Zapiro is pretty famous in South Africa for his politically motivated comic strips that appear in the Mail & Guardian and which often upset the ruling party and their associated friends.
His latest comic is taking a swipe at the recent judicial appointments where is blatantly calls out the JSC for not appointing clever blacks and especially clever pale males. Rather appointing, as he puts it, mediocre but compliant applicants.
I respect Zapiro for his refusal to just accept the status quo and while I don’t always agree with his point of view it is a point of view that our country would be lesser for if we didn’t have it.
And now he’s entering the mobile gaming world with a new title called Zafari that is being crowdfunded via the startme.co.za platform.
Or should I say they are attempting to get funding via the platform because at the time of writing they have only managed to secure R345 of a required R250 000 and I think they will struggle to get any corporate investment due to the political nature of the title.
To be brutally honest the game doesn’t look great but then again neither do his cartoons. They are simplistic in design but laden with detail and information and hopefully if the game makes it out of development it will be similar.
The game is fully supported by Zapiro who had the following to say
Creating a game is an interesting method of getting people to
play with my cartoons. It gives them an opportunity to create their own stories,
and their own interpretation of South Africa
And the press release goes on to explain the game as follows
Africa”. Zafari is an episodic game similar to “Pocket Gods” for you to explore, show your friends and have fun with. It contains multiple locations with many hilarious scenarios, exciting mini-games and hidden secrets for you to uncover. The game is a-political and aims to encourage sensible political debate. In Zafari you are the the person in charge,
the controller of the new Za. Those in the limelight in South Africa are subject to
your whims. Your powers range from benevolent powers like saving their lives
when they are in danger or naming streets after them, to malevolent powers like
lashing them with hail and lightning. Or just for fun get them to throw objects at
each other for bonuses and watch them have slap-fights.
So that’s it, are you politically motivated enough to part with some of your cash to support freedom of speech or are you more interested in helping a local games developer get a title out the front door?
If so then head on over to their startme page and pledge, for R1250 you can get a signed Zapiro book which could become a collectors edition if Malema ever finds out where Zapiro lives.
Last Updated: April 18, 2013
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
April 18, 2013 at 12:04
Sorry bru, we can’t help fund because we are funding our roads twice over.
Sincere apologies
Gauteng
Admiral Chief Erwin
April 18, 2013 at 12:17
I want to laugh my ass off, but the statement is true, so I’ll cry instead
Hermann Schwindt
April 18, 2013 at 12:51
Sad but true.
cr1t
April 18, 2013 at 12:15
The link to startme is broken
Gavin Mannion
April 18, 2013 at 12:17
Thanks it’s been fixed http://startme.co.za/groups/projects/gaming/zafari-zapiro-game
Sir Oldfart
April 18, 2013 at 12:17
TAKE MY MONEY.
Ultimo_Cleric_N7
April 18, 2013 at 12:17
And mine
Sir Oldfart
April 18, 2013 at 12:18
The pledge page has been moved
Gavin Mannion
April 18, 2013 at 12:21
moved? I’m having trouble logging in but nothing appears moved
Sargon
April 18, 2013 at 12:19
I’m not going to lie. That doesn’t really look like a whole barrel of laughs to me. Plus – I’m not giving anyone developing a game my money anymore. You can’t trust anyone these days. Between EA, the guys behind The ScamZ, and disappointing games generally, I’ll wait for the review by Lazygamer. At least y’all have some sense and can be trusted for reliable info. Do research before spending money is the name of the gaming industry at the moment.
Sorry Zapiro. Blame EA for not getting my money. And that your intro/preview video doesn’t really show much fun to be had.
Admiral Chief Erwin
April 18, 2013 at 12:23
Lame.
But lulz at the “fight” between Juju and JZ!
Gavin Mannion
April 18, 2013 at 12:25
gotta admit that was my favourite part as well
Admiral Chief Erwin
April 18, 2013 at 12:28
Sound effects were even more lulz in that fight
Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew
April 18, 2013 at 12:30
pitterpatterpitterpatter
Wayne Bossenger
April 18, 2013 at 12:47
ha, so its like tamagotchi’s but with the zaphiro twist, interesting… could be fun