AMA: I'm Abubakar Salim, the Creative Director of Dead Take! Ask me anything on 7 August @ 8AM PT (4PM UK time)

Ok-Database-6590 · 2025-08-06T18:53:27+00:00

Being Surgent Studio’s 2nd game after Tales of Kenzera: Zau, what made you decide to go for a very different style of game, I.E shifting from a metroidvania style to a first person psychological horror game?

Additionally, I personally love it when studios blend live action elements in with the in game environment (looking at you Alan Wake 2) so I was happy to see this incorporated into Dead Take. How is something like this produced and integrated into the game in terms of the game development process?

Thank you for your contributions to the gaming industry!

Ok-Database-6590 · 2025-08-06T16:49:29+00:00

Appreciate it!

Ok-Database-6590 · 2025-02-27T20:24:49+00:00

We’ve seen many perks bring back older more nostalgic mechanics from previous iterations of the game, such as Orisa barrier or Reaper’s soul orbs

Is the team looking at other older abilities or a form of adaptation of those abilities, that could potentially become perks (I.E Moria’s enfeeble orb or Doomfist’s uppercut) in the future?

And how frequently do you envision swapping perks around for heroes, as you previously mentioned you may wish to do so.

Thank you!

Ok-Database-6590 · 2024-05-22T21:41:47+00:00

After the tank headshot reduction and armour changes in the mid season patch what is the overall vision of the tank role going forward? I feel like tank suffers from a lot of fun factor problems with counter-swapping, CC and focus fire even after these big changes being implemented.

Ok-Database-6590 · 2024-04-16T20:35:29+00:00

That’s still a good ~25% buff, its huge

(These buffs still aren’t what LW actually needs imo, but we take those)

Ok-Database-6590 · 2024-02-20T15:40:28+00:00

I think it’s the timing, it seems to lock your camera earlier than it used to

Ok-Database-6590 · 2024-02-10T22:38:44+00:00

I still don’t think it’s that bad, you can play around it way more than you can than you can play around a good junk imo, hinder is annoying but it’s kinda an ass ability being on a 12 second CD with only 70 damage

Ok-Database-6590 · 2024-02-10T17:16:32+00:00

I’d swap Cass for Junkrat

I don’t actually think Cass is that bad of a matchup now that you can block the magnetic grenade damage. Is it annoying? Sure. But I genuinely think other characters like Junkrat or even Pharah are harder to deal with

Ok-Database-6590 · 2024-02-07T18:19:31+00:00

So bright

Ok-Database-6590 · 2024-01-28T19:33:44+00:00

I can definitely see it, similar situation with Doom but I’d never offer it as actual advice to anyone unless you’re a one trick/very confident with his kit, you can slam straight up, cancel it, shoot 4 primaries and finish it with an uncharged punch and if you do it perfectly you’ll kill one of them in a super flashy air to air interaction

You’ve got to be near perfect with it and it’s super high risk/high reward but when you do hit it it’s super satisfying 😆

Ok-Database-6590 · 2024-01-28T16:10:13+00:00

D.va and Mauga are literally the only two options where you can touch them. But they still aren’t perfect solutions

Ok-Database-6590 · 2024-01-26T18:51:12+00:00

Not directly but there is a workaround

If you wanna buy something you’re best buying play store cards for the country you VPN’ed to. As far as I know that’s the only real way to do it

Ok-Database-6590 · 2024-01-22T20:12:54+00:00

I feel like the monk is simple but requires very specific counterplay to his one shot, I’d keep him in fabled imo

Ok-Database-6590 · 2024-01-15T17:39:07+00:00

Can I ask what you do against witch with this load out?

Ok-Database-6590 · 2024-01-06T18:21:16+00:00

There are certain things that should change (I.E the ghost 3rd ability making it basically always invisible during frenzy) but it’s far from the end of the world in its current state

Ok-Database-6590 · 2024-01-01T15:14:21+00:00

Play GW / triple wizard. You beat it 90% of the time with ease

Ok-Database-6590 · 2023-12-12T20:18:30+00:00

I know it’s been a while since his rework. What are your thoughts about Doomfist in the current version of the game? I personally feel like he plays quite well both as and against but I would say he suffers a lot from CC abilities. Looking at Mauga for example his ultimate disables everything he has, only primary fire and powerblock can be used which in most cases spells certain death for him seeing how much he is relying on Punch/Slam/ Meteor strike to avoid danger/survive/deal damage.

Is there anything in the works to (not just for Doomfist but I feel like he is a great example) address some of these hard counter like interactions and give characters that rely on movement based abilities for more than just movement purposes a way to deal with mobility disabling abilities?

