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Omar Ben Mustapha

Omar Zakaria Ben MustaphaSoftware EngineerI build products people play, wear and watch.

Software engineer across games, XR, mobile and AI. I’ve shipped a rehabilitation game platform with 10,000+ users, a gaming portal with 300,000+ players and a VR headset. Now I’m building MacLC, an HDR media player made natively for Apple Silicon.

Start with MacLCRésumé
Tunisia · open to remote work and travel
Portrait of Omar Zakaria Ben Mustapha
Now buildingMacLC 0.9.0 beta · HDR player for Mac
active playersOrange Tunisie gaming platform
300K+
downloadsmobile games shipped at Orange
1M+
usersMindMaze rehabilitation platform
10K+
projects shippedgames, XR, mobile and web
30+

01Now building · 2026

Everything VLC can play. Finally built like a Mac app.

A macOS-only media player for Apple Silicon, forked from VLC 4.0.0-dev. It keeps libVLC’s complete engine and rebuilds everything above it: a native AppKit interface, fixes for six macOS display-pipeline defects, and a Metal shader that puts your screen’s spare brightness to work.

v0.9.0 beta
macOS 13+ · Apple Silicon

Visit the MacLC website (opens in a new tab)Source code (opens in a new tab)

How MacLC finds the light

  1. MacLC highlight expansion curveSDR video stops at SDR white. The display measured on an M3 Max can show 6.15 times more. MacLC follows the SDR input exactly up to a knee at half SDR white, then rises quadratically so that SDR white reaches four times its usual brightness, inside that headroom.1×2×4×6×Display headroom · 6.15× on M3 Maxnever reached by SDR videoSDR whiteknee · ½ SDR whiteSDR white → 4×0.53 ms · 1080p0.91 ms · 4K10-bit BT.2020 PQ00.51.0Input brightness (fraction of SDR white)
    SDR video tops out at SDR white.

    01 / 04

    SDR stops at white.

    SDR video is mastered so that nothing in it is brighter than SDR white. Played as it is, that is the ceiling, however much light the screen could give.

  2. MacLC highlight expansion curveSDR video stops at SDR white. The display measured on an M3 Max can show 6.15 times more. MacLC follows the SDR input exactly up to a knee at half SDR white, then rises quadratically so that SDR white reaches four times its usual brightness, inside that headroom.1×2×4×6×Display headroom · 6.15× on M3 Maxnever reached by SDR videoSDR whiteknee · ½ SDR whiteSDR white → 4×0.53 ms · 1080p0.91 ms · 4K10-bit BT.2020 PQ00.51.0Input brightness (fraction of SDR white)
    6.15× of headroom above SDR white, measured on an M3 Max.

    02 / 04

    The panel keeps 6.15× in reserve.

    Apple's XDR displays can go several times brighter than SDR white. MacLC measured 6.15× of headroom on an M3 Max: light that SDR video never touches.

  3. MacLC highlight expansion curveSDR video stops at SDR white. The display measured on an M3 Max can show 6.15 times more. MacLC follows the SDR input exactly up to a knee at half SDR white, then rises quadratically so that SDR white reaches four times its usual brightness, inside that headroom.1×2×4×6×Display headroom · 6.15× on M3 Maxreached by highlights onlySDR whiteknee · ½ SDR whiteSDR white → 4×0.53 ms · 1080p0.91 ms · 4K10-bit BT.2020 PQ00.51.0Input brightness (fraction of SDR white)
    Unchanged up to the knee, then a curve that takes SDR white to 4×.

    03 / 04

    Only the highlights move.

    Shadows and mid-tones stay exactly where the colourist left them, up to a knee at half SDR white. Above it, highlights rise on a smooth curve until SDR white lands at 4×, inside the headroom.

