What began as a high school dream has evolved into a global collaborative project for Roofi Mulaya (Illustration BFA), Toby Leiserowitz (Game Design BFA), and Hugo Hogendoorn (Game Design BFA) — three MICA students behind a new Indonesian dark fantasy game. Their senior thesis project, launched officially in summer 2024, is a 15-20 minute demo of a much larger vision: a 20-hour game rooted in Indonesian culture and storytelling.

Mulaya, originally from Indonesia and now based in New York, serves as the lead artist. “There are so few Indonesian games on platforms like Steam,” he says. “I wanted to change that.” What started as a generic fantasy slowly transformed into a rich, culturally grounded world inspired by Mulaya’s hometown.

Leiserowitz, the game’s programmer, joined forces with Mulaya after meeting him in their first MICA class. “We experimented with a lot of formats — 2D, 3D, top-down — before finding our direction,” he explains. Their professor, Sam Sheffield, encouraged collaborative thesis projects, prompting Hogendoorn to come on board as narrative and level designer. “Once I saw the early art and vision, I knew it had potential,” says Hogendoorn, who began sketching detailed world layouts and developing the storyline.

Together, the trio built out game design documents, character concepts, and storyboards. As the technical side progressed, their team expanded: a friend in Poland contributed background art, a MICA junior worked on animation, and composers Evan Chang and Noah Stein developed the soundtrack.

Earlier this year, the team entered the UP/start competition and secured $35,000 in funding — an experience that introduced them to the business side of game development. “We had to learn how to pitch and justify our work strategically,” Mulaya notes.

They credit much of their success to support from MICA professors and peers who helped rehearse their pitch. Reflecting on their journey, the team agrees: None of them imagined this path as freshmen. Now, they’re not only building a game — they’re shaping a new space for Indonesian-inspired narratives in global gaming.

“It’s surreal,” Mulaya says. “We’re creating something that reflects who we are — and this is just the beginning.”