Ubisoft: WW2, Japan and Egypt are "the three worst settings for an Assassin's Creed game"

OXM writes: "Thanks to Mass Effect 3 and the Devil May Cry reboot, there's been a lot of talk lately about whether fans should have a say on the direction a videogame series takes. We're generally of the mind that the last word belongs with developers - but we will admit to sticking out our lower lips when Ubisoft's Alex Hutchinson, creative director of Assassin's Creed 3, told us that he'd hate to set an Assassin's Creed game in feudal Japan. What?"

[Snookies12]

Well that's him... I'd personally love to see feudal Japan Assassin's Creed. That would most likely be a day one buy for me, and that's considering I love the series for the most part, but have never bought one on release day. :\

[360GamerFG]

Right?? What does the creative director of the game know anyway??

[SilentNegotiator]

I don't care if he's a master wizard with clairvoyance of the future. Assassin's Creed set in Japan could absolutely work.

WW2 would be too cliché. It's not that it couldn't be done, it's just BEEN done.

[hellzsupernova]

so assassins creed has been done set in ww2? when? i cannot think of a ww2 game even remotly similar i oculd be wrong

[QuodEratDemonstrandm]

So WWII is too cliche but feudal Japan isn't?
The whole reason Assassin's Creed features Nizari Ismaili is that, as cool as they are, the Ninja have been Done To Death.
There are enough video games featuring at least one ninja that a list of them merits a separate wiki article. And, apparently, the cliche has progressed to the point that people think an Orange Jumpsuit is appropriate ninja attire (see Naruto).

[PhantomT1412]

It's his first Assassin's Creed...
Also, lead writter Corey May is thinking about feudal japan (near the end of the vid):
http://www.gameinformer.com...

[VanillaBear]

Didn't someone at Ubisoft say a WW2 setting would be good. I'm sure it's when they were talking about a female Assassin years ago, saying how it would be set in London when all the men have went to war and the city is mostly women.

[aCasualGamer]

I would love to see an Egypt setting. Just imagine, the time when the pyramids and other monuments were built you could see a young Assassin parkouring his way through those wooden build stands. Maybe they could add a story surrounding the economy of that time and how the pharaohs managed to build these monuments without going bankrupt. Maybe we could see some ceremonies where mummification took place. The Pharaoh being the final boss battle, it would be a memorable game. The glyph puzzles could be to decifer hieroglyphs. Or imagine playing in this setting when Caesar and Cleopatra were still alive. Unlocking the mysteries surrounding all those events. Playing nearby the Nile river would be amazing!

Japan would also be a great setting considering the unique architectural design of ancient Japanese buildings, many parkour possibilities. Imagine being a samurai assassin or a ninja! Throwing knives, ninja style!

WW2 is a setting too close to modern warfare which basically means, without hardcore guns... you're fu**ed! And it would take away the parkour element of the game.

[Nimblest-Assassin]

WW2 has been done to death by shooters.

Egypt, although it sounds cool at first. Whats their to scale? Present day egypt would make more sense, but you would be moving through deserts and very small towns of low leveled builings... it would not work.

Not sure why he opposed Japan, because out of the 3, it would have worked pretty well.

But India does sound kinda cool...

[Akiba96]

WW2 has been done to death by shooters, but it is still a really cool setting.In stead of another shooter in WW2, I'd really love to see a more emotional take on the war. It would be kinda like heavy rain but set in WW2 on the front-lines. Your walking from foxhole to foxhole in the cold forests of Bastogne, shaking the dualshock to keep your character warm, then mortars start flying and you have to use the same Heavy Rain controls to remove some shrapnel from some guys chest while he's screaming in pain, and you really don't wanna let him die because you've grown attached to his character. Kinda like a video game version of band of brothers where you get emotionally attached to the characters and have to make decisions on the fly and execute to keep the various characters alive. But I digress lol.

[Grap]

"low leveled buildings"
hahahahaha yah like USA have the tallest building in the world hahahaha

[Nimblest-Assassin]

@grap

There are a lot of trees... their are low level buildings in America, but at least they thought around it by implementing trees.

What can you climb in egypt, pyramids and sphinx that are apart by a large distance?

Or would you like to parkour sand dunes?

[arjman]

Katanas, Naginatas, Monks, Ninjas, Assassins, etc...

Assassins Creed in the times of the Samurai would be amazing.

[GroundsKeeperJimbo]

As cool as all that sounds, its an assassin game not a ninja game. I feel that is the main reason they don't want to do it.

