Michael Luo
Projects
-> INFO
Play all personal works here:-> itch.io
Game Designer, Media Artist, Educator
Visiting Assistant Professor @Occidental CollegeResident Artist @UCLA Game Lab
Michael Luo is a Los Angeles-based media artist, game maker, and educator who explores interactivity, digital/social culture, and experimental media. He holds an MFA in Design Media Arts from UCLA, where he also completed his BA. Luo’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at LA Artcore, SITE Santa Fe, A MAZE. Festival (Berlin), Playtopia Festival (Cape Town), and the Independent Games Festival. He is currently a Resident Artist at UCLA Game Lab.
-> Education
2023 MFA, UCLA Design Media Arts, Los Angeles, CA, United States
2020 BA, UCLA Design Media Arts, Los Angeles, CA, United States
-> Awards & Grants & Fellowships
2024 Cyberside Picnic, Independent Games Festival, Best Student Game Honorable Mention
2023 Judson-Morrissey Excellence in New Media Award, The New Media Caucus
2023 Juvenoia, Blow-Up Arthouse Filmfest, Semi-Finalist in Animated Film/New Media, Chicago, United States.
2023 Juvenoia, Berlin Kiez Film Festival, Honorable Mention
2022 Press W to Move Forward, FilmGate Interactive Fest #09, Pink Kraken Award Nominee
2022 Juvenoia, CANNES SHORTS, Best Experimental Film Nominee
2022 Museum of Mediocre Appropriations, A MAZE. Games and Playful Media Festival, Honorable Mention
2021 - 2023 UCLA Game Lab Resident Student Artist
2021 UCLA Design | Media Arts MFA Fellowship
2020 UCLA Design | Media Arts Senior Exhibit Award in Interactivity & Games
2019 - 2020 UCLA Game Lab Undergraduate Fellow
-> Selected Exhibitions, Screenings, Publications & Conference Presentations
2025-
Conference Workshop, Digital Games Research Association(DiGRA) Conference at the University of Malta at Valletta, Malta
Juvenoia, Group screening at LA Artcore, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Cyberside Picnic, Cultural Studies Association Conference Exhibition at CalArts, Los Angeles, CA, United States
Cyberside Picnic, Museum of Human Achievements, as a part of Fantastic Arcade, Austin, TX, United States
Various Games, UCLA New Wight Gallery, Group Show COACTION, Los Angeles, CA, United States
2024-
Cyberside Picnic, Artist Talk, Gameplayarts(formerly Killscreen), Los Angeles, CA, United States
Artist Presentation, College Art Association 112th Conference, Panel Presentation, Chicago, IL, United States
Cyberside Picnic, Game Developers Conference, as part of the Independent Games Festival showcase, San Francisco, CA, United States
Cyberside Picnic, LAN Party: Y - Events Series, Group Show with Nathalie Lawhead, Everest Pipkin, and Ville Kallio, Prague, Czech Republic
2023-
Cyberside Picnic, Playtopia Festival, Cape Town, South Africa
Gamer Pessimism, Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts, Conference Presentation, Arizona, United States
Juvenoia, Header/Footer Gallery, Group Exhibition, Online
Worldhacking, FLAT Journal Issue 03: After Tomorrow, Publication, Online
Cyberside Picnic, UCLA Design | Media Arts MFA Final Exhibition, Los Angeles, United States
Juvenoia, Breaking Chains, Group Exhibition at SITE Santa Fe, United States
Juvenoia, Fresh Stream Art Experimental Film Festival, Tbilisi/Online
Juvenoia, Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival, Los Angeles, United States
2022-
Press W to Move Forward, Sicko Showcase 2022, Indiepocalypse, Online
Press W to Move Forward, FilmGate Interactive Fest #09, Miami, Florida, United States
Marinated Guide to Gamemaking, Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association Conference, Los Angeles, United States
Juvenoia, UCLA Design | Media Arts MFA Preview Show, Los Angeles, United States
Marinated Guide to Gamemaking, Meaningful Play, East Lansing, Michigan State University, United States
Museum of Mediocre Appropriations, Museum Without Walls, Toronto, Canada
Marinated Guide to Gamemaking, Electronic Literature Organization Mentoring Exhibition, Italy
Museum of Mediocre Appropriations, A MAZE. Games and Playful Media Festival, Berlin, Germany
2021-
Museum of Mediocre Appropriations, INTERPLAY EXTRAVAGANZA, E.D.A, Los Angeles, United States
Days Dark, CURRENTS New Media Festival, Santa Fe, NM/Online, United States
A Mother’s New Year, Indiepocaplypse #19, Online, United States
A Mother’s New Year, UCLA DMA Senior Exhibit, Los Angeles,
Days Dark, Indiepocaplyse #14, Online Publication
2020-
Everyone in Their Right Place, CULTUREHUB Re-Fest, Los Angeles, CA/Online, United States
Airwaves, Too Many Media, Video Game Review, Online
Days Dark, UCLA DMA Senior Exhibit, Los Angeles, CA/Online
-> Professional Experience
2023–Present
UCLA Game Lab — Resident Artist
- Created experimental interactive works and facilitated public-facing workshops and community projects in alternative game design and digital media art.
2021–2023
UCLA Game Lab — Event Coordinator
- Organized exhibitions, game jams, and community workshops supporting experimental media practices.
2022–2023
Graduate Student Researcher, UCLA Health + Illumination Inc
- Contributed to AR project based on the Minion franchise addressing accessibility and immersive experience design in healthcare contexts.
2020
Game Designer, Heavy Iron Studios / Bandai Namco
- Designed and implemented complex game systems and over 100 levels for PAC-MAN: Mega Tunnel Battle (Unreal Engine).
2019
Game Design Intern, ZeroOne Interactive
- Supported experimental game projects through level design and mechanics prototyping.
2018–2020
Level Designer, Vietnam Romance (with Eddo Stern)
- Contributed to a critically reviewed experimental narrative game exploring American pop-cultural memory of the Vietnam War.
-> Teaching Experience
2023–Present
Occidental College — Visiting Assistant Professor, Media Arts and Culture
- Developed and taught four original undergraduate courses:
- Game Studies
- Game Design/Production
- Media, Bodies, and Space
- Digital Media Arts Theory
- Emphasized critical and practice-based methodologies, merging theoretical frameworks with hands-on media making.
- Organized Occidental Cinematheque public screening and workshop events, fostering campus-community engagement and showcasing student media works.
- Skills covered: Unity programming, generative art, experimental games, speculative interfaces, media theory.
2022 - Present
UCLA Game Lab Summer Institute — Instructor (College-Level)
- Designed and delivered intensive courses in Worldbuilding and Unity Programming for pre-college and college students with no prior technical background.
- Focused on accessible, creative use of game engines for interactive storytelling and digital worldbuilding.
- Managed cohorts of up to 80 students, earning consistently high student evaluations.
2021–2023
UCLA Design | Media Arts — Teaching Assistant
- Supported courses including:
- Game Design
- Interactivity
- Media/Design Theory
- Senior Capstone in Interactivity
- Mentored students on both conceptual and technical aspects of game development and digital media projects.
- Collaborated on curriculum design and led lab instruction in Unity, C#, generative art, and critical media practice.
2020–2021
UCLA Game Lab Summer Institute — Teaching Assistant (College-Level)
Assisted in foundational courses on Worldbuilding, Unity Programming, and C# Scripting, emphasizing creative, accessible entry points into game design.