Each Assassin's Creed gets a new writer
http://oyungezer.com.tr/makaleler/113-dosya-konular/5767-assassins-creed...
About halfway through the video, they talk about how ACB had a different writer than AC2, and ACR has a different writer than ACB, and how the actual integrity of the storyline, and the basic overview of what will happen is determined by a separate team, who works with the author to flesh it out.
AKA, hopefully this writer doesn't build up intrigue around a target saying he can't die, and then drop him off a cliff. I liked the character-driven moments of ACB, but the story was definately nowhere near as interesting, despite all of the Borgias being incredibly crazy in their own way, and the awesome scenes between Leo and Ezio.
Who was the writer for AC1? I'm gonna hire them if I get a chance.
Don't, he'll make a story about doing the exact same thing and the main character being told he's doing it for a reason by an untrustworthy person, and then at the end of the story the main character finds out he was doing it for a different reason. And then the last page or so is in a radically different style, with lots of flashing lights and mind control.
: P
I joke, I joke.
Hey, it was his job to set every little conspiracy and theme up for the entire franchise. He deserves an award. I had to play it 3 times to catch everything. lol
AC2 introduced more on the conspiracy and overall story side, in my opinion, but I did enjoy AC1's story, don't you worry. : P
The first two had the best storytelling so far. Then again, it would be difficult to pump out a fully fleshed-out story every year, even with a whole team working on it.
Actually no. Some of my favorite, longest, and most detailed books were written in a year. It all depends on the skill of the author.
they need to put all the writers together for ac 3 they would have all at least one good thing to ad
I'm still sad that Patrice left after ACB. He thought of everything and made it happen. Everyone else basically just made it reality. I'd be so happy if he came back for AC3, but that won't happen.
I'm still sad that Patrice left after ACB. He thought of everything and made it happen. Everyone else basically just made it reality. I'd be so happy if he came back for AC3, but that won't happen.
This. Hopefully he left notes on how HE wanted the series to continue/end.
Honestly, I'm a little worried about Revelations. The writer hasn't really written any good games, and most of the games he HAS written have been portable titles.
I mean he wrote AC:Bloodlines and AC2:Discovery, but prior to this the only "big" game he has written was Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, which is (I haven't played it, so I can't speak out of experience) by all accounts mediocre.
Seriously? Well this better be his shining moment.
Seriously? Well this better be his shining moment.
Yeah.
This is his resume.
The story of AC was never just determined by one guy. Patrice had helped the brand team get an outline of where the story was going, what specific events was happening, the answers to all the mysteries, and how it would conclude, and Alexandre came on and kept helping them flesh it out. I liked Patrice, but I don't think he's still absolutely integral to AC staying AC. Alexandre seems a lot more convincing and in control than Patrice, I'd have to say. Listening to him talk about game mechanics working flawlessly with the story and sandbox, and I feel very confident about how good Revelations is going to be.
Not saying Patrice was bad or anything, but when he talked about new features, he didn't really ever try to explain very well the positive impact he thought they'd have on the game as a whole.
And Bloodlines had a good story, held back by technical limitations. Revelations sounds much better than any previous Ezio story from what we know already. Kinda unfair to judge an author on the story for a game which sucked based on it's gameplay (LotR) don't you think, guys? : )
EDIT: Also, I think that what they mean by changing script-writers is changing LEAD script-writers.
EDIT2: If you'd like to see Darby in person, here he is: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2011/05/25/ac-revelations...
I wasn't saying Darby will ruin the story, I was saying that his past jobs haven't been promising and that he better try his hardest at Revelations.
Like you said, Patrice mapped everything out for each game (at least the numbered ones). And if anyone associated with a game actually attempts to tell the audience what the game will bring to the player, they can't just be believed. Patrice did the right thing and gave us ideas of what the games would be like. He was vague, but no one knew that it fit with the gameplay just how he said it. In interviews about AC1, he said "freedom" was the most important part of the gameplay. When I first heard this, I only assumed that you could kill with a variety of weapons or take a different route to a boss. Little did I know that players could leap from tops of towers in a strategic assassination spot and land right next to their fleeing target.
Alexandre was a good friend of Patrice. I know this. A lot of people know this. But he doesn't seem to want to surprise the player with anything like Patrice did. He tells us almost every new addition to the gameplay, but only leaves the story to the imagination, because no one wants to spoil that.
I guess I just love to be surprised when I'm getting involved in a unique narrative like Assassin's Creed.
Quite honestly, I prefer knowing what the game's going to be like. It helps me with motivation to pre-order if I've been convinced that the game is a big step up or interesting. Anyways, I don't really remember Patrice leaving out anything, it's just that he always described things as being much better than they turned out, and was vauge about in what ways it would be awesome. That's one of the reasons I've been less cynical about this game than other ACs: the level of communication has been better from the moment they started announcing features.
Surprises are nice, but I'd rather be sure that the basic parts of the game are going to be good, and then get surprises in addition to the big stuff.
