The History of Assassin's Creed (2006-2023) | Documentary

[Music] historically nazardi ismaili's the much-feared hashishines known to modernity as assassins constituted a shia islam sect that employed political murder as a chief means of dismantling their political and religious enemies the 11th century muslim missionary hassani sabha founded the religio political movement in support of nazar the fatimid caliph air designate who led an ineffective revolt following the denial of his succession interestingly details about this order of assassins relayed in arkandara's a history of secret societies as well as development on a sequel to prince of persia the sands of time inspired patrice dizilet to spearhead the creation of ubisoft's multi-million dollar assassin's creed property but what started as an experiment of swapping out a prince for an action-oriented hero quickly morphed into a sandbox adventure built to accommodate player freedom the advent of the second assassin's creed in 2009 saw the simplicity slowly begin to fade as the scale of the narrative and open world structure expanded considerably such growth never slowed either with each mainline installment proving more ambitious than the last by hopping between time periods and protagonists establishing larger worlds and introducing role-playing mechanics that once seemed foreign to the core pillars of the franchise thus fans have found themselves caught in the middle of an ancient greek conspiracy traversing the sweltering sands of ancient egypt navigating the squalor of victorian london and nearly everything else in between and it's been nothing short of a bumpy road replete with missteps and triumphs given the brand's storied past then its future could give way to an infinite number of possibilities this is the history of assassin's creed [Music] so [Music] ubisoft montreal opened up shop in 1997 working on a slew of oft-forgotten projects before truly making a name for itself with the release of splinter cell in 2002. as the tom clancy branded stealth title entered the incipient stages of production in 2001 publisher ubisoft secured the rights to prince of persia from mattel and the learning company ubisoft montreal's now former ceo janis milad jumped at the chance to produce a reboot having adored the original 1989 side scroller and thus prince of persia the sands of time was born beginning development in may 2001 with mala and creative director patrice disilla at the helm alongside a group of about half a dozen staffers prince of persia's 3d reimagining launched across consoles and pc in 2003 to critical acclaim and surpassed 10 million units in lifetime sales in short ubisoft montreal had yet another instant success on its hands one the studio's parent company was eager to follow with a subsequent title starring the titular prince ubisoft approached desolate about directing a sans of time sequel near the end of 2003 a task he admitted to struggling with during an edge magazine interview divulging the uncertainties he harbored about how to further expand upon the ip disilla felt the prince as an action hero poor limitations due to the nature of princely figures simply awaiting their crowning as king while conceptualizing the project in january 2004 the creative director recalled reading a history of secret society's assassins chapter in college and pondered the advantages of replacing the prince with an assassin as the playable hero the idea stuck culminating in desolate and a small group of sands of time veterans devoting about a year of pre-production to prince of persia assassin in a 12th century middle east set tale players would assume the role of an assassin who must rescue and escort a young ai controlled persian prince according to ign's 2014 account of the montreal studios history the growing popularity of multiplayer at the time prompted the consideration of cooperative gameplay options which manifested in a prototype crafted in six months the demonstration featured a white rubbed individual slaying a templar in a marketplace then fleeing on horseback with the help of another assassin designer philippe morat told ign it was at this juncture that developers knew they were no longer producing sands of times sequel ubisoft shrewdly shifted gears allowing the prince of persia crew to explore a new ip originally meant to debut as a multi-generational experience the playstation 2 incarnation notably involved an assassin wreaking havoc across cyprus island though the publisher sidelined the cross-gen direction to concentrate on pc and the then upcoming next-gen consoles the cypress-based premise resurfaced in the 2009 psp title assassin's creed bloodlines the abandonment of a multi-generational project broadened ubisoft montreal's horizons instead of following prince of persia's linear structure the assassin starring endeavour adopted an open-ended sandbox design a choice made in september 2004 shortly after producer jade raymond joined the team naturally the scale ballooned as developers experimented with new hardware opening the door for multiple explorable locales across the holy land including acker damascus and jerusalem philippe mora revealed that split-screen multiplayer served as another ambition receiving consideration on at least two separate occasions during pre-production however believing co-op wouldn't fit within the framework montreal ultimately decided against multiplayer especially given how drastically it would have affected crowds a more impactful gameplay supplement these decisions were predicated on the creation of new technology which ubisoft strove to utilize across all internal studios as a result the first two years of production on assassin's creed proved difficult to navigate with the montreal group building a new ip and game engine it was during this span of time that disallay and other leads outlined what their core experience entailed speaking with the guardian ahead of release disolay said they endeavored to center the game around a culture clash that featured no heroes or villains so as to position players and the assassin's brotherhood square in the middle with the historical assassins order in mind montreal settled on the third crusade as its backdrop feeling the morally ambiguous 12th century conflict perfectly befit complex themes regarding power and free will the fine-tuning of gameplay and design philosophies similarly took shape early in development resulting in what dizzilay dubbed two main ideas prioritizing large crowds and a sense of player freedom crowds as a reactive part of the game world entered the mix once next-gen consoles became the targeted platforms the ps2's paltry 32 megabytes of ram permitted only six or seven characters to concurrently appear on screen in sands of time fortunately the generational leap to ps3 and xbox 360 allowed dozens of scholars drunkards and roaming denizens to either assist the players assassination planes or derail them entirely but the sandbox world's masses of people weren't merely implemented to provide moving decorative nuances as jade raymond described it crowds played a pivotal part in creating gameplay opportunities fueling the innovative social stealth mechanics that immersed players in the role of protagonist al-tayir ibnla ahad social stealth engendered outside ears the ability to seamlessly blend into crowds and avoid detection the novel crowd system additionally let the character push his way past civilians and draw unwanted attention this level of immersion permeated developmental philosophies wherein art and design complemented each other an interplay that grew in prominence once the scimitar engine later known as anvil came online lead level designer david chattanov addressed the marriage of art and design in an edge interview noting that montreal built assassin's creed cities with traversal in mind to ensure the fleet-footed altair could climb almost every building such a union of disciplines worked in a manner reminiscent to splinter cell's shadow-centric stealth similarly handholds ledges and platforms and assassin's creed gave way to rooftop traversal facilitating player freedom with regards to the ways in which users could strategically approach assassination targets and it all integrated well with altair's fluid parkour abilities something dizzily invested in to satiate his interest in accomplishing with a third-person character what rockstar games did with the feeling of driving cars in grand theft auto an emphasis on control influenced the decision to allow user input during cut scenes too giving players a chance at role-playing altair whenever possible ubisoft montreal's attention to detail born to other facets of the experience as well namely storytelling and historical aspects a few roadblocks materialized though courtesy of limited sources contemporary to the third crusade's 1191 happenings thus while an attempt was made to faithfully recapture the holy land cities and citizens taking artistic liberties proved necessary more often than not the same held true for replicating historical conflicts like the battle of arseph it appeared in game yet the full 20 000 person skirmish would have been impossible to simulate plus the studio occasionally relied on secondary sources such as poets who were known to embellish to bring the likes of richard the lionheart to life every effort held the puzzle together making room for the fashioning of a believable third crusade