A game or movie with African mythology...
polycounter lvl 9
African as in black sub-saharian Africa. We've had games with Greek mythology, Norse mythology and folklore (this is probably the most popular) and alot of games with Asian folklore (essentially MMORPG's).
We've had a few games here and here picturing legends and myths from the Amerindians (Brave) and sometimes the Middle East (PoP) but I have not seen any production tackle panafrican myths and legend (or it's just me who hasnt been consistent in my research?).
SO I know it's normal that Norse and Latin mythology are the most exploited since the buyers and sellers of this market is essentially composed of European. If we want more games featuring panafricans heroes, then it's africans job to design them.
However, we all know that won't happen anytime soon. DO you think if someone or a developper would produce a game or a movie with an african hero in panafrican mythology, would the product be succesfull in the European/American market?
We've had a few games here and here picturing legends and myths from the Amerindians (Brave) and sometimes the Middle East (PoP) but I have not seen any production tackle panafrican myths and legend (or it's just me who hasnt been consistent in my research?).
SO I know it's normal that Norse and Latin mythology are the most exploited since the buyers and sellers of this market is essentially composed of European. If we want more games featuring panafricans heroes, then it's africans job to design them.
However, we all know that won't happen anytime soon. DO you think if someone or a developper would produce a game or a movie with an african hero in panafrican mythology, would the product be succesfull in the European/American market?
Replies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirikou_and_the_Sorceress
And I just found out that there is a game too:
[ame]
MM..kinda lacks the epicness and might I'm looking fo. We all knwo games like these won't really appeal to people whether you're african or not haha.
i don't think you can generalise like that. if the story could be followed by a wider audience without any 'insider knowledge' of the culture at hand then why not? for a game's success, other factors are surely more important than setting though. like good design and presentation.
at the very least it would have the potential to offer more depth than and a break from some random video game fantasy setting made up by a handful of people during production.
Wouldn't surprise me if it were adapted into a movie or game.
The problem would come more from developers who don't have a clue and think they need to make a game about "black people adventures", instead of making a game about people on an adventure who happen to be black.
This leads to inevitably targeting an "urban" demographic and then everyone proceeds to roll their eyes and move along.
I think we've probably had enough of these already and besides I never understood why media always focused on afro-americans who only lives in the USA...
I mean there a much more black people in the carribean and brazil and yet, we always have stuff with black from the states.
I'll say to stay in topic that there's much more material in terms of mythology with afro-latinos and carribeans (Brazilian candomble, Haitian Voodoo, Santeria cubana,etc.).
The simple reason is because African Mythology is largely Monotheistic. You've got some spirits here and there, ancestors and stuff, but largely 1 omnipotent deity. Unlike Norse, Greek, Asian, Hindu, etc. are all Polytheistic; so you have a lot of source material to work with. Plus a lot of conflict between gods to add your own spin to it. Also, god in African Mythology tends to be extremely passive and always giving the benefit of the doubt to his creation. Kinda hard to add some conflict into that.
Technically speaking there is no "African" Mythology, in the sense of 1 central thing. Africa as a continent has different groups of religions with some overlap and multiple gods.
While yes many do have a central God, (A Zeus if you will) there are many that have lesser gods as well (the rest of Olympus) which are labeled spirits. In terms of actions and representation though its essentially the same thing.
A good example being the-
Yourba People: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_religion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orisha
A good example of one of the Spirits/Gods: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babalu_Aye
There's some fun inspiration to be dug out of these pantheons.
EDIT: hahah I made a mistake
This is all based on some simple research from way back, I'm Brazilian and some Brazilian folklore interested me growing up. Some weird stuff, but nothing on the epic scale compared to Greek or Nordic mythology.
Uhh... I'd say that chasing after that bloody epicness is one of reasons why Africa gets ignored.
I'm sure you can find heroic tales in mythology of many tribes but they won't be of same scale that people got used to after reading stuff Illiad, Odyssey etc.
