# Abdullah Al-Hamad and the Rise of Khala Fatima

> This article highlights the inspirational journey of Saudi game developer Abdullah Al-Hamad, creator of the award-winning game 'Aunt Fatima'. Transitioning from visual effects and motion graphics to Unreal Engine, Abdullah overcame technical challenges in character design, environment mapping, and gameplay balance. Through viral in-game marketing tactics aimed at content creators, the low-budget title achieved critical success, over 10,000 downloads, a 90% positive Steam rating, and top awards for Best Saudi and Best Arabic Game in 2024.

## Topics
- Video Games
- Game Development
- Saudi Arabia
- Technology
- Indie Developers

## Keywords
Aunt Fatima game, Abdullah Al-Hamad, Saudi game development, Unreal Engine horror game, indie game marketing, Saudi video games

## FAQ
### Who is the developer of the game Aunt Fatima?
The game 'Aunt Fatima' was developed by Saudi game developer Abdullah Al-Hamad.

### What game engine was used to develop Aunt Fatima?
Abdullah Al-Hamad utilized Unreal Engine to develop the game, taking advantage of its real-time rendering capabilities.

### What awards did the game Aunt Fatima win?
The game won Best Saudi Game and Best Arabic Game for 2024, alongside achieving over 10,000 downloads and a 90% positive rating on Steam.

## Tags
Game Development, Saudi Gaming, Unreal Engine, Indie Games, Abdullah Al-Hamad

## Source
URL: https://hazz.studio/blog/abdullah-al-hamad-and-the-rise-of-khala-fatima/2026-07-03
Published: 2026-07-03
Updated: 2026-09-21
Language: English (machine-translated from Arabic)
Other language: https://hazz.studio/blog/abdullah-al-hamad-and-the-rise-of-khala-fatima/llms.txt?lang=ar
Publisher: HAZZ STUDIO (https://hazz.studio)

## Full article

The journey of Saudi game developer Abdullah Al-Hamad, creator of the famous game "Aunt Fatima," represents a true story of inspiration in the world of the gaming industry. His career began in the world of design and visual effects, and a strange coincidence in his work environment led him to enter the world of game development. Abdullah faced numerous technical challenges in building the game environment and designing its characters, but he overcame them intelligently and employed innovative marketing secrets that made the game achieve resounding success at the lowest possible cost, culminating in local and regional awards and global recognition from major tech companies.

First, we extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the Eastern Province Game Developers Community for their wonderful efforts in turning this meeting into a tangible reality, and for their gracious hosting of developer Abdullah Al-Hamad at this conference held on Friday, June 24, 2026, which was rich with valuable information for everyone interested in the gaming industry.

## From Photography to Game Engines

Abdullah's journey in the creative side began as a photographer and visual content creator. Inspired by global content creators, he delved into learning visual effects (VFX) and the "After Effects" program. With changing market trends between 2013 and 2015, he successfully transitioned to the field of "motion graphics," which brought him rewarding returns due to high demand and a lack of specialists at the time.

Despite this success, Abdullah's true passion lay in filmmaking and 3D character design (CGI). With the emergence of the "Unreal Engine," he found what he was looking for; the engine's real-time rendering capability saved him long hours of waiting, making this the actual gateway that paved his entry into the world of game design.

## The Coincidence that Birthed "Aunt Fatima"

The story of the birth of "Aunt Fatima" did not stem from a prior plan to develop a horror game, but rather came as a result of a funny situation at work. He was asked to design an animated presentation for an annual event, and after three weeks of hard work, the presenter accidentally skipped the presentation.

The following year, to avoid a repeat of this situation, Abdullah decided to turn the presentation into an interactive menu resembling game "Main Menus" that forces the user to interact with it. While searching for Unreal Engine tutorials, the suggested videos led him to learn the basics of player movement and picking up items. From there, he decided to make a simple game as an experiment.

After consulting one of his relatives, they suggested designing a game based on the legend of "Umm Al-Duwais." However, after finishing the character design, he noticed she was closer to a normal human character, so the game's direction and name were changed, giving birth to the character "Aunt Fatima."

## Technical Challenges and Game Environment Design

Abdullah emphasizes that game development is an endless series of problem-solving. Among the most prominent challenges he faced:

- Character Design: He used specialized software such as "Marvelous Designer" to design the outfits accurately, and hired freelancers to complete the clothing details for the character "Uncle Majed."

- Building the Map (Game Map): Designing the house was the biggest challenge. The goal was not just to build a traditional Saudi home, but the house also had to be playable and suitable for escape and evasion mechanics, forcing him to modify the original design several times after playtests.

- AI as an Assistant Tool: Instead of relying entirely on artificial intelligence, Abdullah used it as a tool to solve problems and save time in designing difficult environmental elements (such as the water heater, bidet sprayer, and the Jareesh pot), and then manually adjusted them to fit the familiar local character.

## The Genius of In-Game Marketing

How can a game be marketed on a budget of no more than 500 Saudi Riyals? The answer lies in "content creators."

Drawing on his experience as a former content creator, Abdullah realized that the best marketing is what happens organically through players (Word of Mouth). Therefore, he embedded elements within the game aimed at triggering content creators' reactions so they would clip and share them, including:

- The Slipper (Zannooba) Punishment: To address an exploit in player stamina, he programmed the game to throw a "Zannooba" (slipper) at the player as a form of punishment, creating funny and surprising moments for live streams.

- The Fake Gun: He placed a gun in the game that gave players a false hope of being able to eliminate "Aunt Fatima," resulting in clips that garnered millions of views.

- The Interactive Radio: He added an audio discussion on the radio about "Shawarma with or without pickles," which is a local debate that captures viewers' attention and creates spontaneous interaction with the stream.

The secret of success is to put something in your game that makes the content creator talk and interact with their audience. Give them something to talk about, and the game will market itself.

## Exceptional Awards and Achievements

The efforts in development and smart marketing culminated in massive achievements:

- Winning the Best Arabic Game and Best Saudi Game awards for 2024.

- Exceeding 10,000 downloads, with a 90% positive rating rate on Steam.

- The inclusion of the game in the list of the top 75 games using DLSS technology by a global giant like NVIDIA, making it the only Arabic game on the list.

## Future Projects and Advice for Indie Developers

Abdullah is currently working on an entirely new game called "Adhma," which is a sports-themed game about delivering an item from one point to another while overcoming obstacles and bosses, with details expected to be announced before November. He also has an idea for a major project called "Fusha" (Recess) that simulates Saudi high school environments, but it requires more development time.

The key tips from Abdullah Al-Hamad for developers:

- Start with Design Before Coding: He advises building the game environment (the map) first to boost motivation and visualize the gameplay flow before getting into writing code.

- Wishlists Are the Most Important: Steam's algorithms heavily rely on the number of people who added the game to their wishlist (preferably between 8,000 and 14,000) to ensure a successful launch.

- Know Your Audience: Do not design a game randomly. Instead, observe what content creators like and what local players interact with, and create something that suits their interests.

- Be Careful with Publishers: Publishing games on consoles requires complex permits and terms, and some publishers may demand exaggerated cuts reaching up to 70% of profits. Independence and seeking balanced partnerships is the best option.