Interview: Jose Pavli, Dawn Aerowar Audioplay (Pre-Release 2026)
A spoiler free interview shortly before release of this ambitious project on November 10, 2026
Dawn Aerowar Audioplay by Neïwa Interactive is "on final approach" with its release day being November 10, 2026. At first glance it may seem like it is the latest flight shooter game to hit the market. Grab your controller, get out there and win the war as the big hero! Right? ...not in this case.
Dawn is a rather unique project. It is an animated film that blends hand drawn 2D art, 3D animation and full voice acting with interactive elements. It tells the story of a lone ace pilot that has survived through a long war. The story follows their final mission driven by pure revenge against a global empire that took everything from him and his allies.
We first covered Dawn shortly before its Kickstarter began in 2021 by interviewing Jose Pavli, the director, editor and composer of Dawn. At the time he was fresh from his work as the composer of Project Wingman. Years passed, his creative efforts continued and once again we have made contact with Jose Pavli during the final pre-release rush of Dawn for another interview.
The interviewer is Aaron "Ribbon-Blue" Mendoza of Skyward Flight Media who backed the original Kickstarter as an individual and maintained support of the project.
Hello! It has been quite some time since we last spoke, but you certainly have been busy since then. What have you been up to since 2021?
Hello! Yes it’s been a while. I’ve worked on many exciting projects since we last spoke. I’ve worked on some very exciting games, and some films as well.
I also managed to get the opportunity to score my first Japanese anime, which is something I would like to do more from now on, as an anime enjoyer.
I’m currently working on Delivery Must Complete and some unannounced games. But I have to admit, Dawn took a big part of my time these past few years. It was the first time I had to edit, direct, edit dialogue and produce a whole project, so I learnt a lot along the way, but it took a lot of time.
We last spoke about just a bit before the Kickstarter ended in 2021. Not only was the project fully funded in three days, it was 186% funded by the end of the campaign. Looking back at it now, how do you feel about the project starting like that?
It was amazing. To be honest I did not expect the community to be so supportive and I believe it is one of the reasons the scope has changed and I got carried away during development. I really wanted to do justice to all those who supported us. However, it has caused a fair amount of delay, but I can’t thank the team enough for staying on the project and believing in the final result during all those years.
It is a long time between 2021 and 2026. Dawn is now on track to release rather soon. While work with the cast of well established voice actors and actresses completed some time ago, has the core team of Neïwa Interactive changed at all?
Yes, the team today has changed a lot. As you can imagine, many things can happen in 5 years. Some key 2D artists left right after the Kickstarter, once the funds were already distributed. This has caused a lot of delay because additional funds were needed to hire new artists, and we had to find someone who could remain true to the original style. After a few months gathering that money and searching for artists, Matt recommended Argent Moon to me. She literally saved the project with her talent and her dedication, working at an impressive pace and delivering amazing shots on a daily basis. She also worked on the UI elements of the player.
Luzaitis also did a great job, starting as a junior artist who was supposed to help clean up shots and do concept art, and ending up drawing full sequences and even animating them.
Then, I can’t talk about the team without mentioning Nadir Sanna, who animated 90% of the 2D shots, under short deadlines as well. Later on, the scope became too large for only one artist, so Ashen Lilly joined the project to help Argent Moon with the 2D illustrations. He did a great job illustrating the missing episodes in his style, while keeping a consistent art style, so you don’t notice the change of artist in between episodes.
I also have to mention my friend Calvin Romeyn, who is a professional VFX artist, and animated the last episode completely. I can’t say more about that last episode, but when you see it you will understand that the 2D animation was a huge joint effort, with Argent Moon on the art and Calvin on the animation.
As for the rest of the team, Creditian Istani (Mobiusu14) has been so reliable and professional despite the huge amount of work, going from a 30-minute audio drama to a full two-hour animation. I’ve had to ask for many additional shots, and he always delivered without knowing too much about the context of what I was asking for. It’s thanks to him that we managed to extend the scope of the project, without losing quality.