experience housed within a framework boasting the assassins brotherhood whose creed set players on a mission to eliminate nine templar knights interestingly the nothing is true everything is permitted maxim behind said creed has long been attributed to hassan isaba purportedly serving as among the final words he uttered on his deathbed this historical mystique fueled the marketing for the first assassin's creed though some would consider the promotional campaign misleading upon discovering the modern day sci-fi vent intuition mode later renamed eaglevision may have offered hints to the bizarre twist however odd glitches scattered throughout trailers furnished similarly vague teases but developers played no part in these marketing choices according to jade raymond the producer divulged as much to the guardian saying the marketing department at ubisoft insisted on withholding information the production crew long to publicly share ahead of launch regardless of who called the shots critics and players noticed the emphasis on a modern-day plot that received little to no mention in the pre-release period the consensus that assassin's creed's animus conduit and sci-fi elements failed to hit the mark compounded the criticism tenfold redundant missions proved equally disappointing as did the limitations of the open world still the predominantly positive reviews and a better than average public reception indicated the three years of development paid off in spades further evidenced by the altar-led title moving over 10 million units by the time of assassin's creed 2's unveiling in april 2009 unbeknownst to the wider world the success of a repurposed prince of persia heralded the rise of a universe spanning far beyond the confines of the 12th century holy wars ubisoft montreal planted the seeds for an assassin's creed saga during development on the original by january 2008 those seeds manifested in a new setting the italian renaissance and a different protagonist ezio aditori da fidenze rumors posited feudal japan or the french revolution as the setting but desolate who reprised his role as creative director said the italian renaissance proved the ideal choice since it counted among the most fascinating periods in history the renaissance lasted between the 14th and 17th centuries denoting a rebirth across many disciplines science music and art constituted a few examples intellectual thought evolved to boot as philosophers and scholars traveled and studied reinvigorating greek and roman philosophies that positioned humanity at the forefront thereby reducing the influence of theism as a banking capital florence sat at the nexus of this rebirth its wealthier inhabitants often acting as the monetary support systems behind the day's brightest and creatively gifted minds it made sense then that assassin's creed would abandon altair the warrior monk raised to be an assassin in exchange for ezio the womanizing florentine nobleman forced into the brotherhood after tragedy befell his family historian margaret mazurev explained in the making of assassin's creed 2 that italy's lengthy rebirth additionally fostered times of political intrigue drama and violence ubisoft's montreal group explored much of it at the height of the renaissance by stretching the sequel across two decades 23 years of seo's life beginning in 1476 and concluding in 1499 this interval of ezio's adulthood consequently ran parallel with several historical touchstones which reflected well within assassin's creed ii's varied mission structure [Music] mission variety in ac2 was a direct response to the critiques of redundancy that plagued the altair stirring adventure no longer would players launch an investigation kill their target then rinse and repeat on nine separate occasions the production team instead crafted over a dozen mission types the majority of which ventured past assassination assassination-oriented objectives these ranged from narrative missions and synchronization points with climbing puzzles to assassin tombs and open-world events like chasing down messengers level design technical director christopher weiler described such efforts as a way to appeal to as many people as possible the studio still managed to preserve the core of assassin's creed keeping what fans loved about the initial game while building fresh features atop its foundation this tactic culminated in advancements for the anvil engine's lighting system permitting a day night cycle that added the texture lacking in altair's daytime only exploits anvil's ai technology similarly received an overhaul yielding extra flexibility for missions in addition to enemy types and their behaviors while some foes and ac2 relied on brute force others were agile capable of pursuing seo at buildings yet another kind of guard could scold the character under certain circumstances as could the commoners or search through hay bales of suspicions arose the proficiency of the player character improved in its own right with desolate telling gamespot the gold centered on creating more of an assassin and less of a warrior in turn the developers equipped ezio with the ability to disarm opponents perform upward leaps while climbing dual assassinate and even swim he also possessed a robust arsenal spanning axes halberds spears and a hidden blade the character could utilize throughout entire combat encounters despite the emphasis on establishing ezio's battle prowess however montreal designed fight or flight options for particularly difficult clashes smoke bombs thus became a lifeline for escaping hairy situations an enhanced version of assassin's creed's crowd feature proved equally integral to seo's effectiveness whereas crowds in the first title usually created obstacles their role in the sequel spawned gameplay opportunities such as blending in with groups to bypass guards or pickpocketing unsuspecting pedestrians ezio learned social stealth from the courtesans one of three factions who not only offered guidance on his vengeance quest but also rendered for hire services that benefited players in and out of combat dizzilay once divulged that these underworld forces existed to provide the burgeoning assassin with an extended family explaining that players needed to feel as though they were part of a united front a far cry from altair's lone wolf routine creative leads took user feedback into consideration when revisiting desmond miles and the modern day animus story as well critiques leveled against desmond's part in the 2007 entry revolved around an absence of interesting gameplay speaking with the sense-defunct joystick desolate insisted the subpar out of animus segments were a product of uncertainty about what an assassin's creed experience should entail with a better grasp of the franchise developers introduced the bleeding effect in ac2 allowing desmond to retain the parkour and fighting skills he learned from nco through the animus various training simulations enter the present day arc thanks to the bleeding effect simultaneously benefiting the gameplay and overarching templar versus assassin narrative everything's fine sure in the end assassin's creed ii delivered on previously unfulfilled potential it launched across ps3 and xbox 360 in november 2009 then on pc in march 2010 to glowing praise with reviewers and players applauding everything from seo and the dense open world to the refined gameplay and much improved storytelling elements barring the slow opening sequence and unbalanced fight system ac2 quickly secured its status as a fan favorite accomplishing such a hallmark release didn't happen without considerable growing pains though dizzilay spoke candidly about the sequel's development woes in a post-mortem on kotaku progression on the project had gone smoothly in the months leading up to 2009. by june however the team expressed concerns of not finishing in time for ubisoft's targeted november street date notably developers realized during the midpoint of the two-year production cycle that ac2 lacked scope and side content resulting in proposals aimed at adding fresh elements that weren't set within the main game world this period partway through 2009 begat the beloved assassin tombs linear missions inside historical landmarks that featured puzzle solving and free-running mechanics a new group formed out of ubisoft's singapore office built the assassin tombs in record time further enhancing the experience across all fronts yet for the sake of time the sequel's 400 plus staffers had to excise content as well though some of it eventually resurfaced via the battle of forly and bonfire the vanity's expansions an option to replay missions also fell by the wayside because of time constraints interestingly early pitches for multiplayer never gained much traction either all told ac2 struggled mightily in its final months distillate told kotaku that an august 2009 build felt especially rough even lacking so much as a save function fortunately the moving pieces settled into place by september and october yielded progress that culminated in the game's completion which was nothing short of a triumph montreal took risks followed history to the letter in some cases and compromised when the project demanded introducing a younger leonardo da vinci for instance who acted as zezio's equivalent of james bond's q risk taking gave assassin's creed a new face and ubisoft one of its most iconic heroes so it hardly came as a surprise when ezio