In my mind: It would be awesome if the ninja's were opposed to the assassins cause, but that'd make no sense because, outside of the masters, most ninja's were farmers/peasants. That leaves the Samurai but them seem more Templar than anything. I guess they could be competing for the same targets, but then they'd be working together.

I guess what I'm saying is they want to stay separate from ninja themes and have there own lore fit better; hence a different setting.

[ginsunuva]

At above^^

Ninjas are Japanese assassins.

White people culture has stereotyped them as retarded black-clothed monkeys.

[GroundsKeeperJimbo]

Yea... because that is what I said?

Here is a wiki article for you on arguing, please read and see how it applies to your comment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

[SonyPS360]

There's alot of things that fans don't take into consideration when it comes to games design.

The developers do, and know what they're talking about.

[arjman]

Ok get this, we know that the samurai were noblemen right? Some may say they were corrupt noblemen. What if the samurai were the templars of Japan, trying to seize control of the empire and the setting of the game took place during the Meiji period.
As an assassin or ninja (since they're both perfect assassins of their cultures) the emperor could task your order with the job of killing the remaining samurai 'templars' who have been inciting rebellion in the public. Which leads to the fall of the samurai and the unification of Japan, defeating the templars.

Or they could go for a last samurai type story where the assassins are samurai trying to fight off the western powers and the corrupt Japanese clan leaders. This fight could go on through the Boshin wars and Satsuma Rebellions leading to a massive war on the modernisation of Japan. The end result could be a desperate last stand by the assassins/samurai ending in defeat and a templar victory (I think the good guys have won too many times in this series).

I guess the moral of the story is that I want a video game (either Assassins Creed or a Red Dead style story) based on The Last Samurai and Feudal Japan :)

Think of an assassin fully kitted out in Japanese themed assassin gear (armor choices such as Samurai armor or Ninja clothes) with dual hidden wakizashis or tantos, a hidden matchlock gun, a katana as the melee weapon, a no dachi or naginata as the heavy weapon and throwing stars for thrown weapons. Tell me that doesn't sound amazing :)

[omi25p]

Id love Assassins creed Tudor times.

[Nugan]

I think Hutchinson's point wasn't so much that you couldn't set an Assassin's Creed game in these setting, as it was that WWII, Egypt and Ancient Japan have been done to death by previous games.

Maybe we haven't had this type of game in those settings before, but there are a lot of places and times that video games haven't touched at all, and it would cool to be able to experience them.

I know the Revolutionary War setting has me a lot more interested in AC3 than I was before.

[RayRay36]

He's just sayin that because that's what conventional thinking points to. I remember an employing saying there might be feudal Japan in the future. Both Japan and Egypt would work and he knows that, idk about WW2 though.

[Simon_Brezhnev]

I rather it be in warring states period China. Japan settings had been done a lot just not as much as WW2.

[MostJadedGamer]

Totally agree with Ubisoft. Ubisoft wants, and needs to cover fresh settings that haven't been covered or that haven't been covered much.

Don't cover settings that have already been done to death, but keep cover ettings that haven't been done or rarely been done.

[MostJadedGamer]

Japan is one of the last historically settings I want to see in a AC game. That would not be good. We don't need another Samurai, or Ninja game

[GoldenAge]

I can think of worst settings than Japan, Egypt, and WW2.

[dirigiblebill]

Shetland, Wisconsin and Milton Keynes.

[Slient Knight 9]

whats wrong with milton keynes

[dirigiblebill]

Well for starters, it wasn't here 100 years ago. Any takers on the idea of a present-day AC? Set in a two-storey town?

[Ness-Psi]

Add croydon to that.. oh and lower stowcroft.

[SilentNegotiator]

lol, Assassin's Creed: Wisconsin. I can see the back of the box already; "Make cheese, deliver phony doctor's notes, and assassinate the governor! Over 65,000 sq miles to explore!*

*(64,000 sq miles are voids and summer camps)"

[Gazondaily]

lmao @ Milton Keynes. Ah you legend

[Crossifixxo]

Hollywood?!

[StoneAgeWarfare]

lol, nah Beverly hills

[Son_Lee]

South America - Mayans. That would be a good setting. Roaming through jungles, climbing temples, etc.

[DragonKnight]

Now that's something to get behind. But this creative director needs to shut up. The only reason a setting could be the worst is if the creative director sucks at making it good. Egypt I can see skipping only because it'd be similar to the Holy Land in AC1 and Constantinople in AC2. But thinking an era America is better than Japan is just stupid. Just because a setting hasn't been done much, doesn't mean it will be a good setting or refreshing. Hell, that's probably one of the reasons it hasn't been used.

