STACK #156 Oct 2017

FEATURE GAMES

Our Assassin’s Creed top 9 console ratings

did our research and discovered that there was not much at that time that could fit with the story we wanted to tell and the world we wanted to build,” Guesdon explains. “That’s why we finally chose to set the action in Ptolemaic Egypt and, more precisely, during Cleopatra’s ascension to the throne. “It also allows us to alternate between 'modern' locations such as Alexandria and more old, traditional regions such as the city of Memphis that is much more organic, featuring recent buildings but also old ruins and mysteries. Last but not least, this very time period is a pivotal moment for Egypt. After centuries of grandeur and accomplishments, Ancient Egypt is now at the beginning of its demise. Soon the line of pharaohs will end, the gods will die and the way of life will forever change. A new world order is coming. And it all starts with these bigger than life people like Cleopatra fighting to ascend her throne, her brother and boy king Ptolemy the XIII, and legendary Roman leader, Julius Caesar.” Interestingly, in terms of capturing the aesthetic of Ancient Egypt, Guesdon notes that the dev team decided to consult Egyptologists and literature for direction as opposed to 9. Assassin’s Creed III 8. Assassin’s Creed: Rogue 7. Assassin’s Creed: Revelations 6. Assassin’s Creed: Unity 5. Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate 4. Assassin’s Creed 3. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood 2. Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Assassin’s Creed II

• Assassin's Creed: Origins is out Oct 27

“We revamped

pretty much all the core pillars of the experience for Assassin’s Creed: Origins

to make it much more of an action-RPG than previous opuses. Now, how the level of the hero compares with the ones of the enemies is crucial. This new RPG orientation also impacts the progression that allows for more

Players that delve deep into the quest systemwill experience intersecting stories

specialisation than before. “As for game systems, first of all, we radically changed the paradigm of the fight, moving from a paired animations system to a ‘hitbox’ system. With this new system, the players’ positioning as well as the size and the speed of their weapon decide if and how they hit their enemies. “Secondly, we moved our narrative to a quest-based structure, so now players can pick up multiple quests, have them all be available simultaneously and decide their order and priority. This gives autonomy to players while giving us an opportunity to tell hundreds of Egypt’s stories. Players that delve deep into the quest system will experience intersecting stories, letting them explore deeper relationships and ties with in-game characters. “Last but not least, we created from scratch a brand new AI framework. In Origins , most NPCs have full day cycles where they work, socialise, eat, go to the bathroom, sleep and so on based on their role in the world. Bandits ambush and steal, Ptolemaic soldiers collect taxes and protect their military locations, priests manage their temples, farmers farm, lions hunt, gazelles roam and sleep, etc. Most NPCs are ever persistent and will live their life even if the player is kilometers away. “So while Origins is still true to the franchise and its core DNA, we have drastically modernised the gameplay experience to make it deeper and more open than ever before.”

conducting field trips to the region for research. “One of the big differences from previous Assassin’s Creed games is that we go much further back in the time than in previous instalments. Due to this, we focused on working very closely with historians and Egyptian experts to help us fill in the gaps of Ancient Egyptian life not easily found in history books." Guesdon continues: “For some elements, this lack of reference also challenged us to create and illustrate parts of Ancient Egypt rather than re-create known history. For this, we heavily relied on the amazing work done by our art team to really capture the look and overall feel of what Ancient Egypt would have been like at the time.” The pioneering Assassin’s Creed franchise has always been an ambitious series that adopted an annual release cycle business model following Assassin’s Creed 2 in 2009. But fatigue is inevitable, and the work involved in consistently trying to improve, expand and innovate a formula on a yearly basis would be an arduous – and indeed unenviable – task. Taking a year out from the annual grind, according to Guesdon, has paid dividends.

and Lighthouse of Alexandria; one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The infamous Cleopatra VII was the last leader of the Ptolemaic dynasty. She was also one of the first leaders who could speak Egyptian. Following

her death, the Romans bowled in and took over the control of Egypt.

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