Khalil ARAFAN

The entrepreneur

Engineer by training (DUT (Paris XII) then License in Computer Science (Paris VII), Khalil Arafan has numerous experiences within big names in the AAA industries (Quantic Dream in 2001, Scripting Gameplay, Fahrenheit project, and Ubisoft Casablanca, 2008, C++ Programmer, Prince of Persia: forgotten sands project on Nintendo DS).

The new wave of independents relaunched in 2008 thanks to mass digital distribution, was a major inspiration for Khalil to embark on the adventure on his own and to explore the vast territory of possible and imaginable designs.

A lover of this form of artistic expression since childhood, and of the infinite possibilities specific to real-time interactivity, he has dedicated all his energy, since the day he received his first Nintendo console 3 decades ago now , to try to understand what makes the power of this unique alliance between technology, fine arts, commercial constraints and psychology, to name just a few aspects.

Motives

Honor your partner, whose extreme generosity and confidence in bringing his artistic vision and original idea to fruition are matched only by his talent.

His family, who continues to this day to support his crazy ambitions. Finally, represent the creativity of your country and its Amazigh heritage, through increasingly ambitious creations.

The company

Palm Grove Software, structure based in Casablanca, Morocco; is an independent video game development studio, which has primarily operated in the Mobile space since its founding in late 2011. Palm Grove Software also offers computer engineering and game design consulting services to local and international clients. Free mobile applications developed by Palm Grove Software total more than 250k downloads to date (learning the Arabic alphabet, local multiplayer card games, etc.) (available on Android and iOS).

Following the development of the Birdspotting prototype during the first half of 2019 (January-August), Khalil was amazed by the interest shown by players, the specialized press and certain renowned publishers on the independent scene. Despite the health context since then, Palm Grove Software was able to benefit from the support of the French Institute of Morocco thanks to the Lab Digital program.

The development project

Produce the Birdspotting video game on a first platform thanks to the funding which will allow the engineering work to be completedmove forward uninterruptedly throughout the development cycle:

Implement internally all the computer code necessary to realize the artistic vision
Integrate the various graphic assets (3D models, animations, etc.) developed internally by the partner (Polynoise) in the Netherlands and monitor the production with potential external service providers (sound design, localization, etc.)
Establish a design in collaboration with Polynoise within the budget and time allocated to the project
Marketing, legal and commercial monitoring with the different digital distribution platforms

Birdspotting: bird watching simulation in first person view, lasting a few hours, whose aim is to explore a green Norwegian valley and discover its secrets using binoculars and a newspaper among other interactive objects...