The setting would also make it harder to show off spectacular architecture and other typical 'cool' stuff, like shiny ornate swords and magical shields and all that jazz.
Of course there's lots of amazing and complex designs in tribal outfits, weapons and items but it's a different type of cool.
A type that probably won't appeal to teens playing Prince of Persia.
Also, it's sad but I'm sure lots of developers or publishers would just assume that a game with only native african people in it won't sell at all in Europe (and perhaps America too?).
It's a bit different for films - but audience of african films is people who want to know more about the world and cultures, and not teenagers who want to behead their foes and get awsum loot and save the world from army of undead.
It was developed by Sierra back when the company's prime focus was on quest based puzzle games. Some here will recognize such titles as King's Quest, Space Quest, Police Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, etc. Many of these titles, while carrying the same publisher and producer in its credits (Ken Williams and Sierra On-line) were developed by different "creative directors" who sought to differentiate their work by exploring many different themes and environments. Virtually all of these games were deriviatives of classic literature and mythology. Being adventure based, the games often contained elements of humour, horror, solemness, and adult themes; sometimes all in a single title.
The Quest For Glory series focused on RPG/puzzle solving/combat and was a traditional game in the classic sense of doing battle with various mythical creatures and specializing in three professions (fighter, thief and wizard). Storylines were based on popular mythology local to the setting in fictional locations meant to depict real world locations.
The series went in order of something like this:
Quest For Glory I: So you want to be a hero - Taking place on Spielburg which resembled medeival Germany.
Quest For Glory II: Trial By Fire - Taking place in Shapier which resembled the desert landscapes of Arabia.
Quest For GLory III: Wages of War - Taking place in Fricana which resembles the African savannah.
Quest for GLory IV: Shadows of Darkness - Taking place in Mordavia which resembles Translyvania.
Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire - Taking place in Silmaria which resembles ancient Greece.
From what I remember of the third game, you travel through a portal with friends you picked up from the second game to Fricana where Demonic forces manipulate events that threaten to bring two two tribes, the Simbani and Leopardman, at war with each other. There is also a large city named Tarna built in similar fashion to that of an Aztec pyramid which is ruled by Liontaurs (anthromorphic lions). The city is allied with the Simbani tribe. The player's role in this game is to prevent such a war from occurring and the demonic invasion that would follow.
You can probably pick up the game from Good Old Games website or just watch it on Youtube if you're curious to know more.
There is also Gabriel Knight: Sings of the Fathers, from the same company, which explores the theme of Voodoo cults in New Orleans and eventually takes the main character to Africa to undo a curse that has afflicted his family from a generation ago.
As a kid, we studied Shaka's unification and expansion of the Zulu empire and that was dramatized in the series Shaka Zulu. I don't remember it that well, although I it was a bit 'Hollywood', from what I remember (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaka_Zulu_%28TV_series%29). Youtube seems to have a few episodes up...
Apart from that, there are a few studios popping up here and there - Triggerfish has made two animated films. They're talking animals but I think they've got some ideas you wouldn't see in Western takes on an African theme (Khumba and Zambezia).
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?94675-Cedric-Seaut-s-Little-Box&p=733913&viewfull=1#post733913
It actually had more to do with unfamiliarity of the subject, and fear of being labeled "racists".
I cringe everytime I see American developers try to re-appropriate asian cultures. Or every time I hear caucasian voice actors fake a horrible asian accent.
2) A lot of the ancient Greek epics were based on previous stories from the Caucasus, being reset to ancient Mycenae.
Similarly, if you look at the wikipedia page of 'Heart Of Darkness' there's several games that were apparently based on it. Now, I am just speculating here, but I think the big difference between 'Heart Of Darkness' and myths of the African Continent might just be that 'Heart Of Darkness' is standard lit class fare.
Of course, this speculation is disproved by the fact Gilgamesh doesn't show up outside of JRPGs...
I think it's a split between 'not wanting to be racist', 'small refference pools' and 'not marketable'. These things rarely have a single cause.
