Orelsan is definitely playing the diversity card. After the release of a second season of never show that to anyone, documentary series produced by his brother Clément Cotentin and the enriched reissue Civilization Édition Ultime on October 28, 2022 which followed it, the Caen rapper is now launching a video game tournament open to all. Nicolas Choite, general manager of the BK ROG Esports structure and Mohamed Karaguera, who focuses on his musical division, answered questions from franceinfo on the subject.
For its next tour dates, from October 25 to December 10, Orelsan has come up with an original way to involve its audience. His fans will have the opportunity to play on arcade terminals during his concerts, taking control of his game Civilization Fighters. The idea is simple (basic): bring on stage spectators who can compete in this game created to measure with the help of experts. According to Nicolas Choite, the Civilization Fighters Tour take place “two or three hours” before the concerts to allow participants to fully enjoy the competition and the show.
We are organizing a Civilization Fighters tournament on the fall tour!!
Sign up here: https://t.co/nGgHgA8XQb pic.twitter.com/WHaHMYS0zZ— OrelSan (@Orel_san) October 23, 2022
With the documentary series offered by his brother on Prime Video, the public discovered the entourage of Orelsan (real name Aurélien Cotentin) and in particular the team that assists him on a daily basis. Ablaye, Skread or Gringe, so many collaborators who can be chosen on Civilizations Fighters to compete in the universe of the creator of The party is over. A street fighter remodeled in his image, filled with winks that the fans of the first hour will have fun to identify. As soon as the website went online, the craze was there according to Mohamed: “With the game’s website, we had 16,000 visits in less than an hour.”
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“It’s not a game with a huge budget, but it’s a fun game that can be played with the family. It will remind old people of arcade games”, summarizes Mohammad. For Civilization Fighters, the guideline is clear: bring together those who love fighting games and those who follow Orelsan’s career. Faced with many questions from fans about a public and commercial release of the title, Nicolas and Mohamed are optimistic. “We hope it will be marketed, in any case it is a great desire, for us as for Aurélien”, says Nicholas. Follow-ups and additions of gameplay elements are nevertheless confirmed, guaranteeing an extended lifespan.
For his first concert in Paris, on December 17, 2008 at the Boule Noire, Orelsan had spectators come up on stage to play the famous video game license street fighter, fights that were then projected on the big screen. It is therefore a kind of tribute to his beginnings that the artist realizes through this initiative. Himself passionate about video games, the rapper had presented to the public Civilization Fighters during the first part of his tour last spring, notably for his dates at the Accor Hotel Arena in Paris. To participate, you had to go through the concert box.
The idea of organizing a tournament open to all on its own game came from an internal competition, made with the teams of this same tour. “It started out of delirium, we organized a tournament with technicians and employees, Aurel’, Ablaye, Skread”, explains Nicolas Choite. An event designed to unite the team around Civilization Fighters. “Aurel’ was so happy with the concept that he proposed to make it a public event that could cover the whole of France”Nicholas continues.
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The goal was for the competition to be open to everyone. “We wanted everyone to participate, not just people who have a concert ticket.” Orelsan is an ambassador of the structure BK ROG esports where Nicolas and Mohamed work. It is through this link that the game was born Civilization Fighters. Nicolas and his team have been working since then on the organization of games on the tour, tournaments and also the management of arcade terminals set up at concert venues.
Let the most impatient let go of their controllers: the game remains, for the moment, accessible mainly via the artist’s concerts. Nevertheless, Orelsan is in the process of setting up other means of accessing the upcoming competition. On the official website, registrations for people already in possession of a concert ticket have been stormed. There would be a few places left with Fnac partners, but also in one of the biggest French video game fairs, Paris Games Week 2022.
Indeed, the rapper’s team invests the PGW for gaming sessions that take place on the stand of Asus ROG, one of the partners of the project. Civilization Fighters. Sessions are scheduled for November 2 from 3 to 4 p.m. and November 5 from 1 to 2 p.m. Four arcade terminals will be available for the curious who would like to try the experience. However, you will have to plan ahead and register on site to participate in mini-gaming sessions. The last step to follow the San’s video game adventures.