Khalil Abdullah
Co-founder & CEO
Decoy Games
Beverly, MA USA
“There’s strength in representation. There’s strength in seeing someone as a role model.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationKhalil Abdullah
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
Growing up, I always had a passion for video games and knew that I wanted to get into game design.
I went to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and majored in computer science, which was the closest major to game design that the college offered.
During my fourth year of college, I finally got an assignment to design a flash game—I put a lot of effort and passion into the assignment and it ended up being the inspiration for our current game!
After graduating, I went into tech sales and performed software demonstrations for potential clients.
While working, my brother and I kept up with our passion for video game design on the side and kept building off of the game I had created in college.
We maintained our nine-to-five jobs for about 10 years while creating our video game until we felt we were able to leave and transition to game design full time.
I co-founded Decoy Games with my brother and am now a full-time indie game developer.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Co-founder & CEO
I am an indie game developer and I co-own the game studio Decoy Games.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Technology
Design
Building Things
Day to Day
I start my day by looking over the task board with my brother and then tackling each task that needs to get done that day. We also make sure to realign ourselves with our goals, especially during development periods. Development involves a lot of coding and art design. As we work, we’ll sync up throughout the day to make sure we’re both on track. We also spend time managing our community through social media. If a convention is coming up, we’ll spend time organizing equipment and getting ready.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for everyone
I do recommend getting into computer science because it opens so many doors. No matter what field you want to go into, a foundation in computer science paired with self-confidence can take you far. If you do want to go into game design specifically, the most important thing to do is start now and practice. School gives you training, but consistently practicing your skills on your own is what's going to elevate you above your peers.
Recommended Education
My career is related to what I studied. I'd recommend the path I took:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Myself:
"Maybe I don't belong in this space."
Challenges I Overcame
Self-Esteem Issues
Interviewed By
At Your Fingertips
Computer science from new perspectives
