For a certain generation of Nigerians, mobile gaming began on a small square screen. A snake ate dots across the display, getting longer with every bite, while the player steered it around the screen without letting it run into itself; a ball rolled through hoops and dodged obstacles; or a tiny aircraft moved across an already-tiny screen, shooting at incoming objects and trying not to get hit.
As phones got smarter and the internet improved, the games we played became more sophisticated. Still, many of the games Nigerians played were made by developers outside the country. Gaming studios formed the early foundations of Nigeria’s gaming industry, but it was small and nascent, with funding and distribution challenges.
In September, Lagos Run, a browser game built around driving a danfo, the yellow, black-lined public buses particular to Lagos, through the city, went viral on Nigerian social media. Within three days, it had recorded more than 20,000 players. Then came Lagos Life, a browser-based simulation game that lets players create characters, work jobs, make money, pay rent, and move around a virtual Lagos. Within its first week, it recorded 4 million players and 30.5 million visits.
“When I created the project, it was intended as a side project and for me to see what’s possible around this game development, around this idea I have,” Opeyemi Adeniran, builder of Lagos Run, said in a TechCabal interview. “I feel grateful.”
Originally published by TechCabal.