A version of this column originally appeared on Prosearium, an initiative to document 1000 African women of all backgrounds and their experiences creating and contributing to games

Kike is a game writer currently working for Twin Drums on their afro-fantasy tabletop RPG and upcoming digital game, The Wagadu Chronicles. Her Nigerian heritage has contributed to some of the lore of the game that is available in their free RPG book, The Child and the Oath, which uses a Dungeons & Dragons 5E setting that anyone can play.

Tell us a bit about yourself Kike

I’m a London-born, Berlin-based, plant-obsessed game writer

What kind of games do you enjoy playing? Do you enjoy playing tabletop RPG’s?

I tend to enjoy playing point-and-click adventures. I love problem-solving combined with a great narrative at a relaxed pace. Anything outside of that, I force others to play or watch playthrough videos. I’m actually relatively new to the TTRPG world, I’m not the best actress but that’s fine, I do really enjoy being immersed in a good adventure!

What was your first experience as part of the game development process?

My first experience was as a freelance writer for an interactive story app! My job was to write short messenger-format stories, the experience was quite positive with lots of interaction with the editor and my boss. All at a very relaxed but efficient pace – I really enjoyed it.

What made you decide to be a writer for the Wagadu Chronicles?

Allan Cudicio and I happened to meet when my mentor invited me to an event at Wooga. I remember us getting into a conversation about The Wagadu Chronicles and being really impressed by the whole thing and what it stood for and wanted to be a part of it. I told him at the time that I would love to be involved and here we are. I’m loving it so far!

What has been your favorite part about working on the Wagadu Chronicles so far?

Honestly, I think everything that comes with working on the TWC! I’m working with really talented people who are all very passionate about the project. I am learning so much – not just with regards to being a writer but also about myself and my culture as well as the other cultures on the continent. I’m also really glad to be a part of the work culture that we have, it’s really healthy and I cherish it.

Does your Nigerian heritage have a visible presence in any of your works? Would you be interested in referencing that in the future?

Well, The Child and the Oath, the first 5e adventure that I wrote for using The Wagadu Chronicles setting, was based in an Emere city which draws a lot of inspiration from Nigerian Yoruba culture. I had to show out for my people haha! It was a really proud moment for me personally – especially cross-checking Yoruba words with my mum. It was an absolute joy to sink my teeth into all of the lore for this adventure and I definitely would like to make more references to this in both my professional and personal work going forward.

Does being a part of the African diaspora put you in an interesting position as a storyteller?

I would say it does. I have an interesting perspective which is shared by a lot of people like me in my generation. It’s an interesting meeting point of African and Western culture. There are lots of experiences and perceptions of things and parts of my cultural identity that would for sure put me in an interesting position to tell stories. These stories needn’t even be a direct reference to any of the things formerly mentioned. They could easily be more abstract things like a feeling in a certain situation that comes from my unique perspective as the person that I am, which I feel is already quite interesting. It’s a very interesting lens to look through and I definitely see that there are people, both from places of being able and not being able to relate, who want to hear our stories and how we tell them.

What would you like to see more of in the games industry globally and in Africa?

I’m relatively new to the industry but from what I have seen so far, I’d like to see even more growth when it comes to inclusion and diversity. We’re seeing more of it in games, for example, more stereotype-free representation of game characters, customization choices, and more. This is good, but I’d also love to see it behind the scenes – diverse game studio teams and leadership. With regards to the African games industry, again I’m no expert, but I would love to see more of an investment in the time, interest, and money put in the African gaming industry. We could have the emergence of more successful games studios and titles – sort of like what happened with Nollywood (I know, another shameless plug).

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself? A fun fact?

Umm… If I hadn’t switched my Bachelor’s degree last minute, I would have studied Fine Art and might have ended up in a completely different career