What about Jade Raymond ? She wasn't the scriptwriter but in the commentaries and dev diaries she narrated she spoke a lot about various game mechanisms.
On a large scale, it's not as good of a move to tell everyone every cool feature included in a game. Then people go in and say "oh I saw that coming" and aren't impressed. The first time doing something you've known about for a while is a lot less rewarding than doing something you've never seen before. I don't know, I just feel as if this was how Patrice wanted to market it.
@Sync: Yeah, she reminded me of the even ground between Patrice and Alexandre. I know she's still involved, but it's like Ubi didn't want the "faces" of AC1 to show up for Ezio's games very much. Just Patrice in a couple of floor interviews.
They aren't telling us every cool feature in the game. They're telling us the important ones that will make us decide if it's worth it to get it. I know for one that FLAE wouldn't even think about getting it if all they had released was info that "Assassin's Creed Revelations will continue the story of Ezio with improvements on the excellent gameplay of Brotherhood" and showed an E3 demo of Ezio using bombs in the cinematic only, and freerunning across the boats instead of ziplining after torching them, and absolutely no new features announced.
I wouldn't have even thought about getting AC2 if I hadn't heard about all the improvements being made.
The reason why I keep buying the games is because I'm a fan. I don't care if they "improve" every little thing each game. I just want to see what happens next and if they can keep me enthralled. If a game is good, you won't have to tell anyone anything about it before it comes out. It just sounds desperate to me.
"OMG, we have better multiplayer, more fighting options, new weapons, any type of bomb you want for you Rambo players, and now an RTS minigame! BUY IT!!! IT'S SO AWESOME!!!"
Anyone will buy any game. Word of mouth should be good enough along with cool trailers to give the player a glimpse of what's to come. Spilling the beans on almost every new feature half a year before it's release will make the game stale much faster.
The only reason why I started off as good as I was at the multiplayer was because they kept releasing info on how it worked. The trailers and first gameplay "walkthrough" should have been the most they have put out.
AC1 was extremely vague in its presentation. That's why a lot of people liked it so much. Everything was unexpected, except the stealth aspect and the hidden blade weapon. No one even knew that it really took place in 2012 until the game came out. Imagine if they said that spoiler before. It wouldn't feel as rich.
I noticed since I started using the internet much more to check on upcoming games that I haven't been as satisfied as I used to. I remember playing each MGS game without really checking on any details on the internet beforehand, just buying them when they come out and discovering it all myself.
Then MGS4 was announced and I watched every trailer etc... and it kinda ruined it. I mean they released so many trailers and told us so much about the gameplay that I didnt even bother to try out most of the cool new moves when I got the game. I have a feeling im setting myself up for the same thing for ACR, so im probably just going to stay away from this section of the forum altogether.
No one even knew that it really took place in 2012 until the game came out.
Just a correction here, but we knew basically straight from the first Game Informer article that Altair's story was framed by that of a descendant in the near future. A lot of the previews of the game (even in 2006, over a year before it was released) showed that it had a future/sci-fi aspect to it, even though they downplayed it and didn't go into any details on what was really going on.
That being said, the vast majority of people who picked up AC1 probably didn't know about the future bits.
no one even knew that it really took place in 2012 until the game came out. .
well i did'nt know that until brotherhood
Even though the futuristic computer code and DNA glitches were put into trailers and gameplay, they never truly stated that the story was actually about the descendant of the hooded figure.
well i did'nt know that until brotherhood
How much of the first 2 games did you even play?
Joey, I have bought a LOT of games without knowing much about them. More often than not, I have been disappointed. If these AC games were coming out every two years, I would have no problem just buying them with cursory knowledge. But yearly sequels tend to be crap, and I research them carefully. Brotherhood charmed me despite its flaws mainly because it was so good for a yearly sequel.
Revelations is getting even closer scrutiny, because it sounds like they're trying to make it better than AC2 and 1 were.
Anyways, a large portion of the gaming audience buys games based on what's going to be new or special about them, since there is so much to choose from coming out every year, most of it being crap. This is why game devs are more open about what's going to be in games, because they've realized that they have to work to stand out from the crowd, and get customers to purchase their games.
It's good for the devs, and good for the players, because devs are more inspired to release games that mean something.
If you really don't want to know much about it, you'd be safe with just watching the cinematic trailers and avoiding forums and youtube comments and interviews. Just play other games till it comes out, man.
Even though the futuristic computer code and DNA glitches were put into trailers and gameplay, they never truly stated that the story was actually about the descendant of the hooded figure.EzioAltair17 wrote:
well i did'nt know that until brotherhoodHow much of the first 2 games did you even play?
i only played up to like sequence 6 in AC1 and AC II i beat it like 6 times
No, I was just saying that if the developers really think they've improved on their game, they won't have to tell the player what to expect. I'd just like to go in trusting Ubisoft that it's up to par with everything else in the series. If I have to be sure about it by watching videos about every little detail, then why was I sure about it in the first place?
