Featured Member: ThreeLetterSyndrom
The Featured Member column returns to The Hidden Blade this month with our interview of ThreeLetterSyndrom. We asked TLS about his thoughts on Assassin's Creed. Here's what he had to say.
Tell me about the first time you played AC.
That was a long time ago. I was at a friend's who'd just got the game on PC, for which it had just come out. We played through the beginning. For some reason, I countered all my opponents without even knowing what I was doing. He also showed me the Talal assassination.
What do you like most about the games?
I wouldn't know. I really like the blend between history and fiction. The amount of freedom you get when removing just one or two limitations is amazing. It also makes for very good storytelling and avoids major plot holes due to time inconsistensies.
What I really like about AC1 is the immersion. AC2 and AC:B haven't got this. Without the HUD, I really feel like an assassin. It's awesome.
What is your favorite style of assassination?
My favourite style is never displayed in the games: it's the style shown in the AC1 CGI trailer. Reveal yourself just before you strike, taking out the guards in your way in mere seconds and then go on to kill the target with a stylish jump. This is impossible in the games because once you're exposed, you can never assassinate someone unless they're cowering or have their back turned.
I really like escaping there too. Running around, shaking guards and finally ending up in a 'dead end', then just disappearing. In AC this is impossible because the line of sight has to be broken first.
What is your favorite quote from the games?
"Rest, prepare, cry in the corner. Do whatever it is you do before a mission. Only make sure you do it quietly." - Malik before Talal's assassination.
What would you like to change about AC?
With the direction the games are currently headed, a lot. As I stated above, I really like the immersive aspect of the games.
I'd really enjoy bringing back the mission style structure and combat of AC1 and then improving upon that. For mission style structure, I'd do away with the fixed positions for investigations, as well as the GPS. I'd also improve upon the freerunning system, as well as social stealth.
If you come across an investigation, you'll have to do it quickly, because otherwise it will disappear. This isn't really destroying that particular investigation mission, but rather removing it from your options at the time. It really makes you search and adds to the replay value of the game.
It also would interact with (also randomized) save citizens. If you come across a save citizen and an investigation next to each other, you can choose to save the citizen, but your investigation will be gone. Likewise, you can choose to do the investigation, but if you're not quick enough the guards will have dragged off the citizen. If you rescue a scholar, the new scholars don't have to appear at that particular spot (this is possible to create more hiding spots), but can appear where they need to be for the assassination.
I'd also ramp up the number of investigations to like 20 or 30. In a given area, not all of them are active. The investigations are picked randomly at the random locations. Not all investigations would have different information, there would be a lot of overlap. This makes the people with information seem more alive, since you don't hear the same conversation over and over. It would also block the player from 'hunting that last investigation mission', which breaks immersion. When you are satisfied with what you have learned (player's own judgement), you return to the bureau. The rafiq then judges whether you've attained enough information. This means removing the 'minimum of two/three missions' requirement. If the information level is above a certain point, you get to do the kill. If it is under that point, the rafiq will send you back into the city. It'd require a lot of work to get the conversation with the rafiq all smooth, but I think it would definitely be worth it.
Then there's the combat. Adding more complex moves for the really good players, like different types of blocking/parrying and using the hidden blade without having to put away your current weapon. The AI would be more aggressive, attacking with more at the same time. This would be balanced with the complex moves, like slashing the throat of one of two attackers with the shortblade while gutting the other with the hidden blade. Different types of attacks as well.
For freerunning, I'd add a lot of vaults. On a side note, the art practiced by the Assassins is Parkour, not freerunning: smooth movement from A to B. Vaults are one of the main moves in parkour and I really miss them in the AC games. In AC1 you can vault, but it's very clumsy. I'd also remove the easy freerunning. A jump would require a tap from the button and if you wanted to jump to somewhere else, you'd have to grasp at the building at the right time to actually get it. None of this easy button-holding stuff.
For freerunning and combat, I'd like a difficulty setting. Simple would keep the current system, Intermediate would get the new system, maybe not all of it and Advanced would ramp up the difficulty of everything with the new system. Of course, the last option would be absolutely mindblowingly awesome in my eyes.
Finally, social stealth. Improving the guard AI really is necessary. Also, in Brotherhood, three people plus you means you are hidden. This is not realistic. Crowd blending would only work with actual crowds, ten people or more, perhaps. Then there's the immediate recognition for some actions, which needs a lot of tweaking. Have you ever tried to ride through the Kingdom without becoming Exposed in one of the later memory blocks? It's impossible to do it with at least some kind of speed.
What AC accomplishment are you most proud of?
I really like my dynamic stunt assassination of Abu'l Nuquod.
Are there any philosophical aspects of the game that intrigue you?
All of them. What is truth? What is morality? How far can you go? It's all very interesting stuff that really makes you think.
Is there anything else you'd like to add or promote?
Play AC1 without the HUD!
Which Assassin's Creed game is your favorite: AC1, AC2 or AC:B? Why?
AC1 because it has everything: a good believable story, solid game mechanics and most of all: immersion. AC1 does what it needs to do and it does it well. Exception to this are the flags and collectible Templars. AC2 and AC:B feel really cluttered with the sheer amount of side stuff. Those things feel more like chores than anything else and I really don't like them. I also feel that AC2 and AC:B don't allow the player as much freedom in the assassinations as in AC1. You don't have a clue as to where the guy is, you just have to barge in and improvise. I like to plan things, think them through.
