Community Manager[AMA] Tales of Kenzera: ZAU - Abubakar Salim
Catchup on the Ask me Anything from Abubakar Salim from December 14th, 2023
Recently Abubakar Salim held an AMA on Reddit, You can check out the entire AMA here.
Below are some of the questions answered during the AMA, He goes over the development of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, the team's journey and inspiration, and the emotional themes the game will tackle.
I'm Abubakar Salim. I'm mainly known for my acting work on Raised by Wolves, Assassins Creed Origins and soon to be House of the Dragon.
I've also had the absolute blessing of announcing my studio, Surgent Studios, debut game - Tales of Kenzera: ZAU at The Game Awards this year!
I'll be doing an AMA this Thursday, but posting early to gather questions!
Till then, looking forward to seeing you all soon!
Tales of Kenzera: ZAU homepage
What were some of the influences or inspirations for the beautiful world and visuals of Tales of Kenzera?
Oh man. Where do I start...I would say the Ndebele and Zulu art was a strong starter. But that then leads you into looking into the Maasai, Tswana, and a few other Bantu art styles. I would say that was at the core. I then pulled from a lot of the games and anime/manga I love - Arcane, Ori, DBZ, Shaman King, Dead Cells, Horizon, GoW... For me it was about fusing the art from cultures that inspired me and I enjoy and giving that to the art team to play with. Visually, I want to pull from as many sources as I can, throw them at the Art team and see what concotion we can come out with. I could go in on what inspired me haha! So so much. Being out in South Africa and talking to the people there really helped encapsulate a lot of the work you'll see, plus pulling from my own roots.
How has the partnership with EA affected development?
So being remote has had its challenges, but MAN has it been amazing. There's the obvious obstacles of delayed communication and human interaction that you miss when all being in the room together, but, to be honest, I'm so used to chatting online through my Garrys Mod/Counter Strike days (Ventrilo all the way) that it didn't feel strange or difficult at all. I was able to continue filming on Napoleon and Raised by Wolves while Creatively Directing the game which has been great. Plus, being remote has allowed the team to work from anywhere and EVERYWHERE which gives us more voices, more perspectives and an array of skills.Working with EA has honestly been great.
Not gonna lie, I, like many, was a bit apprehensive at first. But when I tell you that they have been the most nurturing and compassionate team of devs, I'm not exhaggerating. I'm so new to the games industry, so to have this giant actually allow me to create and play and explore...to make mistakes and TEACH me has been monumental in regards to my experience with them.
Hey there! I had a quick question that I thought of when I first saw the trailer. It said in the trailer “with support from Ridley Scott Creative Group and Critical Role”. What exactly does this support entail?
I've been a huge fan of what Crit Role have brought to the space of storytelling as well as to their community. When I pitched to them that I wanted to build this experience - this game that explored grief in an African fantastical setting - they wanted to champion what we can do. With Ridley Scott Creative Group, I've been working closely with Luke Scott who runs the company. He's a lover of games as a medium and art form and same again, he wanted to utilise the company to help tell this story.
They both bring creative insight, and support through both community engagement and storytelling as well as business development that I couldn't do by myself. They have been instrumental in my growth both as a business founder as well as an artist.
I am most proud of Reflections. These are spaces that the player will encounter in order to increase their max health. How they do this is simply by sharing how they feel. For me, it took me a long time to actually chat about how I feel, and as soon as I did, I felt like I started getting stronger.
I've played a fair few Metroidvania's and Platformers both as a fan of the genres but also as research to dissect and learn from. To be honest, it's a mish mash of a lot! I know it's easy to say, but truthfully, you can ask the team and they will tell you I threw games at them from all angles - Ori, DMC, Dead cells, Castlevania, Metroid Dread, Blasphemous, DBZ budokai, ScorugeBringer, Axiom, etc... I know some are not Metroidvanias, but you get the idea hah! Truthfully in regards to gameplay...if you like Ori, you'll like us.
Thomas Mahler was one of the first people I spoke to in regards to learning about Game Dev. He pushed on player feel and gameplay and I ran with that.
