Latest news with #SitheNcube
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First Post
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- First Post
Relooted: The video game challenging colonial theft by letting players reclaim African artifacts
The game developed by South African studio Nyamakop, revealed at the Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles in June, is set in an imaginary future in which one plays as members of a pan-African crew tasked with reclaiming 70 stolen artefacts and returning them to their rightful homelands. read more Western museums boast of a wide variety of artefacts from across the world, though the manner in which they were sourced – especially from countries that European colonian powers had ruled over for centuries – remains a controversial to this day. And while these museums, including and especially the British Museum in London, may or may not agree to return the artefacts to the countries they were 'transported' from back in the day, a newly-launched game aims to fix historical wrongs by allowing players to 'steal' these artefacts from said museums. Albeit in the digital world. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD #FirstpostAfrica: A new South African video game titled Relooted is turning heads by letting players reclaim stolen African artefacts from Western museums. @alysonle tells you more. — Firstpost (@firstpost) June 30, 2025 Relooted, developed by South Africa game studio Nyamakop, was revealed at the Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles in June. It is a stealth-driven game set in an imaginary future in which one plays as members of a pan-African crew tasked with reclaiming 70 stolen artefacts – all of which exist in real life – and returning them to their rightful homelands. From Kenya's Ngadji drum to Zambia's 'Broken Hill Man' Artefacts such as the sacred Ngadji drum from Kenya's Pokomo community, which was confiscated by Britain in 1902 and is currently housed at the British Museum. 'Its removal destabilised the community,' producer Sithe Ncube, one of a team of 30 working on the game, told AFP, while adding that players 'can see where it's from… and read about the history.' 'Sometimes the stories behind these (artefacts) are actually very upsetting. It makes you see how much colonialism has affected… and shaped the world,' she added. The game also features the 'Broken Hill Man' – a skull said to be about 300,000 years old originating from Ncube's native country Zambia that is currently held at London's Natural History Museum. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Africans, to actually see these things that are part of their own culture, have to get a visa, pay for flights and go to a European country. My whole life, I've never seen 'Broken Hill Man',' Ncube added. A French government report has estimated that up to 90 per cent of sub-Saharan African cultural heritage is in possession of Western nations. Ben Myres, creative director of the Johannesburg-based studio, goes on to add that the idea behind the bold title came from a family visit to the British Museum. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'So, actually, me and my parents were visiting London about seven years ago, and I went to some game dev bar and my parents went to the British Museum, and then we came home in the evening and hung out, and my mom was filled with rage because in the British Museum, they have the entire front of a temple from the south of Turkey that they managed to move to the British Museum. And she was just aghast at the scale of that sort of looting,' Myres told Shacknews. 'And then she literally said, 'You should make a game.' And I was like, 'Oh, I don't know about the mechanics. What are the mechanics going to be about lifting a building out of a museum? That's usually a little tricky.' So then I basically, since that point, have been trying to figure out how to make a heist game,' he added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While Nyamakop hasn't set an official release date for Relooted, one can add it to their wishlist on Steam, Xbox Series X|S and the Epic Games Store.
