STACK NZ Oct #67

GAMES

London’s Calling Creative Director Marc Alexis Côté FEATURE

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Game Director Scott Phillips

It’s October, and that of course can only mean one thing – it’s time for a newAssassin’s Creed.We pulled creative director Marc Alexis Côté and game director Scott Phillips into a dark alley and threatened them with a hidden arm blade to spill the beans. I t’s an annual competition in the STACK office: Where will the next AC adventure be set? However, no of the team. “We’ve always been a team that’s driven by the desire to innovate and to shake things up,” reveals Côté. “We explored different possibilities (not telling you which!) but Victorian

one picked the Industrial Revolution. From the outside, it’s not necessarily a setting you’d expect for an Assassin’s Creed game, but dig a little deeper and London during the mid-19th century offers up an ideal platform for the latest clash between the Assassins and Templars. “Victorian London and the Industrial Revolution was a pivotal moment in humanity,” explains creative director Marc Alexis Côté. “London in 1868 unleashed an incredible age of innovation which transformed the lives of millions, but these advances in technology also saw the gap between the working class and the rich widen dramatically. “London provides the perfect backdrop to re-ignite this age-old conflict between these two classes, which has echoed throughout modern history.” We've often pondered how the publisher selects a new historical setting for the franchise and what's exactly involved in sifting through the potential candidates. “Choosing the setting is a

London of 1868 offered us the possibility to build the first modern Assassin’s Creed game and felt like the perfect fit for us.” It’s that word: Modern. Part of the allure of an Assassin’s Creed game is the hunt, chase and kill aspect that requires the player to get up close and personal when the time to deal the coup de grace arrives. A more modern setting means further advanced technology, but how will this dictate combat in the game? Moreover, how will the introduction of a revolver change the melee dynamic? “The Industrial Revolution London setting of Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate was one of close- in brutal fighting,” says game director Scott Phillips. “Brass knuckles, knives, very short hidden swords and guns were all used, helping us to create a great close quarters fight system. “We’ve tweaked our combat to transform AC’s familiar fighting style for a more civilised age. With weaponry more concealed, the

fighting has evolved into close range combat, and has become more brutal and violent in the process. “The flow and pacing of combat is based on the philosophy of ‘crowd control’ – bouncing from one target to the next doing damage,

process that differs from project to project," Côté explains. "In the case of Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate , we had the complete freedom to

Four Games That Nail Their Historical Settings • L.A. Noire • Assassin's Creed • Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway • Total War: Rome II

stunning, and then pulling off spectacular multi-kills to kill up to four other opponents at the same time.

explore and choose an era that best fit with the capabilities

OCTOBER 2015

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