"Every small game you create and release teaches you something the previous game never did"

Some believe that passion and a good idea are all it takes to make a video game in Africa, but the reality is that the vast majority of developers never ship a finished title because game development can be brutally hard. 

Speaking on stage during the second day of Gamathon 25 during the ‘Making a game is harder than you think' session, Fer Factor CEO and founder Feranmi Oladosu discussed the strenuous and eventually rewarding phases of game development. 

The developer, who's currently working on roguelike delivery title Tossdown, went on to share that though the game making process is hard, it is doable. 

“If we have more finished games we'll have more jobs, mentorship and the cycle continues," said Oladosu. “Make a lot of small games and finish them. Every small game you create and release teaches you something the previous game never did."

“Every game is a remix" 

The Fer Factor founder also advised fellow game makers not to chase grand ideas and that there's no shame in leveraging assets. 

“Don't chase grand ideas, and this is super controversial in this part of the world where everybody wants to make the next GTA or Call of Duty," Oladosu continued. 

“Two to four years of your life will go into the game, so build something small that excites you."

He gave examples using Rocket League as simply football with cars, Fortnite being stylised PUBG and that PUBG itself is a remix of DayZ: Battle Royale and urged African game developers to leverage simple ideas. 

“There are very simple ideas that we're common with but no one explores," said Oladosu. "Find an existing game and add a unique twist."