Creator Abubakar Salim addresses continued racist abuse.
“This idea stems from this question of ‘who am I?’
Zau was a question of ‘who am I without a parent?’
This is essentially looking at ‘who am I now as a parent?’
“I’m a massive Dungeons and Dragons player and love RPGs,” says Salim.
“I’ve always wanted to build an RPG.”
The game is currently in the early stages of development as Surgent seeks funding.
Last week, a statement from the studio explained its games division is now “on hiatus”.
This affects the whole studio, Salim says, meaning these jobs are at risk until funding is found.
“This hurts deeply,” Salim wrote at the time.
“I am so proud of what the team have achieved over the course of these four years.
When things got tough, every one of them stood so strong, it was inspiring.
So to be delivering this news today really sucks.
I know we’re not alone here, but that doesn’t make it easier.”
As Eurogamer has reported, layoffs and studio closures have impacted all levels of the games industry.
“Money is tightening.
There was too much spending and now there’s a retraction of that.”
Salim explains it’s a matter of planning and depends on the creative.
“But there’s also an element of that’s just part of the business.
you’ve got the option to’t plan for that.”
“Where else can we pluck from and play that could be really exciting within this space?”
“I designed it that way as a whole.”
For Salim, the industry needs to take more risks and trust creatives to express themselves.
“It’s just about trusting that.”
Yes, it’s possible for you to plan to build smaller budget games or go in tighter.
But it comes at a cost.
“It’s tricky and everyone’s circumstances are different,” he surmises.
Four months later, that racism has not let up.
More people should do that.
Whether I was open or whether I was closed off still shouldn’t invite racism.
“We all enjoy games.
There’s a passion there for it.
So what is it that you feel is irking you?
What do I feel that’s irking me?
That transparency has allowed useful feedback from players, beyond simply ‘the game’s good’ and moving on.
“Whatever feedback you have, send it through.
Racism isn’t feedback.”
Tales of Kenzera: Zau offered vital representation and an authentic African setting rarely seen in games.