reemerged as the third title's leading man go my son destroy them but remember for whom we assassins fight [Music] hey nice work today assassin's creed one and two employ the modern assassins versus templar conflict as a focal point to guide the series desmond miles's dna and the power of animus technology were the linchpins fueling players wondrous adventures through time while altair battled templars across the holy land ezio attacked rome's seat of power going after historical figure rodrigo borgia to avenge his family ubisoft montreal saw no other way forward than to continue each of these stories since as jean-francois boevan put it the borgia family story in 1499 had only just begun the same held true for ferezio in the assassin's creed universe ac2 depicted a young man transitioning into his role as a master assassin the third entry ac brotherhood rendered the fantasy of playing a master assassin who leads a guild and recruits others to join the fight for free will it was this premise that ubisoft touted during the project's e3 2010 reveal and fans seem invested from the outset though the title raised questions of brotherhood status as a potential spin-off montreal insisted and later proved the subtitle chapter constituted no less than a full game mission director gaelic samar clarified the naming convention in the ubisoft sit down stating another numbered installment would have signaled the advent of a new ancestor notably the continuation of ezio's arc allowed for a speedy turnaround instead of ramping down after assassin's creed ii montreal moved right into production on brotherhood creative leads knew they wanted to fully explore rome thus the graphics department set about expanding upon the city's ac2 build enhancement to the combat system and ai additionally represented top priorities same for the new gameplay elements the team tackled early in the one-year production cycle the anvil engine and art design received improvements too giving developers plenty of work to manage in addition to crafting a fresh experience fortunately ubisoft ensured four other internal studios assisted the montreal group annecy bucharest quebec city and singapore ubisoft annecy in particular produced brotherhood's multiplayer suite an inspired choice given its creation of splinter cell's innovative spies versus mercs for better or for worse assassin's creed officially entered uncharted territory brotherhood amounted to more than a subtitle or a grand idea that typically lingered in the background the third title positioned the assassins order in rome as an optional gameplay system players could leverage in ezio's fight against the borgia under the papacy of rodrigo borgia pope alexander vi the city fell into a decrepit state its citizens subjected to living in crime ridden conditions as the pope and his kin lived lavishly in brotherhood ezio empowered the disenfranchised rescuing those in need before inviting them to join his fledgling assassins guild a feature montreal balance to ensure players felt powerful yet reasonably restrained an insistence on balance additionally informed the implementation of horseback riding and the combo-based fighting system changes of this nature and others alleviated gameplay issues that had persisted since the altair days meanwhile ac2 traits like the monterey gionee villa upgrades expanded considerably allowing players to effect change across rome once fans finished seos and desmond's stories the multiplayer modes offered an experience from a completely different perspective that of the templars montreal had long tried injecting online gameplay to the assassin's creed universe yet proposed ideas failed to align with key tennis of the story annecy solved the problem by folding the multiplayer premise into an embedded templar narrative as they fled up stergo at the start of ec2 desmond and lucy ran through a room filled with anime that abstergo used to train his subjects by the bleeding effect brotherhood's multiplayer positioned players in the role of said trainees providing a contrasting look at the never-ending assassin versus templar conflict the brand's evolution wasn't only playing out in game days ahead of brotherhood 3 z 3 2010 unveiling ubisoft confirmed desolate's departure with his work on brotherhood essentially complete the creative director elected to take a creative break from the industry dizzilay corroborated as much in an open letter the following october teasing plans to launch a new label under the umbrella of publisher thq associate producer jean-francois blevan quelled concerns of those who questioned the future of the brand noting that while desolate served as a great creative force he didn't count as assassin's creed's soul visionary plus the group previously established a long-term road map for the universe boevan told gamer signs promising the only real difference would lie in his status as the new public-facing executive there seemed no need to worry about whether the history-hopping license would continuously deliver exciting adventures especially once brotherhood launched to widespread acclaim in november 2010 though not as transformative of an experience as its immediate predecessor ezio's impressive second outing left everyone wondering if assassin's creed could secure repeat success for the fourth time in a row after ubisoft has chewed convention by deploying brotherhood only one year following ac2 fuevan believed the license demanded a chance to recalibrate and return in a year or two with something refreshing to show he expressed this desire in an interview with eurogamer before brotherhood's arrival almost lamenting how the business would override his statement in favor of chasing sales the business validated his concern on the eve of brotherhood's launch when ubisoft's ceo eve guimo told investors an assassin's creed would hit stores in 2011 and implied annualized releases were the ultimate goal in pursuit of such an ambitious feat developers conceived major story and character arcs well in advance the basic premise for what would become ac revelations inadvertently materialized in february 2010 when lead writer darby mcdevitt began workshopping ideas for ezio's post-brotherhood adventure ubisoft conceived this particular episode as the nintendo 3ds game assassin's creed lost legacy announced during e3 2010 lost legacy would have seen ezio venture to masiaf in search of the order's lost castle the publisher canceled the spin-off in september 2010 supposedly believing the nintendo portable already had its share of hardcore launch games dropping the 3ds project allowed ubisoft to prioritize the fourth mainline installment revelations whose main concepts were derived from lost legacy a desire to unearth the origins of the assassin's order still drove ezio in revelations though he journeyed towards constantinople to obtain answers as opposed to investigating lost legacy's holy land setting despite the shift in environments montreal stayed the path of colliding the worlds of altair and ezio the objective centered on closing the two assassins respective chapters and answering lingering questions about the mysteries raised across assassin's creed one through brotherhood mcdevitt maintained however that desmond's tale would continue meaning developers had no intention of neatly tying every loose end in the 2011 entry specifically because of the modern day storyline's emphasis on their 2012 doomsday prophecy alexandre amancio the creative director behind revelations candidly admitted to the guardian that assassin's creed's constantly growing universe ran the risk of collapsing under the weight of its own mythology revelations represented an effort to preemptively mitigate the issue meanwhile constantinople thematically and geographically yielded the perfect playground in which to achieve that end hezios and all-tiger's crossing paths were thematically reflected in constantinople being the crossroads of trade between europe and asia during the era better still the historical city's early 16th century layout befit the needs of a typical assassin's creed map its slope-laden terrain for example gave developers license to integrate new navigation mechanics slopes begat zip lines which in turn opened the door for ezio's hook blade offering speed and fluidity the action adventure series had yet to explore the hook blade acted as somewhat of a crutch for at co2 enabling the master assassin to continue using acrobatics despite his older age revelations ubisoft anissy created multiplayer suite borrowed the hookblade and other single-player features for its own use annese additionally bolstered the online offering with new game modes facebook social options and content that promoted narrative cohesion between the campaign and multiplayer ezio's final mission marked quite the undertaking and the first assassin's creed lacking patrice desolate's direct contribution but barring ubisoft's accidental leak of the name and logo ac revelations more or less wrapped up altair san nezio's character arcs without a hitch while many perceived the experience in his totality as a half step revelations seemed a worthy end to a much beloved era though the bookend for nco's life played out in ub workshop's animated short film assassin's creed embers as the credits rolled on these adventures the weight commenced for who would don the iconic rogues in the next number title what um i i was told you could train me