Anize did an amazing job with sound fx and mixing. I’m still amazed at how the episodes always changed completely every time he added sounds on top of my edit. Amazing work.
As for my friend Matt, he wrote the script at the beginning of production, but always kept an eye on it during production, and was an amazing VO Casting Director. He also was a very important sidekick, sharing wise advice when I was not sure we could make it to the finish line, or how to do it.
Long story short, if Dawn is releasing today it’s thanks to all of them. I would like everyone to realize what a feat it is to pull off a two-hour feature animation, with the resources and the manpower we had. We all hope that everyone will enjoy the amount of effort and passion put into this project.
Dawn received its first major update in quite some time on March 28th, 2026. There had been a large gap in communications. It sounds like the project grew far beyond the 30 minute to 45 minute product that was promised in the Kickstarter. In my opinion, I think most people are used to Kickstarters not quite delivering on promises rather than delivering more than promised but timelines changed. How did this happen?
I think I have answered this question a little bit earlier. But I’m mostly responsible for it. While it was not intended, as we were making progress I saw so much potential every time Mobius was delivering shots, and while I was reading the script, that I couldn’t just cut bits of the script, or make them just an audiobook section like it was initially planned.
One thing was for sure: I wanted this project to succeed, which is why I never quit despite all the troubles we encountered during production. Looking back at it, I would do it quite differently today. I’m lucky because the team followed, but it was a huge amount of work, and next time I would plan differently and make sure to lock the scope and not misjudge the amount of work needed, before going into production.
I hope they are proud of what they’ve done, because in the end, if I removed the “Animated Aerowar Audioplay” from the title, it’s because together we made an animation.
With the film now almost two hours long, I cannot help but wonder if the story or format changed greatly from the original concept. Are there any non-spoiler changes you can discuss or describe the general process?
The concept has certainly changed. As for the story, it’s mostly the ending that has changed. Most of it is what we discussed initially with Matt, when I told him the kind of story I wanted for Dawn. We couldn’t agree on the ending. I initially decided to keep the one he originally wrote, but then with the scope extending and after watching the first episodes while I was editing it, I changed my mind. Not because I didn’t trust what he made, but because I felt that considering how the story was unfolding with visuals, music, sounds, etc, it needed something different from what we initially planned. It is not a surprise, because the product itself was different from what was initially planned and was not an audioplay anymore.
So, I did some rewriting to fit the new ending to the story, but most of it is still about the last sortie of a pilot who lost everything, burnt by revenge. It is somber, epic and fast paced.
To this day I cannot think of similar aviation focused project in this format. If someone were to ask you what an interactive film is, what would your quick pitch be?
Dawn gives you the choice: Cinematic Mode or Operations Mode.
Cinematic Mode is just the full film, and allows you to watch the 12 episodes from start to finish without interruption.
Operations Mode lets you go back to a War Room before and after each episode. You unlock additional lore elements about the episode you watched, and you can follow Zodiac’s missions on Dawn’s World Map. It’s a nice addition, but the core product is the film. Everything around it is the icing on the cake, so to speak.
Looking at the Steam page, there are parts of Dawn that look similar to standard flight action shooter scenes between missions. Changing radio frequencies, dossiers and debriefings - what are the interactive elements players will be engaging with?
To be honest, the decision of turning it into an interactive film was mostly to fit on Steam. We promised the film on Steam so it was important we could deliver. So to be clear, Dawn is an animation. That’s the core product. However, with the story extending and the fact that a lot of things happen during it, I wanted to give the opportunity to the viewer to get some additional lore elements. That’s why we made the War Room, which acts like a debriefing room in between episodes, to read additional lore elements about the episodes you just watched. The player also gives you access to all the radio comms from the film, without music and SFX, plus some details dossiers about each character, place and story elements. It’s a good way to catch up if you missed anything.
