imaginarylab co-founder talks Whirlight: No Time to Trip

Last month, we got to go to PAX East and try some fun and refreshing indie video games for three lovely days. One of said games we spent our time on was Whirlight: No Time to Trip.

In Whirlight, you play as Hector, a genius who ends up finding himself time traveling as he and his friend, Margaret, try and stop something awful from happening to the world. Whirlight is a point-and-click game with some fun twists like absolutely beautiful graphics, a full voice cast, and puzzles that truly test you.

We got to play a bit of it while at PAX East, and we got to chat about it for a bit as well.

We also got to ask Ciro Camera, Co-Founder of imaginarylab and 3D Environment Artist, a few questions about the game.

imaginarylab Co-Founder talks about Whirlight: No Time to Trip

Camila: Whirlight is a really fun upgrade to point-and-click games, with puzzles that both entertain and stomp you at times. How was the idea for Whirlight born?

Ciro: The seed for Whirlight was planted during one of our regular team calls. Massimo (imaginarylab's second Co-Founder) proposed a story about an inventor who’s brilliant but chronically unlucky, while I was fascinated by the concept of time travel. Davide, as always, brought his signature madness with ideas ranging from quantum mechanics to sandwiches. The combination of these contrasting inputs, grounded, sci-fi, and absurd, gave rise to the tone and concept of Whirlight: No Time to Trip. We wanted to create something that felt classic, but also took some creative risks.

What were some challenges faced during the project?

Time was definitely our biggest challenge. We’re a small indie team with full-time day jobs, so development had to fit around evenings, weekends, and even early mornings. Another challenge was balance between humor and emotion, between complexity and accessibility, and between two protagonists with different personalities. We also had to reinvent some tools and workflows to support the art pipeline we chose: rendering 3D assets into 2D sprites while keeping everything consistent and responsive in Unity. It’s a lot of work, but we hope the result speaks for itself.

Tell me a little about the creating of Verice Bay. I heard that the world was inspired by the Italian towns in which the imaginarylab team lives, taking inspiration from their own hometowns. What cities were those?

Yes, Verice Bay is a love letter to our roots. We’re based in northern Italy, and the city is inspired by a blend of Venice, Burano, and Verona, where we live and work. We actually went out and took reference photos of real streets, piers, and architecture. Some details, like the names of squares or alleyways, are directly borrowed from those locations. We wanted Verice Bay to feel unique, but still grounded in a place that’s lived-in and authentic. It’s fictional, but if you’ve ever walked through an old Italian coastal town, you’ll definitely recognize the atmosphere.

What was the team’s favorite part about this entire project and why?

That’s a hard one because we loved so many aspects. But if we had to pick one, it would probably be crafting the characters and dialogues. Writing Hector and Margaret’s banter, testing jokes, and building scenes around their dynamic was incredibly fun. There’s something special about finding the right balance between clever, ironic humor and genuine emotional beats. Every time a puzzle or cutscene came together and made us laugh, or feel something, we knew we were on the right track. That creative spark is what kept us going through the long nights.

If you could describe Whirlight: No Time to Trip in only three words, which words would you use and why?

Probably whimsical, clever and nostalgic.

Whimsical, because the tone is always playful, even when the stakes are high.

Clever, because of the puzzles, the layered writing, and the story structure.

Nostalgic, because we wanted to recreate the feeling we had playing point-and-click games as kids, while adding our own twist to the genre.

For players who want a familiar-feeling game with a refreshing take and fun story, Whirlight: No Time to Trip should be your next pick. Make sure to visit its Steam page to download the free demo and to keep up with news - the game is set for a 2025 release.