In modern times, many kids now have access to technological gadgets of all sorts. From movies to gaming, these gadgets provide kids with a kind of entertainment that their parents probably wouldn’t have dreamed of at their age.
Moreover, some kids take it a step further by being innovative with the technology at their disposal. One such kid is Basil Okpara Jr., a child prodigy who has the potentials to disrupt the gaming industry.
Basil started out like many children his age – exhibiting a keen interest in mobile app games. At the age of 4, his father bought him a tablet with which he played his favourite games. They were Candy Crush and Temple Run.
By the age of 7, he had developed the habit of playing games to a point where it became excessive. One day, his incessant habit of playing games prompted a strong rebuke from his father.
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“…You are always playing games, can’t you think about building your own games so others can play yours too?” said his father.
These words from Basil’s father were what marked the beginning of his quest to build games that he and other kids could play.
Thereafter, Basil developed a strong enthusiasm for creating games. Seeing his seriousness, his father bought him a laptop and signed him up for a five-day boot camp organized by Codefest International for children aged 5 to 15. It was at this boot camp Basil learned the programming language Scratch 2 and acquired the skills with which he built over 30 mobile games. The boot camp was organised to expose children to emerging technologies such as virtual reality, robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), and computer programming.
Today, Basil leverages Scratch 2, a free programming application, to create games, animations, and interactive stories online or offline. Using this programing language, the 9-year-old built his over 30 mobile games and just currently developed a fairly interactive bat game. He has about 5 games on the Google Play store, one of which is “Frog Attack”.
While game development may appear to be a chore for some, it is a pastime for young Basil. According to him, he wants to be a scientist when he grows up.
Basil is one of the individuals who have emerged in recent times to revolutionise Nigeria’s tech scene. Recently, a team of Nigerian teenagers went viral for their awesome initiative to shoot Science-Fiction movies with just a smartphone. Brain Squad, a team of five 10 to 11-year-old girls gained recognition after they develop an app for charity.
This proves that technology is in a new wave of development in Nigeria and children are not left out in contributing to this development. With more exposure to emerging technologies, these young minds will succeed in placing Nigeria and Africa at the centre stage of things when it comes to science and technology.
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