The Old Man on the Mountain

On the Assassin's Creed franchise

Sequels can't live with 'em and can't live without 'em! Am I right? It's a tricky situation when it comes to sequels in any creative medium, not to mention the sometimes over inflated, top heavy vehicle that is the video game industry. We see it time and time again; the new hot plot and design hits the streets and--by some publishers voracity--either fails, not always in disaster or succeeds, not always with grace. Yet if it does some how succeed the new love child of someone or some persons, is castrated and pigeonholed into an familiar, rusted ball and chain existence.

Assassin's Creed, a gaming franchise, though creative and expansive; technically impressive and vast, is not immune to the iron grip of industry wide ego inflation. Money! It makes the world go around, right? Well, looking at a franchise that some might argue has lost its initial intrigue and creative enticement, one might be inclined to agree that the ever present restrictive boxes of video game management has produced clones, void of any heart and soul; The equivalent to selling ones down-and-out (or more accurately: grossly ambitious to a fault) soul to the devil, in exchange for more of something addictive. But who can say for sure, without inside consultation with Ubisoft's creative teams and big-wigs, whether or not the AC franchise and its creative teams still have the drive to produce necessary narratives, soaked in the sweat of their devotion or whether the cascade of sequels are nothing more than the over-stimulation of an out of balance publishing strategy, more reminiscent of an over inflated bubble ready to burst than a carefully handled and researched plan of action. I supposed what I'm getting at is that due to the unreal expectations accompanying new I.P.'s, and their sequels to a larger extent, there is no room for proper stable growth of creative properties. Now! Now! Now! We must have more, more, more! The I.P. cannot be shaped through its own natural molding and shedding of new ideas. No. Instead the new creation must get artificially bigger, in order to bring in more money because it was disproportionate in is target audience, and its sales expectations to begin with.

With this franchise in particular, of which I am a huge fan, well...a little, I think it has to do with a little bit of both. Now, now I understand that taking up one side or the other is the more decisive and popular thing to do, but with Assassin's Creed in particular I say the very inherent nature of the franchise allows for an expansive breath of story, art and design. Yes, indeed, the AC franchise is a little bit of science fiction and a little bit of historical/semi-historical adventure--and all set in an open-world; and that is what can drive its future narratives and structures. The problem resides not simply in the constant flood of sequels, as I am sure some titles in the series appeal to some more than others, but, rather, in the dry level of creative flair attached to/perceived to be attached to each new entry. Year after year the excitement builds for the next entry in the AC series, and its anticipation becomes palpable that is until the masses--or the very vocal majority--gets their mitts on the game in question. Then it becomes a pile on of venomous, enraged commentary. Obviously, some of the comments are very spot on, and some, some are plain deprived of any coherent thought.

Though I can reasonably understand some of the hate that the repetition of the Assassin's Creed franchise invokes, as of late, I cannot say I am wholeheartedly in-line with this train of belief/emotion. I believe that from Altiar to Ezio to Conner and now to Conner's grandfather, Edward there is a wealth of untapped potential for the series. This potential can be seen in the art direction of the beautifully rendered Renaissance of AC2 or the gold tinted melting pot of the Ottoman empire in AC: Revelations. The potential of ages of human history are at the whim of the talented teams at Ubisoft Montreal et al.. The teams have dynasties and eras untouched by their storyboards upon storyboards of thought. I am a fan of the fans who propose a female protagonist and Japan or Egypt as the next frontiers for exploration. The very presents of the revolutionary war in a video game, hints at the future areas of exploration and social commentary for the series to inject into a, as of now, maturing medium with almost limitless potential. That is it then, Assassin's Creed exposes, and is representative of the future potential of the video game industry. The capacity to be regurgitated husks or exploratory pieces of artistic actualization.