no aiming to reinvent the property several senior designers and programmers split from the core assassin's creed group following the 2009 release of ac2 they targeted two goals establishing a jumping on point for newcomers and enhancing the anvil engine to deliver a next-gen experience on ps3 and xbox 360. assassin's creed iii creative director alex hutchinson expounded further in game informers april 2012 cover story recalling the team's investment in adhering to the pillars of navigation social stealth and combat all while forging a new path to craft something radically different from what came before this drive towards change resulted in an expansion of the ac lineage positioning a new lead character and setting at the forefront in the moccasins of conor kenway known to natives who raised him as radon hogidan players would bear witness to the dawn of new world democracy in colonial era america between the years of 1753 and 1783. the american revolution presented an intriguing backdrop whose historical complexity required an equally multifaceted protagonist hutchinson claimed considerations for female assassins were always up in the air yet argued a heroin skulking amongst the male-dominated revolutionary war wouldn't have passed as believable to audiences montreal still colored outside the lines constructing a hero who sided with neither the colonials nor the redcoats connor's heritage as half mohawk and half english exemplified ac3's exploration of duality positioning him beyond the confines of any specific culture the developers also distinguished him from previous ancestors exchanging ezio's bravado for conor's silent display of heroism behavior characterized by the horrific injustices his people faced instead of seeking vengeance allah ezio connor chose a path of justice acting as a freedom fighter whose destiny fortuitously merged with that of the assassin's order in addition conor's movement style and demeanor differed from his forerunners where ezio's every move exuded elegance conor's ruggedness as a frontiersman lent itself well to predator-like bearings and stealth and combat this came across in his penchant for crouching low and dual wielding weapons like the tomahawk and knife that offered advantages while moving around and beneath the enemy the thousands of animations created exclusively for the character accentuated these movements too and weren't only on display and conflict thanks to the power of anvil next the upgraded engine ubisoft montreal elevated the usual parkour mechanics to incorporate the seamless climbing of cliffs and trees early in production anvil next capabilities encouraged the studio to pursue in-game activities like hunting wildlife though red dead redemption's may 2010 release boasted commendable hunting mechanics lead writer matt turner maintained montreal never felt undercut by rockstar's accomplishment rather ac3 creators took inspiration from the wild west adventure looking to broach the gameplay idea from disparate directions anvil next additionally facilitated the advent of naval combat which akin to hunting laid the groundwork for the franchise's future reliance on light rpg mechanics a purported next generation ready engine anvil next was touted as technology capable of rendering up to 2 000 people on screen at once ubisoft teased the targeted feat during an e3 2012 cinematic trailer that depicted conor at depthly blazing through the battle of bunker hill with thousands of british and colonial soldiers warring around him unfortunately the game's actual bunker hill segment hailed in comparison exposing the limitations of the hardware and will next had to run on ignoring unmet expectations assassin's creed 3 looked and played exceptionally its character models especially shined in comparison to past entries courtesy of montreal employing performance capture for the first time in series history recording voice motion and face capture simultaneously conforming to some semblance of authenticity also involved the casting of native americans along with the usage of the mohawk language the publisher spared no expense on what ceo eve gimo labeled the biggest assassin's creed to date in a 2012 earnings call the executive disclosed that ubisoft had invested more money and resources into ac3 than any of its predecessors this bullish approach obviously worked in the french company's favor since the conor led project sold approximately 7 million copies within a month making it ubisoft's fastest selling title up until that point such meteoric success landed in spite of marketing upsets which included premature leaks and accusations that ac3 promotional materials heavily favored american propaganda conor's arguably bland personality caused contention as well particularly in comparison to ezio at the very least the historical elements of ac3 garnered appreciation but many considered colonial america unfit for the action-adventure brand little did the public know ubisoft already had a far grander setting in mind a period in history that played well within the franchise's framework yet would prove too overpowering as to distract from what made assassin's creed well assassin's creed and with conor's debut heralding the end of the desmond miles and 2012 saga the most contentious aspect of the series was primed to either sink or swim [Music] conor starred as the main protagonist of assassin's creed iii nevertheless the tale told also focalized his british-born father haytham kenway whose ancestral lineage and templar connections paved the way for subsequent assassin's creed outings rather than build a trilogy around a central player character like ezio montreal set the stage for a batch of experiences whose leads were anchored to a single common denominator hatham thus edward kenway hatham's father and conor's grandfather embarked on seafaring adventures as the star of 2013's assassin's creed iv black flag set in 1715 during a golden age of piracy black flag explored a different attempt at democracy away from the british empire's prying eyes which when juxtaposed against the american revolution later in the century bore the marks of consummate failure pirates were a reckless and boisterous lot who drank away their spoils or died while trying edward conway exemplified this notion wholeheartedly his impoverished upbringing informing the selfishness that drove him to the caribbean's high seas these personality traits said edward apart from his grandson conor as did his charming demeanor in charisma basic stereotypes aside montreal avoided the romanticization of pirates so popularized by robert louis stevenson's treasure island and disney game director ashraf ismail described black flag as an opportunity to tell a gritty hbo version of piracy's so-called golden age an effort that edward's internal conflict further reinforced the selflessness required by the brotherhood's creed directly clashed with the pirate's self-centeredness giving way to a character arc that deviated from even that of ezios of course black flag inspired myriad other firsts for the property quite a few of which became series mainstays [ __ ] pirates [Music] in summer 2011 another team separate from the ac3 group split off to form black flags band of creators the end of desmond saga instituted a new beginning for the present-day narrative and provided yet another jumping on point for series newcomers montreal's ac4 developers consequently waded into uncharted waters by eschewing the need for a dna connection between present-day animus users and a historical assassin desmond's ancestry remained essential as far as edward kenway was concerned though a nameless first-person player avatar took the lead in the modern timeline their background positioning them as a fresh-faced employee within the templar run abstergo entertainment historically pirates seem the next logical step their climbing and fighting abilities appropriate for assassin's creed gameplay that they were outlaws made all the more sense justifying the continued use of stealth mechanics for instance naturally the then newly assembled team expanded upon ac3's naval combat devising a robust suite of c-centric features that didn't bleed into the multiplayer component but spawned the development of ubisoft singapore's skull and bones naval warfare and upgrades for edward ship the jackdaw represented only a piece of the main course the other buttressed by open world exploration that stretched across mainland areas such as nassau and kingston and 50 unique locations encompassing small islands and underwater points of interest to build the first pirate game of considerable scale black flag stewards look to win waker for inspiration in addition ashraf ismail cited skyrim and ubisoft montreal's own far cry 3 as influential to creating a sense of seamless exploration players needed to sail the open seas spot something interesting in the distance dive into the water and swim to their desired locale without loading far cry 3 veterans aided in developing these systemic ingredients which involved an innovative weather system that heightened the challenge of ship navigation despite the introduction of pirates there existed an eagerness to uphold what ismail deemed the comforts of assassin's creed black flag in turn recycled ac1's mission structure enabling a semblance of freedom concerning how players approached objectives some argued however the comforts ismail spoke of had slowly begun to wane