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about me

My name’s Ziad! I’m a Cologne Game Lab BA graduate with a particular interest in mechanical design and games history. My studies cover theory and practice in equal measure: I’ve come to develop both a detailed understanding of what I value in games, as well as gain rich hands-on experience across wildly different genres, working with a diverse and wonderful set of people.

My approach to game design aims for clarity and richness. I don’t take the player’s time for granted and respect their intelligence, so it’s crucial to break down artificial barriers and make things as intuitive as possible. However, this shouldn’t come at the cost of interesting choices and situations: the best games are those that build cohesive mechanical universes of constant interaction and feedback. The best games make this look incredibly simple, but I believe that arriving at true simplicity requires hard work, thought and iteration.

For collaborative projects, I’ve mainly contributed by shaping the overall design direction, tweaking game balance specifics and handling sound. However, I also enjoy having full control over my solo-projects, and when I’m allowed to go hands-on with the code, I get very particular about control and design specifics. My formal education in programming and art is limited, but I bring a unique and scrappy style to both disciplines. I’m very comfortable in the Godot engine, but I also have experience with Unity and GameMaker.

My interest in game design further manifests in the form of critique. I started producing video essays in 2019 and have since expanded to live streams and short form content; however even in those more casual formats, I try to maintain an analytical slant, evaluating a given game’s overall design first and foremost. So far I haven’t had an opportunity to pursue this type of work in a consistent self-sustaining capacity, but even so I’ve managed to land a number of successes, both in terms of view counts and intellectual gratification.

I use those same skills to handle post-production for other creators; namely video and audio editing, but also thumbnail and general graphic design. I pride myself in fast and clean work, with professional and polished results. I primarily work in Final Cut, Logic and Pixelmator, but I also have experience with Premiere, Audition and Photoshop, and can pick up new software very quickly.

Finally, I’ve been working as a student production assistant on two major German live TV stations, specifically in news and sports. My work there primarily focuses on audio setup and teleprompter operation, handling relatively specialized and niche equipment. This requires comfort and precision, particularly under the pressure and surprises inherent to a live TV production.

If you got this far: thank you, and consider getting in touch.