Assassin’s Creed is one of those series where you kind of know what you’re getting in every package. They’re these big, lovingly crafted cities, and you get the pleasure of skulking through them to kill people. It’s elegant and kept the series relevant for almost two decades now.
Of course, routine is the enemy of innovation. The question is, where do you go from there? While I’ve talked about my hands-on with Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ dual protagonist system there’s a lot more minute tweaking happening under the hood.
“So, there are key elements that, from a gameplay standpoint and a franchise, we needed to put forth”, says Luc Plante, Level Design Director on Assassin’s Creed Shadows. He highlighted features like the series iconic Hidden Blade and fall-repelling haystacks that are a staple of every game.
“But for all the rest, it’s making sure that we have the best, the most fun experience ever, and making sure that it holds up to an immersive experience, not just narrative, not just world-building, but also gameplay-wise”.
One of the key parts of this is the “Shadow and Light” that makes a core part of Naoe’s kit. Her ability to manipulate line of sight is tied to illumination, meaning you’ll have a better chance of not having to fight guards if you make sure to kill the lights by extinguishing lanterns.
“That’s really fun for me actually”, says Cassandra Poon, Associate Producer at Ubisoft Singapore. “You know, [it’s a] cheap thrill in a way. And with that, really, we are talking about the world dynamism”.
“How does the world respond to you and how do you use the environmental elements to your advantage? So, there’s so much back and forth here”, she continues. “I hope the players can also experience the dynamism that the world brings to the gameplay and through their normal interactions with all the non-playing characters”.
It’s not just the lights affecting these virtual Samurai either- the in-game seasons also play a big roll, with their change resetting wanted levels, and even affecting the guards ability to patrol.
“It’s really impacting. It’s impacting the perception of the AI”, he says.
“If it’s raining, they will try to get some cover so they don’t get drenched. During winter, if it’s cold, they will go for a source of fire to get warmer”, Luc explains.
“So, it’s really putting a new perspective on the AI and that’s why we put a lot of effort into it to make sure that it’s the most believable game. The ultimate experience”, he adds.
Our Leading Roles In Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Of course, it’s hard to not talk about the characters you’ll be playing in Assassin’s Creed Shadows as well. Rather than play a half-Shinobi half-Samurai, Luc says the team understood that the specificity of the power fantasy was important for players.
“[The intention was] to make sure that we didn’t do compromise and make sure that they live up to what the player will be expecting”, Luc says. ” [As a Samurai,] someone who will fight, someone who will do it with honor, who will respect the other, and as a shinobi, to be a little bit more stealthy”.
Luc did shoot down one of my own personal theories, that the two were meant to represent the different eras of Assassin’s Creed- I’d posited that Naoe represented Assassin’s Creed as older fans knew it while Yasuke carried the banner of the more action-focused dash-of-RPG personality of its later entries.
“It’s a coincidence that it looks like two different eras of the franchise, but for us, it was to make sure that we have we had this opportunity to work on those two strong fantasies and to make sure that we put the best homage we can on those”, he explains.
“The Samurai and the Shinobi are two very strong fantasies, so we from the start knew that it cannot be put into one character, otherwise the fantasy will have been diluted. So, it was a natural process to create those two protagonists and find the right time period”, Luc elucidates.
By setting it in the Sengoku period, it would have been remiss to not feature Yasuke in Assassin’s Creed Shadows. His prologue comes with a little special for players in the SEA region- it was worked on by Ubisoft Singapore, who were more than happy to take on the challenge.
“I would say it’s very exciting that we got to do that part, exactly because it’s such a historical moment in the history, in his life trajectory, right?”, Cassandra says.
“Being able to have the opportunity to write about it, being very thoughtful about every line, on how he responds, this has been very fun. We definitely spent a lot of time iterating through the script, going through every line to make sure that it makes sense, and then every shot, the lighting, the angle, there’s huge attention to detail with every shot, every second that you’re seeing”, she adds.
“So, it has been a great experience going through and pushing the boundaries of what the allows us to do today, to keep polishing it and to bring the experience to you. And I don’t know about pressure, but I would say it’s super fun, and I think the team having achieved what they have done today, it kind of like put a very nice checkbox for us to go to the next level”.
Luc also praised the Singapore team’s commitment to the project:
“What you see in the preview, it’s just the tip of the iceberg of everything that Singapore Studio has been put forth. It was a great experience working with them, with their expertise, the communication, the collaboration. So, you can feel that their passion is put through as you play”, he says.
Talking to developers like this is always a fun reminder of how many layers to making a game fun there is. From fleshing out the elements of Yasuke’s backstory to making sure the people he kills are afraid of catching a cold, games really are a multi-layered developmental art piece.
If you want to see all these decisions in action, though- I’d recommend checking our preview of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. The game’s easily one of the most polished experiences we’ve seen out of the Assassin’s Creed series, with compelling characters and an immersive world. Our thanks to Luc and Cassandra for taking the time to peek under the hood behind the development of their latest outing.
