By Lwandile Hlekwayo
Dreams delayed are not dreams denied for Henk Scheepers, a Vega games development lecturer who has released the prototype for Magnus after two months of development. Magnus, the chess game’s name, is derived from the world-renowned chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen. This milestone has proven to be a full-circle moment for Scheepers, whose childhood dreams were about diving into the world of developers and making his mark.
The journey to the creation of Magnus was not as straightforward as one might think. This is because Scheepers originally studied Accounting in high school and later dropped it for Computer Studies after a friend introduced him to programming. The plans for being an accountant were thus derailed, laying the foundation for Magnus as Scheepers pursued technology. Scheepers went on to complete his Bachelor of Information Science in Multimedia at the University of Pretoria and began his career as a web developer. Being in an optimal position to possibly create games, Scheepers’ passion for game design still lingered despite being occupied by web development.
Scheepers states that, “I didn’t think I would be able to make a game until my third job, where I met a colleague who was making indie short films.” He recalled: “He had an idea for a game and asked if I wanted to develop it.” They then created a prototype and demo that would exhibit at the Rage Expo; this would then secure funding for them and make the idea of creating games a real possibility. Doors opened for the two developers despite their first project not being a commercial success. Scheepers would later move to Durban, where he would secure a position as a lecturer at Vega School Durban.
A move to the warmest place to be saw Scheepers balance lecturing and game design. He states that, “this felt like a cool opportunity. I saw teaching game development as a way to stay hands-on with the field and deepen my skills.” After five years serving as Head of Game Design and Development at Vega School, Scheepers released his first solo game, AVOID, which was presented at Playtopia, Cape Town’s indie gaming festival. Magnus has also been submitted to this year’s Playtopia with the hopes it will showcase in December.
The Cape Town indie scene has encouraged Scheepers to create something similar in Durban. “It’s a big goal for me to grow the community around game development here,” he explained. “That’s why we started D3 Durban (Game) Design and Developers,” says Scheepers. He also goes on to state that, “on the last Thursday of every month, developers, artists, programmers — anyone interested in game development meet at Vega School Durban.” “We share projects, play each other’s games and give feedback. It’s a relaxed space where people connect and collaborate.” Scheepers sees these organic, community-driven efforts as the soil from which Durban’s creative scene will grow.
Between semesters and at weekends, Scheepers carves out time to develop. “The balance is perfect,” he says. “Seeing the game progress is exciting and fuels me to keep going.” His philosophy extends beyond his own projects: “People often wait for inspiration to strike before they start, but I’ve learnt that inspiration comes from doing.” It’s exactly what he hopes D3 will spark in others — not just ideas, but action. Because Durban’s game development scene won’t be built by waiting. It’ll be built by people who simply start.