Project Naropa on Hold

Hi Reader,

This month I want to share a very personal story. As many of you know, at Bisuala we usually collaborate with game studios to bring motion design into their projects. But earlier this year we decided to do something different: produce our own game.

Why Our Own Game

We called it Naropa. An interactive comic book style game, heavily influenced by Florence, a beautiful title released in 2018 that won multiple awards. Florence tells the story of a young woman searching for her path in life, blending simple interactions with a narrative that feels alive and meaningful.

That approach inspired us. We wanted to explore how narrative, interactivity, and motion design could come together in our own way. More importantly, we wanted to step into the shoes of our clients. By living through the same creative and technical struggles that game studios face, we knew we would build empathy, and that empathy would ultimately help us become better partners.

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What Was Naropa About

Project Naropa told the story of a woman, a successful executive feared by her employees. One day she discovers a mysterious book and an amulet. With them, she learns to control her dreams. At first these dreams are playful, like a new world to explore. But they slowly transform into something darker, revealing secrets buried deep in her past.

We chose Unity as the main platform to develop the game. Beyond entertainment, we also wanted the project to have a social impact, raising awareness around mental health. Our idea was to partner with a non-profit and collaborate with a trauma and mental health expert from a renowned institution.

The vision was clear: create a unique emotional experience that merges storytelling with visual identity and leaves something meaningful behind.

How We Started Building It

Even though the project is paused, the process has already given us valuable insights:

• Concept Art by Mikel – beautiful contrasts between the lucid world and the dream world.
• Unity Framework by Franc – the first menu and a chapter system, giving the game structure.
• UI Design by Ani – an early version of the interface, which would evolve over time.
• Script and Direction by myself – writing and guiding the project forward.

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Why We Put it on Hold

Game development is hard, even for a small project. It takes time, vision, dedication, and money.

We had a strategy, but like Mike Tyson said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Last week, two things happened at once. We lost one of our main clients due to an unexpected passing, and our grant application for Naropa was denied.

That left us with no option but to put the project on hold for now.

Learn more

What Comes Next

This is not the end of Naropa. It is a pause. Our plan now is to find ways to finance a small demo and continue development when the moment is right.

Every step of this journey has already made us a better studio. We understand our clients’ struggles more deeply, and that makes us stronger partners for the developers we collaborate with.

Closing Note

Thanks for reading and for following our journey. If you are working on a game and need help with motion design, UI animation, or prototyping, we would love to collaborate.

Let's talk!

We appreciate your support and hope you enjoyed our newsletter.

If you have any feedback, questions, or just want to say hi, feel free to email us at hola@bisuala.com—or reach out to me directly at marc@bisuala.com. I’d love to hear from you!