Kan "Reives" Gao

**Kan "Reives" Gao** is a Chinese-Canadian video game developer known for its primary use of RPG Maker XP program, producing narrative-driven games with *To the Moon* and *Finding Paradise* being the most notable projects.

He was the founder and CEO of Canadian independent video game studio founded in 2008, under the name **Freebird Games**. The studio serves as "a personal powerhouse of RPG Maker games" for Gao, describes: "to tell stories that meant something to him".

## History

Gao, initially as a member of RPG Maker community, producing experimental projects on his own since the inaugural release of RPG Maker XP. Following the development of his 2006 game (and his game debut), *Quintessence - The Blighted Venom*; Gao started his own studio under the name in 2008. After the studio's creation, the studio expanded to more employees as his teams include help from Jessica M. Vázquez, James Q. Zhang, Gabriela Aprile, and Lannie Neely III. Kan commissions various talents for resources and labor, but the majority of the work is completed by himself as the only "official" developer.

As a result of production difficulties of *Quintessence - The Blighted Venom* after only eleven episodes were completed, the game was officially cancelled, leaving the rest of latter three episodes unfinished and proceeds to producing his own first project *The Mirror Lied*, released as "freeware". It is described as an abstract short story.

Their second free game *Do You Remember My Lullaby?* was released on December 21, 2008. In 2009, they released a free game *Lyra's Melody - The Song She Whispered to Me*.

### To the Moon

Freebird's first commercial release *To the Moon* was released on November 1, 2011, was a commercial success and received positive reviews. The game features a theme song titled *Everything's Alright* by Laura Shigihara, who also performed a song for the unfinished game *Quintessence: The Blighted Venom*.

At the moment, Gao started his own franchise on its own following the same universe of To the Moon, producing sequels and minisodes.

## Games

The following is a list of games that **Kan Gao** has created or is still being worked on:

* ***Quintessence - The Blighted Venom*** (2006-2008; unfinished)
* ***Do You Remember My Lullaby*** (2008)
* ***The Mirror Lied*** (2011)

### Sigmund Corp. series

* ***To the Moon*** (2011)
* ***Sigmund Minisodes*** (2013, 2015)
* ***A Bird Story*** (2014)
* ***Finding Paradise*** (2017)
* ***Imposter Factory*** (2020)
* *Just A To the Moon Series Beach Episode* (2024)
* *The Last Hour of To the Moon RPG* (2024)

## Style and themes

Gao's projects characterized by the primarily use of RPG Maker XP engine (since 2006) and often heavy story-driven genre with explorations of grief, human condition, parallel memories, and old age.

## External Links

* **Freebird Games Wiki**
* **Wikipedia**
* **To The Moon Wiki**

## References

1. ↑ About | Freebird Games
2. ↑ Freebird Games - About Us. Retrieved on August 23, 2012.
3. ↑ Giant Bomb - To the Moon Credits. Retrieved on October 4, 2012.
4. ↑ Adventure Classic Gaming - Kan Gao Interview. Retrieved on October 4, 2012.
5. ↑ To the Moon for PC Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on August 23, 2012.
6. ↑ To the Moon for PC reviews. GameRankings. Retrieved on August 23, 2012.
7. ↑ Laura Shigihara - Everything's Alright. YouTube (February 2, 2012). Retrieved on August 23, 2012.