About
Tokyo Game Show, Japan 2013. Journey, one of the best games ever made!
//Me
i’m Muhammad (M, MM, Mo, MoMo,…those are all names given to me by my lovely Chinese friends for easier pronunciation) . Born in Egypt & worked there, traveled a lot to work in different countries (in Africa, Asia, Europe & North America) as a Programmer for PC & Consoles in the game industry (Graphics/Engine &Tools) but also ( AI, Gameplay, UI & whatnot sometimes). Very passionate about games and like to write codes using any language, SDK, API, Framework or engine..you name it! i Like to have new challenges to learn new thing everyday.
i learned a lot of other none-programming related thing on the past years, mostly about 3d pipelines & animation (uv, offline-rendering, simulation, rigging, houdini, realflow, mudbox, texturing,….etc.), and this helped me a lot in making mini full games from start to end..Which was a dream. i loved Alias Maya and XSI!
Because All my knowledge is a self taught effort, i’m glad to say i’m NOT that good, and i’m lacking for a ton knowledge/stuff! During that time.
i started my career very early and there weren’t resources (not even YouTube, Kindle, Wifi or even DSL), so trial and error was the only approach for long time in all fields until it became my DNA, this been my life before university (Bio-Science Bachelor Degree) and first time to work was in a junior position at 14! So i kinda raised in companies, by my adult team mates, not at home by parents! Team mates at that time used to treat me as their kiddo, not co-worker!
Can’t recall the year, but was great time with
my dad (he took the photo) in his journey of
investing me things beyond school
curriculums!
People who have worked with me always used to say 2 things :
* i’m LUCKY person !
* i’ve a huge amount of positive energy, and i do pass it to anyone get around me!
//Highlights
“Been doing that for really really long time! And not yet tired of it!!!”
P.S. 1 – i work in the coffee and cola industry (aka the game industry) ☕🥤
P.S. 2 – i don’t accept job offers that has “interrogation” instead of “interview” calls! ONLY “casual chats” 😑
P.S. 3 – Yes i know that my “i” should be “I” not “i” in order to be correct, but i like it that way 😅
P.S. 4 – Don’t mind my typos, i do a lot of typos due to the hyper-speed i use on the keyboard + tall fingers ^_^
Note: all the work here is personal(This site just about me as me & my free time activities.), for a list of commercial projects I took part in, please contact me;
//Favorite Games
– Shadow of the colossus (& the remake)
– The Last Guardian
– Metal Slug
– Max Payne I, II &III
– [Again] Max Payne I, II &III
– [And Again] Max Payne I, II &III
– L.A. Noire
– Journey
– Circus Charlie
– Ico
– Crysis Series
– River Raid
– Uncharted (1, 2, 2, 2, 3 & 4)
– Alan Wake Series
– Alone in the Dark 4
– Syberia 1 & 2
– Ryse: Son of Rome
– Yie Ar Kung-Fu
– Tomb Raider (1996, 1997, 2013, 2015, 2018)
– The Last of US (1 ONLY)
– MOHAA
– Commandos (Behind Enemy Lines)
– Star Wars Racer
– 1942
– Machinarium (<3)
– Contra (NES)
– Bioshock Series
– Mario Kart (Mostly 8)
– Batman Arkham (Asylum, City & Knight)
– God of War 4
– Urban Freestyle Soccer
– DF (Dark Future)
– River Raid
– GTA 2 & 3 (Of course the entire series, but II & III have a special place in my heart)
– Prince of Persia, the sands of time
– Diablo (1, 2 & 4)
– Little Nightmares (1, 2)
– Lost in Random
– FarCry 3
– Delta Force (1, 2, Land Warrior)
– Watch Dogs 1
– Super Mario Odyssey
– Super Mario 3D World [any Mario or Luigi game, even if it is not an official version !]
– Donkey Kong [Any!, but Tropical Freeze is my most loved one]
– Mafia I & II
– Hitman Codename 47
– Midtown Madness
– Crazy Taxi
– Adventure Island
– Need for Speed Porsche
– Need For Speed Underground
– COD I, II, III, IV & Ghosts.
– Castle Of Illusion
– It Takes Two
– Neighbours from Hell 1 & 2
– Jack & Daxter
– Pepsiman
– Banjoo-Kazoowie
– Limbo
– Max and magic Marker I & II(curse of brotherhood)
– A Plague Tale
– Last Day of June
– Re-Volt
– Duke Nukem Manhattan Project
– Valiant Hearts The Great War
– Rayman Legends & Fiesta Run
– Crash Bandicoot & CTR (PS1)
– Crush (PSP)
– Claw
– Hopmon (JJsoft presents :D)
– Winning Eleven (PS1) & Fifa 2001
– Sega Rally
– Can’t be a list without the original DOOM
And of course lots of other games, but the list above are the ones was the most remarkable games for me that i will still be able to remember when Alzheimer hits me. I really enjoyed every frame and pixel within those games!
//Favorite Consoles
Ordered based on values, beloved games & memories!
– PC <3 (DOS, 3.11,…till today)
– PS1
– Atari 2600
– NES & SNES
– Sega Genesis
– N-Gage (not a 100% console!)
– Steam Deck
– Xbox360
– PS 4
– PS2
– Xbox Series X
– Switch!
