#interview The Opticale game is available in Android version throughout Switzerland and soon internationally.
Swiss augmented reality game Opticale officially launched its Android version for Switzerland on September 22, 2017 at the Comptoir Suisse in Lausanne. For those of you who don't know yet, Opticale is a mobile game that lets you explore the lands of the Astral World, a parallel universe, and discover the creatures that lurk there. This year, the Comptoir Suisse had opened a space called " Le Lab " dedicated to new technologies, with a special focus on video games. On this occasion, Opticale offered the public a unique experience. Soufian Mahlouly, CEO and founder of the game, looks back on this operation and shares his plans for future deployment.
Alp ICT: What was the impact of your presence at Comptoir Suisse?
Soufian Mahlouly: Better than we'd imagined in every respect. We set up a unique experience by transposing the principle of the Opticale game onto the 40,000 square meters of the Comptoir Suisse. The public would explore every nook and cranny of the event to find the hidden creatures of our parallel universe, and then return to us to receive prizes. Some enjoyed themselves so much that they came back the following days to continue. In addition to this highly successful new game experience, we were privileged to have the Android version officially launched in Switzerland by Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin.
Alp ICT: Have you already received any feedback from users of the mobile game?
Soufian Mahlouly: The Android version we've just launched is in "softlaunch" mode, as it's designed to detect bugs on a larger scale than a closed beta test. The aim is not to achieve a maximum number of downloads, but rather to benefit from feedback from involved users in order to improve the game as much as possible. Ultimately, the idea is to obtain the most stable and enjoyable version possible for international release, market by market.
Alp ICT: What are your plans for international deployment?
Soufian Mahlouly: Once we've improved the game as much as possible thanks to its release on the Swiss market, we' d like to roll it out first on the French-speaking market, then on the English-speaking market with the English version which has just been completed. Other translations are in the pipeline: German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese and Russian.
We'll be rolling out gradually, so that we can focus our marketing efforts on the specific features of the target market. To publish the game internationally, we need to adapt to the local language and culture. So there are certain markets for which we'll be relying on local partners; notably the Asian market.
Alp ICT: You've just released your first encyclopedia of the Astral World. Can you tell us more about it?
Soufian Mahlouly: The release of this encyclopedia marked an important milestone in the life of Opticale, as it was the first time we had offered an experience outside our core media , allowing us to delve deeper into our universe. We've made it tangible. We're very proud and moved by this project, and we're already thinking about other cross-media ideas that flow from the game universe while going beyond it to explore new experiences. Storytelling, comics, novels, animated TV series - anything is possible.
Alp ICT: Will the game itself evolve with other universes and creatures?
Soufian Mahlouly: We already have five new zones in development, as well as some forty new creatures, including semi-astral creatures (i.e. those that can only be located in particular places in our world), lots of additional content planned and concepts being written. We promise you a continuous development of the game universe, but our current priority is its release in Switzerland and its optimal improvement.