  4. MacLC highlight expansion curveSDR video stops at SDR white. The display measured on an M3 Max can show 6.15 times more. MacLC follows the SDR input exactly up to a knee at half SDR white, then rises quadratically so that SDR white reaches four times its usual brightness, inside that headroom.1×2×4×6×Display headroom · 6.15× on M3 Maxreached by highlights onlySDR whiteknee · ½ SDR whiteSDR white → 4×0.53 ms · 1080p0.91 ms · 4K10-bit BT.2020 PQ00.51.0Input brightness (fraction of SDR white)
    0.53 ms per 1080p frame, 0.91 ms per 4K frame, 10-bit BT.2020 PQ out.

    04 / 04

    Every frame, in under a millisecond.

    VLCHDRExpander, a Metal compute shader, re-encodes each frame into 10-bit BT.2020 PQ: 0.53 ms of GPU time for a 1080p frame, 0.91 ms for 4K.

display headroom, measured on an M3 Max
6.15×
shader time per 1080p frame
0.53 ms
shader time per 4K frame
0.91 ms
BT.2020 PQ output
10-bit

Two projects, one product

MacLC is the app and the site that explains it. Both are designed, engineered and shipped end to end.

  • Apple Silicon (M1 or newer)
  • macOS 13 Ventura or later

macOS app

MacLC for Apple Silicon

The player itself. VLCHDRExpander, a Metal compute shader, re-encodes every SDR frame into 10-bit BT.2020 PQ, lifting highlights into spare panel headroom while shadows and mid-tones hold still.

  • Swift
  • AppKit
  • Metal
  • Objective-C
  • C
  • libVLC
Source code (opens in a new tab)Report an issue (opens in a new tab)

Requirements: Apple Silicon (M1 or newer) · macOS 13 Ventura or later · XDR or external HDR display for highlight expansion · M3 or M4 for hardware AV1 decode. GPL-2.0-or-later application on the LGPL-2.1-or-later libVLC engine. An independent open-source project, not affiliated with or endorsed by VideoLAN.

02Selected work · 2015 – 2022

Seven years of products shipped to real users.

Healthcare games, a national gaming platform, VR hardware and AR, across three roles. Each part of the story opens onto full case studies.

  1. Part 1 of 3

    2015—2017

    Games that help people heal.

    QuinQUnity Lead Programmer

    Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia

    Designed and delivered video games for physical rehabilitation.

    • Developed the rehabilitation game platform used by MindMaze (Switzerland) with 10,000+ users.
    • Implemented motion-capture systems for rehabilitation games.
    • Created game concepts, levels and characters tailored to patients' needs.
    • Shipped · PC

      MindMaze (Switzerland), via QuinQ

      Therapeutic mini-games for stroke, multiple-sclerosis and sports-injury recovery, on a platform with more than 10,000 users.

      MindMaze (opens in a new tab)

  2. Part 2 of 3

    2017—2022

    Play at national scale.

    Orange TunisieHead of Gaming Division

    Tunis, Tunisia

    Led the gaming division, overseeing video game projects from the first brainstorm to publication.

    • Built an online gaming platform that reached 300,000+ active users.
    • Launched multiple mobile games with more than 1 million downloads combined.
    • Organised e-sport events drawing thousands of participants.
    • Shipped · Mobile

      Orange Tunisie

      An online gaming portal for Orange Tunisie that grew to 300,000+ active players and hosted e-sport events.

    • Shipped · Mobile

      Orange Tunisie

      An augmented-reality game that brings Tunisia's cultural and historical sites to life on visitors' phones.

  3. Part 3 of 3

    2017—2022

    Founding Hazen: VR for every phone.

    Ingenium / HazenSoftware Engineer · Founder of Hazen

    Tunis, Tunisia

    Led software projects from conception to deployment and founded Hazen, a VR games company.

    • Designed a VR headset compatible with any smartphone.
    • Launched the Hazen VR app store and its universal headset.
    • Developed a VR educational platform for immersive professional training.
    • Shipped · VR

      Ingenium

      Immersive VR scenarios used by institutions for professional training, from emergency response to industrial operations.

