OutBrick author

Mourad Hamdi

Founder & game designer

Mourad makes small, thoughtful games for the space between one task and the next. OutBrick is his ongoing experiment in calmer play.

From this voice

10 stories, so far.

Follow this author’s thread through the OutBrick journal.

A phone-sized puzzle session beside a teacup and a bright window

Player habits 7 min read

Designing a game for the life players actually have

Why “gaming life fit” is a better design question than chasing a bigger hours-played number.

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Abstract red launcher blocks aimed at a playful stack of green toy bricks

Success stories 7 min read

What Angry Birds teaches about the long road to a hit

Rovio’s own history is a useful reminder that iconic games are often the visible tip of a much longer practice.

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Colorful geometric toy blocks descending toward a clean grid

Game craft 6 min read

Tetris proves that simple rules can keep opening up

A look at constraint, rhythm, and the endless variety inside a very small ruleset.

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Glossy puzzle bricks with distinct engraved shapes alongside their colors

Inclusive design 6 min read

Why color should never be the only clue in a puzzle

The case for pairing color with shape, text, and other signals—so a readable board stays readable for more players.

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A rising path of small puzzle boards with easy and challenging stepping stones

Game craft 7 min read

How to build a kinder difficulty curve

Challenge should stretch the player’s attention without making the relationship with the game feel brittle.

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A lone adventurer follows branching luminous paths through a crimson and indigo underworld

Success stories 8 min read

Hades and the run that keeps learning

What Supergiant’s Early Access success teaches about iteration, narrative momentum, and making another attempt feel meaningfully different.

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A golden-hour cutaway neighborhood where rooms, routines, objects, and paths form everyday stories

Success stories 8 min read

The Sims and the stories systems tell

A long-running success story about player authorship, playful resistance, and the value of a game that does not write every line for you.

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A young player investigates responsive clues in a sunny meadow leading toward a kinetic observatory

Learning through play 8 min read

When a game teaches curiosity without a lecture

How interactive systems can invite experimentation, and what MIT’s maker-learning work suggests about putting agency before explanation.

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A stark desk with stamped papers, a queue, and a single warm light suggesting consequential choices

Game craft 8 min read

Papers, Please and meaningful friction

How a game can turn a repetitive action into a moral question—and why the best friction asks the player to decide, not simply to wait.

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A compact geometric puzzle beside a calm commuter window with a short pause in the day

OutBrick practice 7 min read

The commuter puzzle: making room for a two-minute game

A field guide to designing for interrupted attention, small screens, and the lovely gap between “I have no time” and “I have two minutes.”

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Read the journal.

Explore the complete shelf of design notes, success stories, and research-aware player experience essays.

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