Building Talent from the Ground Up: Pressure Cooker Studios Joins Forces with the Academy of Digital Arts on their Game Production Incubator Project: Amanzi
We’ve always believed that the best way to learn is by doing. That real growth happens when young creatives are pushed by real-world deadlines, shaped by real-world challenges, and given the chance to create something that’s actually going out into the world. That’s why we’re so proud to have partnered with the Academy of Digital Arts in Cape Town on their alumni’s incubator project: Amanzi, a vertical slice of a game developed by 14 alumni Game Development students.
By assembling a full dev team, consisting mainly of their Game Graphics and Multimedia Entertainment course Alumni, and supporting them through the creation of a real, playable game over the course of a year, this project is a platform for young creatives in the industry. An early-access version of the game is available on itch.io.
“When Lars Espeter first shared the vision for Amanzi with us, it really struck a chord,” says James Matthes, CEO of Pressure Cooker Studios. “It aligns perfectly with our own purpose: to build a platform for talent to flourish. We’ve always tried to make our internship and education programmes feel like the real thing, because when you’re working towards something real everything shifts.”
The game itself is a stealth-driven, narrative-rich experience set in a dystopian future where water has become the most precious, and contested, resource. The concept is distinctly African, both in aesthetic and narrative vision, and that excited the team at Pressure Cooker Studios even more.
“We knew we had to be involved,” adds Matthes. “From the music to the sound design to the implementation, we wanted to bring our full creative firepower to the table. We treated this like any other professional project. It was especially exciting because Amanzi became the first official project where we were able to utilise our newly built Foley stage.”
With veteran game developer and educator Lars Espeter at the helm of the program, Amanzi is more than just a student project, it’s a professional development ecosystem. Lars, who brings years of global industry experience to his role as Head of Game Development at the Academy of Digital Arts, is championing a hands-on, results-driven approach to growing game dev talent locally.
“Being able to provide our incubator team the chance to work with and learn from a professional sound and music team like Pressure Cooker is a wish come true.” says Lars Espeter. “The collaboration between their team, the vision behind the game, and our Alumni has elevated AMANZi to a height that we could not have achieved otherwise. It is a dream come true to have partners like James Matthes and his team around, working with talented young South African game developers.”
What’s especially exciting, is that this isn’t a once-off initiative. Projects like ‘Amanzi’ will run annually, with new teams and new stories every year. Pressure Cooker Studios plans on nurturing a long-term partnership with the Academy of Digital Arts, offering early collaboration touchpoints and diving deeper into the development cycle as each new project progresses.
As James puts it, “We see this as a long-term commitment to the future of African game development. We’re not just investing in one game, we’re investing in the people who are going to shape this industry for years to come.”
The Amanzi (Early Access Version) Original Soundtrack is now available on all major streaming platforms. Listen here.