ARTICLES

IGN - MIDAUTUMN (2021)

Midautumn Is a Hades-esque Roguelike About Asian Diaspora and Demon Gentrification


For Mosser's part on the environments, she's been making pixel art since she was young, but with Midautumn wanted to do something that both incorporated the themes and roots of the game while also looking very different from anything else that was out there.


"One problem I have with pixel art games is they can feel very samey a lot of the time, because they all draw from the same references," she says. "It gets into this cycle of people referencing the same few games, like Earthbound or Pokemon or Final Fantasy. So you end up with styles that look very similar to each other."

INTERVIEWS

Womenize! – Inspiring Stories

Kiana Mosser

Womenize! – Inspiring Stories is a weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech.


Having a background in both science and art is rather rare. Would you say that this combination has an impact on the way you approach your work?
Absolutely! I think art and science are two sides of the same coin. Science is the study of the nature, behavior, and underlying structure of the natural world, whereas art is the creation and depiction of imaginary worlds, in which you get to define your own principles for how the imaginary world should exist. In many ways artists and scientists pursue and utilize the same knowledge and have similar strategies, but for different purposes.


There’s a common misconception that you either have a creative art brain or an analytical science brain and if you’re stuck with one, then you can’t develop the other. In truth, science requires creativity and art requires analysis. That’s why I always feel surprised when someone of either profession tells me that they can’t fathom what the other is like or don’t think they could do it in a million years. 

PODCASTS

ACM STUDIO @ UCLA - GAME JAMMIN (2022)

Episode 2: Animator & Game Artist, Kiana Mosser

Game Jammin is a podcast for aspiring video game developers, aimed to provide encouragement and insight to anyone interested in the craft of making games. Presented by ACM Studio at UCLA, each episode features personal conversations with devs in the early stages of their careers across different aspects of game development.


Peter Sutarjo chats with independent game-artist and animator, Kiana Mosser, about her lifelong fascination with video games and how she learned art, animation, and programming. Together, they discuss her experience as an artist working on Super Meat Boy Rival Rush and Super Meat Boy Forever; how she manages her time between game development and a full-time software engineer; and advice for artists to overcome art block and motivational hurdles.

NEW GAME PLUS (2020)

Episode 243: Joust ft. Kiana Mosser

New Game Plus Podcast is a weekly retro gaming podcast where three guys spend seven days playing one old game, and then they talk about it.  


Special guest Kiana Mosser joins the ostrich riding knights in Episode 243: Joust.

THE PIXEL PODCAST (2020)

Ep. #9 featuring @KianaMosser

A podcast that brings on people from the pixel art community to talk about things ranging from art to games and everything in between! In this episode, we talked about my work as a coder and pixel artist in the community and our opinions on various topics.

EXHIBITIONS

Frog Con (2022)

Froggy Artist

Frog Con is a virtual convention featuring all things frogs!

A+D Museum - Designing Worlds Exhibition (2020)

Pinball Gardener Featured

The A+D Architecture and Design Museum is an inclusive center for design
that encompasses architecture, interiors, landscape, fashion, product, graphic, and film/theater design. Their interactive online presence gives them the opportunity to host exhibits and events around the globe. Through exhibits, symposia, multi-disciplinary projects, educational and community programming, the A+D serves as a platform for contemporary issues in architecture, urbanism, and design.


Designing Worlds was an online exhibition highlighting a small selection of groundbreaking video games and their designers as part of a larger narrative about the future of gameplay mechanics, and the importance of virtual space as it relates to communication, culture, and community.

FILM FESTIVALS

Los Angeles Animation Festival (2018)

Changyou's Journey

November 30 – December 2, 2018

MayFlower Club, 11110 Victory Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91606

6th Ajyal Film Festival – Presented by Doha Film Institute, Qatar (2018)

Changyou's Journey

November 28 – December 3, 2018, Qatar

San Diego Asian Film Festival (2018)

Changyou's Journey

Sunday November 11, 2018

UltraStar Mission Valley in Hazard Center: #100, 7510 Hazard Center Dr, San Diego, CA 92108


Entire creative team Q&A!