This, largely. I don't know if 'appearing racist' is too much of the issue, but lack of first-hand knowledge of the source material and the likelihood of producing something inaccurate, potentially insulting or just plain cringeworthy is going to be a hefty player. You do only need to look at appropriation of Asian culture(s) and how poorly it's usually done as an example - and that's something we tend to have excellent reference to in the West...
Because the US produces the majority of the media for North America.
Interesting you should bring up cringe-worthy appropriations, Deus Ex:HR had Leticia the Trash Lady.
Wasn't me. i joined this team last year.
;P
And as an Haitian myself, I cringe everytime they picture Haiti in movies/games as a satanic place where voodoo is used to do dark magic...
Voodoo (haitian voodoo) is based on christianity is often used as religion to aid people, heal them and be in contact with nature. Of course, there are a few bad sorcerers here and here.
The problem is back in the 20's, during the US invasion in the country, the americans saw it and labeled it as satanic since it wasn't christian, especially the ''zombi'' part (cuz zombies originates from haiti) and transformed it into a relgion of darkness and death..-_-
I remember playing the first sly cooper game and there was a level which pictured Haiti...of course the villain was a voodoo sorceress. Thing is...
It was voodoo from Louisiane and not from Haiti..both are totally different and originates from separate religions...Research is very important.
Recently the closest stuff we had with a nice presentation of pan-Africa was Sonic Unleashed (Malia islamic city)
Which is a cartoon re-design of this city:
See how they managed to make the whole thing lively and colorful while still staying on target?
More example of nice artistic re-appropriation while still respecting the base content.
as this:
So it's indeed possible to make it all look good without necessarily changing the whole stuff or (sorry, I don't like that term) ''whitewashing'' it?
While we're at it, the same stuff must be said for South America civilizations!
Aztecs, Mayas, Incas! Great people, yet no one want to create more stories on them.
It's like when you play a game made by US developers based around Russia, versus playing a game actually developed by people in the Ukraine (STALKER for example) The first will always have the feeling of a western perspective no matter how much research is done. Even if the developers were to visit Russia they will be doing so as an American tourist with that perspective, not as someone who has lived there their entire life. Play STALKER for the first time and you immeadiately feel that this is a game developed by people with an entirely unique identity of their own that is embedded in both the design and dialogue. (And I loved it)
The reason why the Heart of Darkness is chosen as a basis for games and movies when it comes to Africa doesn't necessarily equate to it being common reading in our western educational system, but that the book itself contains the perspective of western colonialism and imperialism projected onto a foreign continent with cultures unfamiliar to their own. It isn't at all about the African perspective, but about the western imposition upon Africa.
Western culture at the time viewed Africa as the exotic, just as a century prior orientalism was popular in painting and with the public. (See Gerome's The Snake Charmer, orientalism, European/western imperialism, or heck how stereoscopes were popular due to being able to visually "travel" to the foreign and exotic. Photography thought of as "real", forgetting that a photo is only what the artist wanted you to see, etc.)
Now while I may of gotten sidetracked and dipped into other loaded topics, the point I was trying to make is if you really want a game to capture the spirit of African mythology correctly, or any culture-specific piece for that matter, then it should probably be developed by people who have that perspective. Not to say that non-African developers should never develop games based on Africa (I'm not saying that at all!), but that it is rather a difficult challenge to form an image or perspective of a piece of literature or mythology that doesn't contain some sort of seen or unseen connection to your own relative viewing.
Just look at how some people were split on Farcry 3 being a satirical piece of European imperialism, and how others still viewed the satirical piece itself as a continued manifestation of the imperialist point of view.
Calculating how everyone will react to something you made based upon a variety of cultures, beliefs, individuality, knowledge, tastes, etc. is certainly more of a challenge than making something that falls in the realms of a proven and relatively safe thematic such as zombies ate my neighbors.