    • Archived · Hardware

      Hazen

      An affordable VR headset that turns any smartphone into a display, launched through Hazen, the VR company I founded.

    • Archived · Web

      Hazen

      A marketplace where people found and bought VR apps from Hazen and third-party developers.

03Live demos

13 projects you can open right now.

University courses, websites and a hand-tracking experiment. Every one is hosted here, runs in your browser and shares this site’s design system, each in its own colour.

  • magenta
  • violet
  • cyan
  • sky
  • gold
  • indigo
  • coral
  • green
  • rose
  • teal
  • lime

13 demos shown

  • ExperimentsNeeds a webcam

    FingerMagic (opens in a new tab)

    Draw in the air with your fingertip. Real-time webcam hand tracking with MediaPipe, colour wheel, brush controls and PNG export.

    MediaPipe · Canvas · JavaScript
  • Course platformsIn French

    Neuropsychologie (opens in a new tab)

    A gamified neuropsychology course: five chapters, interactive exercises and a game-like progression.

    React · TypeScript · Tailwind
  • Websites

    FiltrePro (opens in a new tab)

    Landing page, in French, for a smartphone screen protector with a blue-light filter and a bubble-free applicator: the fitting steps told as you scroll, and a comparison of the two versions.

    React · TypeScript · Framer Motion
  • Websites

    Construction company website (opens in a new tab)

    A one-page site for a builder: photo hero, services, a four-step process told as you scroll, a filterable project gallery, testimonials and a validated contact form.

    React · Vite · Tailwind
  • Course platformsIn French

    Éthologie (opens in a new tab)

    An animal-behaviour course with modular lessons, visual content and quizzes, designed for university coursework.

    React · TypeScript · React Router
  • Course platformsIn French

    Physiologie humaine (opens in a new tab)

    Human physiology: cell genetics, neurons, vision and sensorimotor systems, one illustrated page per topic.

    React · Vite · Tailwind
  • Course platformsIn French

    Psychologie cognitive (opens in a new tab)

    A gamified cognitive-psychology course: history and major theories, video lessons, podcasts, quizzes, XP and achievements.

    React · Vite · Framer Motion
  • Websites

    Dropshipping store (opens in a new tab)

    A print-on-demand photo shop in plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript: collections, a product page that previews each frame to scale, a cart that survives reloads, checkout and FAQ.

    HTML · CSS · JavaScript

04About

Engineer, founder, tinkerer.

Software engineer with a Computer Science engineering degree, specialised in mobile development (iOS and Android), video games, virtual reality and LLM-powered agents. A creative, organised team player with natural leadership, used to taking products from the first brainstorm to launch.

Toolbox

Engineering

  • Unity
  • C#
  • Swift / iOS
  • Kotlin / Android
  • Unreal Engine
  • VR / AR
  • React
  • Node.js
  • SQL

AI & specialities

  • LLM integration
  • AI agents
  • LLM fine-tuning
  • Game design
  • Motion capture
  • Rehabilitation tech

Leadership

  • Project management
  • Scrum / Agile
  • Team leadership

Education

  • 2010 – 2013

    Engineering degree in Computer Science

    ESPRIT — Higher School of Engineering · Tunisia

  • 2008 – 2010

    Bachelor's in Mathematics, Computer Science, Mechanics & Electronics

    Pierre and Marie Curie University · France

Languages

  • French

    Native

  • English

    Fluent

  • Arabic

    Fluent

Off screen

Film and digital photography, electronics (Raspberry Pi, oscilloscopes), music, scuba diving, spearfishing, and taking game mechanics apart.

05Contact

Have something that needs building?

Tell me about the product, the team or the role. Based in Tunisia, open to remote work and travel. I write in French, English and Arabic.

[email protected]LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)GitHub (opens in a new tab)
It answers questions about my work, day or night.