Coronado Island Film Festival (2018)

Changyou's Journey

Saturday November 10, 2018
Black Box Theater, 650 D Avenue, Coronado, California 92118

2018 National YoungArts Week (2018)

Changyou's Journey

New World Center, 8 pm, January 10, 2018, Miami, FL


21st TIFF Kids Toronto International Kids Film Festival (2018)

Changyou's Journey

March 8-19, 2018, Toronto, Canada

San Diego Premiere – Hosted by Pacific Arts Movement (2018)

Changyou's Journey

6:30 pm, March 22, 2018, Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA), Balboa Park
Introduction by Brian Hu, Artistic Director, Pacific Arts Movement


13th Poppy Jasper International Film Festival (2018)

Changyou's Journey

April 5-8, 2018, Morgan Hill, California


8th Capital City Film Festival (2018)

Changyou's Journey

April 11-15, 2018, Lansing, Michigan


3rd Film Now Festival (2018)

Changyou's Journey

Second place in the Documentary category

April 15, 2018, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania
Screening & Reception: Sunday April 15, 2018, Ambler Theater, 108 E. Butler Ave, PA 19002


20th Sarasota Film Festival (2018)

Changyou's Journey

April 13-22, 2018, Sarasota, Florida
Regal Hollywood 11 Cinemas, HOLLYWOOD NIGHTS Young Filmmaker Showcase

27th Arizona International Film Festival (2018)

Changyou's Journey

April 18-29, 2018, Tucson, Arizona

2nd Imagination Lunchbox International Children’s Film Festival (2018)

Changyou's Journey

April 19, 2018, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Parkway Theatre, 5 W North Ave. Baltimore, MD 21201

20th Newport Beach Film Festival (2018)

Changyou's Journey

April 26 – May 3, 2018, Newport Beach, California

34th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (2018)

Changyou's Journey

Screening: 11 am, Saturday May 5, 2018
Japanese American National Museum, 100 N Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012

15th International Children’s Film Festival (2018)

Changyou's Journey

April 25th – May 12th, 2018, Istanbul, TURKEY

San Diego VIP Donors Screening & Discussion (2018)

Changyou's Journey

Saturday 3 – 4:30 pm, May 26, 2018
11525 Sorrento Valley Rd. #A, San Diego, CA 92121 

Carnegie Hall Scholastic National Gold Medal Award & New York Life Foundation Awards Ceremony (2018)

Changyou's Journey

June 7, 2018, 6:00 – 7:15 pm, Carnegie Hall, New York, New York 10019

Art. Write. Now Exhibit – Scholastic Art & Writing National Awards Winners Art Exhibit (2018)

Changyou's Journey

June 1-10, 2018
Pratt Institute’s Pratt Manhattan Gallery
144 W. 14th St. 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10011

Scholastic Art & Writing National Awards Winners Showcase (2018)

Changyou's Journey

Friday 11-2, June 8, 2018
Venue – Sheila Johnson Design Center, Kellen Auditorium, Parsons School of Design, 2 West 13th St, New York, NY 10011

Cornell University Screening (2018)

Changyou's Journey

Saturday 2:15 – 2:45 pm, June 9, 2018
B09, Sage Hall, Johnson School of Management, Cornell University

Indy Shorts International Film Festival, Presented by Heartland Films (2018)

Changyou's Journey

An Oscar-qualifying Film Festival.

Friday July 27, 2018, 4:45 pm & Saturday July 28, 2018, 12:00 pm
Venue – Newfields: 4000 Michigan Rd, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208  


Palm Springs International Animation Festival & Expo (2018)

Changyou's Journey

August 22 – 26, 2018

INTERNATIONAL FAMILY FILM FESTIVAL (2004?)

Animal Protection Agency

Runner-up in the Youth (under 18) category for the original short film, Animal Protection Agency. Animated in stop motion, with construction paper characters and backgrounds.