For weeks leading up to March 18, there was a buzz of anticipation in Ghana. On that fateful day, the anticipation transformed into something else entirely – an event that dominated the gaming scene across the country.
On Saturday, all roads led to Accra, Ghana, for the Gamr Mixer: Ghana’s Game Developers and Gamrs Gather at Otium Game Lounge. The event brought together game developers, publishers, gamers, and other industry stakeholders from Ghana.
The event was organised to celebrate and promote the growing game development industry in Ghana and provide an opportunity for game developers to showcase their latest games, network with other developers, and learn from industry experts.
The event started at 4 p.m. with over 50 people from various countries, including Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa. Different esports organizations, including Kwasi, Afroconmades, Yatra gaming lounge, Esports Africa News, Ace gamers esports, Eyram Leti Arts, Sunami games, Afro CodeMasters, Now Available Africa, and Panda esports, were present at the Mixer.
The event also featured keynote speeches, panel discussions, workshops, and an exhibition of games developed by Ghanaian game developers.
Gamr COO, Mr Kunmi Adenipebi, highlighted the potential of the game development industry in Ghana, citing the rapid growth of the industry in recent years and the numerous job opportunities it has created. He also emphasized the need for the government and other stakeholders to support the industry to drive growth and innovation further. He finally mentioned the plans Gamr has in place for game developers in Ghana and Africa. He projected the roadmap for gaming development and the solution for seamless and affordable access to gaming gadgets for gamers and developers.
One of the highlights of the event was the demonstration of the Gamr App and its features, which include tournament management, the Gamr wallet – for receiving and paying out wins, team management, the feed feature, which allows gamrs to connect and discuss topics, and the bracket by Gamr, which was the most significant feature announced by Gamr.
This feature allows tournament organizers to create and manage tournaments completely. It comes with a series of games played during a knockout and elimination. Bracket by gamr can contain up to 512 players and bracket types like single elimination, double elimination, battle royale and round-robin. This product solves the problem of gaming data, picking formats, creating teams and schedules, and keeping scores.
Another important highlight was the fireside chat, where game developers and attendees could interact with a diverse range of game topics, including action, adventure, parental control, and educational games. The fireside chat was a very creative, innovative, and technical discussion.
The attendees discussed the challenges and opportunities facing game development and gaming/esports in Africa at the event. The panellists, drawn from various questions, discussed further sustainability, funding, talent development, and market access. They also shared their experiences and insights on how to build a successful game development and esports business in Africa.