Malay Mail
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Stealing back what was stolen: South African game ‘Relooted' targets colonial spoils (VIDEO)
JOHANNESBURG, June 28 — Under the cover of darkness, Nomali jumped over a wall, burst into a museum and snatched a human skull from a pedestal before escaping through a window to the wail of an alarm. The daring heist was not the work of a real-life criminal. Nomali is the protagonist of a new action-packed video game where players 'reclaim' artefacts taken from African countries to be displayed in the West. Developed by Johannesburg studio Nyamakop, Relooted is set in an imaginary future but tackles a topical issue: calls for Western institutions to return to Africa the spoils of colonisation. Players are tasked with taking back 70 artefacts — all of which exist in real life — with a 'team of African citizens', said producer Sithe Ncube, one of a team of 30 working on the game. The items include the 'Benin Bronzes' sculptures removed from the former kingdom of Benin more than 120 years ago, and which The Netherlands officially returned to Nigeria on June 21. Another is the sacred Ngadji drum from Kenya's Pokomo community, which was confiscated by British colonial authorities in 1902. 'Its removal destabilised the community,' Ncube said as an animated drawing of the wooden instrument flashed on her computer. Players 'can see where it's from... and read about the history,' she said, giving a demo. 'Is it stealing?' On the screen a crew of characters in Afrofuturist costumes debated a plan to recover the remains of Tanzanian chiefs hanged by German colonial forces. One asked: 'Is it stealing to take back what was stolen?' 'We are going to do whatever it takes to take back Africa's belongings, and we are going to do it together,' said the character Nomali. 'Sometimes the stories behind these (artefacts) are actually very upsetting,' Ncube told AFP. 'It makes you see how much colonialism has affected... and shaped the world.' Growing up in Zambia, she knew of her country's iconic 'Broken Hill Man', a skull about 300,000 years old held in London's Natural History Museum and which is also featured in Relooted. But it was only when working on the game that Ncube realised how many African cultural artefacts were held abroad, she said. In France alone, museums stored about 90,000 objects from sub-Saharan Africa, according to a 2018 report commissioned by the government. 'Africans, to actually see these things that are part of their own culture, have to get a visa, pay for flights and go to a European country,' Ncube said. 'My whole life, I've never seen 'Broken Hill Man'.' Sithe Ncube, producer at Nyamakop video game studio, plays a soon to be launched video game called 'Relooted' at their office space in Rosebank, near Johannesburg, June 20, 2025. — AFP pic Skewed identity The looting of artefacts over centuries robbed communities of their 'archives' and 'knowledge systems', said Samba Yonga, co-founder of the digital Museum of Women's History in Zambia. 'Our history predates colonisation by millennia,' she told AFP, but many people 'don't even realise that we have a skewed sense of self and identity.' Reclaiming these objects would enable 'a shift in how the next generation views their culture and identity,' she said. The same hope underpinned Relooted, which was unveiled this month at Los Angeles' Summer Game Fest where it attracted a lot of interest from the diaspora and other Africans, Ncube said. 'I hope that the game encourages people from other African countries to want to tell their own stories and bring these things to light,' she said. One character felt personal for the producer: Professor Grace, Nomali's grandmother and described as 'the brains behind the mission'. 'I started seeing my own grandmother in her,' Ncube said with emotion. 'She represents a connection between our generations, fighting for the same thing we've always been fighting for.' — AFP
The Star
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Game 'reloots' African artefacts from Western museums
Ncube plays a game called 'Relooted' at their office space in Rosebank near Johannesburg. Relooted is set in an imaginary future but tackles a topical issue: calls for Western institutions to return to Africa the spoils of colonisation. — AFP JOHANNESBURG: Under the cover of darkness, Nomali jumped over a wall, burst into a museum and snatched a human skull from a pedestal before escaping through a window to the wail of an alarm. The daring heist was not the work of a real-life criminal. Nomali is the protagonist of a new action-packed video game where players "reclaim" artefacts taken from African countries to be displayed in the West. Developed by Johannesburg studio Nyamakop, Relooted is set in an imaginary future but tackles a topical issue: calls for Western institutions to return to Africa the spoils of colonisation. Players are tasked with taking back 70 artefacts – all of which exist in real life – with a "team of African citizens", said producer Sithe Ncube, one of a team of 30 working on the game. The items include the "Benin Bronzes" sculptures removed from the former kingdom of Benin more than 120 years ago, and which The Netherlands officially returned to Nigeria on June 21. Another is the sacred Ngadji drum from Kenya's Pokomo community, which was confiscated by British colonial authorities in 1902. "Its removal destabilised the community," Ncube said as an animated drawing of the wooden instrument flashed on her computer. Players "can see where it's from... and read about the history," she said, giving a demo. 