Game news Playing in House of the Dragon and Napoleon while creating your first video game? It’s possible and the interpreter of Bayek (Assassin’s Creed Origins) did it!

From actor to game designer

Thursday December 7, 2023… It’s time to return to the 10th Game Awards ceremony. The opportunity to reward the most notable games of the year, but not only that! The Game Awards ceremony is also a mess of announcements. And it was for one of them that Abubakar Salim took the stage. Many people don’t recognize his face, but as soon as he opens his mouth, it quickly becomes obvious. But yes of course, he is the actor who lent his voice, brilliantly, to the character of Bayek in Assassin’s Creed Origins. What is he doing there? Well he comes to present his very first game: Tales of Kenzera: ZAU. And no, this isn’t just the next game we get to hear it in again (not like Troy Baker introduced us to Fort Solis at Summer Game Fest). Tales of Kenzera is really his game, developed by the studio he founded in 2019, Surgent Studios.

Surgent Studios does not currently have any games to its credit. Tales of Kenzera will be the first. But that doesn’t mean the studio hasn’t done anything since its inception. He has indeed worked on a number of short films such as Things I Never Told my Father, Teddy Or Essex Girls. Because yes, Surgent Studios is not a video game studio strictly speaking. As we can read on their site, it is rather “a creative vehicle for telling powerful stories across different media, from films and series to games, podcasts and more. We tell stories the way we want to tell them: starting with a uniquely rich story world from which personal stories can shine through the medium and platform that best suits them.”

And if the studio has so far focused on filmed productions, it’s quite logical. Its creator, Abubakar Salim is an actor, not just a dubbing actor. He was particularly noted in series such as Jamestown And Raised by Wolves. Assassin’s Creed Origins is even his very first experience as a voice actor in a video game. And other than that, he has no experience in game development. Obviously, we can wonder if it is really legitimate to embark on this new adventure. Couldn’t this be a nasty opportunist who sensed a good opportunity to exploit? This is a legitimate question, given the current situation. But there is an important element that must be taken into account to understand what pushed Abubakar Salim to turn to video games: he is a great player, a player who “loved games all his life.”

Moreover, he returned to this point during the Game Awards, with a small list of games that made him love the medium. Kingdom Hearts, Garry’s Mod, Golden Sun (the most memorable of all)… And all these games, it was thanks to his father that he played them. As with many children of his generation, it was his father who introduced him to the joys of video games. Now that his father has died, video games are also a way for Abubakar to continue this bond. And when he finally decides to tell the very personal story of his mourning, it is therefore quite naturally towards video games that he will turn and that gives Tales of Kenzera. The circle is complete ! Especially since for the actor, there is no more powerful medium to tell a story. The immersion allowed by video games is what magnifies the story that is told there. For a story so important and personal in his eyes, there is no doubt for Abubakar Salim: it’s a video game that you need!

But then, how do you go from actor to game creator? Well it all starts with Assassin’s Creed Origins. En participating in the project as a dubbing actor, Abubakar especially worked closely with the game developers. Better yet, he had a great insight into the behind-the-scenes of development and that’s what pushed him to try the experience with his own studio. That’s all ? Of course not ! The stammering Surgent Studios went fishing for information: “the story I usually tell people about how I started the studio is that I basically slid into a lot of people’s dms on LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter (or X) ,” explains Abubakar Salim, “then I asked them questions about how to proceed and I told them what I wanted to do, how I wanted to convey this feeling of mourning through games {…} Today, most of these people have integrated the studio.” Thus, we find in the team people who have worked on titles such as Hitman 2, Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Sea of ​​Thieves, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2…

But this does not answer another legitimate question: how do you supervise a game while continuing your acting career? Especially since Abubakar Salim has clearly had busy days in recent years. The man actually played in Ridley Scott’s last film, NapoleonFollowing Raised by Wolvesbut also shot the anticipated second season ofHouse of the Dragon. In terms of projects, we are still on something strong. And despite this, he managed to reconcile his role as actor and creator. How ? Well we asked him the question:

It’s so much work. I do not sleep. But I think I really enjoy what I do, telling stories through acting. And then I’m surrounded by a team of incredible developers who, when I tell them about an idea or just a thought, disappear, tinker with something and come back, and it works!

The advantage is that Surgent Studios is a studio in full remote. There’s no office, no meeting room, nothing. And for good reason, the developers come from all over the world. This very particular operation also allowed Abubakar Salim to remain close to his teams despite the distance during filming. And for days that were too busy, we had to learn to delegate and trust. Obviously, it hasn’t always been easy, especially on such a personal project, but Abubakar thinks he has found the right balance: “I think sometimes there are complicated changes, especially when something is so precious, so personal. You can quickly tend to want to take control, because deep down, it’s your baby. You don’t want anyone to say something different. You hold on to it. But I discovered that it is by letting go, by trusting other people, that you can move things forward.”

Tales of Kenzera is therefore a story of trust within a team which puts all its members on an equal footing and is nourished by the experiences of each of them. And this trust also links Surgent Studios to the big company that chose to publish the title: EA. Tales of Kenzera is in fact part of the EA Originals program, which notably gave life to gems like Immortals Of Aveum, It Takes Two and Unravel Two. And obviously, the collaboration went wonderfully well. This time, the information does not come from the famous round table but from a question-and-answer session attended by Abubakar just after the announcement of Tales of Kenzera:

I’m not going to lie, I was a little apprehensive at first. But when I tell you they were the most supportive and compassionate people, I’m not exaggerating. I’m so new to the gaming industry. So having this giant who allows me to create, to play, to explore, even to make mistakes and who teaches me things was just phenomenal.

A bridge between two worlds

In addition to its interesting story, Tales of Kenzera is also a unique proposition, between mourning and Bantu myths. Besides, if you want more information on the title itself, we recently wrote a preview ahead of the release of the demo for the Steam Neo Fest. You will have understood, so you can also have a preview of the game, until Monday February 12 at 7 p.m. Let’s return to this original universe which may not end with Tales of Kenzera. With this game, Surgent Studios intends to open something bigger, a new world which will welcome, over time, new works. Abubakar has said it: he does not intend to stop at a simple game. We can therefore expect to see similar projects emerge, probably on other media.

With his studio, the actor/developer intends to bridge the gap between the world of cinema and that of video games. He is already inspired by both to create/play. He told us that he was very inspired by Ridley Scott’s way of working, especially when it came to delegating. The director is obviously not always present but his team still manages to bring his vision to life on set, a bit like Abubakar with his acting. With this double (or even multiple) hat, Surgent Studios could well breathe a breath of fresh air into the video game industry. If there’s one young studio to watch, it might be this one.