Esther Ndagire Digitized A Popular Ugandan Game, Matatu, Into An Android And iOS Game
It is estimated that Google Play Store has over 1million apps, followed closely by Apple App Store with about 900,000 apps. Well, this is a good thing for smartphone users, as it can only mean we have a plethora of apps and games to suit our needs. But as an African smartphone user, whenever you visit an app store, you realize most of the apps are either developed by or meant for use by users from other world markets like the West and far East.
Sure there is a growing number of African developers, whose apps and games are already being showcased in various app stores. But their numbers is a far cry compared to the numbers of developers from the West and far East. Today we share with you, a story of one of those African developers trying to put an African mark in the various app stores.
Tell us about yourself
My name is Esther Ndagire , I’m a developer with Kola Studios , the makers of Matatu and upcoming logo game.
Kola Studios is a team of ten who work tirelessly to bring you the best games in Uganda including Matatu , Last Card , Keiko , Spur , Karata , among others .
Currently , we are working on a Logo game that will have all the logos people see around the country in their daily lives.
Tell us more about Matatu Game
Matatu is a two player card game that has been rightfully dubbed the most popular mobile game in Uganda. It was developed in 2011 with the Android version first and later the iOS version was made.
We thought it would be worthwhile to develop an android app that translates a popular local card game on the mobile device. Right now the game has gained 79,000 downloads so far, with about 120 new downloads per day and an estimate of 120,000 games played per day.
Matatu was developed in 2011 with the intention to digitize a local game that many Ugandans grew up playing.
We know that you like to create games, what motivated you to start the logo game?
As a game developing company we are always looking to come up with new ideas for games that people will enjoy. It is only obvious that we also play many games that other people have created.
I have always loved playing logo games and really enjoyed them. However I noticed that these logo games I am playing are filled with only international logos. I discussed the idea with the rest of the team to make our own logo game and put in many logos that are proudly Ugandan. We felt like this will enhance people knowledge of the different companies in Uganda.
Explain to us how the game works?
The logic behind the game is to have a player see your image logo without the assigned company/brand name next to it. There will be multiple letters at the bottom from which he or she can choose from to spell out the name of the brand / company owner of the logo.
Multiple guesses are permitted until the player gets the logo name right, hints will also be made available but will cost a player one point per hint from his overall points. A correctly guessed logo will earn the player 5 points and the full logo is then shown.
How many logo’s are in the game and what do you want the game users to learn from the game?
There are about 200 logos in the game so far but hopefully the number will increase as we provide more updates. We would like the users to be more supportive of the Companies whose logos are featured in the game. After guessing the logo name , they should Google these guys and support their activities.
