Lerato Mothata: The 17-Year-Old Bringing Back the LAN Party

Key insights

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New release

Lerato Mothata, 17, launched 'Rogun Army' for offline multiplayer.

The South African developer, operating as ForbiddenBoX, created a free-to-play mobile game.

Key fact. 17-year-old South African developer Lerato Mothata has released 'Rogun Army,' a free-to-play mobile game designed for offline, LAN-based multiplayer sessions for up to 16+ players.

Developer background

Mothata started game development at age eight, using Unity and C#.

He began programming with Scratch at age six and has nine years of development experience. Mothata has produced hundreds of projects since 2016.

Experience. Mothata, who publishes under the name ForbiddenBoX, has nine years of development experience, having started with Scratch at age six and transitioning to the Unity engine and C# by age…

Motivation

The game aims to restore accessible, offline multiplayer experiences.

Mothata developed 'Rogun Army' to recreate the appeal of 'Mini Militia – Doodle Army.' He felt that subsequent updates had diminished its core offline multiplayer experience.

Like a classic movie re-released with its original charm intact, 'Rogun Army' brings back a beloved gaming style.

Purpose. The development of 'Rogun Army' was driven by a desire to recreate the accessible, offline multiplayer experience of 'Mini Militia – Doodle Army,' which the developer felt had lost its…

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Summary

Seventeen-year-old South African developer Lerato Mothata, operating under the studio name ForbiddenBoX, has released a mobile title titled Rogun Army, which seeks to revitalize the local multiplayer LAN party experience. The game is designed as a free-to-play, offline couch party experience that supports up to 16 players, filling a perceived gap in the market for accessible, internet-free multiplayer gaming.

Mothata’s development career began at age eight, and he has since produced hundreds of projects using the Unity engine and C#. His motivation for developing Rogun Army stems from a sense of nostalgia for earlier mobile titles that prioritized offline connectivity, a feature he believes has been diminished in contemporary updates to similar games. By creating this title, he aims to foster direct social interaction among players, moving beyond the solitary nature of many modern mobile gaming experiences.

This release highlights the growing influence of young, independent developers within the African game industry. Mothata’s trajectory, which began with foundational programming in Scratch before transitioning to professional-grade engines, underscores the increasing accessibility of game development tools for younger generations. The project serves as a practical response to a specific community demand for localized, offline multiplayer gameplay, demonstrating how individual developers can address niche market preferences through targeted technical solutions.