Surgent StudiosAbubakar Salim has plenty of experience with the dark side of Hollywood. The actor-turned-game-director has appeared in TV shows like Raised by Wolves and House of the Dragon, on top of starring in games like Assassin’s Creed: Origins. In 2024, Salim’s Surgent Studios debuted its first game, a Metroidvania heavily inspired by African mythology, called Tales of Kenzera: Zau. Zau was an intensely personal game for Salim, exploring the trauma left by his father’s passing. Now he’s ready to debut his second game, and it’s no less personal, but in an entirely different way — molded by the experiences of himself and others in the world of entertainment. Dead Take is a horror-FMV game all about the “dark side of Hollywood,” casting the likes of Ben Starr (Final Fantasy XVI’s Clive) and Neil Newbon (Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3) as the live-action leading roles. An all-star cast of others actors joins the duo, including the likes of Matt Mercer, Laura Bailey, Jane Perry, and Sam Lake. In Dead Take, you play as an actor named Vinny (Newbon), who arrives at the opulent mansion of his friend Chase (Starr), who’s disappeared after a glitzy party. Weaving in elements of escape rooms, you have to explore the mansion and uncover live-action video clips that help piece the narrative together, and what’s happened to Chase. Think of it as Immortality meets Resident Evil, minus the zombies. Made by actors, Dead Take is about the gritty underbelly of the entertainment world, and the desperate fight so many actors and artists go through to “make it.” But as much as it’s a video game, it also feels like a statement. “Dead Take is about the film industry on the surface, but on a deeper level it’s directed more broadly - at wherever power, money, and fame intersect with art and creativity,” Salim tells Inverse.Just ahead of the release of Dead Take, Inverse had the chance to talk with Salim about how Surgent’s sophomore game was shaped by his own experiences. How long has Dead Take been in development? And why did you feel like a video game was the best fit for the story you wanted to tell?Salim: I met Bucky from Pocketpair [the studio behind Palworld] late last year at a games event, and we started throwing around ideas for a game that would eventually become Dead Take. It was very organic and just felt like the right fit. Dead Take was always envisioned as a game first and foremost, even when we knew we wanted to incorporate a live action element. It’s all part of my goal to invite players into my perspective and allow them to draw their own conclusions, which in my opinion is unique to games.The theme of Dead Take about the dark side of Hollywood seems fairly relevant to your experience as an actor. How is this game, and story, shaped by your experiences and career?Salim: The story is pulled directly from my firsthand knowledge of what it’s like trying to make your way as an actor.I have to ask what the casting process looked like for this game. How did you get the likes of Sam Lake, Ben Starr, Jane Perry, and more all working on the same project?Salim: To be honest, pretty much every role was written with the actor we cast in mind. I think that clarity of vision made it easier for actors to hop onboard. It was like, this part is for you; do you want to help me make a game about the dark side of acting? And it turns out actors have a lot to say about the things that go on behind the scenes.Dead Take is played entirely in first-person, except for when you’re diving into the live-action FMV clips | Dead TakeBuilding off that, many of those actors have distinct styles and characters at this point? For the characters of Dead Take, were they written with these actors in mind?Salim: Absolutely. As an actor within your community of peers, there’s always one or two who are firmly in your niche. Those are the ones who are going to all the same auditions that you are. Then there are the actors who are going for completely different roles than you, and they can feel less threatening but also weirdly competitive at times. It’s a fascinating mix, and I think we captured that really well with this cast.FMV games have a pretty unique place in the history of games. Why did an FMV style feel like the best format for this? And how does it let you embrace the horror elements of Dead Take?Salim: Swapping between first person 3D gameplay and live action video clips is such an unsettling experience as a player, and it felt like a fun button to press when leaning further into horror. At the same time, we worked hard to give the player a sense of agency around the videos, so it always feels like they’re performing a function rather than just playing for the sake of it. That’s where the streamlined splicing mechanic came from.Why did you choose a manor as the setting for Dead Take? Obviously games have a history there (like Resident Evil), but how did the setting let you explore the “dark side of Hollywood” as well?Salim: I’ve visited quite a few big creepy houses while working in LA, just in taking meetings and building connections. It’s all part of the gig. But many of them gave me such a weird vibe. They’re beautiful and opulent, but they’re also uncomfortably preoccupied with privacy. Then they’ll have a bizarre mix of items you’d never see anywhere else: priceless painting right next to cheesy movie props. It can make you feel off-kilter and confused, which is a great starting point for horror.Despite being based in reality, there’s a definitive sense of surrealism to the game’s locale. | Dead TakePsychological horror games are often about isolation. Is that something you’ve tried to go for with this game? Was there any horror media you looked at for inspiration?Salim: There are definitely elements of isolation within the themes of Dead Take, but for me the biggest takeaway will be around what happens between people as they strive for success. How do they treat one another? What do they lie about? Who are they willing to throw under the bus to get what they want? And, all too often, the answers are very unpleasant.Does Dead Take, to you, feel like a statement on the state of entertainment, both things like film and games, as a whole? How have events of the last few years, with things like the Actors and Writers’ strike, or even the mass layoff in video games, influenced what you wanted to do?Salim: Definitely. Dead Take is about the film industry on the surface, but on a deeper level, it’s directed more broadly — at wherever power, money, and fame intersect with art and creativity. The games industry has been volatile over the past few years, and in many ways Dead Take is how we're having our say.Dead Take launches on July 31 for PC.