This idea that you can't do a game in Japan because ninjas are apparently cliche is ignorant. For one, where is it stated ninjas couldn't be the Assassin's guild of Japan? The goals are compatible. The Assassin's Guilds of the world fight against corruption and tyranny. Ninjas were peasants fighting for the same reason. The artistry of Japanese architecture would be amazing to explore in an open world game and there is so much history there.

Or why not China with more history than that. Simply put, this creative director probably sucks and wouldn't know how to make the setting work. His idea is to bring the series closer to the Present day and place more emphasis on firearms that completely take away from the spirit of the gameplay the series began with. Slowly stalking and silent killing your pray. In this game, Connor's (hate that name) main weapons are a tomahawk and a pistol. What's next? Take away any melee altogether in favor of ranged?

This guy is a nutcase if he thinks Japan is a bad setting for an AC game.

[-Gespenst-]

I agree WW2 and Japan would suck. They're done to death really.

Eygpt however could be cool. Perhaps a little too ancient though...

[MrBeatdown]

I was going to say the exact opposite.

WW2 Germany in particular sounds great. I keep picturing Call of Duty: World At War's levels, but with an assassin jumping around in the background.

[RememberThe357]

I agree with WW2 and Egypt was cool about 4000 years before the first AC. Egypt fell to the Roman Empire in the first century AD. I'd like to see a game of AC caliber take on Ancient Egypt but I don't think the AC lore goes back that far.

Japan on the other hand would be pretty cool. We've seen other games do feudal Japan but none that have captured to detail and authenticity that Ubi brings with AC. However it's probably precisely because other games have been set in feudal Japan that Hutchinson doesn't want the series to go there.

[Bimkoblerutso]

It kind of makes me think they wanted to avoid the backlash the setting would inevitably bring from the thriving weeaboo culture we have here in the West, complaining about "historical inaccuracy" this and "westernization" that. You know...typical otaku BS.

[SolidSystem]

that's possibly true about the lore. The lore is pretty biblical. and without any real signs of things like "the ones who came before" and other Christian religious ties in Egypt, it would be hard to pull it together. (no apple of eden etc). while the assassins were world wide, I'm not sure how the greater story would carry on.

while the Japanese could be aiding, none of the cultural backdrop really fit.

[Eamon]

But he didn't say that Victorian England is a bad location.

[CultOfPersonality]

I've always wanted an Assassin's Creed game to be in In Victorian England, climbing Big Ben, stopping Templar's in the Thames, could have a mission set where you track down a Templar who murdered prostitutes (Jack The Ripper) and you track them down like how you did In AC revelations when you did the assassin mission in the tower! that could be the ultimate setting, breaking into Buckingham Palace and stealing a apple of eden of Queen Victoria! something like that!

[jc48573]

then do China instead.

[portugamer]

What about Portugal?
Thousands years of history, 5 th spoken language in the world, they discovered many many countries, lots of wars, invasions, they mastered the oceans,like 500 years ago.

Sure, there are many many other countries and civilizations that would do it, but I'd really love to see the Portugal, represented in one game, like uncharted, AC, for example, even if its only a 2 minutes level.

Naugthy dog, if you read this comment... Think about it ;)

About AC in Egypt...like someone said, I'd rather see mayas or any other location.
As for feudal Japan, since the last 20 years, countless games were made, based on that period.from fighting games, to dinasty warriors games, etc etc. Even 'the last samurai' talked about it :)

But hey, why not ?

Question, the only assassins I played was the first one, I played like 3 hours only, I had to change my video projector, and didn't touch it again.and those 3 hours, it was very repetitive, I think.

Many assassins creed games were released. Did I miss something great ?
Are those games excellent, with weapon upgrades, interesting missions, long enough? I love adventure games, uncharted games, etc. Would I like a ac brotherhood, for example? Are the games longer than 10 hours, on normal settings? Graphically, are they really good? Are the games linked together, or each one have a different story? Were there good extensions released, with new missions, or weapons packs,etc?

Sorry for all these questions, guys. If there is one or two AC fans, that could help me and answer to my questions, and make me wanna run and buy them all, it would be great. In advance, thanks :)

[Karlnag3]

Pretty sure Dynasty Warriors is China, not Japan.

[MasterD919]

Well I was hoping for Japan to at least be an option for the future but I am hoping that someone else will pick up on the idea and do a legit open-world ninja game.

