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Launched on January 2017, Rangi is a game that has its roots firmly planted in Africa, and most precisely Morocco. Designed by Funsoft, a Moroccan company founded by Hatim Bensaid, a game developer, the game has gained success among the virtual reality gaming community. It was made available through a partnership on Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR. Known by its authenticity, Rangi is a unique experience where players will have the chance to discover, the African culture, music and history embodying the role of an African Shaman solving puzzles.
Speaking to Hatim Bensaid, CEO, co-founder of Funsoft and member of the team that created Rangi, he explained to Yabiladi the idea behind Rangi, the creation of Funsoft and the Virtual Reality gaming in Morocco.
What is your backgroud ?
I started in the gaming industry back when I was still living in Canada, I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from McGill University in 2004. With a passion in video games, I collaborated two years later with a friend to develop and publish first free to play MMORPG game. This turned out to be a success story that allowed us to self-fund our future projects and provided us with a valuable experience in game marketing. With this experience I learned how the world of gaming works and I gained expertise in the field. For us, it was quiet easy for example to create a game and develop it, but selling it was the hardest part. I later co-founded an online gaming advertising network. The decision to create a game studio a few years ago in Casablanca came somewhat naturally as that was my first successful entrepreneurship venture.
When did you move to Casablanca ?
As above-mentioned, I worked in marketing and advertizing video games in Canada from 2007 to 2010. During the same year I moved to Casablanca and carried on doing the same thing until 2013. Around 2014, I decided to go back to gaming, my cup of tea and the job I enjoy doing the most.
At first, we did something similar to journalism. We had a website through which we published reviews about video games and news about gaming in the world. It still exists by the way and it’s called MMO-PLAY.com. This allowed us to stay close and up to date with what is happening in the video games industry and in 2015 we founded Funsoft.
What about Rangi, when was it created ?
Rangi was initially planned to be a smaller title allowing us to just experiment and play around first hand with the VR development environment and tools. We started with a mobile phone game that we are still working on as it is a long term project. As the game development was under way, we expanded our initial plans to fully live and enjoy the journey. We started working on Rangi in June 2016 with a full-time team of four people.
We started working on Rangi in June 2016 with a full-time team of four people. By October 2016. We were eight. We released the game by the end of January 2017 which was a first version for the Samsung Gear VR.
Rangi was showcased in New York City during the Samsung Galaxy S8 unpacked event where the new Gear VR remote controller was also launched. Rangi was one of a handful of games to be included in the event. We continued our partnership with Oculus by porting the game on the Rift platform.
Virtual reality is at its very beginning, financial profit in the short and mid-term isn’t the main motivation behind this project. We count on our partnerships with Oculus and Samsung as well as porting the game to all different VR platforms in order to be profitable.
Have you received positive responses following the launch of Rangi ?
To be honest with you, we received positive responses when it comes to Rangi. Although the virtual reality market is relatively small at the moment, it does have a lot of potential. The technology will develop further in the coming years, making it more accessible.
We have read everywhere that Rangi is a game that promotes and represents the African culture, is this true ?
Absolutely, the game is inspired by tribal music, art and architecture from across the African continent. As African developers, we designed the game in a way that showcases our colorful landscapes and explores some of our folklore to create a unique experience. Players enjoy it because it represents a different universe with a poetic atmosphere and feel. Music is a strong element in the game. It is inspired by typical African instruments such as Sanza, Djembe, but also human voices which are very important in African culture.
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How can you describe the game ?
It is an adventure game where the hero, a shaman named Guriki, is set to solve puzzles. In his quest, he explores hidden temples, reconstructs ancient statues, and escapes deadly platforms.
What are the future plans of Funsoft and the Rangi team ?
After Rangi’s launch on Steam, Oculus Rift, and Daydream last week, we’re now preparing a new version for the Playstation’s PS VR. We’ll also work on porting the game to Microsoft’s VR platform. On the other hand, we’re finishing the development of a mobile game.