Because this is interactive, I have to ask this question. While the story is 12 episodes long, it is not possible to miss anything in one playthrough right? As it is still a film I assume that it does still have a set ending or is it possible to miss something and have to do multiple playthroughs?
As I said above, Dawn is a linear story, it’s a film. Everything around it is to create a bit more immersion, and additional info about the lore, which I really like writing. Worldbuilding is something I enjoy in my free time, so I’m excited to read what everyone thinks of Dawn’s universe and lore. It’s something small because it is only about what you see in the story, but I still think it’s something cool to have. You can have multiple playthroughs but it’s like rewatching a film. One playthrough will unlock everything from the War Room.
Scenes with aircraft and combat are all 3D animated. For those curious, what was the general process for getting everything recorded?
Initially the idea came from Mobiusu14’s experiments. He posted a simple shot of 3D planes flying. And it gave me the idea to use this as a visual while releasing new music. Quickly, his work was so good that I started asking for more detailed and cinematic stuff, and he kept delivering. To the point where what he was sending was enough to create a story with. It was only later that we thought about adding real characters and 2D portraits. Then, we needed to give those characters a voice, and that’s how it became an “animated audioplay”. Just by experimenting. At that point, we didn’t really know where we were going. But the reception of the first teaser was so good that we knew the community was craving more flight action content. So, we kept working, and you know the rest!
With as much 3D there is at the heart of this project, even back at the initial announcement of Dawn, I was surprised to see how thoroughly 2D art is incorporated. I’d like to hear your thoughts on Dawn utilizes 2D effectively. Also, because people love numbers, is there an idea of how many 2D frames/images there are in Dawn?
Yes, 2D art is really the key to storytelling. To me, the blend of 2D and 3D shots works really well, thanks to our talented artists. The 2D helped give depth to the characters, and allowed us to go for something more elaborate in terms of storytelling. As for numbers, there are hundreds of 2D images in Dawn.
Musically speaking, back then the soundtrack for Dawn was most likely the first thing that anyone who knows your work was interested in. You have had other musical releases over the years, but it seems like Dawn is set to be your most ambitious project. What are your thoughts on the soundtrack you’ve composed for this?
Honestly, I put the same amount of effort in every project I work on, whether it’s a commission or an hour-long game soundtrack.
So, for Dawn it was the same. The big difference was that I was somehow my own director. It was very exciting to make music for a film I edited myself, because while editing I already had plenty of ideas for the music. So, it was like cooking a nice meal and being very excited to eat it when it comes out of the oven. I was looking forward to creating the music I had in the back of my head for months (or maybe years) during the editing process.
And also, it was like coming back to something I really know how to do, after literally exploring new roles as director, editor, producer and so on.
I felt much more confident when it was time to make music.
Do you feel like your skills in composition have changed or improved throughout the course of Dawn’s development? Were there any tracks in Dawn that were re-written or re-recorded?
Yes definitely. Not only because of Dawn but also because of all the projects I’ve worked on during these years of development. I always try to learn new skills, experiment with new sounds and instruments. I feel I’ve come a long way since my Project Wingman soundtrack, and I think people will notice it in Dawn’s soundtrack.
The soundtrack will feel a little bit different, because the tracks are not meant to be standalone tracks; they were made to fit to picture and support what’s happening on the screen. So listening to them as standalone tracks will feel a little bit different, but for those who have seen the film, it will remind them of key moments and emotions from the film, which I think is also an amazing feeling!
Thank you so much for making time to fit this interview in during the final preparation before the release of Dawn Aerowar Audioplay. I look forward to experiencing what you and the team have put together!
Thank you to every backer who made this film possible and everyone who supported us during all those years of development. I hope you will enjoy watching it. See you in the skies of Dawn!
Connect With Jose Pavli
About the Writer
Co-founder of Skyward Flight Media. After founding Electrosphere.info, the first English Ace Combat database, he has been involved in creating flight game-related websites, communities, and events since 2005. He explores past and present flight games and simulators with his extensive collection of game consoles and computers. [Read Staff Profile]
