A little anime adventure for my daughter, one build at a time

A personal game project

A little anime adventure for my daughter, one build at a time

Written by Graeme Moignard Published: 22nd October 2026

Alongside my business software, I have a much more personal project taking shape: a colourful anime and steampunk inspired game for my daughter.

It is called Izaberu’s Neon Spirit Academy, and I am building it in Unreal Engine 5.8. I am learning by making the whole thing: shaping the academy, getting characters moving around it, working on menus and turning ideas into things you can actually play. Every small improvement teaches me something new, and there is always another corner of the world asking for attention.

There are two main characters to choose from. Izaberu (イザベル) is named after my daughter, Isabelle. Izadora (イザドラ) is the male hero. I’m creating individual outfits and voices for both, giving each a distinct look and personality. Their clothing also helps them feel at home in this bright, slightly steampunk world.

The game taking shapeFrom a family idea to a playable academyA personal project shaped by Isabelle’s ideas, new characters and playable experiments.

Ideas from Isabelle
Neon Spirit Academy
Characters & DJ stage
A playable world

The design brief comes from my daughter

Some of the best ideas arrive as very direct requests. My daughter wanted akimbo pistols, one in each hand. So Izaberu can dual-wield them. She wanted a DJ stage too, so the academy has one, complete with the neon-lit, music-filled feel the game needs. It makes me smile every time a new request turns into something we can walk up to and see in the game. This is very much a project we are shaping together.

Two ways to play

The single-player side is a quest adventure: explore the world, find the items needed to move the story along and take on the bosses waiting at the end of each challenge. Then there is the multiplayer Destruction Derby island, where the plan is much less serious. Players can fire rockets, use mortars and ram each other until the cars are in pieces. It is a cheerful little contrast to carefully validating SaaS forms and reports.

The progress is in the details

The pictures below follow the project from a handful of blocky shapes to playable characters, a walkable academy, a multiplayer arena and a start screen with its own identity. They are honest development snapshots, not polished promo art. You can see the awkward bits as well as the progress, including the day one character lost most of her hair and had to be fixed before the adventure could continue.

About a month in, the academy comes alive

After about a month of building, testing and fixing, I had the game into a playable state. This short capture shows Izaberu at the neon DJ stage, moving around and trying some of the character actions and dances. The action menu is part of the game too, so it is becoming a place to play in rather than a collection of editor screenshots.

The DJ stage, waveform display and character actions in the current playable build. There is plenty more to make, but this is a lovely milestone: a request from my daughter has become a place her character can visit and enjoy.

Open the gameplay video directly

Early rough blockout of the academy environment and a simple character model. — The very early days. Simple shapes helped me work out the scale of the room and get a character into the scene before worrying about the finish.

A character model in an early test build with most of her hair missing. — A small reminder that game development does not always go to plan. During a character test, her hair disappeared. I had to trace the problem and put it right before moving on.

A playable character inside an academy corridor during an Unreal Engine test. — Here the academy is becoming a place you can move around in. I was checking the character, the corridor and the on-screen prompts together, rather than looking at each piece in isolation.

Unreal Editor view of the academy buildings, wooded grounds and a neon-lit area. — This Unreal Editor view shows the level taking shape: the academy buildings, surrounding woodland and a bright area that gives the world some of its neon personality.

Anime-style character testing two pistols in the academy grounds. — A request from my daughter, delivered: akimbo pistols. This in-game test checks how the character looks with one in each hand, against the academy buildings and those bright pink and cyan lights.

Izadora holding a pistol in each hand in the academy grounds. — Izadora gets in on the action too. This is a cropped gameplay screenshot, so you can see the character and both pistols without the surrounding desktop capture. The blue outfit and academy setting are starting to feel like his own look.

Izadora in a colourful multiplayer arena with the player health, chat and ability interface visible. — A later in-game test brings the character and arena together. The screen also shows some of the multiplayer interface taking shape, including health, chat and abilities.

Izaberu’s Neon Spirit Academy start screen, with single-player, multiplayer and character customisation options. — The current start screen gives the project a clearer identity. It brings the two play modes and character customisation together, with Izaberu visible in the character preview.

A slow burner, in the best way

This is a side project, and it is meant to take its time. I am teaching myself how to make a game that is not only functional but fun and lovely to explore. There is always another animation, outfit, sound or corner of the academy to improve.

When the day-to-day work of getting Salix Monitor 360, Client Desk and Compliance Desk ready for customers starts to feel like a lot, I can switch gears and make a little game progress instead. Client Desk and Compliance Desk are still being steadily polished for release. A few hours working on a colourful world are a welcome change of pace.

There is still a mountain of things to build, but the characters, the DJ stage, the academy and the two ways to play are starting to feel like parts of the same game. For now, I am enjoying the process, learning as I go and seeing a very personal idea become a fun, pretty little world. If my daughter comes back with another request, I had better leave a bit of room in the plan.