How long have you guys had this game cooking?
4 years. Imagine. Keeping a secret like this for 4 years!
I'm very curious your journey from an actor to opening a game studio. I've heard this the first time.It is! It just made sense. I have loved games all my life, and been playing for a hell of a long time, so I just had to do it.
Do you have any advice about how to play/run it?
Absolutely! The design was by an artist called Ikire Jones. You should definitely look up his work as it is truly otherworldly. He takes these venetian style painitings and places Black figures in their stead. It's simple yet incredibly effective.
The one biggest advice I can give you is just try it. Honestly, I was SUPER traditional when it came to TTRPGs. When I was introduced to Blades in the Dark, I can confidently say it is my favourite type of TTRPG hands down. You just gotta go for it and let loose. Have fun with it you know?
For me it was all about losing myself in these worlds that I could actually play in. Big moments for me were playing games like Kingdom Hearts - the clash of disney and an original IP was brilliant. What a world conjured. Games like Golden Sun which taught me about comraderie...that failing is ok...and that ridiculous last boss fight. And as I mentioned, Garrys Mod. I still have so many friends from the servers I used to play in that I still talk to today!
The feelings felt when playing games such as those I've listed were the inspiration of creating Zau.
Great question. I've been asked this a lot. This year has been both phenomenal for games as well as difficult with so many big games out there. I want as many people playing this game as possible while also keeping it accessible. In regards to pre-sales and pre-orders, I'll be frank - we're still very much an indie studio trying to make our mark. Although we have crazy support from the likes of EA, we're very much indepently owned and need to show that the type of games and content we want to share is not only needed but WANTED. Put it this way - the love and support for this game has been HUGE. It's both inspiring, but also incredibly breathtaking. Having those wishlists and pre-orders also communicates ""Hey, people don't just like the idea - THEY WANT IT." I'm so glad you preordered. Honestly, it has such an impact. And I'm aware that with a lot of other fans, we got to earn their trust.
You said the game will deal with Grief - how that that be handled? Will it be similar to Gris?
Gris is a beautiful game. It's way of communicating grief was magical. We've taken a lot more of a ""chaotic, free flow"" approach to it. Not only is the main narrative about grief, but even to the gameplay mechanics it was important to try and communicate what it feels like to be in a world where you feel ""lost"". I'm gonna use the genre as an example here and the relationship between player and pad - The journey the player will go through will start with a lot of abilities locked out on their controller as well as on Zau. As they journey deeper into the world of Kenzera, learning not only about how the world works as well as new abilites, the pad will slowly begin unlocking over time. Much like how you begin gaining new tools when faced with grief over a period of time. It's a classic metroidvania/platformer mechanic, but one we really wanted to lean into here!
Mechanics! Are you introducing anything we haven't seen in a Metroidvania before?
You know, there are so many games out there...I would say our free flow between switching masks and how that relates to platforming and combat is something that is rarely touched upon. The only other game I can think of is Guacamelee, but that doesn't affect Juan. Whereas we wanted the switch of masks to relate to the character - different apporaches to conquering either similar or specific obstacles.
I felt like there were some Prince of Persia influences I was wondering if that did have an influence in some way to the game and what other games you found inspiration from in the conception and design of Tales of Kenzera: ZAU? Also if you had to choose a game that impacted you the most what would it be?
You know, when Prince of Persia was announced I laughed! A fearful laugh as well as a joyous one! We had NO IDEA that the game was being made. Remember, we've been building for YEARS. So when Lost Crown was announced we were like ""YO, THATS CRAAAZY"
But I'll be honest, I think the game looks SICK. I mean PoP originated as a platformer so I'm super excited for what they're gonna bring. Plus, it champions a mythology and story that we also RARELY see. So right on!
I've listed a few above, but our biggest drive definintely was Ori. What a game.
Is there anything you can tell us about the locale of Kenzera? Is it a large city? What part of Africa would it be located if it were real?
