerouted Incorporates all the classic elements of a heist video game: A motley crew of thieves, a little strategy, a lot of acrobatics, and above all, the thrill of a heist.

“But if it’s already been stolen, is it really theft?” asks one of the characters, summarizing the game’s premise.

French bill paves way for return of artifacts plundered during colonization

beyond reroutedThe game’s creators say they went to great lengths to ensure African and African-descendant players felt represented in an industry that remains predominantly white due to its political themes.

“From the beginning, it was clear that the characters had to be black, African, because they were looking for a black African heritage.” ben myersthe co-founder of Nyamakop Studio told RFI.

“We also thought it was a great opportunity to work on designing characters from all over the continent. For example, we have a Cameroonian character with a French-speaking African accent, and a character from Angola with an English and African accent. Creating really interesting and authentic characters based on very specific regions and ethnicities is very important to us.”

Myres also emphasized that special attention was paid to the game’s musical elements.

“We excluded Western instruments, symphonies and orchestras that are often heard in video games,” he said.

“Here we only have traditional African instruments and modern synthesizers. The idea is that African culture is amazing, incredible and very interesting. Most people around the world don’t know enough about African culture, but this game is just the gateway to learning more about the African continent and its culture.”

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reparations on the radar

For the game’s producer, Sithe Ncube, simply telling a story written by Africans for a global audience already constitutes activism.

“Having worked in the video game industry for years, I know that our stories, experiences and art are not faithfully represented in games, and it is extremely difficult for African developers to compete with major Western studios in the same market,” she said.

in spite of reroutedThe game, which carries a message of empowerment, has sparked controversy among players since its free trial was released in September, with some accusing the developer of racism. They argue that making African characters into thieves is counterproductive.

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