I do think AC3 looks amazing though and it's a relief to see something very different than what we've seen before.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

OK, so WW2 I get just because machine guns and grenades don't exactly make for good partners with AC gameplay. Like wise, Egypt not exactly a place littered with tall cities. Sure you have Pyramids but unless you have zip lines at the top of them that wouldn't exactly be "fun" to climb up.

What I don't get... Japan. HELLO....Ninjas... You know one of the most famous assassin types of all time? I mean in AC's 1,2 and BH you practically are a Ninja in some respects. I think it could be a great game. Throwing stars, nunchucks, sai swords.. and even the hidden blade. All could work well.

[jut420]

"People on the internet suggest the most boring settings,"

lol that's pretty funny he feels that way because i'm sure the biggest fans of the franchise are the ones suggesting places on the internet. Not that that would make bad suggestions good, but these are people with passion for the franchise, we're not just trying to think of places that we like, but places that would fit well within the series.

Also, he gave great reasons why he felt all three of those places would be bad /s

Honestly, I'm biased because I love samurai and ninjas, but feudal Japan would be amazing IMO. Is it because the cities he would put in the game wouldn't be filled with tall buildings? :P I don't understand why Japan would be bad. It fits perfect within the AC franchise. Stealth is one of the main characteristics of ninjas and is also one of the main characteristics of AC. I wish he could have actually given a reason why he feels this way in his interview. I've been hoping for an AC set in Japan since I beat the first one and after completing the next three I still don't see how Japan would be bad or out of place.

Also, saying Japan is one of the three worst settings for an AC game is just plain idiotic

[FinaLXiii]

Dont worry sooner or later AC will be taking place in some asian inspired setting and will introduce many new cool ways of assassination.

remember in Tenchu you could throw poisoned food into the floor and the starved enemies would pick up and eat it just like that.

[ATi_Elite]

Actually Japan and Egypt sound very very good. Many people here have already come up some nice things to do in Egypt and Japan. Have some imagination Ubisoft!

But the worst locations ever would be:

1. New York:::::Just so dam cliche!
2. WWII:::::::::Done to DEATH!....and then resurrected and done to death AGAIN!
3. The Middle East:::::: If you have seen one sand dune and one beige building then you have seen them ALL!
4. Cleveland Ohio:::::: Ugliest city in the world (unless your making a Zombie movie then it would be perfect cause everyone there looks like a Zombie already)
5. Space::::::::::::Kinda hard to free fall in ZERO GRAVITY! (Plus missing your target means you get to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere)

[KYU2130]

personally Japan and egypt sound good. but the only problem with those is the fact that the animus time line would have to go backwards to accommodate both of those civilizations. that would break the flow of the story. Maybe China, Thailand Or Russia. but if you look at timeline Conner is probably gonna be early to Mid 20s, so if its roughly late 1700s we will probably see an industrial US or London as the next possible setting for AC if they don't tie this whole story up in AC3

In my opinion the animus timeline should continue to move forward closer to the outside timeline so as to intersect with Desmond.

[Kaos_Vll]

FINALLY! I am so sick of people begging for a setting in japan. AC is NOT about being a "ninja". if you want to be a ninja go play a ninja game or something. where do the templars fit in in a japan setting?

none of these people care about the story AC is trying to tell, they just want to run around throwing ninja stars. not saying an open world ninja game wouldn't be cool, just not for the AC franchise.

[Halochampian]

It's true. Most people are just thinking of places that would be cool to explore in the AC style but it doesnt belong in the AC story.

No one actually seems to care about the story.

[Stewie2k8]

i'll be hoesnt i dont care about the actually overall story. i think it is completely crap and stupid.

[Simon_Brezhnev]

Yeah im sick of people begging for Japan 2. I can understand why though. They probably want an open world ninja game. I wouldnt mind china or any other city just not japan or ww2. TBH im pretty sure China in that time period had better building than Japan.

[Jazz4108]

I would like a assasins creed set in japan where we blow up and anialate the sony headquarters. Just kidding. A setting in old japan could be interesting as culture seems to play a huge part in AC series.

[Stewie2k8]

"where do the templars fit in in a japan setting? "
Where do the Templars fit in the american revolution? (serious question). i dont get why people are also saying Japan has been done to death. i cant remember a good game set in Japan where your free roaming and assassinating. especially from a western dev.

[SolidSystem]

I would like to point out all locations visited so far have had heavy Christian influenced cultures, which fits with the story of the games.

[Ness-Psi]

what about sweden in the 80's?

[crookedwarden]

"Weeaboos surprised when people reject their terrible ideas, news at 11"

[FinaLXiii]

Yeah but freakin the US of A is the chosen setting for AC3 GTFO stupid dev you cleary dont know what youre talking about.

