Gateways Creative and UX Woman Join Forces to Launch Interactive Gaming Cinescapes in Record Time
March 11, 2026
The partnership brings together creative storytelling and UX strategy to build a new hub for immersive gaming and interactive experiences.
What happens when two people quit their corporate day jobs to chase their creative and entrepreneurial dreams? Apparently…you launch four interactive gaming experiences in Philadelphia’s Fishtown in under eight months.
Anthony Nardone and Samaya Sinha first met over seven years ago in grad school at the University of Pennsylvania’s two-year Integrated Product Design Master’s Program—a cross-disciplinary creative studio spanning Penn Engineering, Wharton, and the School of Design.
After graduation, their careers took very different paths. Samaya dove into UX design and research, eventually working at Disney and leading product design initiatives across the company’s streaming brands, including Disney+, Hulu, Marvel, ABC, ESPN, and Star. Anthony headed west to pursue engineering at SpaceX—but never stopped tinkering with the immersive gaming ideas he had dreamed up in grad school.
Big-name brands? Check.
Dream jobs? Sure.
But something was still missing: the creative itch to build something new. That’s when things started to get interesting. UX Woman was born after Samaya left Disney to strike out on her own, launching an education and creative design company focused on helping women, immigrants, people of color, and LGBTQ professionals break into tech and earn six-figure careers. Today, UX Woman provides free UX education to over 75,000 learners worldwide, with a mission to make design knowledge more accessible as the company grows.
As the brand expanded, the UX Woman team began collaborating with clients like Gateways Creative, working in rapid design sprints to shape the user experience of several games in the Gateways portfolio. Meanwhile, Anthony had left SpaceX to turn his immersive gaming concepts into reality—launching a Philly-based interactive gaming studio right in the heart of Fishtown.
The result? Something they call “cinescapes.” Think cinematic storytelling meets escape rooms, with immersive challenges designed for both single-player and multi-player experiences. It’s the perfect post-dinner adventure to tackle with a group of friends.
Despite their very different creative perspectives—and the fact that they argued through nearly every grad school project they worked on together—Anthony and Samaya have learned to appreciate just how well their skillsets complement each other. Anthony brings deep engineering expertise to the Gateways experiences, building the physical environments and interactive components that power each game room. The UX Woman team designed the digital interfaces for the games—everything from timers and status updates to messaging systems and interaction patterns between players, especially in games that combine solo and team gameplay.
Getting everything ready for the April 18 grand opening in Fishtown wasn’t exactly simple.The biggest challenge? Building three worlds at once: the physical gaming space, the interactive hardware, and the digital gameplay systems. Anthony spent long days in the machine shop crafting components, while the UX Woman team collaborated with Kevin to design the UI and game systems for each experience.
The glue that brought it all together? Storytelling. Every Gateways cinescape features original characters, a narrative arc, unexpected plot twists, and a series of challenges players must solve together.
So what kind of adventures are waiting inside? You might captain your own pirate ship, directing your crew to outmaneuver a rival ship in battle. Or jump into the chaos of a rush-hour shift at Rossi’s Diner, racing another team to keep customers happy and orders perfectly timed.
Feeling brave? Step into a haunted mansion filled with restless ghosts—and complete a heartfelt challenge before they get to it first. Or test your reflexes across a fast-paced series of mini-games as the clock counts down.
At Gateways, every experience blends story, strategy, and just the right amount of friendly competition. And it all started with two former grad school classmates who decided it was finally time to build the thing they had been dreaming about for years. Dreams turned into ownership— building something tangible to support beloved communities.
“I thought working with Gateways Cinescape on their immersive game project would be easy, straightforward, and a good experience--I was so wrong! It was interesting, dynamic and creatively inspiring; it was a GREAT experience. The design team transformed a wall of text and conversations with a passionate CEO into an immersive game experience -- the kind that a child will talk about into retirement age. That's the magic of UX Woman; not only is it a fun container to learn design thinking, as fresh designers, we got to put our new skills into action immediately through strategic consulting partnerships. I can't wait to be at the Gateways Cinescape launch Spring 2026!! “ says Erica, Senior Service Designer.
Indeed, UX design, especially for games, should feel like a playful experience where creatives work through the uncertainty within the project itself, past their fears and doubts about the final outcome, past their anxiety surrounding a tight timeline and all game materials being created in parallel. Challenging yet interesting client projects like the collaboration with Gateways teaches creatives how to take ownership of their creative visions, influencing leaders to consider new perspectives and dream up new ways of doing things.
“Watching the design come together so beautifully made all the effort worth it. More than anything, this experience reminded me that when you treat the work seriously, it shows in the final result,” says Daniela, Senior UX Designer.
So are you ready to play? Join the waitlist for Gateways grand opening this spring! Or are you ready to get your own creative juices flowing? Join UX Woman’s next live design cohort for the Fall of 2026!
