Doba Dash is a title by South Africa’s SpaceSalad Studios. SpaceSalad Studios is a multi-award-winning indie game studio that was founded in 2019. They specialize in gamification and turning social commentary into fun and educational games for the whole family.

The Rising Star recognition by Fak’ugesi joins a long list of awards won by Doba Dash namely Comic Con Africa’s Best Game in Africa Winner 2020 as well as being chosen by SpielFabrique in 2021 as one of the nine to participate in the African Game Coproduction Market (AGCM).

Doba Dash is a 3D combat racing game about ‘Street Surfers’ who are on a race to save the planet from climate change in an African Solarpunk world. Street surfers are informal waste pickers found in South Africa and other parts of the world. They collect and recycle trash for a living and are responsible for 90% of the recycling that takes place in South Africa.

The game has four main characters; Azania, Wandi, Sel and Kita. Azania is an orphan from an island made entirely from ocean plast. Wandi is from a group of farmers that grow their own crops in the sky. Sel is the mysterious masked racer. He is part of the fast fashion drip kingdom. And Kit is the techie. She is from the more technologically advanced group and builds devices from e-waste.

The game has a uniquely African story with a positive climate message. The racing takes place  on a halfpipe track similar to the one seen in skating rinks. This gives the players a chance to perform tricks and earn points. The free-to-play mobile game will contain microtransactions and in-app purchases.

SpaceSalad studios recently had their final pitch at AGCM. The aim of their pitch was to receive funding in order to enter co-production with Whitepot Studios which is a game development and creative media studio based in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

When SpaceSalad Studios is not working on an award-winning game they are volunteering their expertise as Thabo the managing director articulated in the aforementioned pitch, “ Outside of making award-winning games we make an impact within the lives of the people that we engage with. So in our free time, we like to participate in community work where we host game jams and  introduce people from remote communities to game design.”

Thabo adds, “What we would tell young African Game Developers struggling to find their place in the industry is that they should put together a team of people that share the same vision and values they have. Talent and intellect fail in the absence of consistency. Seek validation in yourself and in your vision and not from others. And lastly, make sure you give back as much as you take. You can never truly be the best if you’re the only one in the race.

Most importantly enjoy the journey because the world is dying to see what Africa has to offer. We already excel in every industry we are in. Imagine being given the same space to play in the gaming industry. We will become the new Hip Hop.”

To learn more about SpaceSalad Studios and their awesome titles please visit their website.