Rosie Haoyu Gao

A game narrative designer,
An interactive media storyteller

About Me
Contact
LinkedIn

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
Unannounced Thesis Game
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

Cinematic 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 Roles

Student 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

InSync

Assistant Director, Lead Level Designer

An interactive blindfolded maze that responds to touch through multi-sensory environment and an animatronic creature.

In this large-scale(15ft²) experimental installation, players don a blindfold and step into darkness as explorers. Guided only by hearing, touch, and instinct, they navigate a surreal cavern of shifting sensations in search of a fantastic creature dwelling deep within its nest.

InSync returns to the most intuitive forms of bodily interaction: moving, listening, and feeling through hand and foot. A real-time pressure sensor network and dynamic soundscapes render the maze alive and responsive. At its heart waits Omu, a furred animatronic creature that extends this interactive language. Through movement, breath, calls, and a pulsing body driven by a behavior tree, Omu is to build a multi-sensory bond with players beyond words and social identities.

InSync was showcased at the USC Games Expo 2025, where nearly a hundred players reserved and completed the experience. The installation impressed audiences ranging from themed entertainment professionals to international visitors. Many players described the encounter as “unlike anything before”, “beyond words”, and “unforgettable.”

Info

Duration: May 2024 - May 2025
Genre: Interactive Installation, Themed Entertainment, Immersive Experience
Form： Interactive maze installation (15 ft²) featuring an animatronic creature
Length：10 - 15 min
Team Size: 22
Links: Website
Role: Assistant Director, Lead Level Designer

Contributions

Assisted the Creative Director in managing a 22-person team, bridging development, set building, design, usability, and art team to maintain communication and a shared vision.

Directed designers and set builders through rounds of testing and iteration, leading to the design, planning and construction of a 15 ft² maze installation built with recycled wood.

Led the design and implementation of worldbuilding, narrative design, and material design across the maze’s four distinct zones, including practical set dressing.

Coordinated all aspects of exhibition logistics: team management, venue setup, storage and transportation, player onboarding and guidance, reservation scheduling, and training team members in each of these processes.

See more:
[Assisting Direction in InSync →] [Leading Maze Design in InSync →]