– WWWWWWW IIIIIIIIIIIII UUUUUUUUU (WIIU for short)
– Xbox One
– DS, 3DS, 3DSXL & the new XL
– PSVita
– …
– PS3 comes to the end of my list…Anything else not mentioned, defiantly before that line (in the … )
Apart from that, i quite like the Anbernic (RG35XX / RG35XX Plus) which is not really a console as it is an all in one emulator, as it brings all the games i loved in the past, to a single little pocket portable device with a HDMI support if needed! 🫠
//Favorite Designers
– Shigeru Miyamoto
– Fumito Ueda
There are others, but this two are the best of the package for me! other names would be “Sam Lake, Massimo Guarini, Michel Ancel, American McGee, Cevat Yerli, John Romero”.
//Thoughts in game development:
– Games are not only for fun, it should help the players with something. And a good game should change something inside the player.
– Anyone can make AI think. but few people can make an AI feel and breath !
– A good programmer is like a MONKEY, keeps jumping between branches all the day.
– A good game is a mix of good experience, gameplay & design. Not good Artists and good programmers.
– The game story is a mechanic. For a good game, all mechanics should be good, if story is bad, it affects the game, but good gameplay could still make it worth playing (adopted from a friend).
– Visual programming is a new great way to make game logic. but not for programmers !
– Don’t make a virtual controllers in a mobile touch screen, the best input to fit that devices is the taps/swipes & gyroscopes. If you want on screen buttons, then go and play console or pc with a controller.
– Both are useless for a team; a stupid artist , and a blind programmer!
– You must watch Extra Credits videos everyday!
– While people call a GDD “Game Design Document“, I’m tending more to call it “Good Design Document“.
– A Programmer is the person who write the art applications. So we (as programmers) must understand art correctly and learn how to make it!
– My definition of the “dumb” programmer: Who is the one thinks he can get his game/app 100% secure from reverse engineering. Please spend some time in the product itself, because…People who invest lots of time trying to make the game secure, either have nothing to make them busy or the have no expertise and they want to prove that they have some of it!
– The best way to teach a new programmer or to get a new member into the project, is just by submitting bugs to him/her to fix.
– IOS/Android games are fine, but I enjoy more playing/developing for PC & Consoles where a developer can put more & player can get more.
//Some Quotes
Each of them came to my head with a special situation in my life
which affected me and my thoughts
*”You can get my passport, but you will not be able to make any use of it without me!”
*”Playing a game is great, but making one is AWESOME”
*”Four things have been told and promised to be the same, but they never are. The job description, the interview, the test and the actual job itself!”
*”When flood comes and kill lots of people. don’t cheer up if you survive because you will die with the next flood”
*”Never trust a boss, unless he was your friend before being a boss”
*”Lose the king, but try to never lose the Minister”
*”Although you are so tired, you will never sleep while thinking !”
*”Looking more back, give you more chance to fall forward”
*”Never disrespect anyone’s job, whatever it looks trivial for you. the most small gear in the world can stop the biggest ship from moving, or may submerge thousands of innocent souls”
*”Life is simple, but fools want/make it complex”
*”The most common mistake for humans, is that they keep expecting things from each other !”
//Some Recommendations
//Media Presence
While I’m not very familiar or friendly in interviews or showing up in public (or even in a group photo with friends), but there are quite a few times that I did dare to accept it, there are some of them
Interview at Tokyo Game Show, Japan
Interview at Dubai Game Expo, UAE
Stream with the lovely friends of Epic Game, ZOOM
//Movies i Loved(& TV may be)
The Mummy (Brendan Fraser ones only), Indiana Jones (all of them), Jurassic Park (1st one), Pirates of the Caribbean, Jurassic World, The Matrix (all), John Wick (all), Sleepy Hollow, Insidious (Patrick Wilson ones), The Next Three Days, Asylum, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Mask, Gladiator, Ghostbusters (original 2 ones), XFiles, Lion of the Desert, New Police Story, Cast Away, Braveheart, The Dark Knight, The Yinyang Master, The Call (Korean), Kung Fu Hustle, Avatar, LoTR, The Yin-Yang Master:Dream of Eternity, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Rock, Jaws, The Lord of the Rings, 300, The Ninth Gate, Bleach, Princess Mononoke, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Wind Rises, 2012, A Series of Unfortunate Events, The 13th Warrior, Darkman, King Kong, The Ring, 47 Ronin, Lethal Weapon, Attack on Titan, The Shape of Water, The Hunger Games, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, A Beautiful Mind, Stranger Things, Thugs of Hindostan, National Treasure, Sweeney Todd, Spirited Away, Kiss the Girls, The Secret World of Arrietty, Double World, Noah, The Blue Elephant, 122, Face/Off, Diamond Dust, Escaping Tel Aviv, Taken, Kingdom of Heaven, Gangs of New York, The Mask of Zorro, The Silence of the Lambs, Kyaputen Tsubasa, Mazinger Z, Lord of War, Meet Dave, Tau, Tokyo Drift, The Queen’s Gambit, The Golden Compass, The Chronicles of Narnia, Our Planet, Primal Fear, Lethal Weapon, Troy, Braveheart, Home Alone, The Incredible Hulk, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Dream House, Ford v Ferrari, The Innocents,
//Happy To Listen To
Mostly music, not songs person. I do love game music and like to listen to those composers all the time… Yasunori Nishiki, Kow Otani, Borislav Slavov, Austin Wintory and Khaled Al Kammar.
And finally, i think 2001 is my favorite year!
In addition to FIFA2001 which was the best FIFA game ever made by EA (imo) and was the last one I played in the series!