Assassin’s Creed Info: History, religion, and the crusades
Okay, a lot has been reported about Assassin’s Creed already, and with the game’s marketing people constantly approaching/being approached by the press it’s really hard to discern what’s really new when it comes to this game. Needless to say, the people behind this game are really doing their “pimping” duties well.
So far we know that the main character, Altair, is a Muslim assassin, and that he’s on a mission to stop the crusade. We’ve also seen several gameplay videos and heard a lot about how gameplay will work. Crowd AI, moving around, all that stuff. All details released early just to help hype up this game.
Well, Jade Raymond, and crew are doing their duties again. The developers have yet again managed yet again to get themselves interviewed, this time by GamePro. Here are some of the more interesting bits from that interview.
On the game, history, and other touchy bits…
When asked about the historical and religious aspects of the game, Jade Raymond, Producer, was quick to say that Ubisoft took great caution in presenting sensitive issues like religion with respect. In her own words:
First and foremost it’s important to note that historically the Assassins were only nominally Islamic. They had their own philosophy – quite different from that of the Crusaders or the Saracens and did not ally themselves with either side. Since they were a sort of mystic secret society almost nothing about their actions or cause can be confirmed. This historic ambiguity has allowed us to portray the Assassins as a forward thinking group with the single objective to stop the war. Knowing that our subject is controversial by nature we have dealt with religion as a purely historical background element. We can not completely avoid religion because it was the impetus for the war.
“Nothing is True, Everything is permitted” rings true.
Get the rest of the Assassin’s Creed stuffies after the jump…
Okay, a lot has been reported about Assassin’s Creed already, and with the game’s marketing people constantly approaching/being approached by the press, it’s really hard to discern what’s really new when it comes to this game. Needless to say, the people behind this game are really doing their “pimping” duties well.
So far, we know that the main character, Altair, is a Muslim assassin, and that he’s on a mission to stop the crusade. We’ve also seen several gameplay videos and heard a lot about how gameplay will work. Crowd AI, moving around, all that stuff. All details released early just to help hype up this game.
Well, Jade Raymond and crew are doing their duties again. The developers have managed yet again to get themselves interviewed, this time by GamePro. Here are some of the more interesting bits from that interview.
On the game, history, and other touchy bits…
When asked about the historical and religious aspects of the game, Jade Raymond, Producer, was quick to say that Ubisoft took great caution in presenting sensitive issues like religion with respect. In her own words:
First and foremost it’s important to note that historically the Assassins were only nominally Islamic. They had their own philosophy – quite different from that of the Crusaders or the Saracens and did not ally themselves with either side. Since they were a sort of mystic secret society almost nothing about their actions or cause can be confirmed. This historic ambiguity has allowed us to portray the Assassins as a forward thinking group with the single objective to stop the war. Knowing that our subject is controversial by nature we have dealt with religion as a purely historical background element. We can not completely avoid religion because it was the impetus for the war.
“Nothing is True, Everything is permitted” rings true.
On the game controls, game situations, and shoving AI around…
Patrice Desilets, Creative Director explains that they mapped the game control system to be intuitive. He says that during play-testing, they realized that players still have to understand what they call action groups when they control Altair, so changed the system up a bit and they now have a hybrid system that helps the players understand the puppeteering style of controlling the character a bit quicker.
For example legs are controlled in free-running situations and hands in crowd interaction situations. It’s basically the same body-part based system that they had before, only this time rationalized to be even more intuitive.
As for combat, he says that since they’re trying their best to be as realistic as possible, don’t expect Altair to be able to somersault away after getting a good smack to the face.
On fire pits, side-missions, and storytelling
When asked about side-missions, and if Assassin’s Creed will be an open-world type experience, Disilets says that current generation games tend to have obstacles that are environmental. For example, fire pits, traps, spinning knives… the works.
While in this game, the environmental obstacles are still there, the real obstacle comes in the form of the crowd. Think the gangs and the cops in Saint’s Row or GTA only in a larger scale. You have to blend in, shove the right AI around, work around guards, move past pilgrims, and hobos. You all know this part already, it’s been hyped, but just in case you’ve been living under a rock, most side missions in the game according to Desilets, involve helping out certain parts of the population, so that allegiances of civilians in game will shift, and they in turn will help you out.
Overall, according to Desilets, that while fresh gameplay was a priority, it was important for the developers to provide a more mature form of storytelling in gaming. As he said:
We feel that it is only by dealing with real subjects that are relevant to people’s everyday lives that games will reach the next level as an entertainment medium.
Social obstacles and issues indeed.
Via GamePro