Andrew Kaggia: Meet the man behind Nairobi X,Kenya's first 3D game

 Andrew Kaggia with Otero, a character he created

 

Andrew Kaggia, brother to radio personality Tina Kaggia and rapper Dennis Kaggia(DNA), has enviable bragging rights. He is not only a self-taught game developer, but under his belt is Kenya’s first 3D first person shooter and multi-player video game, Nairobi X.

A first of its kind, not only in Kenya but also in Africa, Nairobi X boasts stunning visuals in 3D, depicting real-life buildings in the city.

“Nairobi X’s plot revolves around an imminent attack on Nairobi by an unknown alien colony. Players assume the role of Otero, an elite GSU Recce Squad member, who through an unfortunate twist of events, emerges as the sole survivor in a special operation tasked to defend the country. The game is a first person shooter based on different locations in the city of Nairobi.

The players are assigned various mission objectives and have to complete the tasks to unlock the next level of the game. The game has a total of nine mission objectives. The game is available in two versions: Android mobile version and Windows PC version. It can be downloaded from www.nairobi-x.com,” explains Kaggia.

Another thing that makes Nairobi X stand out is the use of Kenyan cultural markers like Sheng, local music and Nairobi streets.

Apart from Nairobi X which was launched last year in June by his company, Black Division Games, which he runs with two friends, Kaggia, 28, also released another mobile game called Kuku Sama last year in November.

“Kuku Sama is a fun arcade game for Android devices. You take the role of a distressed chicken trying to escape from Wafula, who wants to make you into his dinner. This game is extremely addictive and people from all walks of life love it. You can subscribe to it on Safaricom and MTN portals and is basically available all over Africa,” he continues.

What is most intriguing about Kaggia is his ability to create games as a self-taught developer, since he does not have any formal training.

“After high school, I joined the University of Nairobi to study Economics, but as far as I can remember, what fascinated me most was animation. I was barely in school for a year before I decided to drop out and pursue my passion in animation in 2008. At age 12, I had decided that I wanted to get into animation and games and I guess that stuck with me,” he says.

“I simply taught myself and read up on anything and everything animation. I managed to get small jobs here and there, but my big break came in 2012 when I released an animation film called Wageuzi: Battle which went viral. This game earned me a lot of attention, both locally and abroad. After that doors started opening,” explains Kaggia.

That inspired growth and in 2014, he decided to venture into game development. Again, he read up on anything and everything he could get on game development.

“I find that I am able to learn things better on my own as opposed to formal schooling. When I felt I was ready to begin, I did some research on the local game development industry and found that there were only about two other locally produced Kenyan games and they were both in 2D.

“So I was aware that it was a very new and novel endeavour, so much so that when I first began working on Nairobi X, I had no funding. It was a passion project but later on we were able to partner with RMA Jaguar Land Rover, Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) and Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA),” says Kaggia.

Apart from the fact that he got an opportunity to travel to Germany and Japan to make presentations about his games, what Kaggia enjoys most about game development is the ability to create entire worlds from scratch, according to his own rules and creativity.

“There is nothing more exciting than watching your creations come to life. Nevertheless, game development comes with its share of challenges, with the biggest being finding the right people to build a team. This being a new industry in Africa, it’s not easy to find people with appropriate skill sets required to make games, and often, they will require additional training before they are ready to join the team,” he says.

However, Kaggia believes that despite the challenges, the gaming industry in Kenya has a lot of potential. “On the side of consumers, I would say that the industry is definitely growing at a very fast pace. On the side of developers, the industry is still quite small, given that this is a new sector not only in Kenya, but in Africa. But it is growing steadily and I’m confident that in the next five years, Kenya will be the most dominant country on the continent when it comes to game development,” he says.

Kaggia concludes that his Black Division Games is currently involved in a number of exciting games that will be released by the end of the first quarter.