Our Members
Aurora Liu
Artist
Aurora is a 3D Character Artist specializing in creating expressive and production-ready characters for games. With a strong foundation in modeling and texturing, she also serves as an Animation TA focusing on rigging, ensuring characters are both visually compelling and technically functional. Her work bridges artistic vision and gameplay performance, supporting immersive and polished interactive experiences.
Zhanqi Yang
Artist
Zhanqi Yang is a 2D Illustrator graduate from the School of Visual Arts (SVA), and currently exploring more of 3D art, mainly focusing on environmental and still life modeling. In the project Hello Alice, she worked as the art lead and handled both 2D and 3D environment modeling and design. In the Ascent projecr, continuing to design stylized 3D environments.
Jiakun Wu
Designer / Co-Producer
Jiakun is a game designer who fonds of level, puzzle, and narrative design. She earned her degree in both Duke University and Duke Kunshan University with an interdisciplinary background in psychology and behavioral science. She did neuroscience researches on nonhuman primates and made individual projects on various kinds of games, including platform, narrative, and desktop multiplayer games. Her main goal here is to design meaningful and engaging games that spark reflection while staying fun and accessible.
Joshua Kaplan
Programmer
Josh Kaplan is a programmer, game designer, and experience designer with a background in Computer Science, Math, and Cognitive Science from Cornell University. Their goal is to create wonder and play through experiences that encourage people think in new ways and form deeper connections. They enjoy using their skills to create immersive, magical worlds. Josh’s past work at the ETC includes the Spelunx Cavern Toolkit and the Billy Jo Jive Escape Room Experience.
Yicheng (Ethan) Zhu
Programmer
Ethan Zhu brings to the ETC his lifelong passion for both playing and modifying video games. His hobby was turned into a dream after his first encounter with the ETC at the NHSGA program in 2017, where he got his first taste of game development. After his graduation from Purdue University and two years of professional experience as a Software Engineer, he made his return to the ETC as a student once more, and wishes to leverage his technical capabilities and modding experience to excel as a game designer in the video game industry.
Haoyi (Steve) Wang
Producer
Steve Wang is a current student and designer–producer at CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center with a B.A. in Digital Narrative & Interactive Design from Pitt. His background sits at the intersection of games, storytelling, and interdisciplinary education. At the ETC, he’s focused on rapid prototyping, systems balance, and team production that ships. Steve’s goal is to create accessible, systems-driven games that turn complex ideas into intuitive play.
Liam Neely
External Sound Designer
Liam Neely is a Pittsburgh-based interactive musician studying Electronic Music at Carnegie Mellon University and also doing work with CMU’s Entertainment Technology Center. They strive to combine their passions of music composition and creative coding by creating interactive media such as musical installations and electronic instruments. Additionally, they have backgrounds in sound design for video games and film.