by the time assassin's creed 4 arrived possibly the result of four separate creative directors taking the helm across six mainline entries annualized releases likely didn't help with the perceived identity crisis either ac4 even broke tradition by posting a number title and suffix to distinguish the rest of the license from the pirate motif according to lead content manager carson myhill speaking with cvg myhill insisted the black flag moniker also communicated ac4 as the interactive pirate adventure audiences had long awaited yet while few would argue against the resulting experience being labeled an exceptional pirate game countless questioned why it warranted the assassin's creed branding at all this ac faithful would contemplate as the series continued to broaden its horizons months ahead of black flag's cross-gen rollout on 7th and 8th generation consoles eurogamer pressed ubisoft montreal had janus mala about the ip's annualization malla stated audiences would communicate when regular releases should cease arguing that since more players were jumping on board such a day didn't appear imminent the gamers are happy he proclaimed expressing confidence in the notion that the frequency of content mattered little so long as the quality remained of a high standard to no one's surprise ubisoft's practice of tasking two lead development teams with simultaneously toiling away on separate assassin's creed projects persisted into the ps4 and xbox one era ubisoft sophia the bulgaria satellite that typically worked in a support capacity helmed production on 2014's ac rogue for ps3 and xbox 360. meanwhile the brand's montreal headquartered principal studio headlined ac unity the ps4 and xbox one title which landed the same year rogue marked the first time montreal didn't sit in the driver's seat on a mainline installment giving the arguably time-worn series a fresh set of eyes ubisoft used this opportunity to fulfill fan requests that long asked for a templar aligned protagonist though centralizing the typically villainous organization already seemed a herculean effort ubisoft sofia boasted ambitions of portraying the templar order as a complex and rational organization operating under the banner of high ideals producer carl fonderlou and lead game designer michael hamden shirked away from the belief that assassin's creed's constantly warring institutions were locked in a battle between right and wrong or good and evil the developers instead described the millennium's old antagonism between assassins and templars as morally ambiguous a concept lou claimed rogue would expose in a manner unlike its progenitors assassin turned templar shea patrick cormac proved tantamount to this premise assuming the role of an assassin hunter for the templars following his suffering at the hands of the brotherhood's betrayal moreover shea's origin story and the seven years war backdrop that span the north atlantic new york and the great appalachian valley bridge the gap between the events of ac3 and its black flag prequel thereby concluding the north american saga ties to the kenway family arc further secured rogue a place within the wider assassin's creed universe alongside its historical and narrative segway into the french revolution set unity perhaps we should start a revolution of our own in many respects rogue's gameplay and open world exploration evolved that which pervaded black flag nautical clashes returned with templar exclusive weaponry like burning oil and machine guns shea received access to a few long range projectiles and a batman arkham style counter-attack move both constituting an effort to implement more player choice the enemy shae regularly faced necessitated these updates to assassin's creed's fundamental gameplay pillars with said foes including assassins equipped with the same skills that players often leveraged against templars and countless other enemy combatants for example assassins could pop out of haystacks for surprise attacks stealthy maneuvers all too familiar to fans as one would expect the integration of these tactics mandated an ai system overhaul to ensure systemic ai behaviors rarely followed scripted or predictable paths sophia's ambitious endeavor ultimately shipped to mixed reception some critics and players lamented the lack of a multiplayer component opinions on shay and the overarching narrative vacillated between likable and compelling too disinteresting and boring the open world of ac rogue garnered its own range of impressions still assassin's creed's final outing on 7th generation hardware fared far better in the public consciousness than its sister release the cost this is my new creed i am shay patrick cormack templar of the colonial of the american right producers pitched the french revolution as a potential backdrop at the end of brotherhood's production in late 2010. ubisoft asked alex amancio to oversee the project but invited him to direct the sun setting of ezio's ark in revelations first during a game and former cover story amancio detailed the challenges of building revelations in approximately 10 months with a crew comprised of two-thirds assassin's creed novices by contrast ac unity came to fruition in three plus years and boasted a team of mostly veterans several of whom began tinkering with technology for the title after shipping brotherhood designing it as the first true next-gen installment ubisoft montreal along with nine support studios molded unity on anvil next 2.0 yielding results such as a revised mission structure upgraded navigation features and cooperative gameplay the new technology permitted dense crowds packed with thousands of npcs each one behaving independently capable of reacting to their fellow parisians and the player character's actions in addition a tracking system that displayed icons for points of interest in real time diminished the need for a map an overhaul to navigation introduced controlled descent addressing past complaints about the difficulty of descending tall buildings and structures likewise objections to the unforgiving parameters of tailing missions inspired adaptive mission mechanics which added flexibility to typically rigid quest constraints unity also saw the stealth franchise finally adopt a dedicated crouch button and cover system these additions fed into creative director alex amancio's hope that fans would view unity as a rebirth for the ip a notion fortified by the integration of four player co-op in a gamescom 2014 discussion with access the animus lead game designer benjamin pliesch said the embryonic phases of development were spent pondering how best to fulfill the promise of a real assassin's brotherhood once co-op became the avenue with which to achieve this feat unity's developers focused on refining a tech engine that complied with online connectivity incidentally unforced errors early in the press tour sparked controversy that more or less overshadowed the innovation montreal staffers claimed in pre-release interviews that female assassins were considered for co-op then abandoned because of the extra production work required for animations visual assets and voices other developers from across the industry chimed in following the ensuing backlash with ac3 animator jonathan cooper saying women assassins would have only taken a day or two to render amancio backpedaled in his response to the outcry insisting that while he understood concerns about representation such a cause didn't apply to unity even in co-op every player would always see protagonist arno dorian on screen as their character consequently arno as the common denominator seemed the only logical option expounding further omancio clarified that despite his previous words and those of his colleagues animation-related setbacks played no part in the decision to omit playable female assassins you're all right monsieur too much of the king's champagne what are you waiting for best spot it's time to jump ac unity did receive one leading lady elise de la serre a non-playable character and love interest to arno a templar whose family tragedy intertwined with the main plot elise emerged as a product of ubisoft's attempt to deliver a mature experience arno's and elise's complex love story formed the basis of this goal their allegiances to opposing sides of an ancient conflict prompting creators to avoid sidelining the romance in a b plot as a result arno and elise were paired together when feasible though technical limitations prevented montreal from pushing the envelope amancio specifically cited the technical costs of parkour melee combat and other tenants of open world assassin's creed entries as reason for restrictions on independent ai companions the evolution of the series storytelling on top of a concerted effort to minimize the reliance on cut scenes began an experience initially meant to serve as the model for next-gen assassin's creed escapades however a litany of bugs and technical issues including the infamous no-face glitch reportedly caused by certain graphics cards obstructed any ground unity could have gained as a blueprint for future endeavors the content itself suggested that had it launched minus the notorious blemishes unity may have triumphed amongst the fan favorite chapters instead this french revolution said tale merely garners remembrance as the worst rated mainline assassin's creed to date bonjour what have you been doing nothing before the advent of ac rogue and