Play Without Borders

I photographed Lagos Games Week and the people behind Nigeria’s growing games and comics scene for a story written by Eva Oude Elferink or NRC. Walking through the event hall, I met young developers, illustrators, and players who are building worlds that look and feel like home: Lagos streets turned into game levels, everyday frustrations turned into storylines, and African mythologies reimagined as superheroes and sci-fi characters. Behind the screens and colourful booths, there is a quiet determination. Many of the studios I photographed are small teams working with limited resources, often juggling other jobs to keep their projects alive. Yet the energy in the room felt hopeful. People weren’t just showing games; they were showing proof that their stories belong in global pop culture. My photographs follow this tension between ambition and reality: the excitement of a public showcase like Lagos Games Week, and the slower, more fragile work of building creative worlds in a country where access to funding, platforms, and infrastructure is still a struggle. This project is about a generation of Nigerian creators imagining futures for themselves and for Africa in games and comics, and insisting that their worlds, characters, and experiences deserve to be seen beyond the continent.