Fawzi Mesmar

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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] He lectures at institutions such as the University of London of Fine art and NYU. He is on the board of education at Future Games in Stockholm and mentors through programs like Google and the So-Fu Project, supported by the Japanese government.

Additional Contributions

Mesmar is also a jury member for awards such as the BAFTAs, the International Mobile Games Awards, and the Game Developers Choice Awards. He co-founded the IGDA chapter in Berlin and participates in The Habibis , a podcast about Arab culture, game development, and creativity, alongside fellow Arab game developers Rami Ismail and Osama Dorias.

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 [18] and Game Developers Choice Awards. Additionally, he co-founded the International Game Design Awards chapter in Berlin, Germany. [19]

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 has been honored with several prestigious awards, reflecting his significant impact on the gaming industry. Notable accolades include the 2024 Game Developers Choice Ambassador Award [20] [21] , the Game Design Hero 2020 from Game Dev Heroes [5] and recognition in the Gamesindustry.biz 100 Game Changers. [22] He also won the Design and Pitch Challenge Champion 2022, [4] received recognition from The Game Awards 2022 [18] [23] as one of the “50 inspiring individuals,”." [21] [24] [25]

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References

  1. 1 2 Goose, The (2022-03-02). ""I was a kid in Jordan saying that I wanted to make videogames in Japan. People thought I was crazy"". The Great Journey. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  2. ↑ "fawzi mesmar". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  3. ↑ "Fawzi Mesmar". Clash of Realities. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  4. 1 2 "Fawzi Mesmar Named As Ubisoft's New Vice President of Editorial". Ubisoft News. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  5. 1 2 "Fawzi Mesmar, Head Designer at DICE and winner of the Game Dev Heroes award in 2020 for the category of Game Design! - Mastering Retention". Poddtoppen (in Swedish). Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  6. ↑ "Bright Gambit - A video games funding initiative". brightgambit.com. Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  7. ↑ "International Congress of Arabic Publishing and Creative Industries". International Congress of Arabic Publishing and Creative Industries. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  8. 1 2 "Fawzi Mesmar – Scrum Alliance". Scrum Alliance. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  9. 1 2 "Fawzi Mesmar – Game Dev Heroes" . Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "Fawzi Mesmar – Creative Director". Bayt. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  11. 1 2 "2023 in video games", Wikipedia, 2024-08-06, retrieved 2024-08-06
  12. ↑ "Battlefield 2042", Wikipedia, 2024-08-04, retrieved 2024-08-06
  13. 1 2 INLINGO (2020-12-09). "Interview with Fawzi Mesmar, Head of Design at EA DICE". INLINGO. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  14. 1 2 "Al-Khallab on the Art of Game design (Arabic Edition) – Mesmar, Fawzi: 9781720851431 – AbeBooks". AbeBooks. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  15. ↑ "POW! Agent Hero: Fellows Friday with Suleiman Bakhit | TED Blog". 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  16. ↑ Demystifying Creativity: On Originality in Game Development. London: Routledge. 2022. ISBN   9781032200057 . Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  17. ↑ Mesmar, Fawzi (2018-06-04). Al-Khallab on the Art of Game Design (in Arabic). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN   978-1-7208-5143-1.
  18. 1 2 "International Mobile Gaming Awards", Wikipedia, 2024-05-05, retrieved 2024-08-07
  19. ↑ "Fawzi Mesmar – Frequent Collaborators (Companies)". MobyGames. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  20. ↑ "Ubisoft's Fawzi Mesmar Honored with Ambassador Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards". Ubisoft News. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  21. 1 2 "Game Developers Choice Awards", Wikipedia, 2024-06-10, retrieved 2024-08-06
  22. ↑ GamesIndustry.biz Staff, GamesIndustry biz Staff (2020-12-11). "GI 100 Game Changers -- Part Five". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2024-08-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ↑ Awards, The Game. "Future Class | The Game Awards". Future Class | The Game Awards. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  24. ↑ "Game Dev Heroes 2020 Winners – Game Dev Heroes" . Retrieved 2024-08-06.
  25. ↑ "Awards". Fawzi Mesmar. 2020-10-16. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
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