unity rogue's carl fonderlu told eurogamer only a vocal minority of players felt that deploying two games in as many months was overkill rogue serviced those unable to purchase a ps4 or xbox one unity catered to the fans who made the jump their respective sales numbers eventually proved lou correct since the back-to-back titles managed to sell a combined 10 million units by february 2015. in spite of its troubled launch unity racked up an even more impressive sales total appearing on the list of 11 ubisoft games that sold 10 million copies during the ps4 and xbox one era assassin's creed fatigue had slowly set in regardless and the shortcomings of unity exacerbated the exhaustion a fact ubisoft wouldn't see reflected in its financials until syndicate arrived and underperformed due to no fault of its own montreal handed the reins to sister studio ubisoft quebec around 2012. ubisoft proper invested millions in quebec's expansion hastening its transition from support crew to leading development house one that with the assistance of nine other teams built the 1860 set ac syndicate victorian london provided a compelling background scenario thanks to the industrial revolution during which the city experienced exponential growth the power of steam induced the rise of faster more efficient machinery factories swelled in number migration from rural areas to cities accelerated and overcrowding took hold slum development typified but one side effect as the disenfranchised suffered under the boot of labor exploitation assassin's creed's templar order leveraged this misfortune to its advantage wielding power over london's denizens in such a way that two assassins twins jacob and evie fry made it their mission to rest back control named in honor of the crime syndicate the fry twins would build to overthrow templar influence ac syndicate reimagined some of the brand's primary themes quebec discarded the reliance on blending mechanics for instance reasoning that concealed identities were of no use in the criminal underground cover based sneaking morphed into a focus on manipulating the environment unity's hard snap cover system received a softer touch and parkour movements particularly through windows underwent extra refinement according to creative director mark alexi cote smoother navigation accommodated the rejection of cover based stealth and the addition of a rope launcher the lateral traversal tool owing its creation to busy streets replete with horse-drawn carriages and crowds gameplay systems were streamlined for the production of story missions and activities too most notably every main quest side mission and open world event contributed to jacobs and eb's goal of uniting london's gangs and supplanting the templars we are responsible for saving my life is this true playing as two different protagonists was yet another series first that players acclimated to each twin bringing their own personality and fighting style to the table being the brains of the operation served evie's wet and stealthier approach to conflict whereas her brother jacob assumed the part of the charismatic englishman and brawler as senior producer francois pallan mentioned to website video gamer the twins played into assassin's creed's strengths truly homing in on the dna motif yet under the management of chief creative officer serge haskoway who resigned in 2020 amid abuse allegations ubisoft quebec reportedly lacked the freedom to deliver its vision as intended in investigating reports of harassment and workplace toxicity within ubisoft studios bloomberg learned the roles of multiple female characters were minimized at the behest of company leadership and marketing sources claimed syndicate originally boasted a more even split between the playable content designed for jacob and evie alleged meddling from haskowa and others tipped the balance in jacob's favor with the resulting product featuring an estimated 60 40 split between the frey siblings though the brand underwent a hiatus following syndicate's disappointing market performance which cfo alain martinez attributed to unity's poor reception issues of women's representation in assassin's creed later resurfaced effectively derailing yet another group's vision they trip on the same mistakes over and over syndicates succeeded indubitably in several areas movement felt better than ever quebec significantly reduced content bloat side missions carried importance and the characters were memorable but fallout from unity cast a long shadow evidenced in syndicate's lower than expected launch sales the publisher acknowledged the waning interest in its marquee franchise by giving assassin's creed a year off in 2016 and promising to re-examine the brand and development process so as to return with evolved mechanics and unique experiences unbeknownst to the public the work to accomplish as much had already kicked into high gear ubisoft developed an impressive cadence over time fostering a process wherein production on ac titles strategically overlapped the tangled web of core and support team assignments propelled the company shipped out of its collaborative studio model to a co-development approach ensuring every crew's contribution mattered to the finished product 2017's ac origins benefited from this revised system in myriad ways after completing black flag in 2013 select montreal employees spent the preceding two years outlining how to best modernize assassin's creed before satellite studios joined to help close out the four-year production cycle ashraf ismail once again led the charge as creative director accepting the challenge of exploring the brotherhood's beginnings ac origins thus ventured to ancient egypt over a thousand years ahead of the first games events in 1191 ismail pushed for a very personal story about suffering that players could identify with devising the unraveling of a problem that would give birth to an organization capable of surviving for two thousand plus years and ancient egypt's reality as a 49 bc seemed an ideal stage given that the rise of cleopatra ushered in a clash of civilizations contextually montreal accentuated the effects that emerging roman and greek influences had on the demise of popular egyptian mythology and cultures this inflection point cultivated the founding of the hidden ones the brotherhood's precursor its clandestine operations a thematic response to the coming of a new world forcing those born of the old to adapt in an interview with gama sutra ismail called protagonist bayek of siwa the personification of ancient egypt his journey and that of his wife aya giving way to the lore and rituals peppered throughout assassin's creed one sources who spoke to bloomberg however claimed bayek originally played a much smaller part had montreal gotten to build origins from earlier drafts bayek reportedly would have died during the opening act making aya the playable lead the narrative still positioned her as crucial to the hidden one's establishment but the alleged interference of former executive serge haskaway robbed developers of yet another chance at delving into a prominent female assassin in the mainline series he was not the last one notwithstanding executive meddling montreal and his sister studios enhanced nearly every aspect of the trademark assassin's creed formula in origins players could explore egypt and its varied environment seamlessly for one and the ai evolved to infuse all npcs even wildlife with intelligent routines integrating dynamics that ensured busy daytime hotspots exhibited a scarcity of nighttime activity the teams further immersed players with the implementation of sandstorms challenging open world effects that underscored the threatening atmosphere of desert areas a sense of unrematching heat additionally spawned instances of hallucinations for bayek triggering visions that either illuminated points of interest or alluded to past events the co-development production model elevated the massive world's variety in its own right courtesy of each satellite studio injecting unique flavors into the robust experience ubisoft singapore known for black flag's ship gameplay as well as skull and bones built the southeast section of origin's map and tackled naval content ubisoft sofia of rogue fame handled the northwestern portion littering the space with tombs and pyramids alongside quests that felt more carefully stitched together than missions developed by other creative hands although each group possessed a share of artistic leeway ismail remarked during an appearance on the gamemaker's notebook podcast that everyone followed guidelines for consistency's sake one rule in particular allowed for a single eradicate quest per hub ismail thought this design choice necessary as to not frustrate players with non-stop attacking since these mission types required the elimination of every enemy in a designated locale pursuing a well-balanced experience also motivated montreal to debut difficulty settings difficulty modifiers were an answer to the introduction of greater gameplay depth added via fresh combat mechanics comprising shields parries and numerous auxiliary abilities these changes modernized the brand just in time for its 10th anniversary while the inclusion of difficulty settings catered to those whose interests primarily rested in narrative and historical elements a similar line of thinking incentivized the creation of discovery tour the violence-free exploration