rosiegao.com  


Rosie Haoyu Gao


LinkedIn Itch.io 
  • Technical Narrative Designer
  • Interactive Storyteller
  • Cross-discipline Coordinator



Résumé Request Full Version

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 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



EmploymentCinematic Production Intern
SEASUN GAMES
2021 - 2022

UIUX Student Designer
Alipay (Shanghai)
2021

User Research Intern
Microsoft (Chengdu)
2020

Manager Assistant Intern
Microsoft Professional Program
2018

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


Information Assistant
NYU Academic Resource Center
2018



Awards




IGF alt.ctrl.GDC Finalist 
2025

MUSE Creative Awards Silver Winner 2024
Exhibition GDC 2025
Day of the Devs 2025,
IGN Live 2025,
CatCon 2025,
USC Games Expo (2023, 2025)






Last Updated 25.11.05



Desol

Lead Narrative Designer


A open-world survival/exploration game about existential anxiety, resource scarcity, and the search for meaning and truth in a cruel and vast desert world.

Info
  • Duration: May 2025 - Present
  • Genre: Open World, Exploration, Survival
  • Engine: Unity 3D
  • Length:1 hour (in development)
  • Team Size: ~30
  • Role: Lead Narrative Designer, Quest Designer


In Desol, players awaken as a sentient being reborn from water and crystallized will, wandering a harsh desert world that offers little guidance and no promise of survival. With only a trickle of water and the echoes of past lives, the player must navigate shifting dunes, crystalline ruins, and strange philosophical entities in pursuit of the distant Sea, a mythical “Water Paradise” said to end the cycle of rebirth.

Every mountain, dune, and ruin is shaped by erosion and unresolved desires of past explorers. The world is intentionally indifferent, yet subtly responsive: sliding down dunes, climbing rubble, following entity trails, and reading crystal glyphs allow players to piece together what life means in a world without clear purpose.


    Contributions

  • Worldbuilding & Narrative Systems: Designs the world lore and player journey, defined the game’s narrative system, and established writing style guides for consistent tone and thematic cohesion.

  • Open World Structure & Regional Design:  Created the full world map, regional identities, and traversal logic, including terrain difficulty tiers, landmark systems, resource distribution, and the multi-path player journey and Information puzzle toward the Sea.

  • Narrative–Mechanic Integration: Built NPC design frameworks and environmental storytelling nodes, and collaborated with mechanics/level designers to integrate narrative intent with traversal and achievement systems.

    Cross-Disciplinary Direction: Aligned art, level design, and narrative under a unified symbolic visual language and authored clear documentation for team-wide implementation.