Heck, I recently was told to make the Big Ben clocktower as a representation of London, and I'm already thinking how people from the UK will probably be able to nitpick this/that from it that noone not from there would know about, and that I wonder if they ever get tired of being represented in visuals as a clock tower.
It's a product for a market thing, european religions and myths have been around in our western culture since forever, so everyone have some kind of connection to them, even more so the bigger ones like the greek mythology.
In general we're just scratching the surface, there's a million myths out there that people haven't ever gotten close to touching.
So while we like to think of european mythology as way better of in games than african ones (and I guess it is, 1 is more than 0) we still are the worst at digging for mythology to repurpose in games.
Sweden has a booming games industry yet we rarely ever touch on our own mythology (which goes beyond vikings), it's easier to make 'MURICA
I'd say being loosely inspired is better than not doing it at all, most of the times these games aren't an exact replica but rather inspired by the myths.
Thank you for this reply. Good read.
I think that was in development at Celestial who are now in the happy hunting grounds in the sky.
http://www.whatistheorb.com/
I have been working as an indie on this project for a year+ now because I have never seen a game use African Mythology or culture in a complete way. Most games use African peoples as tribal or 'noble savage' sorts or fast forward and use urban or military warfare. Truth be told, there is a ton of cool stuff that concerns Africa, its people, culture, traditions, mythologies, histories, etc.
The thing with using other cultures and their mythologies is that there is a LOT of reference to pull from, they are well documented and are easily relatable and someone SOMEONE took the time to collect and collate all of the many renditions and interpretations of stories and folklore and put them down into a format that others can easily reference over time cough- TOLKIEN cough-. So its a safe bet almost every time to rework and reconfigure these thrice told stories and historical elements into something mass audiences can understand. Seriously, take the time to read the Simarilion, Book of Lost Tales, etc and then read up on how it took decades of personal work to create a backstory that almost any fantasy format can relate to. Its incredible really.
With African mythology, there isnt so much that is well documented, and its not even that, its just not in the public spotlight. Its a bummer really because there are cool stories that may seem odd but that is coming from Western or a European or a basically not from Africa context. I spent a lot of time reading over wild stories and poring over photographs or depictions of art and architecture and I am by no means an expert, but it is a very nearly untapped vein of creative inspiration.
After a while, I came to the conclusion that I would want to try out something different and take a chance on doing that something.
So here is my bit. This is a game a small group of us are working on. There are a few Polycounters contributing in on this too, even my wife.
It is called The Orb.
"The Orb is a 2.5D action platforming side scroller geared for release on PC's in the future. The game boasts a nonlinear style of gameplay with few parts accessible to the player. However special artifacts can be recovered that grant special abilities that allow more of the game world to be explored. Ogun can find or craft various weapons and items using elements taken from defeated enemies or found across the game. These weapons and items can be used to perform deadly combos or cast powerful spells upon the enemy and solve puzzles found throughout the world."
The website doesnt really hold much in the way of details atm, and that is something that will change soon, but the game centers around Yoruba and Dogon beliefs and their Pantheon of Gods known as the Orisa, and for this game its all about Ogun, the god of iron, metal smiths and so on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogun
The enemies are biomechanical machines that the natives call the Shetani, because they remind them of the evil spirits in their folklore.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shetani
A lot of the games setting and themes involve a What If scenario. What if African cultures never diminished? And so over time the game world took on a sort of Asgardian Magic and Technology are one and the same sort of vibe. That is the overarching idea anyway.
I think it is unfair for anyone to say that there is a correct way of doing something. I can tell you now that I am doing my best with the story and its cultural/mythological elements, but it is only my take on it, based on what readings I have done so far, with limited resources. Id rather get the idea out there as a way to inspire others to want to explore more about Africa than to keep wondering about it, or worse, dismiss it entirely.
Aurion, legacy of the Kori-Odan is an Action-Packed African Fantasy Tale
I'll share this to the bro's .:D
Hey, this truly is inspring! I'm glad I've made this thread then. I'll be sure to follow you guys work as much as I can! Thx for sharing.