mode that cemented itself as a series mainstay in discussing discovery tour during a talk at the 2017 montreal international game summit art director rafael acosta said the team wanted people from all walks of life to venture across the magnificent open world and learn about ancient egypt without the burden of gameplay hindrances the free mode launched in 2018 months after origins critically acclaimed release in 2017 elevating the package to even greater heights evidently ac origins accomplished far more for its namesake than providing a compelling origin story discovery tour along with the piecemeal rollout of season pass content free dlc and the hidden ones on the curse of the pharaoh's expansions set the stage for what would become the brand's new status quo [Music] 2018's ac odyssey from ubisoft quebec took the new normal establishing origins and increased it tenfold shaping assassin's creed into ubisoft's vision of a single-player live service this phase of the franchise's expansion hardly left room for the mobile and handheld console adventures that had long accompanied mainline titles or acted as interstitial releases yet at least one of the mobile initiatives withstood the pressures of the overcrowded market anti-eaters chronicles arrived in 2008 on mobile devices and nintendo ds as the earliest of such endeavors charting the hero's escapades a year ahead of the initial games events psp owners received bloodlines in 2009 as a sequel to the original adventure bloodline situated altair in cyprus where he hunted members of the templar order who fled from acker ac2 discovery was another 2009 spin-off that hit ds and mobile marking assassin's creed's side-scrolling debut not until 2012's ac3 liberation on ps vita did these offshoots garner widespread attention ubisoft notably billed it as a companion piece to ac3 proper a story centered on the ip's first heroine aveline de grompre born to a french aristocrat and slave lent liberation an added level of gravitas even though the experience itself stopped short of meeting expectations lesser known mobile entries went to market around this time as well namely multiplayer installment rearmed real-time board game recollection naval centric pirates and card battling rpg memories in 2014 ubisoft explored another type of content release tactic upon deploying ac force freedom cry expansion as standalone dlc that centralized runaway slave turned pirate ottawa the ac chronicles series of 2.5 d platformers on pc vita and consoles saw the property once again dabbled in side-scrolling gameplay china india and russia provided the settings for a triumphant of small somewhat experimental adventures each enriched by distinct hand-painted visuals while this chronicles trio earned meddling reviews at best it remains among the most memorable of ac secondary projects ubisoft unleashed three other mobile games on smartphones between 2016 and 2018. the 2016 action adventure ac identity returned players to the italian renaissance complete with connections to the seo trilogy arno dorian starring 2d platformer arnos chronicles became available only on select android phones in europe during june 2017 and finally free-to-play mobile rpg ac rebellion touched down in late 2018 letting users assume the roles of different assassins simultaneously rebellion's free-to-play status regular updates and microtransactions indicated ubisoft's shift to service driven business wouldn't be exclusive to pc and consoles [Music] ac origin surpassed 10 million copies sold its road to meteoric success invited the service model that would consume the brand owing to the fact that origin's light rpg and progression mechanics cleared the way for games as a service style monetization the quebec staffers paid close attention to montreal's innovations as they too pursued role-playing ideas for what eventually became ac odyssey because odyssey's development began midway through that of origins quebec integrated various elements from the latter explaining ubisoft's back-to-back delivery of the two titles quebec deviated from the ancient egypt adventures progression system in combat however choosing class-based fighting and special abilities inspired by hopes of deepening battle mechanics internal interest in delving deeply into the role-playing genre spurred the advent of narrative choices and dialogue options creative director jonathan dumas characterized these additions as boons for story depth and relatability with the decision of playing as cassandra or her brother alexios appearing as the first in-game choice gaming trends sit down with narrative director mel mccubery revealed the character select option as a decision designed to communicate the value of choice yet odyssey constituted another assassin's creed entry that bloomberg sources referenced in their corporate interference claims akin to aya developers initially pitched cassandra as the main character and while the promotional campaign and tie-in media positioned her as the canonical protagonist serge haskaway and unspecified members of ubisoft's marketing department reportedly dictated the insertion of a male colleague believing despite contradicting evidence that female-led games didn't sound fans later pondered whether these fundamental changes were the reason for alexios and cassandra's overly similar personalities in the face of overreach from on high the quebec studio still devised ways of successfully pushing the ip forward which meant going backwards four centuries prior to origins events ancient greece entered the picture during odyssey's first year of development its unshakable influence on modern politics language storytelling and culture a motivating factor by virtue of the peloponnesian war between athens and sparta the period from 431 to 422 bc provided a wealth of material for drafting proto assassins versus templar friction odyssey thus journeyed beyond the assassins and maintained the property's ideological pillars of contrasting order against chaos to the chagrin of many a fan trending backwards precipitated the bending of continuity cassandra and alexios could perform the leap of faith for example although origins established the jump as an invention of ayahs and bayek's time 400 years later de may addressed continuity concerns in a post-launch kataku interview defending the broken rule set by describing such instances as necessary for brand growth quebec also followed origin's footsteps of bucking tradition upon injecting mythological sentiments into the lore assassin's creed played fast and loose with sci-fi tropes yet typically remain grounded in reality greek mythology and ac odyssey reflected the ancient greeks genuine beliefs in myths gods and legends so developers intertwined the likes of medusa to assassin's creed's isu mythology deftly scripted references to classic greek tragedies and comedies reared their heads across open world stories as well as quebec borrowed from homer's the odyssey oedipus rex and other literary epics to flesh out the experience and the studio hoped the advent of exploration mode with its reduced hud and navigation features would boost player interest in discovering these stories and points of interest for themselves and return to tell me the tale of your adventures for an experience lasting upwards of 100 hours or more odyssey exceeded expectations on many fronts yet its flaws seem most affecting in some cases the title became embroiled in a microtransaction controversy at launch in 2018 because of time savers stat boosters and a score of in-game purchasing options while purchasable items were attainable through progression the resource grind felt unreasonably steep triggering accusations that ubisoft deliberately increased the difficulty curve to steer users towards spending money on speeding up an exhaustive process the publisher denied the claims but soon thereafter received backlash for a different type of paid content demonstrated by comments from ubisoft's emea executive director alan core the company internally viewed odyssey as a live service recurring story missions in-game events and paid expansions the latter distributed via season pass replaced persistent online content typically associated with games as a service free offerings such as weekly challenges and a drip feed of story episodes kept players engaged long term while the season pass contained two narrative works lasting three episodes apiece the fate of atlantis demystified plato's lost city meanwhile legacy of the first blade brought fans face to face with darius the first assassin to wield a hidden blade by the end of first blade's second installment some players found the trek through the order's history bittersweet their previous romantic choices ignored in favor of a forced heterosexual romance with darius's offspring those who role-played cassandra or alexios as homosexual felt robbed of choice in a game praised for lgbtq representation resulting in an outcry to which ubisoft apologetically responded jonathan dumas public apology explained the obligatory union as a means of highlighting how the player character's bloodline has a lasting impact on the assassins we missed the mark he added though his admission hardly quelled disappointment a patch addressing the matter only did so minimally excising a kiss and adjusting two lines of dialogue per player choice for all the trouble legacy of the first blade concluded with major implications for the wider