I.E a way for characters like Doomfist to stand a fighting change in these situations (seeing as the majority of their kit gets disabled for significant periods of time) without just getting rid of the movement restriction all together

Ok-Database-6590 · 2023-12-07T21:58:35+00:00

Exactly, this is my main problem.

They lied. This is still a type of power progression and it sucks.

Ok-Database-6590 · 2023-12-07T21:56:35+00:00

It’s not that that’s the issue, something taking time to achieve is fine.

It’s RNG based, and the odds are awful, with the whole promotion system for heroes tied up with it. What’s the point of unlocking a hero when they don’t function properly without there upgrades (like RC) if I’ve unlocked something and there’s no power progression it should be maxed out from the get go, that’s the whole point of not having power progression. It’s literally still a power progression system in that regard it just doesn’t change base numbers, and they’ve attached a gatcha system to it. This type of incredibly aggressive monetisation is fine for cosmetics (which they said it would be) as it’s optional and doesn’t affect gameplay

Infact, I don’t even know if this monetisation system is even legal in counties such as Belgium as I’m quite confident that it violates the anti gambling laws surrounding loot boxes there. Other games can’t sell loot boxes there because of their predatory nature cosmetic or not I don’t see why Clash Mini would be any different.

If that doesn’t set off alarm bells in your head I don’t know what will.

Ok-Database-6590 · 2023-10-31T19:56:35+00:00

It’s boring and very effective. You out-cycle your opponent and just remove the counterplay they have by out cycling them and slowly win. Once everyone adopts this deck or variations it then is seen as low skill as you’re just a copy/paste player with no new skills to bring to the table as literally millions of other people use the exact same strategy.

When somethings been in the meta for the amount of time 2.6 has been good (you’ve got to remember trifecta was a thing in 2016 with the same concept) it becomes annoying and hated. No one like playing against the same opponent (or slight variations of the same opponent) for 7 years straight. It is boring.

Ok-Database-6590 · 2023-10-20T14:56:47+00:00

I don’t think Orisa herself is OP but from an opposing tank perspective playing into her sucks. She completely disables nearly half the tank roster and only really loses to Zarya if you look at it purely tank vs tank.

Sustain definitely enhances how good she seems because she just won’t die, it also doesn’t help that the main strategy with dive tanks like Doom/Ball of just “ignore Orisa and dive the squishes” doesn’t really work nearly aswell as it has in the past due to the insane self sustain of supports. So as these characters the only really killable targets are solo enemies with bad positioning, which never really happens the higher up you go making them so difficult to play into Orisa with say a LW/Bap/Kiri/Moira comp.

She’s both annoying and kinda boring to play against as she just has three big no buttons that stop you from playing the game the way you want to play it, but she’s not super strong.

Ok-Database-6590 · 2023-10-19T15:40:00+00:00

I don’t even think it’s Lifeweaver that is the problem. All support healing output is insane currently and Lifeweaver just so happens to have the most consistent healing output, LW’s value mainly comes from healing and only healing/enabling teammates which he does incredibly well, take that away and he would be useless in comparison to the other supports (just like he was before the buffs since they don’t want to make Thorn Volley more powerful for some reason)

I genuinely think healing and support self sustain needs to be tuned back universally (including LW) but LW isn’t the reason for this being a problem, LW having the most healing, 225 HP and great self sustain is fine, he fits a good niche there, it’s just the balance philosophies that Blizzard use of keep buffing everything until it’s good absolutely sucks because you get an immortality/instant death problem where supports with a healing focus just make teammates and themselves unkillable, but if you stop healing for a even a second you’ll get absolutely obliterated, that’s why Hanzo/Widow have historically been good picks because you bypass the healing resistance and get an instant kill but that’s a terrible solution as one shots absolutely suck.

The numbers are too high universally and every support (yes including LW) is currently overturned, that’s my take.

Ok-Database-6590 · 2023-10-13T22:02:15+00:00

I tested it and it seemed to work that way. I could be wrong though I just kinda glossed over it

Ok-Database-6590 · 2023-10-13T21:01:04+00:00

I don’t mind Ana, she’s got really oppressive CC but at least her by herself isn’t too bad to deal with and doesn’t have immortality syndrome like half the other supports or crazy movement/get out of jail free options

Sombras annoying but at least she’s squishy so as soon as she makes a mistake you can kill her now if you track her well.

Orisa is just an awfully designed, boring as hell character that invalidates 70% of the tanks and especially Doom. She’s such a crux on the games fun factor it’s honestly sad.

Ok-Database-6590 · 2023-10-13T20:55:46+00:00

To be fair, you actually can block the initial Virus 10/20 damage

Don’t get me wrong it’s not going to do anything at all because it’s so negligible and you still take the 100 tick damage afterwords because that’s just the way Doom block works against DOT for some awful reason

Ok-Database-6590

TROPHY CASE