It still looks to me as if Ubi is taking the foundation they've already built and exploiting it. They're dodging the fact that the AC series has now become another cash cow game with lots of stuff blowing up.
But I digress. I've just seen across all media how the thing with the biggest bang or unexpected hit always leaves the biggest impression. That's how Star Wars started out. It was expected to bomb.
@EA56: Did you have it on mute during the Desmond moments?!
@EA56: Did you have it on mute during the Desmond moments?!
nope i guess i just wasn't listening to his part that much. but anyway they did'nt say that it was 2012 much in ACII and AC1 i thought they were saying that 12/21/12 is next year i did'nt know they were in the year
Actually no. Some of my favorite, longest, and most detailed books were written in a year. It all depends on the skill of the author.
Agreed. There are a few series of books that I read that come out with a new book each year. They're all incredibly detailed and require vast amounts of historical research, so it can be done. The challenge lies in incorporating that story electronically and visually.
No, I was just saying that if the developers really think they've improved on their game, they won't have to tell the player what to expect. I'd just like to go in trusting Ubisoft that it's up to par with everything else in the series. If I have to be sure about it by watching videos about every little detail, then why was I sure about it in the first place?
It still looks to me as if Ubi is taking the foundation they've already built and exploiting it. They're dodging the fact that the AC series has now become another cash cow game with lots of stuff blowing up.
But I digress. I've just seen across all media how the thing with the biggest bang or unexpected hit always leaves the biggest impression. That's how Star Wars started out. It was expected to bomb.
@EA56: Did you have it on mute during the Desmond moments?!
That's exactly my point. You KNOW that they can shovel out crap and get profit. That's why I like to be told exactly what's going to be different and better. What you're talking about works for a game that's built on a new engine, with totally unique mechanics and all, but AC is an upgrade from last game's engine. It uses things that have already been established. That's why they have to say what's new.
And I'm not even going to comment on the explosions part. Varied gameplay and set-pieces are always welcome, in my books. Seriously, though, Ubisoft knows that people can just watch a walkthrough of their game. They have to impress them enough that they don't just care about learning where the story goes next. And quite honestly, Revelations seems to be bringing more to the table than the usual increase in set-piece and graphical quality expected from AC games (Disregard AC2's graphics)
E3 is a place for boistrous demos. Stealth sequences won't captivate journalists as much as a set-piece, and set-pieces have been a place AC has historically struggled. This looks much slicker than Brotherhood, and it's a good way to show off the game without showing anything yet.
EDIT: and quite honestly, not marketing your game and leaving everything for players to find out is how a lot of great games have crashed and burned. Word of mouth works better if you can captivate an audience before release.
After that comment, I feel like we're repeating each others points now, because we both agree, but are explaining it differently. Lol
Except that, Fogey, I think that you rather the approach that says "If the games crash and burn from their lack of being aknowleged, then they shouldn't have made it anyways. There are always people who love videogames, there are people who love specific videogames, and with those two audiences alone, I'd like to personally think that if you've made a game at all, it's going to be noticed. Then, if it was say, a shooter, 1,000,000 people don't like it cause they hate shooter video games. but THEN the SHOOTER community knows about it at all because one; It's a shooter game, they'll know about/ follow it if they're shooter fans. And two; the first shooter fan to take a look at the game loved what he saw and spread the word to other shooter fans, who recieved it just as well.
I guess what I mean is, The people who just saw a hooded ninja-like assassin, thought the series would be just that; sneaking, and stabbing (at least I did, which was good). Then the second game was on it's way and we all loved the cliffhangers at the end of 1, AND we also EXPECTED what we were gunna get out of two...the same things that we loved in the original. Then they took alot of the love out of 2, generalized the game, which gave them a bigger overall fan base, but completely DIMINISHED any hope of retaining the die-hard fans, who I should note have been DIE-HARD since that first, and very flawed, game. Since that, it has been more or less just watching how the games mutated into another type of gameing style all together. I think that having different writers for each game, regardless if the same man helped them all (cause I don't see how that kept them consistent much) was a bad move, and this is the last time I'll rant about it, but I will nonetheless. They should have kept AC1, same graphics, at least not AC2 graphics, dont give us an effin renaisance batman, give us back joe blow with unique abilities, not the One with supernatural destiny-essential all seeing eye-powers. I dunno, I want Altair back, fuck Ezio. No offense to Ezio fans this is just me lashing out after being on this site all day, as well as starting to realise what exactly and specifically I enjoy about the games. Tell you right now it has very fricken little to do with the end of the world. If it was you trying to survive not just to prevent an apocalypse, maybe killing all the templars off, or finding your family and reuniting, I just really wish it wasn't all to make you excited about their dumbass story. I'm excited for ASSASSINS PERIOD.
Once again sorry guys, calvar brings out the opinionism in me, which is healthy and I imagine annoying, hence why this is my last rant. Nothing this big, ever again.