Rosie Gao

Gameplay & Mission Designer
Narrative Systems & Worldbuilding
Design-leaning Producer & Coordinator

Education

University of Southern California
M.F.A in Game and Interactive Media
2022 - 2025

New York University
B.S. in Interactive Media Arts,
Minor in Creative Writing
2017 – 2021

Project Experience

Mission Designer
Banana Republic
Present

Lead Narrative Designer
Desol
Present

Creative Director
Alibi
2024 - 2025

Associate Director, UIUX Designer
How to Pet Your Cat
2024

Associate Director, Level Designer
InSync
2024 - 2025

Design Lead, Quest Designer
Abort: The Exile
2023 - 2024

Narrative Designer, Writer
Installation Wizard
2023 - 2024

Narrative Designer, Writer
Grandma Green
2022 - 2023

Narrative Designer, Writer
Machine Heart
2022 - 2023

Employment

UX Designer
DaChu Interactive
Present

Cinematic Designer
SEASUN GAMES
2021 - 2022

UIUX Design Intern
Alipay (Shanghai)
2021

User Research Intern
Microsoft (Chengdu)
2020

Manager Assistant Intern
Microsoft Professional Program
2018

Academic Roles

Student Assistant
Game Development Principle, Tabletop RPG, Game System Design
USC Games
2023-2025

Information Assistant
NYU Academic Resource Center
2018

Awards

A MAZE. / Berlin Explorer Award Winner 2026

IGF alt.ctrl.GDC Finalist
2025

MUSE Creative Awards Gold Winner 2026

Exhibition

The Mix @SFMOMA 2026,
GDC 2025,
Day of the Devs 2025,
IGN Live 2025,
CatCon 2025,
USC Games Expo (2023, 2025)

Last Updated 25.11.05

Banana Republic

Technical Narrative Designer

Banana Republic is a narrative driven FPS built in Unreal Engine, placing players in the boots of a regular soldier during a rebel takeover of the Supreme Court. The experience focuses on tense, room to room escalation, moral ambiguity, and information control as the player navigates shifting loyalties inside a collapsing institution.

Info

Duration: Jan 2026 - Present
Genre: Narrative FPS, Serious Game, Historical Game
Engine: Unreal Engine 5
Length：30 minutes (in development)
Team Size: ~15
Role: Narrative Designer, Writer

Players move through the Supreme Court as it falls under siege, encountering civilians, rebels, and military personnel whose motives are partial and often contradictory. Story is delivered through in scene dialogue, overheard conversations, and environmental cues that reframe objectives as the situation evolves. The goal is to keep the player grounded in a human scale perspective while the larger political conflict unfolds around them.

Contributions

Dialogue and Scene Writing

Wrote and revised core dialogue sequences for key encounters, focusing on clarity under stress, pacing, and consistent character voice.

Narrative Scripting and Data Setup

Authored Yarn Spinner scripts with branching logic, variables, and state notes, and supported Unreal implementation through DataTable friendly content organization and naming conventions.

Encounter Beats and Player Information Design

Partnered with narrative design and level design to define scene goals, escalation beats, and information reveals, ensuring each encounter communicates intent without over relying on UI.

Iteration and Cross Discipline Collaboration

Worked closely with design, engineering, and production to iterate quickly, adjusting scripts and beats to match level constraints, trigger logic, and playtest feedback.

Narrative System Design and Implementation