Fawzi Mesmar

Last updated


Fawzi Mesmar

Fawzi Mesmar Portrait 2024.jpg


Born
Saudi Arabia
NationalityJordanian
Occupation(s)Creative director, game designer, author, public speaker, mentor
Notable workStar Wars Outlaws, Candy Crush Saga, Sparks of Hope, Battlefield 2042, Star Wars Battlefront 2, Battlefield V
Website Fawzi Mesmar

Fawzi Mesmar is a Jordanian [1] creative director, game designer, leader, and author, known for his work in the video game industry. With over two decades of experience, Mesmar has contributed to the gaming sector across the Middle East, New Zealand, Japan, and Europe. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

He has held roles at companies including Ubisoft, [4] DICE (Electronic Arts), [5] King (Activision Blizzard), Gameloft, Bright Gambit, [6] and Atlus (Sega). [7] [8] [9]

Early Life and Education

Fawzi Mesmar was born in Saudi Arabia. He earned a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the University of Jordan and a Master's degree in Business Administration from Durham University in the United Kingdom. [10]

Career

Game design

Mesmar has worked on over 20 game titles, [11] including:

Writing

Mesmar authored the first textbook on game design in Arabic, titled Al-Khallab on the Art of Game Design [14] . He co-authored nine comic books in the Men of Honor series, [15] which sold five million copies in the Middle East and North Africa region. [9] He is a columnist for Pocket Gamer Arabia and has written extensively on game design. His upcoming book, Demystifying Creativity: On Originality in Game Development, explores creative sobriety and is set to be released around Christmas. [16] [17] [14]

Public speaking

Mesmar frequently speaks at global gaming conventions, including GDC, Pocket Gamer, DICE Awards, Casual Connect and Gamescom Congress. [13]

Additional contributions

Mesmar participates in The Habibis podcast. [18]

Education and mentorship

Mesmar lectures at various game design schools, including Future Games in Stockholm, University of the Arts London, Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, Auckland University of Technology, Media Design School, American University in Cairo, Berlin Games Academy, Jordan Gaming Labs, and Lifeway College in New Zealand. He is also a Google mentor and a jury member at the International Mobile Gaming Awards [19] and Game Developers Choice Awards. Additionally, he co-founded the International Game Design Awards chapter in Berlin, Germany. [20]

E-sports

In his youth, Mesmar was a competitive player, placing 3rd in the national finals of the World Cyber Games in StarCraft: Brood War in 2010 and 5th in the national finals of Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition in 2012. [8]

Awards and recognitions

Fawzi Mesmar received awards such as the 2024 Game Developers Choice Ambassador Award [21] [22] , the Game Design Hero 2020 from Game Dev Heroes [5] and recognition in the Gamesindustry.biz 100 Game Changers. [23] He also won the Design and Pitch Challenge Champion 2022, [4] received recognition from The Game Awards 2022. [19] [24] [22] [25] [26]

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