Gaming Feature: It Began in Africa

Africa has long held a fascinating, beautiful and occasionally volatile position in the world. In the 19th century, well-heeled explorers described Africa, particularly the sub-Saharan region, as the 'dark continent' (largely believed to derive from Henry Morton Stanley's 1878 account of his African explorations titled Through The Dark Continent). This rather unfortunate description stemmed from an almost complete absence of knowledge about Africa, which created an inky vacuum on both maps and popular perception. Times have certainly changed quite incredibly since then, but Africa still retains a mythical quality which few parts of the world can match.

The continent has consistently proved a well-ploughed furrow for big, sweeping epics of the movie world, be it for fact or fantasy. However, two blockbuster video games are now heading to this incredible continent to bring their own stories and ideas to the fore. Capcom's Resident Evil 5 (RE5) and Ubisoft's Far Cry 2 are both intended to bring a unique brand of visionary video game development to the African savannahs, villages and jungles; but will this endeavour bring creative wonderment and critical approval or merely court controversy?

Of course, these two titles are not the first time developers have set their sights on Africa; only recently Rhino Studio’s Afrika launched in Japan on the PlayStation 3 to decent acclaim. However, taking photos of animals on a virtual safari is a tad different to laying waste to large portions of the continent with automatic weapons and RPGs. Opting for a setting with firm roots in contemporary planet Earth instead of some elaborate fantasy world can have a number of advantages - including a genuine, rich and important experience for players. However, there are also a number of complications.

Just ask Pandemic Studios. Its blockbuster action game Mercenaries 2: World In Flames was set in a version of Venezuela run by warring factions and big oil producers. This attracted the ire of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez in the run up to its release. The accusation that the game was created as a propaganda tool to generate support for an invasion of Venezuela seemed rather fanciful, but it did demonstrate that controversy can sometimes only be a developer’s brainstorm away. Moreover, it's somewhat of a shame that the controversy proved rather more interesting than the actual game transpired to be.

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Resident Evil 5
The fifth instalment of survival horror series Resident Evil (or Biohazard, as it is known in Japan) not only shifts the series to Africa, but also signals the return of Chris Redfield, who replaces Leon S. Kennedy from the critically-acclaimed Resident Evil 4 (RE4). The game will reportedly concentrate heavily on unfurling Redfield's story in the lushly animated yet challenging African setting. Speaking to Japanese video game magazine Famitsu, RE5 lead producer Jun Takeuchi (who has taken over from Hiroyuki Kobayashi) explained that events will be based ten years after the first Resident Evil. Redfield has become a member of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) and is tasked with investigating a mysterious incident in an African village. "We really wanted to show the origins of the virus," Takeuchi explained in the interview. "So for the setting we thought, how about using the place where humankind was born? We thought we would use Africa, which is now called the birthplace of humanity."

This means that Los Ganados (derived from the Spanish term for cattle) from the rural Spanish village in RE4 have been replaced with an infested and fast moving African horde. However, as soon as the trailer for RE5 was showcased in 2007 at E3, Kym Platt wrote on the Black Looks African-American blog that this was "problematic on so many levels".

"The new Resident Evil video game depicts a white man in what appears to be Africa killing black people. The black people are supposed to be zombies and the white man’s job is to destroy them and save humanity," she wrote. "This is problematic on so many levels, including the depiction of black people as inhuman savages, the killing of black people by a white man in military clothing, and the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults."

Moreover, Newsweek journalist N’Gai Croal stated in an interview at the time with MTV Multiplayer: "I looked at the Resident Evil 5 trailer and I was like, 'Wow, clearly no one black worked on this game'”. In a thought-provoking statement on the subject, Croal said that "there was a lot of imagery in that trailer that dovetailed with classic racist imagery" and added that "if there were a movie that had those images, I’d question it".

Responding to criticisms of the game’s setting and basis, Takeuchi told Kotaku that they had dispatched a research team to Africa in order to ascertain a proper reflection of the setting. "In terms of the reaction, we're in the business of entertainment," he explained. "We didn't set out to make a racist game or a political statement. We did feel there was a misunderstanding about the initial trailer."

Racial issues are far too complex and sensitive to appropriately tackle here, but this instance does show the complexity in basing games in real life settings with complicated histories. There is clearly a delicate balancing act involved in portraying sensitive subjects while also providing an entertaining gaming experience. However, without wishing to sound flippant and trivialise the debate, if RE5 lives up to its heritage, then the game will hopefully prove to be a future classic in the making.

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Far Cry 2
The second major game to be based in Africa is first person shooter Far Cry 2. Ubisoft, which has taken over production duties from Crytek, has located the title in an unnamed central African country which is in a state of civil war. Jack Carver from the preceding game has been replaced by nine different characters, with players taking one as their avatar and thus leaving the rest to interact as non-playable characters. The game will reportedly have a dynamic story in which each player can truly have a different experience. All of this will be staged in an open world African setting which encompasses savannah and jungle complete with a range of fully animated animals (although reportedly, no carnivores).

When taking the decision to depart the Polynesian island of the first game, developer Louis-Pierre Pharand told Play.tm that "Africa rose to the top pretty early on and that's why it was chosen". Events focus on the collapse of the unnamed country's government which opens up a power vacuum for two factions - the United Front for Liberation and Labour and the Alliance for Popular Resistance - to wage a bloody war. This also opens the door to mercenaries, greed and a mysterious arms dealer called The Jackal. Crumbling political structures and civil war are sensitive subjects in Africa that still consistently litter the news, but Pharand states in the interview that this "factual" aspect was part of the appeal.

"What's actually great about it is that fans and journalists are saying [that] we're taking on a subject that is engaging, [and] that even newspapers and the media are steering away from. It's real, it's factual, we want to talk about it."

Pharand is part of a growing group of developers who believe that video games can be an important and worthy part of both the media and the arts. However, their somewhat weighty quest is to create games which tell an engaging and playable story that is also anchored in real life. This must be done intelligently so as to offer an entertaining experience while also taking care not to trivialise the complex subjects and setting that they take on.

"We're dealing with serious issues, but we're not playing politics," continued Pharand. "For me, it's a good decision to go to Africa. It works with the story. It works with the mercenaries theme. When we went there, we realised [that] it was the right setting. I actually get messages on Facebook; guys from Africa saying the game looks exactly like my home. This is a great compliment."