Why so serious? The opportunity for serious games in the Western Cape

Join us for the April CCDI Creative Exchange on Thursday, 06 April as we hear more about the opportunities for serious games to deliver impact, and as a strong area for economic growth in the Western Cape. 

The first Serious About Games competition, launched in November, challenged digital creatives in the Western Cape to propose a game design to think innovatively about how to change their communities – with a R1 million prize offered for the top idea to develop and distribute the game.

The competition was a collaboration between the Cape IT Initiative (CiTi), the CCDI, Interactive Game SA, 67 Games, and fully supported by the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism. 

Please join us on Thursday as we explore the players in the local ecosystem, the user-centred design approach used to ensure delivery of an impactful game, and of course the winning game!

Our speakers:

Bianca Mpahlaza

Strategic Initiatives portfolio manager at the Department of Economic Development and Tourism. 

Michelle Matthews

Michelle is the Head of Innovation at the Cape IT Initiative (CiTi), the implementing partner for the Serious About Games project. 

Serous About Games – the winning team!

Team Vukuzenzela is a collaboration between RenderHeads - an interactive software development company - and Ikhayalami - a non-governmental organisation focused on developing and implementing technical solutions for informal settlement upgrading. 

RenderHeads has been developing beautiful, bespoke interactive software for over seven years. Their work can be seen in permanent museum installations, as well as storefronts, and product launches all over the world. The company also makes and sells its own software-developer tools and video playback plugins for Unity. 

Ikhayalami was established in 2006 as a response to conventional approaches in dealing with informality, which are unsustainable and painstakingly slow in meeting the immediate needs of the vast majority of South Africa’s urban poor. Their work is premised on the realisation that informality is part of the modern urban fabric, will remain a reality for the foreseeable future, holds within ingenious adaptations and is part of the solution. By working to provide Africa’s urban poor with better access to quality building materials, physical infrastructure, and planning and construction support, Ikhayalami is focused on building a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable future for African cities.