[DeadIIIRed]

I agree completely, although World War II wouldn't have been as bad considering how, historically, the Nazis were into the kind of things that Assassins Creed lore revolves around. Then again the whole crazy Nazi cult thing is cliche now.

What about the Cold War? East and West Germany?

[A LIVING LEGEND]

what about something in the swamp....cajun creed.
Various deadly adversaries,pawn store owners, alligator hunters,hand fishers,firearm makers,cooks,etc.

[the_eddster]

REALLY Creative Director... REALLY, and America is such an original place -_- its not as if I could find my way around New York without a map due to the amount of games set there. This is a CREATIVE DIRECTOR where the hell do they find these bland idiots?

[Halochampian]

You do realize that Revolutionary Era America is completely different than current day America don't you?

[StoneAgeWarfare]

WW2 is overrated japan setting makes no sense, but Egypt could be pretty cool, as the game stands right now in the American revolution I think its great

[HowarthsNJ]

Assassin's Creed: "The Last Days of Jesus". Play as a Roman soldier, Pontius Pilate or a disciple of the lord just looking for a few pieces of silver.

Kill one man and change the world.

[Awesome_Gamer]

I can understand WW2 not working but Japan and Egypt could be awesome for an assassin's creed game

[Angainor7]

Make an Assassin's Creed game in Egypt for Christ's sake...

[T3MPL3TON]

"FinancialGamer: Right?? What does the creative director of the game know anyway??"

...... He's the f*cking creative director!

Also, I'm still loving all the people being mad about the fact that it's in, America. Get over it, they've covered the important parts of European history. WW2 would be full blown retarded. They have no established back story (which is how they set up each game) to support a game being in Japan. It would have been in China if any Asian country. Egypt had nothing of interest for this series. It would of had to have been seriously expanded upon which is not what the Assassin's Creed franchise is about. If you just read the friggen back story you'll be able to tell where each game is going to take place.

You call yourselves fans but you clearly never paid attention. The books and codecs clearly stated that the Assassin's had great interest in Washington as it was rumored that he had a, Piece of Eden.

WHAT HAVE THE ASSASSIN'S BEEN TRYING TO DO THE ENTIRE TIME?

Oh, that's right. They've been trying to collect all of the Pieces of Eden.

Waaaaa why is it in, America? Japan would have been better~. An Assassin and a Ninja are too different things. They both existed in real life. The Japanese have always and probably will always be a rather secluded nation. The people who are making these games actually paid attention and did their history research. Japan would not and could not have worked. Get over it.

[DragonKnight]

Dafuq are you talking about? Maybe you should pay frickin' attention to the game's story. Like, the fact that it's so damn open it could be anywhere in the world and would work well. How about in AC1 when Altair had a map of the world and a Piece of Eden could be seen pretty much every where, even places that (at the time of Present Day Italy) didn't exist anymore? You want to talk about the story and yet ignore the biggest aspect of it; that Pieces of Eden and Templars were EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD!

Just because the Assassin's were interested in Washington because he may have had a PoE, doesn't mean no one else could have. Hell, Oda Nobunaga was called the Demon King. Don't you think he could have used a PoE to earn that moniker? The Assassins have been trying to fight the Templars first, finding PoE came later and was in addition to fighting the Templars. If you even paid any attention to how the Templars were, you'd see they always attempted to take power BEFORE they came into possession of a PoE. In AC2 the Borgias tried to systematically eliminate the power bases of the leaders of all the cities in those games. For example, they didn't have a PoE when they tried to kill the Medici family and take over Florence did they? Ezio's father was fighting against that as an Assassin. The PoE had nothing to do with it until near the end. The PoE is just a gimmick when you consider the larger scope of Templars vs. Assassins.

Assassins and Ninjas were different only historically. AC games are not exactly known for historical accuracy; at least not until now supposedly. The themes of both groups, from the game world sense, are compatible. As Assassins fought against power hungry individuals, so too did the peasant class ninjas fight against the corruption and tyranny of their age.

And what the hell does Japan being a secluded nation have anything to do with anything? It certainly hasn't effected any games where it was the setting before. Japan could have easily worked. And contrary to popular opinion, there have not been many games set in Japan, and fewer ninja centric games as well. Look it up.

[boricua82]

set in Japan would be amazing,shame Ubisoft doesn't see it as well.

[bobrea]

It's not even that WWII has been done to death bu other games, but I just don't think an assassin would work there. Just think about it. An AC game in WWII would suck.

[granolabar]

why not just make up your own world with your own countries? id rather play a game like that.