Olivier Guillaume MADIBA is, as he says, a "pure product" of Cameroon. Born in Cameroon, he studied in the country before embarking on entrepreneurship at the age of 21 with a first startup specializing in websites before creating Kiro'o Games. The startups are still operating today and collaborating.
What motivated the creation of Kiro'o Games?
The reason has evolved over time. In 2003, we just wanted to start with an amateur game, which gradually became interesting enough to be picked up by a company like Ubisoft. In 2012, we wanted to create a game for enthusiasts, an independent game. We were motivated by the idea that, technically, it would allow us to create an African fantasy game. Finally, in 2016, beyond video games, we wanted to create a cross-media ecosystem to bring our businesses to work in collaboration with African infrastructure. Africa needs big companies.
How many employees does Kiro'o Games have today? What are the key positions?
We currently have 12 people in the studio and are recruiting 9 more. We rely on programmers, artists for video games and comics, and marketing professionals.
In concrete terms, what are the main stages in the creation of a video game? On which platforms can these games be accessed?
Creating a video game is nothing short of a "miracle." It's never a given; each game is a challenge and there are no guarantees. First, there is a concept phase based on pure inspiration or in response to a market need. Next, we create concepts and prototypes until we come up with an alpha version that gives the marketing teams a preview of the final product. Finally, we put together a team to roll out the project. Our games are available on PC and mobile.
Are your projects developed for the African audience?
Our games are developed for Africa and for the world. Our ambition is to create freemium in Africa and premium in Europe. This presents us with various technical constraints to ensure that the games are accessible and run smoothly on the continent. The discerning eye of the European player is also highly appreciated.
How does the scriptwriting process work?
To write scripts that will go through the narrative engineering stage, we set ourselves a goal: to know what we want the player to feel and think, and then we build the story around that. We draw a lot of inspiration from major series that have what are known as writing paradigms.
In the audiovisual production sector, there is often talk of a lack of skills in scriptwriting. Do you see the same thing in your sector? Is the industry becoming more professional?
It's true that the gap that exists in terms of finding qualified people in the world of writing in Africa is very complicated. The literature market has not been able to establish itself, so we lack a lot of references. This is something that we, as leading players on the continent, will have to work on to improve writing skills, and it requires the creation of local codes. There are too few libraries in Africa, so we need to create courses to train more writers. Many people have a passion for writing, but too few manage to make a living from it.
Regarding your funding, what is your business model?
Our business model is based on cross-media. We have created a "corridor" allowing our users to access our products for free and then purchase products via the app to unlock bonuses. It's the Freemium model, but we also integrate advertising and premium (ad-free) content. We also offer users the opportunity to immerse themselves further in the world of a video game by creating comics.
Where are you in your development today?
There are five key steps to creating a large company that meets our ambitions. To do this, we first need to create a corporate culture, build a team that embraces this culture, and then this technically trained team can create good products. We have successfully completed these steps. Today, we need to generate enough sales to no longer rely on financing and hope to reach a user base of 40,000 by 2030.
Are you considering film adaptations of some of your video games?
From the moment we start creating a brand or a video game, we try to make it easy to convert the project into a film or cartoon. We had started a project with a studio that worked on Disney's MULAN project, but unfortunately, the pandemic crisis put an end to the project. Today, we are working with the CHOUETTE
studio on a cartoon project. Mobile phone use is becoming increasingly widespread on the continent. Have you developed any mobile video games?
Yes, developing mobile video games in Africa is the way forward. We now have "Aurion KGF," similar to "Candy Crush," developed for mobile phones and created to be the most fun and exciting game "made in Africa." ." We also have "Le responsable Mboa," the first African "Sims." Mobile is one of our key markets for our growth.
You are a member of the Pan Africa Gaming Group (PAGG). Can you tell us more about it?
It's an initiative that started two years ago. The idea is to pool our resources to tackle a very fragmented African market. Each company approaches it on its own. Our initiative allows us to pool our knowledge and evolve much faster. It's a bit like the Star Alliance for video game players, facilitating our collaboration around a single platform.
E-sports are growing more and more on the continent. What do you think about that?
It's something I'm observing from a distance. Esports is growing well on the continent, but mainly on external games. On the other hand, I think that "social" gaming has a real future on the African continent. "Social" gaming is where several people get together. Today, we're talking about the metaverse, which is an avenue that needs to be explored on a very "mobile" continent.