Abubakar Salim is the man behind Tales of Kenzera: ZAU. He obviously worked with a team to bring the game to life, but the experience wouldn’t exist without Salim. He poured so much of his personality, life experiences and feelings into Tales of Kenzera: ZAU that it would be a completely different title without his input.
Unfortunately, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU has been the target of some serious backlash since releasing, as has Salim himself. As you can probably (and unfortunately) guess, a lot of the pushback on Tales of Kenzera: ZAU has had to due with race, inclusion, representation and other serious topics. The discourse has gotten so loud that Salim felt he had no other choice but to respond.
Below is a 5+ minute from Salim talking about Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, the reaction from some people, the vitriol sent his way and much more. It’s far too serious of a discussion to summarize, so if the topics mentioned above are important to you, then I highly recommend you take the time to watch Salim’s video.
Along with this, Salim has announced a limited-time sale for Tales of Kenzera: ZAU on Switch. From now until June 20th, 2024, you can get a 25% discount, dropping the price to $15. Finally, last but not least, Tales of Kenzera: ZAU has been updated to Ver. 1.1. You can find the patch notes for this update here.
In Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, a grieving boy begins to read a Bantu tale written by his late father. Adventure into the beautiful and treacherous lands of Kenzera as Zau, a young shaman who bargains with the God of death to bring his Baba back from darkness. With your cosmic powers and untried courage, you advance into unknown mythological lands. Once bursting with life, Kenzera is now rife with lost ancestral spirits. As Zau advances toward his goal, three mighty beings lie in wait, fearsome in their strength yet somehow strangely familiar. Will you embrace the dance of the shaman?
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nin2000
2M agoHe was awesome as Bayek in Assassins Creed Origins (one of the last great AC games). Sad to hear racism, but good to see that 99% of people were receptive and not racist about this.
mock turtle
2M agoCan capital G Gamers not be fucking bigots for FIVE MINUTES?!
Can they also not swear for 5 minutes? Yes it’s upsetting to see how he was treated, but swearing is also a form of offensive language.
If you honestly think the saying "fuck" is at all akin to racism then you're a fucking moron.
Because said words have their origins in white culture and perpetuate harmful racial stereotypes, reaffirming white supremacy. Hence, swearing is the same as racism.
Denial, the oldest form. And so ironic on an important topic such as this.
It’s easier to deny than recognise we’ve done wrong, apologise and commit to being an ally fighting against injustice and inequality. I hope you’ll join me one day.
I don't even know where to begin with this. The word "fuck" is not racist, and saying it is just detracts from *actual* racism. Which was what I was decrying to begin with, if you'll remember.
Racism is privilege plus power. It’s not necessarily about direct discriminative actions, rather it’s about society, particularly White society, and its history of oppression as it pertains to minorities of colour, especially those in the BIPOC community - but also other communities of colour outside this group. When it comes to using aggressive language, which necessarily includes swear words, there is a long and dark history of predominantly White aligned individuals using said language to put down, harass, intimidate and perpetuate uneven power dynamics. Hence my original statement criticising the use of the aforementioned swear word.
I understand that many in the White community are unaware of their privilege, but that doesn’t excuse racially prejudiced behaviour. Rather, upon learning of one’s errors, the right response is to commit to a life of unlearning privilege and relearning equity.
Sorry for the long post!
I just... you're completely wrong about this. Please take a college English course.
I learnt about the true nature of racism in western societies from college… but I can see your sincerity, I guess we are just coming from different backgrounds and views of the issue.
Don't try me, please. I went to graduate school for library science with an emphasis in social justice. I've studied racism, bigotry, patriarchy, capitalism, all the things that make up why society is as bad as it is. Never once have I heard "swear words are racist, actually." The only way that could possibly work is if you think all swear words are slurs, which they're obviously not.
Plus, walk through your own logic here for a second. You contend that "fuck" is racist because it was used by white people against people of color. The obvious conclusion you'd have to draw there is that *any* word used in hostility against a POC is racist, which is ludicrous. Black people have been called "lazy" in this country for hundreds of years, does that make the word "lazy" inherently racist? Of course it doesn't. Nor does it mean any word with etymological roots in 16th century Germanic languages are.
In short: racism is FUCKING terrible. If you want to argue that statement, argue with the wall, because I'm done.
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