Rosie Gao

I’m a game narrative designer,
an interactive media storyteller

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Education

University of Southern California
Game and Interactive Media MFA
2022 - 2025

New York University (NYU)
B.A. in Interactive Media Arts,
Minor in Creative Writing

Shanghai / New York
Sep 2017 – May 2021 (COVID-19 adjusted)

Project Experience

Vestibulum Ultricies
Suspendisse Aenean Vestibulum
2023 - 2024

Pellentesque Habitant
‘Morbi Tristique Senectus’
Nunc Euismod Faucibus,
Porta Libero
2024

Volutpat Ultricies
Curabitur Fringilla Ornare,
Duis Quis
(since 2020)

Employment

Academic Roles

Exhibitions

(upcoming) Tincidunt TBA
Ultricies Ultricies,
Congue Nisl
2024

(upcoming) Vestibulum-Vitae
Auctor Ipsum,
Dictumst Ligula,
Porta Libero
2024

Egestas
Condimentum Senectus,
Purus Aliquet,
Porta Libero
2021

Last Updated 25.06.05

Content Warning: depictions of domestic violence, graphic violence, and supernatural horror imagery.

Abort: The Exile

Design Lead, Quest Designer

A 3D horror adventure where family secrets and silenced spirits resurface through the shadows of Chinese folklore and and patriarchal tradition.

A young boy raised in a patriarchal household was unaware of his family’s darker past. When he falls into a realm haunted by vengeful spirits and demons, he must confront both the terrors before him and the hidden legacy of domestic gendered violence.

Players wield the mystical camera to expose haunted artifacts, while relying on stealth to navigate a forsaken mansion swarming with ghosts. When cornered, a cursed diary invites spirit possession, granting fleeting safety at unknown costs. Blending environmental puzzles, non-combat stealth, and nerve-wracking QTEs, the design twists folklore and family trauma into an unsettling journey that echoes the silenced struggles of women and the erased lives of unborn daughters in early 2000s China.

Abort: The Exile earned international recognition as a 2024 Silver Winner at the MUSE Creative Awards for its innovative cross-platform marketing and narrative-driven promotion. That same year, Dual-X Studio received a Silver Award for Redefining Gaming Narratives for Women, a digital manifesto highlighting the team’s mission of inclusivity and innovation in game storytelling.

Info

Duration: Jan 2024 - present
Genre: 3D Psychological Horror, Action-Adventure, Narrative Puzzle, Indie
Platform: PC and Mac
Engine: Unity
Design Team Size: ~8
Links: Steam Page | Instagram | Kickstarter | RED (Xiaohongshu)
Role: Design Lead, Quest Designer

Contributions

Designed the game’s core interaction loop and narrative-integrated puzzles, introducing the possession mechanic that enabled a key female character to emerge naturally through gameplay.

Co-led a design team of 8, guiding Chinese horror–themed puzzle design discussions and consolidating ideas into quest design integrated with narrative arcs, level design, and thematic metaphors.

Contributed heavily to worldbuilding and character design, gamifying fiction into the game macro and creating key enemies such as Gaia the Wrathful and Virgos.

Mentored cross-disciplinary teammates, helping literary-focused writers transition into game development and facilitating collaboration between the narrative and design departments.

See more:
[Co-leading Game Design in Abort →] [Quest Design in Abort →]