Ohio State-based AfroDuck Studios aims to tell underrepresented stories through video game design

Tommy Hudec
Tue, 09 Jan 2024 02:31:29 +0000
Arts & Life, Entertainment, Features, Instagram Page, News, Video Games, Afroduck, Afroduck Ohio State, AfroDuck Studios, arts & life, Buckeyes, Columbus, Columbus video game studios, Ellie Bartlett, Jason Holmes, Kwesi Christian, Nick Monin-Allen, ohio state, osu, representation, The Lantern, The Lantern Arts & Life, the lantern ohio state, video game representation, video games, Zakumba, Zakumba video game, Zakumba: Astraia

Kwesi Christian (bottom) and his AfroDuck Studios team showcasing “Zakumba: Astraia” at the 2023 TORG Gaming Expo. Credit: Courtesy of Kwesi Christian

Kwesi Christian always possessed a deep love for video games, but it was not seeing enough stories like his own that pushed him to create one himself.

Having moved to the United States from Ghana at the age of 5 in 2000, Christian said he was enamored with the action-packed stories of superheroes, Power Rangers and Transformers. Though he loved these timeless characters, Christian never really encountered protagonists who reflected his specific heritage.

“I never saw as many African warriors that were being represented,” Christian said. “I saw the Black ones, but nothing that I thought could relate to my own culture, being from Ghana.”

During those childhood years, Christian came up with his own world to fill the void that American culture had left open: the world of Zakumba.

“I started making up my own character and that character became Zakumba, who was a Ghanaian prince who would always go and save the people in different villages,” Christian said.

This character, as well as the world he occupied, stayed solely in Christian’s imagination until his third year at Ohio State in 2016. Specifically, Christian said he and best friend Nick Monin-Allen first discussed sharing this story with the world while playing “Lunar: Silver Star Harmony” on a PlayStation 1.?

“We realized that we could make a video game that could tell a really cool story and also have all the elements of a [role-playing game] that we really wanted,” Christian said.

Christian said that he, Monin-Allen and mutual friend Jason Holmes got together and decided that if they wanted to commit to the project, they had to found a video game development studio, which is when AfroDuck Studios was born.?

“When we realized that we have something really cool on our hands, we knew that we wanted it to be a studio but do it the proper way, which included filing for AfroDuck Studios as an LLC, becoming a full-fledged organization,” Christian said.

The name “AfroDuck Studios” has its roots in Ohio State, much like the creative team itself. Christian said its branding is an homage to Afroduck, a Crested Pekin duck native to Mirror Lake whose distinct appearance made it an unofficial mascot of Ohio State, even after its death in January 2016.

“I remember the day that it was announced that [Afroduck] had died in the lake and was fished out was the day that our studio officially copyrighted the name AfroDuck Studios, so it felt like fate and a bit serendipitous to kind of bring it together,” Christian said.?

Christian said the Ohio State community is massively important to AfroDuck Studios.

“I would say about 80% of our team is from OSU, either we transferred there, or we transferred from there, or we’re in communications or business or art or programming,” Christian said. “Every single one of us has some sort of connection there.”

The studio’s founding members connected with Ohio State alum Ellie Bartlett, who now works as lead art director for AfroDuck’s first project, titled “Zakumba: Astraia.” Bartlett said she was looking for creative career opportunities, heard AfroDuck was hiring and the rest was history.

“I was brought on to the team as a background concept artist, and to make backgrounds for the game when we had a completely different direction on the visual style and from there, I ended up taking over a lot of character animations and jumped into an art lead role,” Bartlett said.

When looking for artists to join her team, Bartlett said she looks for driven candidates who want to learn.?

“I’m looking for potential since a lot of artists looking to join the team tend to be students,” Bartlett said. “I’m looking for people who have a solid basis in terms of their art ability and are good at receiving feedback, as well as giving and being involved in the team and trying to grow their skill set. I’m looking for that spark, that passion to be improving.”

Christian said the story of “Zakumba: Astraia” centers around a young engineering prodigy as she grows up and discovers the long-kept secrets of her world.

“One of the things that she encounters is the plans for a golem that has been lost to time, and she’s trying to rebuild it for her own purposes because she believes that she can use its power in order to make life in the village better not only for her but for her father as well since she is an only child being raised by a single dad,” Christian said.

Bartlett said the plot’s unique premise makes it an interesting, fresh story worth telling.

“I think diversity of story is super important,” Bartlett said. “You can’t really have the entire medium of storytelling and not touch into smaller, lesser-known stories.”

Christian said he was inspired by the importance of family in Ghanaian culture while working on “Zakumba: Astraia.” For the protagonist Astraia specifically, he said that she was inspired by his sister.

Christian said the game’s core theme of family can be seen in the “end of day” mechanic that comes in between the in-game days as one progresses through their journey. It serves as a way to keep updated on progress and see stats, but it has a deeper meaning.

“Whenever you finish up all your quests and it’s time to move on, your father will always ask you to go stop by the village shop in order to get groceries and with these groceries, your father would cook you a meal, and you would talk to your dad, recounting all of your adventures that you’ve had throughout the day,” Christian said.

Christian said this facet of the game directly mirrors Ghanaian culture and values.

“They always feed the children and they always have something ready for them,” Christian said. “That’s something I think players would very much appreciate, to just be able to understand how the children from this culture behave and interact with their families.”

Christian said “Zakumba: Astraia” has been in the works for nearly seven years, with AfroDuck planning to have a workable demo of the project finalized by the end of March.?

“We are looking to have the vertical slice complete, so a much more polished, and enjoyable narrative version, to be able to release onto Steam so that people can play it,” Christian said. “And on that note, we would also be looking for funding, investment and publisher support, so people that would be able to fund the entire project in the game and our team so that we can work on it full-time.”

Bartlett said when the game finally releases, she cannot wait for people to see the sheer labor of love AfroDuck has created.

“I can talk about the story and what I want people to get out of it, but I really want people to be like, ‘Oh, this game looks awesome,’” Bartlett said. “I want people to be able to appreciate all the hard work and effort that my team of artists has put into it.”

Christian, however, said he hopes players grow invested in the rich story and dynamic characters that AfroDuck carefully crafted.

“I want them to see, once again, the world from a child’s eyes, but from a child who views their entire reality from their culture and things that maybe they aren’t used to,” Christian said.

Additional updates on “Zakumba: Astraia” and its progress can be found on the AfroDuck Studios website.

“‘Zakumba’ has always been our magnum opus,” Christian said. “This is the story we want to tell.”