STACK #168 Oct 2018

GAMES

FEATURE

Five things you (probably) didn’t know about Spartan warriors 1 At the tender age of seven, Spartan boys would begin their education and military training, living communally and devoting their lives to military service. 2 When a Spartan soldier reached the age of 20, they commenced full military service and would remain warriors until the age of 60. 3 The Spartans were renowned for wearing crimson cloaks. According to Plutarch, this was to instil fear in their enemies and it would hide the blood from wounds received in battle. 4 The shield was considered a sacred piece of equipment. Made of wood and covered in bronze, it would weigh close to 14 kilos and was useful both in defence and as a blunt weapon. However, losing a shield in battle was seen as a disgrace. Fighting in a phalanx meant relying on the shield not just to protect the individual, but the army as a whole. 5 The word laconic stems from Laconia, the administrative capital of Sparta. The Spartans were known for the concise use of speech. At the famed Battle of Thermopylae, when the Persian king Xerxes offered the Spartans their lives if they laid down their weapons, King Leonidas replied with “Molon Labe”: Come and get them. When Philip of Macedon (Alexander the Great’s father) sent the following message to Sparta, “If I invade Laconia you will be destroyed never to rise again”, the reply simply read, “If”.

• Assassin's Creed Odyssey is out Oct 5

influential figures likes Pericles, the

bold general who took the first steps towards democracy. Hippocrates, who laid the foundations of modern medicine. And of course Socrates, whose rational thinking would change the world, even if he did make people want to punch him in the face.” Greek mythology is a

Myths and monsters definitely influenced the imaginations of Greeks at the time, and we wanted to bring some of these myths to life

set of stories based around the gods, rituals and mythical beasts that the Ancient Greeks told, and it continues to intrigue scholars to this day. Its influence is far reaching across film, literature and indeed video games; God of War Spartan: Total Warrior , Zeus: Master of Olympus and Altered Beast to name a few. If you caught the Odyssey gameplay from Germany’s Gamescom back in August, you’ll have noticed a certain serpent-headed mistress in the fray, and Bingham assures us she won’t be the only mythologic presence making her mark in Greece. “Myths and monsters definitely influenced the imaginations of Greeks at the time, and we wanted to bring some of these myths to life in a way that grounded them within the world of Assassin’s Creed. If you watched our Gamescom walkthrough video you’d have got a sense of how we’ve handled this by bringing Medusa to life.” Though Bingham joined the project once work had begun on the game, he tells us that early in development, teams were dispatched to Greece to capture the aesthetic and architecture with film and photography, and were also briefed on Ancient Greece by experts in order to conduct proper research for the setting of the game. “They were guided by specialists where they became acquainted with the topography and history of some of Greece’s most remarkable sites. Then they strengthened their knowledge with research carried out by various archaeological schools who conducted excavations.” When Bingham did eventually come on board he threw himself in the deep end,

absorbing as much information as he could as quickly as he could. “I got my hands on as much contemporary and ancient books as I could. My first month on the project was being a sponge for all things Ancient Greece, reading everything I could, watching documentaries, all before writing a single word of dialogue.” The game’s two playable characters, Kassandra and Alexios, are Spartans by birth, but have no allegiances to the cause. This allows players to choose for themselves, and directly impact specific questlines. “They have built a life for themselves as a mercenary, which allows the player to fight alongside Athenians or Spartans. When a military general offers drachmae (Greek money) for their sword, they are free to say yes or no.” Finally, as the scriptwriter on the game, Bingham made it his mission to ensure that he went to every length possible to get the most authentic Ancient Greek experience for the players of the game; and this even included humour. “[Our historian is] Stephanie-Anne Ruatta; she has a PHD in Classics with a specialisation in Ancient History. I consulted with her on

every single quest I wrote, making sure my stories were as authentically steeped in Greek history as possible. As a former

standup comedian, it was definitely an eye-opening experience to have my jokes fact-checked by a historian.”

019