Known for:
Narrative-Driven Design, Economy Systems, Emergent Gameplay, Level Design in Unreal Engine, Indie & Jam Projects
Biography
Hadi Mousavi is an Iranian game and narrative designer whose work blends mathematics, art, and psychology to create meaningful interactive experiences. His core interest lies in designing ludo-narrative consonance—where gameplay mechanics and storytelling reinforce one another. He is also deeply engaged in creating emergent systems that allow players to generate unique experiences through interaction.
Hadi considers himself a fast learner, flexible collaborator, and team-oriented designer who values emotional intelligence within development teams. Throughout his career, he has worked across mobile, PC, indie, and sandbox simulation projects, contributing to mechanics design, economy balancing, UX systems, narrative writing, and level design.
Professional Experience
Game Designer — WITWELD (Montreal)
January 2026 – Present
Currently working on GEAREO, a sandbox simulation game planned for release on Steam.
- Designing core mechanics, UX systems, and missions.
- Conducting research on Steam marketing and platform visibility.
- Exploring systems outside his primary player background to challenge his design perspective.
Game Designer — Zeeba Entertainment (Las Vegas)
June 2025 – January 2026
Tea Garden (Mobile Idle Game – Android & iOS)
- Designed game mechanics and UX systems.
- Built and balanced the in-game economy.
- Conducted data analysis and optimization.
VIRDOX (Vertical Roguelike FPS – Mobile)
- Designed movement mechanics and combat systems.
- Created enemies, weapons, and abilities.
- Handled level design in Unity.
- Balanced gameplay systems.
Level Designer — Permanent Way Game Co (Istanbul)
January 2025 – May 2025
Project: Legend of Baboo
- Created 10+ blockmesh prototypes directly in Unreal Engine.
- Implemented level scripting using Blueprints.
- Applied principles of architectural shape language, flow, and rhythm in level design.
Game & Narrative Designer — Medrick Games (Tehran)
October 2024 – March 2025
Golmorad (Match-3 Mansion Makeover Game)
- Wrote 10+ story chapters.
- Designed live-ops systems.
- Contributed to level design and balancing.
Designed Chicken Clicker, a competitive live event that improved revenue by 15%.
Contributed to Ellie Sport, designing narrative structure and writing one story chapter.
Freelance Game Designer
October 2021 – Present
- Zao — A short survival horror game inspired by southern Iran, built around a candle-versus-wind horror mechanic.
- After Three Nights — A coming-of-age visual novel thesis project with branching narrative and multiple endings.
- Eaten by Whales — A board game centered on programming mechanics (ready for release).
Active participant in game jams, including:
- Story of Two Johns — Global Game Jam 2022 (solo project).
- Murder in Jaytown — AUT Gamecraft 2024 (co-op detective design).
- Project B.U.B.B.L.E — Global Game Jam 2024 (first-person puzzle shooter).
- Typing Therapy — AUT Gamecraft 2025 (experimental typing mechanics).
- Pingun — GMTK Game Jam 2024 (top-down shooter).
- JuiceUp — Sharif Game Jam 2023 (casual mobile design).
Education
MA in Video Game Design & Development — Tabriz University of Art
Thesis: Coming-of-age Narratives in Games
BA in Cinema — Tehran University of Art
Minor in Screenwriting
Certificates
- Game Design — Iranian Videogame Institute
- Game Mechanics — Iranian Videogame Institute
- Level Design — Iranian Videogame Institute
- Game Design: Engineering Experiences — Amirhossein Fassihi
Awards & Recognition
- Member of Iran’s National Elites Foundation
- 2nd Place — AUT Gamecraft 2024
- 3rd Place — 12JAM 2024
- 2nd Place — AUT Gamecraft 2025
Core Skills
- Narrative Design
- Economy Design
- UX Design
- Level Design
- System Design
- Board Game Design
- Screenwriting
- Unreal Engine
- Unity Engine
- Figma & Google Sheets