Founder Letter — Q2–Q3 2025
Welcome to the first quarterly founder letter. This introduces a shift away from monthly blogging toward a quarterly cadence. The goal is to match updates with the real pace of development, keep the signal high, and maintain a predictable rhythm. This inaugural letter covers activity from late Q2, when Mizan Interactive was founded, through the end of Q3. Going forward, each quarter will have its own letter in this format.
Q2–Q3 at a glance
Company: Mizan Interactive founded in May, with legal foundations and operating agreement finalized.
Websites: Company site for Mizan and a landing page for The Vizier launched.
Community: Discord structure created and newsletter option added.
Production: Extended R&D in Unreal Engine to test feasibility and simulation scale.
Direction: Pivoted primary development in September to a Web MVP for faster iteration and system validation.
The quarter in reflection
Mizan Interactive was formally founded at the end of May. The early weeks were devoted to establishing a durable foundation, finalizing the operating agreement, structuring the company, and launching the first version of the Mizan website. By the close of Q2, the studio had both a legal identity and a public presence in place.
Over the summer, I returned to development in Unreal Engine. This was an exploratory phase: revisiting older code, refactoring systems, and testing the feasibility of running a large-scale simulation in Blueprint. It yielded useful learning and established early modules for population, construction, and timekeeping. But it also revealed a hard truth. The pace of iteration in Unreal, especially for a solo founder, was too slow to validate ideas at the scale The Vizier requires. The innovation I am aiming for in the game lies not only in building placement and resource loops but in how social and narrative systems interact. That level of experimentation demanded a faster environment.
In September, I made the pivotal decision to shift primary development to a Web MVP. This approach draws on my prior experience with web technologies and leverages AI-assisted programming to accelerate iteration. For me as a solo developer, it means moving from weeks of wiring complex scaffolding to testing ideas in days. For the future production team, it means inheriting validated systems rather than experimental prototypes. It is both a practical step to sustain momentum now and a strategic step to de-risk full-scale production later.
Early results confirm the benefit of this pivot. The basic city-building loop, placing structures, simulating population entry, and observing systemic responses, is already functioning, and I can refine it rapidly. These are foundational steps, but they mark a decisive shift: from exploration into validation. That speed of feedback, paired with the stability of a proven core, will be essential as The Vizier grows toward its full vision.
Looking ahead
As the year moves into Q4, my focus is on continuing development of the Web MVP. The priority is validating advanced simulation systems that go beyond basic city building, exploring how social and narrative layers interact, and beginning work on player agency and the structures beneath them. This is a stage of proving out ideas in practice rather than theory.
I have started exposing parts of the build to a few trusted peers in the industry for early feedback, which has been encouraging. The systems are still in a raw state, with placeholder visuals, but the foundations are now in place for future targeted testing with a curated group. When the time is right, access will extend to a broader but still selective group that can provide diverse perspectives. Testing will remain invite-only, with the intent to validate ideas rather than run open trials.
Closing
Thank you for following the first quarterly letter. The Vizier’s development is now on a clearer cadence. The Vizier website itself has been simplified into a landing page with an FAQ and community links, leaving detailed updates to these letters for now.
Transparency and consistency are the goal. I will continue sharing progress every quarter, with occasional smaller notes between letters through my personal LinkedIn profile. If you are interested in the founder side of building The Vizier, I encourage you to follow me there.
Links: Founder LinkedIn | Mizan Interactive LinkedIn | The Vizier Website | Community Discord