'Is it stealing?' On the screen a crew of characters in Afrofuturist costumes debated a plan to recover the remains of Tanzanian chiefs hanged by German colonial forces. One asked: "Is it stealing to take back what was stolen?" "We are going to do whatever it takes to take back Africa's belongings, and we are going to do it together," said the character Nomali. "Sometimes the stories behind these (artefacts) are actually very upsetting," Ncube told AFP. "It makes you see how much colonialism has affected... and shaped the world." Growing up in Zambia, she knew of her country's iconic "Broken Hill Man", a skull about 300,000 years old held in London's Natural History Museum and which is also featured in Relooted . But it was only when working on the game that Ncube realised how many African cultural artefacts were held abroad, she said. In France alone, museums stored about 90,000 objects from sub-Saharan Africa, according to a 2018 report commissioned by the government. "Africans, to actually see these things that are part of their own culture, have to get a visa, pay for flights and go to a European country," Ncube said. "My whole life, I've never seen 'Broken Hill Man'." Skewed identity The looting of artefacts over centuries robbed communities of their "archives" and "knowledge systems", said Samba Yonga, co-founder of the digital Museum of Women's History in Zambia. "Our history predates colonisation by millennia," she told AFP, but many people "don't even realise that we have a skewed sense of self and identity." Reclaiming these objects would enable "a shift in how the next generation views their culture and identity," she said. The same hope underpinned Relooted , which was unveiled this month at Los Angeles's Summer Game Fest where it attracted a lot of interest from the diaspora and other Africans, Ncube said. "I hope that the game encourages people from other African countries to want to tell their own stories and bring these things to light," she said. One character felt personal for the producer: Professor Grace, Nomali's grandmother and described as "the brains behind the mission". "I started seeing my own grandmother in her," Ncube said with emotion. "She represents a connection between our generations, fighting for the same thing we've always been fighting for." – AFP
Asharq Al-Awsat
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Game 'Reloots' African Artefacts from Western Museums
Under the cover of darkness, Nomali jumped over a wall, burst into a museum and snatched a human skull from a pedestal before escaping through a window to the wail of an alarm. The daring heist was not the work of a real-life criminal. Nomali is the protagonist of a new action-packed video game where players "reclaim" artefacts taken from African countries to be displayed in the West. Developed by Johannesburg studio Nyamakop, "Relooted" is set in an imaginary future but tackles a topical issue: calls for Western institutions to return to Africa the spoils of colonization. Players are tasked with taking back 70 artefacts -- all of which exist in real life -- with a "team of African citizens", said producer Sithe Ncube, one of a team of 30 working on the game. The items include the "Benin Bronzes" sculptures removed from the former kingdom of Benin more than 120 years ago, and which The Netherlands officially returned to Nigeria on June 21. Another is the sacred Ngadji drum from Kenya's Pokomo community, which was confiscated by British colonial authorities in 1902. "Its removal destabilized the community," Ncube said as an animated drawing of the wooden instrument flashed on her computer. Players "can see where it's from... and read about the history," she said, giving a demo. 'Is it stealing?' On the screen a crew of characters in Afrofuturist costumes debated a plan to recover the remains of Tanzanian chiefs hanged by German colonial forces. One asked: "Is it stealing to take back what was stolen?" "We are going to do whatever it takes to take back Africa's belongings, and we are going to do it together," said the character Nomali. "Sometimes the stories behind these (artefacts) are actually very upsetting," Ncube told AFP. "It makes you see how much colonialism has affected... and shaped the world." Growing up in Zambia, she knew of her country's iconic "Broken Hill Man", a skull about 300,000 years old held in London's Natural History Museum and which is also featured in "Relooted". But it was only when working on the game that Ncube realized how many African cultural artefacts were held abroad, she said. In France alone, museums stored about 90,000 objects from sub-Saharan Africa, according to a 2018 report commissioned by the government. "Africans, to actually see these things that are part of their own culture, have to get a visa, pay for flights and go to a European country," Ncube said. "My whole life, I've never seen 'Broken Hill Man'." Skewed identity The looting of artefacts over centuries robbed communities of their "archives" and "knowledge systems", said Samba Yonga, co-founder of the digital Museum of Women's History in Zambia. "Our history predates colonization by millennia," she told AFP, but many people "don't even realize that we have a skewed sense of self and identity." Reclaiming these objects would enable "a shift in how the next generation views their culture and identity," she said. The same hope underpinned "Relooted", which was unveiled this month at Los Angeles's Summer Game Fest where it attracted a lot of interest from the diaspora and other Africans, Ncube said. "I hope that the game encourages people from other African countries to want to tell their own stories and bring these things to light," she said. One character felt personal for the producer: Professor Grace, Nomali's grandmother and described as "the brains behind the mission". "I started seeing my own grandmother in her," Ncube said with emotion. "She represents a connection between our generations, fighting for the same thing we've always been fighting for."