universe unveiling ac origin xayah as a distant descendant of the odyssey hero odyssey success voted well for the franchise's steady expansion even with the blunders and contention amongst fans about deviations from the assassin's creed of old its user engagement numbers topped those of ubisoft's popular multiplayer games of the time ac valhalla's adoption of a similar content release model seemed the natural course of action then [Music] montreal returned to shepherd the franchise with valhalla beginning production shortly after shipping origins in 2017 vikings and north mythology had slowly reached the level of pop culture saturation rivaled only by zombies and pirates to leave a distinct mark on viking fantasy tales creative director ashraf ismail and narrative director darby mcdevitt dug deeper veering from gaming's propensity to primarily depict the mythology and barbarism mcdevitt noted in a developer commentary that much of what we know about vikings stems from accounts detailed by victims of their raids saxons whose brutal reports have long withstood the test of time in painting a fuller picture of norse culture valhalla ventured beyond tales of wanton bloodshed portraying vikings as both raiders and settlers warriors and farmers records suggest they integrated into british society fairly quickly settling hundreds of towns as denoted by the sheer number of english locales boasting the suffix of thorpe or b as illustrated in valhalla the great heathen army faced much opposition upon invading the british isles a fractured but determined britain fought back alfred the great king of wessex counted among the vikings staunches opponents holding firm despite other kingdoms succumbing to norse forces this england the period between 872 and 878 a.d informed the vast open world of valhalla montreal opened the adventure in norway delineating the lives of a people whose battle-ravaged home no longer seems sustainable as a consequence the desire to plant roots elsewhere fueled the motivations of protagonist avor history's playground yet again permitted player choice in terms of the player character's gender historian and valhalla content advisor thierry noel wrote that archaeological sources harbored no clear answer on the existence of female warriors during the viking age regardless powerful women permeated norse mythology and legends illuminating a viking view of the world that characterized men and women as equally formidable in battle along with the choice of gender avoir came equipped with more customization options than their predecessors hair tattoos war paint and gear all designed for players to leisurely personalize long ships unique vessels that gave vikings an advantage behind enemy lines featured cosmetic and upgradable items of their own ubisoft montreal especially put effort into the ravens thorpe settlement avoir established in england barring the train and syndicate not since ac3s comparatively rudimentary homestead had a home base played such a significant role in the core assassin's creed experience a central hub for avor and their fellow settlers raven's thorpe was the valhalla equivalent of mass effects normandy acting as a command center where major story arcs started and concluded avor's romances thrived or collapsed within the settlement the impact of alliances between saxons ripples throughout the community too according to lead producer julian la ferriere ravensthorpe drastically changed the shape of valhalla breaking the storytelling pattern of traveling from territory to territory most importantly montreal built the expandable settlement so players could readily behold the consequences of their actions and it engendered a narrative structure that mcdevitt posited as novel to assassin's creed and games in general specifically with regards to how users consume the overarching story a story designed to overtly and subtly interconnect all of the franchise's moving parts not unlike origins and odyssey valhalla embraced the mythological beliefs of its world's historical inhabitants the reveal trailer teased as much from the outset showing a cloaked figure that avor perceived as odin nor spirituality depicted gods as entities with whom humans could bargain rituals and offerings were thus common before battles feasts and other noteworthy occasions which valhalla replicated in the campaign and avors open world adventures to communicate the feeling of being suffused and viking myth superficially the insertion of norse mythology into assassin's creed lore maintained a semblance of realism further grounding montreal's vision of delivering a viking fantasy though valhalla's asgard saga accommodated the myths apart from the narrative's motivations various twists and turns later unearthed a deeper connection between all sides of the equation notably these revelations were funneled through the present-day story starring laila hassan who returned for a third outing after headlining modern tales and origins and odyssey better still avor's part in the evolution of the assassins and templar war benefited fans who missed the signature hidden blade in odyssey that was positioning atop the character's forearm while intriguing stirred confusion amongst continuity watchdogs all in all ismail mcdevitt and the crew at ubisoft montreal fulfilled their goal of creating the ultimate viking fantasy complete with raiding mechanics feasts and visceral combat that took dual wielding to new heights mcdevitt told gamespot these changes on countless more needed to fit within the new genus of assassin's creed game established by origins a herculean task that saw narrative choices romance options and rpg mechanics received greater emphasis the service driven model reemerged as well bringing with it another wave of microtransaction controversies free seasonal content updates that introduce limited time in-game events and a season pass bolstered by two expansions the ireland set wrath of the druids and the siege of paris inspired by the vikings most ambitious battle post launch releases additionally included a viking age version of the discovery tour mode made popular in origins on odyssey plus in an unprecedented move ubisoft announced plans to distribute a second year of dlc in lieu of the franchise skipping a year following valhalla's 2020 release generally positive reviews greeted valhalla's cross-gen launch on google stadia pc playstation and xbox platforms fan reception appeared more mixed with the contingent of ac faithful once more questioning the direction of the brand however ubisoft's bottom line never took a hit on the contrary valhalla's sales number secured it a place as the fastest selling assassin's creed game to date and as of late 2020 the ip cumulatively surpassed 155 million copies sold highlighting the flagship property's good health but change sits on the horizon the publisher dismissed ashraf ismail near the end of valhalla's development following allegations about impropriety in his personal life darby mcdevitt departed the company after more than 10 years in early 2021 leaving mark alexey cote and julian laferriere to helm the next phase of history hopping escapades that new face has already assumed the form of assassin's creed infinity the code name of a project in its incipient stage is that montreal and quebec will produce in a cross studio effort ubisoft tapped jonathan dumas and splinter cell veteran clint hawking to jointly direct infinity and if rumors from reported inside sources prove accurate the game could launch in 2024 at the earliest as a platform an evolving live service comprised of multiple settings at its inception a slew of constraints covered the assassin's creed universe dictating who could access ancestral memories threats of desynchronization even limited how players treat citizens the rules of the universe grew malleable over time liberal uses of science fiction broadened to accept the gradual insertion of fantastical myths all while the brand lost its identity and steadily spliced together pieces of a new one is the assassin's creed of today what patrice dizzilay envisioned upon trading in a prince for a cloaked assassin it no longer seems so yet the property has left an indelible mark on the industry effectively reshaping the fabric of open world games for better or worse the next chapter whatever it entails could prove similarly transformative after all assassin's creed has demonstrated time and time again that taking a leap of faith can bring order to a world of chaos [Music] where other men blindly follow the truth remember nothing is true where other means limited by morality and law remember everything is permitted [Music] thank you for watching we'd like to take this time to think by name the generous patrons who have pledged to our hall of fame rewards year alex moretti and those currently subscribed to our producer rewards here [Music] get wrecked dot com landi k hayes milkshake if you enjoy our content please consider subscribing to our channel and backing us on patreon [Music] you

Channel: GVMERS

Views: 429,997

Keywords: Assassin's Creed, Documentary, History, AC, Ubisoft, Brotherhood, Revelations, Black Flag, Unity, Rogue, Syndicate, Origins, Odyssey, Valhalla, Rift, Infinity, Infinite, Assassin's Creed 2, Assassin's Creed 3, 4K, 2007-2022, 2023, Mirage, Assassin's Creed Mirage

Id: PuP4JTbdqTc

Length: 74min 55sec (4495 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 05 2022