When you're not playing Assassin's Creed, what other games or activities do you enjoy?
Currently, I'm enjoying L.A. Noire. Really a nice game. It's like watching a movie from time to time. Cool stuff.
I also play the piano and the bass. I really love making music. I'm not in a band at the moment, but I would like to be. I've written a lot of stuff that really needs a band to back it up. Ideally, the other band members would bring in their own parts so it'd really be a band effort.
Finally, I do athletics, javelins, hurdles and the like. The accent lies on running, though. I do that in my own time as well.
Is there a question that you would like me to ask the next featured member?
How would you react if the information/assassination mission style of AC1 was brought back and how would you change it?
And here is a question from the last featured member, al-Assas:
Have you ever stopped and waited while a courageous citizen looks around so that you're not too close to him and don't draw his attention?
All the time. I try to keep a low profile as much as I can. I really hate it when the saved citizens say: "all the city will know of your sacrifice".
I really have to agree on what you would change about AC. Hopefully someone will make a topic on preparing for assassinations. 
It seems the month of May was bad luck not only because there was no featured member but also because there was no stabby chat. 
(What? There was no stabby chat?! 
Why didn't time stop, why is the world still spinning?)
I have thought of a different way to do it. In AC1 there are basically two phases, there is the city before you visit the bureau, then there is the city after you leave the bureau to trigger the assassination.
Im thinking when you visit a new district/city we should visit the bureau like usual, they give us hints on where to explore, and then you go off. However from there investigations could be completely optional. By that I mean you could then go back to the bureau at any time to trigger phase 2, the assassination target is now in place. However you have no idea where he is, how to approach him etc so basically you should spend some time listening to conversations and scouting out the area beforehand.
"all the city will know of your sacrifice"
Haha, yea, the thief says that. I bet they are working together with the bettlers. And the vigilanties are the wannabe muscles of the shady self-organized underground.
You can see in AC1 the seeds of the courtesan, thief and mercenary guilds, who will take over the alleys and rooftops if we let them. In Altair's time the assassins are the only major players. The beggars just throw some rocks and run away.
AC2 is like a premonition dream, like the 2012 timeline. It shows what would happen if the Mongols take over the holy land in the 1200s, and the assassins get destroyed.
lmao I love the last part, its so true. I will be going for a really stealthy playthrough, and by stealthy I mean social stealthy. I try to immerse myself in the game and pretend that because no guards have noticed me yet in the city, no one knows im in the city yet. And then some stupid citizen goes "ALL OF THE FRIGGEN CITY KNOWS OF YOUR ACTIONS!!! EVERYONE KNOWS WHO YOU ARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Ok not exactly like that but thats the meaning im getting.
I really like your ideas on investigations, I have been thinking of this problem a lot lately as well. What I like about your idea is the random element in it, for perfectionist gamers out there ( and there are a lot) they will want to do every single investigation, which can be problematic.
What they could do is have say 30 something investigations, but not tell you how many there are. In other words as you complete them you record them in your memory log, but you have no idea if you have fully completed them or not, you just have to decide for yourself if you have sufficient information, which is what your idea is kind of like.
However im thinking of a completely new stlye of a game that will change the way the game is structured. What im thinking of are scripted cutscenes and structure kept down to an extreme minimum. (bear in mind a lot of this is made up on the spot, try to bear with me and il try structure it better later, and a lot of these ideas only harcore gamers will like, not the casual AC crowd)
So basically you are given a target to kill, that is all. You do not have a bureau to report to, so no kind of scripting there. The only thing you know is your target name. There is no map that tells you where the assassination takes place, or even when the assassination takes place. Now as for investigations this idea is very similar to yours. As you wonder through the crowd, you overhear groups of citizens talking about your target. The important part is that you do not have to lock on to trigger the investigation, there is no scripting at all. You cannot overhear useful information if you are exposed because well, citizens are fleeing. The locations of the investigations are random, however in busy areas such as marketplaces have a great chance of you overhearing information.
Another way to think of it is to simply listen to the crowds in AC2 and ACB. They say random stuff all the time, basically investigations is listening to these conversations. In fact, the game doesnt even register whether you have heard them or not! You simply have to take notes down in the real world! However that is just the evesdropping part, with maps of archer locations or guards etc you have to steal these off guards, not just random civillians. I havent even thought of how to get around that, il think of it later.
Somewhere along the line you will learn the location of your target and what time he will be there. Now I think you will have to do something to trigger his presence, otherwise you could just stumble upon him at any time in the game, so maybe a bureau will be necessary afterall.
There should be other things to do in the game, secret areas should still be here and there along with saving citizens. the problem with this structure is that the player pretty much as to wander around blindly listening for information. The bureau leaders in AC1 give you hints on where to go, so maybe that could return to the game.
I will probably ramble on too much, but hopefully you get the point im trying to make.
On the completionist gamers comment: Don't worry about that. It's hard to find someone who's more of a completionist than me. And I woiuldn't mind this type of investigation. There would be no indicator of how much information you collected. 
I'm not to big on the non-scripted events. Even though I prefer playing over cutscenes (in AC at least), I think story is very important, so there will at least be cutscenes with the targets and Al-Mualim. I'd also like to keep the bureau. It's just an integral part of the story. 
Yeah, the main problem with creating unpredictability in a game with investigations and so on is that the storyline would suffer, I would love to see it implemented but it might be too difficult to do.
Great interview! I completely agree with a lot of it.