It's my take on where my family originated from - Kenya! The city that you end up seeing in the game is called Amani!
The key differentiator was pulling from a lot of worlds that inspired us as creators - Dune, Star Wars (Coruscant to be specific), the world of Night City, etc... honestly, we just wanted to be fun and let loose and didn't really aim to be different to Wakanada...I think by approaching the creation of the world through wanting to celebrate it and have fun with it rather than try to be different...you naturally BECOME different!
What are some of the themes that Tales of Kenzera might explore?
We aim to explore adolencense, parenthood, fear, anger...we play with comedy in desperate situations as well as what wisdom actually means. We look at traditional VS new ways of thinking. Culture and what impact that has to the psyche, as well. A big one is mental health - particually male mental health and what it means to ""emote"". Thats a big one for me.
The game mentions wielding cosmic powers from the Sun and the Moon for rhythmic combat. How did you conceptualize and integrate these unique gameplay mechanics, and how do they contribute to the emotional journey of the protagonist?
The Sun and Moon in a lot of Bantu cultures are used to represent life and death a lot of time...so take that and play with this idea of fighting for your life and you can then conjure this idea of freedom, chaos, and rhythm in a way that allows the player to feel in and OUT of control. The Moon mask being a range attacker brings a sense of precision - a feeling of control to a degree as you engage from a distance. Take the Sun mask, and there's a sense of risk there as you get up close and personal with the enemy. Theres a chaotic ballet with the mask of the Sun that feels like its frantic, but actually has a lot of grace to it to. Mix and match them both, find a rhythm - a dance, and nothing stands in your way 😉
In regards to how they emotinally contribute - they are a reminder of life and death. A balance. The same masks his Baba used, and now passed to him.
The game's soundtrack is composed by Nainita Desai. Could you elaborate on the collaboration with the composer and how the music contributes to the atmosphere and emotional resonance of the game?
Nainita came on board VERY early. She's seen our journey from a few people to now a 40 people studio!
She has brought SO MUCH to our game. I really believe that the music she has composed is something NEVER heard before in games. She's such a fantastic artist.
I will let her speak on it later down the line, but I remember talking to her about the need of finding a clash of both old tradition and new way of thinking. We wanted to explore this idea of the old ways clashing with the new way of thinking, as well as working in unison. Hence why there is a lot of synth and heavy beats to the music, mixed with the power of vocal choir too.
She's a lot better at explaining it, and I really can't wait for people to hear the soundtrack.
The universe of the game is described as being inspired by Bantu tales. How did you approach incorporating Bantu mythology into the game - asking about the studies and research (Something very refreshing to see, and I'm thrilled to see it), and how does it enhance the storytelling and overall gaming experience?
A lot of reading and a LOT of talking to people. Bantu tales are famously known for being oral tales that are shared between people, so most are lost! But a great book I recommend reading is ""Indaba, My Children" to get started.
In regards to incorporating them to Zau - we took a lot the themes various tales and creatures represented and used that as a kickoff to dive deeper into the story we wanted to tell. I'm of the mentality that, if I can get a player to go down a wiki-hole of a Bantu creature, then I've done my job. Much like Hades, Hellblade and God Of War.
How long is the game expected to be and will there be any replayability?
Gameplay length will be revealed later down the line, but I can tell you for sure it won't be a 2 or 3 hour experience hah! There's a good amount of content that will hopefully give everyone a satisfying play through!
Will there be a good deal of rpg elements, or is the focus more on action/platforming?
The main focus for us is action/platforming.
Hey team, clocking off for now. This has been incredible. The love and support for the game and our studio has been more than incredible. Truly. So much love. I will be answering more questions either later today or tomorrow, so PLEASE keep them coming.
Till then, you can join our discord and ask more there - discord.gg/surgent as well as follow us on our socials here:
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/surgentstudios/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ZauTheGame
TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@surgentstudios
And as I've shared before, any pre-orders of our game go SUCH a long way. We're aiming for all latest gen platforms and PC and you can find more information here: Tales Of Kenzera: ZAU
