Behind NeoWorld
It all started with the idea of a toy.
Every great story starts with a spark. I want to take you behind the scene and share how that spark ignited into the blazing adventure that became NeoWorld. From the first flashes of inspiration to the twists and turns of shaping this world—this is the story behind the story.
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You’ll get an inside look at the creative process: the real-world inspirations, the challenges, the breakthroughs, and the wild ride of bringing NeoWorld to life. And just like the book itself, this journey is filled with adventure, discovery, and a few unexpected surprises along the way.
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So step inside, take a peek behind the scenes, and see how imagination, technology, and a love of storytelling collided to build NeoWorld.
Prototype of the Augment Cube
The idea of a toy that launched an adventure. The Augment Cube isn’t just a puzzle cube—it’s a gateway to adventure. In NeoWorld, Ari and Kara use the Cube to unlock hidden mysteries, solve puzzles, and uncover secrets buried within the theme park. Each rotating piece reveals glowing glyphs, each color-coded to a unique challenge.
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I collaborated with a fantastic engineer, Pete Chan, to bring the idea of the Augment Cube to life as a real, working prototype. This interactive toy is designed to integrate seamlessly with the story, allowing readers to step into the adventure themselves. Through augmented reality features, puzzle-solving mechanics, and hidden surprises, the Cube bridges the gap between fiction and reality, making the NeoWorld experience even more immersive.
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The Augment Cube isn’t just a part of the story—you get to hold it in your hands and solve it, just like Ari and Kara do. But before I get ahead of myself, let’s go behind the other element—arguably the more important one—the story of NeoWorld.
The Story Behind the Story
Setting
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NeoWorld (originally NewHoward) started as just a setting—a theme park where history and technology collide, filled with roller coasters, rare artifacts, and cutting-edge attractions. But as the story developed, NeoWorld became much more than a backdrop. It evolved into a character of its own, a living, breathing world where adventure and mystery intertwine, and where every ride, exhibit, and innovation plays a role in shaping the journey of Ari, Kara, and John Howard.
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Building NeoWorld was my way of stepping
into the shoes of an Imagineer, crafting an
entire park from the ground up. It was a
chance to design thrilling experiences,
dream up rides, and create the kind of
immersive world I’d love to visit myself.
As a storyteller, I didn’t just want NeoWorld
to feel real—I wanted it to be a place where
readers could lose themselves, where they
could picture every detail as if they were
walking through the gates.
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This project also became a personal exploration of “write what you want to know.” I wasn’t just writing about a theme park—I was learning how to build one, researching themed entertainment, ride mechanics, and immersive storytelling. Over the years, developing NeoWorld has meant going beyond the book itself, pouring in layers of detail, and designing experiences that feel as alive as the characters.
But at its core, NeoWorld isn’t just about the attractions—it’s about the stories they tell and the people they impact. Just as real-life theme parks create memories, the fictional NeoWorld shapes the lives of Ari, Kara, and John Howard in unexpected ways.
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And who knows? Maybe one day, NeoWorld will exist beyond the pages. Until then, the adventure continues behind the scenes of the narrative.
Narrative
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What if Mickey Mouse didn’t want to be the mascot of Disneyland anymore? That simple question sparked the foundation of NeoWorld’s story.
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Ari, a state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence Robot, was designed to be the friendly face of NeoWorld, a guide, a performer, an icon—the perfect theme park mascot. But what happens when the mascot doesn’t want to play its role anymore? What happens when a character, meant to entertain, starts asking questions about its own purpose? That’s where NeoWorld’s narrative began—not just with a futuristic theme park, but with a character on a journey of self-discovery.
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As a storyteller, I believe that great stories are built on a principle I used often in commercials: they need to be universally specific. That means they must be relatable—tied to emotions and struggles we all understand—but also unique enough to stand out and draw people into a world they’ve never seen before. Ari’s journey is deeply relatable. He struggles with identity, free will, and the desire to be more than what he was programmed for. At the same time, his world—the high-tech wonder of NeoWorld, his role as a sentient theme park guide, and the hidden mysteries buried within the park— offers something fresh and intriguing.
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Kara, too, has her own layered relationship with NeoWorld. As the daughter of John Howard, the park’s visionary creator, NeoWorld is more than just a thrilling destination—it’s a piece of her father’s legacy, one she’s trying to understand. Her journey isn’t just about solving a mystery; it’s about finding her own place in a world her father built.
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The idea for NeoWorld evolved over time. It started as a setting, a futuristic theme park. But as I built out the world, I realized the park itself was more than just a backdrop—it was a character in its own right. Every attraction, every hidden artifact, every innovation plays a role in shaping the adventure and the characters who live within it. The storytelling wasn’t just about crafting a fun sci-fi adventure—it was about layering meaning into every piece of NeoWorld.
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That’s what makes NeoWorld more than just a story. It’s an exploration of identity, purpose, and the tension between who we are, who we’re expected to be, and who we want to be. It’s about questioning the roles we’re assigned, stepping beyond what’s programmed for us, and defining our own journey.
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At its surface, NeoWorld is a thrilling, fast-paced adventure. But beneath the excitement, it’s also a deeply personal story about choice, legacy, and what it means to be a family.
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And just like Ari, we’re all navigating our own programmed expectations—searching for the moment when we get to decide who we really want to be.
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More To Come
