The Vodacom rAge expo is South Africa’s biggest gaming, tech and geek culture exhibition. The 17th edition of SA’s most exciting gaming expo takes off at the Ticketpro Dome from 27-29 September. 

As you’d expect, the leading companies in gaming and tech will be there, showing off their wares and giving eager fans a chance to try all the latest games and gear first-hand. But Vodacom rAge also provides a platform that supports the emerging game development industry in South Africa – as they have done for many years. And HUAWEI Mobile Services South Africa is on-hand to lend some much-needed infrastructure, guidance and financial help to SA’s rising game development stars.

 HUAWEI has invited some skilled and inspired young developers in South Africa to showcase their products at the HUAWEI home_coded stand. The stand will be bringing visitors an exclusive look at newly launched mobile gaming, PC and console content created by local up-and-comers in the industry. Some of these young developers will have their games/apps uploaded onto the Huawei AppGallery platform; HUAWEI's official app distribution platform. You can use AppGallery on your HUAWEI mobile device to search, download, manage, and share mobile apps. AppGallery features a four-layer detection mechanism to ensure that apps featured on the platform are safe to download and use. All kinds of useful and fun apps are available for download through AppGallery. 

The South African gaming industry is growing steadily year-on-year. And as business picks up pace for local developers, more jobs are being created in emerging gaming concerns, who are progressively increasing SA’s footprint in the international gaming market. 

The Vodacom rAge expo is a great place for developers to be discovered by a captive audience that’s as passionate as they are about gaming, helping the industry grow to even greater heights. 

Here are some of the rising stars who’ll be at the stand: 

Hilton from Surge Innovations will be bringing mobile game, “Voetsek” along for a demo of its free-to-play arcade interface on iOs, Android and Harmony OS. Voetsek promises hours of endless fun and addictive game play that will test gamers’ sense of rhythm and timing. 

The game pushes the boundaries of the arcade genre with a collection of unique features and fast-paced stage progression for an addictive and intuitive gaming experience. Surge Innovations will be hosting a mini-Voetsek tournament with great prizes up for grabs. There’s also a big announcement about the release of a brand new, highly anticipated mobile game that will be exclusive to Apple Arcade and Harmony OS. Find out more on surgeinnovations.co.za. 

Mornay Leander, creator of the “PlaneCrazy” game will be exhibiting his creation, “PlaneCrazy” – a mobile game that took flight while its creator made paper jets for his daughter and her friends. It got Mornay thinking, why not create a game that taught players how to fold their own paper planes? And with the help of a developer, PlaneCrazy took off. You can find PlaneCrazy on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or visit planecrazygame.co.za to find out more. 

Dewald Bodenstein from Quasistellar Game Development is showcasing an RPG called “Rectifying Zion”. The game has been in development since 2010. It’s set in a large, detailed open world in ancient Israel, and you can come to the stand to try out an exciting early game-play prototype. Find out more on rectifyingzion.quasistellar.co.za. 

Matthew Dalton from Mattador Starfish will be at the stand showing off “Codex Knights” – an original game that’s currently in development. Mattador Starfish is a proudly South African tech start-up that aims to use games and technology to make a difference. Matt will also be giving a talk about pursuing game development as a career in South Africa and using games to make a positive impact on society. Email Matt on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to find out more. 

Zane Espin from Blue Desert Studios will be demonstrating a selection of newly released and developing games like “Curve”, “Rocketboom”, “NightRunner” and “Beta Reflex”. Lucky visitors may also get exclusive sneak peeks of Blue Desert Studios’ upcoming mobile games "Corridor 6" and "Auxiliary" for PC and Next-Gen consoles. Find out more on bluedesertstudios.com. 

Dylan Engelbrect from Deep Link Studios will be giving demos on “Riftwalker” – a tower defense game reminiscent of “Rogue” that’s currently available for early access on Steam. The game is set in a world consumed by darkness, with challenging new mechanics and an in-depth story for those willing to dig deeper into game play. Find out more on deeplinkstudios.com. 

Other games on show include “Pathological Beliefs”, “Diski Skills” and more – all exclusively at the HUAWEI home_coded stand at the Vodacom rAge expo. 

HUAWEI Mobile Services offers an open platform for HUAWEI device partners, through comprehensive app development, testing, promotion, and monetisation assistance. HUAWEI aims to build an open ecosystem for innovation using HUAWEI's terminal devices, global platform services and industry chain resources to help develop young talent wherever possible. 

The stage is set for talented SA game developers at Vodacom rAge 2019. Let the games begin! 

If you are a developer with a completed app, please visit developer.huawei.com to find out more. Or stay in touch with the business development team via email on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For more details check out www.rageexpo.co.za and come along to Vodacom rAge. 

#rAgeExpo2019 #comeandplay #17yearsofawesome #agalaxyofgeek 

EVENT DETAILS:

When is Vodacom rAge 2019?

Friday 27 September – 10h00-18h00

Saturday 28 September – 09h00-18h00

Sunday 29 September – 09h00-16h00 

Where is Vodacom rAge 2019?

The TicketPro Dome, Johannesburg 

How do I buy tickets to Vodacom rAge 2019?

Tickets to Vodacom rAge 2019 are on sale via www.ticketpros.co.za  or at TicketPro outlets

Day Pass – R160 per person (ticket valid for entry for one day only)

Weekend Pass – R320 per person (ticket valid for entry for all three days)

Children under 6 are freeThe following tickets are only available to purchase at the door:

Family Pass – R540 per family (ticket valid for one day for 2 adults + 2 children aged between 6 & 18)

Student Pass – R110 per person (ticket valid for Friday only upon presentation of valid student card) 

How do I stay connected?

To stay up to date with all the Vodacom rAge 2019 announcements and additional info, follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or go to www.rageexpo.co.za.

Cisco Systems Inc, a global leader in Digital Business Transformation is on a mission to empower South African girls in ICT.The corporation has partnered with the Sibulele Sibaca Foundation, 1873FM, MathsGee and GirlsCode in its efforts to diffuse digital skills among school girls across the country. “We are very delighted to be partnering with Cisco in our quest to level the playing field in the ICT sector, we see equality and diversity as the pillars of success in product and market development for any serious organisation”, said Edzai Zvobwo, Chief Genius at MathsGee.

The 16th of July 2018 saw the partners converge on the Cisco offices in Bryanston, Johannesburg where 17 top performing high school girls were taken through an intensive one day conference on skills of the future and how to succeed in life as part of a 12 months ICT training under the Sibulele Sibaca Foundation. The renowned 1873FM disc jockey, WildFire gave an amazing talk to the girls on the need for more girls to code. He emphasized that app development should be motivated by a yearning to solve real life problems that the girls would have identified.

Zandile Keebine, a mathematician and computer scientist who as a young girl started GirlsCode reiterated on the fact that problems should be the foundation of app development. “Once you have identified a problem, take time to understand it and then come up with a solution for it, technology now allows us to imagine and turn those imaginations into products”, said Zandile.

Edzai Zvobwo stressed on critical thinking as a basis for idea generation and innovation. “You must look at the world and ask questions, do not just accept status quo, ask why things are the way they are”, insisted the Chief Genius.

The partners agreed that the day was a success and this intervention should go beyond the one day conference. The program should take the girls to a stage where they are digital skills wizards. It was agreed that these girls would form the first cohort for a six week program that will be hosted by MathsGee, publicised by 1873FM and GirlsCode will provide female mentors from various universities to inspire the girls.