The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

My first memory of Vesferatu is when he offered to design a new logo for this site. He came up with several good designs, my favorite being the "wrist and blade" now appearing in the upper left corner of your browser. After that he stuck around and became a welcome addition to our community. Here is our interview with Vesferatu, the man behind the logo:

Tell me about the first time you played AC.

Ha ha ha. Boy, this is awkward. Unlike most people, I never started the Assassin’s Creed franchise with the first game in the series. I was introduced to AC2 two summers ago at my cousin’s house. He recommended me the game, and it boy…was love at first sight. Free running throughout the city, killing random guards, looting randomly dispensed treasure chests – it was GTA again, but with a dark, Italian twist.

Though the graphics and game play satisfied my gaming addiction, I was baffled by the confusing storyline and characters. I later went to Assassin’s Creed Wikia and read the entire series. I haven’t played ACI, nor do I plan to as I already know the plot and seen most of the cut scenes and dialogues of that game on YouTube. However, since Ubisoft gave free copies of ACI with the purchase of ACI [Revelations? -stabguy], I decided to have a go with it. It was alright. I knew that it was a more darker and repetitive, but it was enjoyable nevertheless.

What do you like most about the games?

It would have to be the atmosphere and sense of freedom. The architecture, music, dialects, and free-roaming all help amplify the enriching experience of playing as an Assassin in Italy, Constantinople, and the Middle East. Everything balances each other and compliments the philosophy of this game.

A prime example of this is “Nothing is true; everything is permitted”. Many people can relate this to the philosophy of parkour.

I just love how Ubisoft manages to faithfully and historically portray the worlds back then in the 15th – 16th Century within the graphical/size limitations of the PS3/XBOX/PC. And that’s probably the best things about the AC games. Each has managed to bring a time setting that few, if any, video-game companies have portrayed before. One of my favorite perks of the Animus 2.03 is that it even tried to be educational, providing facts about famous landmarks.

What AC accomplishment are you most proud of?

Besides earning every trophy on my PS3, mastering the combat system, and free-running?

I would have to say it’d be executing my first eagle-strike and superblend/hyperblend exploit. It’s so awe inspiring seeing Ezio jump from a fatal height, catch the edge of a building/window/platform with just his fingers (and probably breaking them in real life) while falling at dangerous speeds, and managing to fling his body mass towards his target. I also love employing the superblend/hyperblend exploit to the fullest whenever I get a chance to assassinate an important target. I often catch myself throwing knives at nearby guards just to confuse the AI.

What is your favorite quote from the games?

That’s easy: “Nothing is true, Everything is – ”
Just kidding! No, if anything, it would be:
“In much wisdom is much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.”

What would you like to change about AC?

A lot of stuff. Let’s see…
- Camera work needs to be much smoother
- Looting treasure chests needs be much faster. Seriously, why the hell does it take Ezio almost 2 bloody seconds to peer inside the contents of a chest and pick up whatever interests him?
- More aggressive AI, where enemies attack at the same time, guards spot you faster, and all of them have Seeker intelligence.
- More secret lairs.
- HORSES THAT CAN ACTUALLY GALLOP IN THE FREAKING CITY!
- More varied mission structures, with different objectives. Remember GTA4:Ballad of Gay Tony? Remember all those different objectives one must complete, but you can do them one at a time? It should be like that, but with a timer. That way, you can compare how fast you play your missions in leaderboards.
- Expansion of the VR training room. More stealth assassinations, free running, and combat. An area where enemies spawn forever would be nice. You can get hit only 10 times before you die. Similar to Batman: Arkham City.
- Different cities. Seriously, Rome and Constantinople had so much lag and shadow clipping.
- Less clipping itself. Every time Ezio crouches, his robes’ tailcoats always clip on the ground/horse/weapon. In ACR, you can even see Altair’s feet clip on his robes.
- The ability to remove armor.

Which Assassin's Creed game is your favorite: AC1, AC2 or AC:B? Why?

I noticed that you didn’t ask ACR. [Oops! My mistake. -stabguy] Easy answer: AC2. Because even though I never played AC1, I can already tell from the numerous articles, friends, and reviews that this game was very repetitive and drags quite a while. Though it had a strong atmosphere, good story, excellent script, and large cities, it isn’t a fun game for me. Though Altair’s story was strong, it didn’t address Desmond’s side. AC2 was much better in terms of game-play, pacing, and mission structure. Though, the story was reduced to a simple revenge tale, it turned out to be a rather enjoyable experience.

ACB, on the other hand, was sloppy. There were so many glitches, clipping, and texture/shadow popping. Even the multiplayer seems slow to start up (though it was very innovative). Throw in a sloppy camera, and the game feels rather rushed. Though many of its features are revamped, they are still hampered by a number of reasons:

-Chain kill, hampered by sloppy camera
-Horses, hampered by inability to even gallop
-weak AI difficulty, hampered by massive arsenal of weapons

The 3 things that Ubisoft manages to pull of correctly are the 100% synchronization, Assassin Recruit feature, and secret lairs. The 100% synchronization feature encourages you to finish missions in new ways, and it also reveals certain things about Ezio, such as completing a tomb within 8 minutes or not getting injured in a skirmish. The Assassin Recruit truly makes you feel like you’re in control of a legion of assassins. And the Lairs of Romulus were amazing. They got harder, and with the correct camera angles, displays Ezio’s massive jumping abilities.

ACR could be considered the swansong of the Renaissance Era, and I would too. It tied loose knots, provided a good story, and showed a softer side of Ezio. However, it wasn’t a great game in general. The camera work was still sloppy, economic system still the same, and the overall mission/game structure remains the same. Combat/Free running got a massive improvement, by the way.

Who is your favorite Assassin's Creed character (main or secondary)?

From a comedic view, it would probably be Shaun Hastings and Leonardo Da Vinci. I just love Shaun’s sarcasm, as he brings humor in the modern world. I also love how Ubisoft portrays Leonardo as a good and kind friend. Ezio is so lonely, so he really does need a good friend.

As for Altair and Ezio, I’m going to choose…both. It seems unfair that many compare both of them just because they were assassins. Both of them lived rich and amazing lives.

Ezio himself was funny, charismatic, smart, yet had a temper in his youth. Once, his privileged life was taken from him, he had to grow up – fast. He’s probably one of the most relatable characters in the entire video-game industry. I think the best part about him (and this is my opinion) is that he choose to be an Assassin. He had the chance to escape to turn his back from that tragic event, but he embraced it as a compass for his life.

After reading “The Secret Crusade”, Altair had to deal with even more insane stuff. He had to rebuild/reclaim his Order and deal with his wife and younger son’s death. Not to mention that he took it upon himself to spread the Assassins across Eurasia. In retrospect, Altair was the actual prophet as well, spreading his definitive message: Nothing is true, Everything is permitted.

What time and place would you like the animus to go to in AC3?

It would probably be during the fall of the Han Dynasty in China (200 AD-ish) where 3 warring kingdoms aspire to control all of ancient China. I’m a big fan of Dynasty Warriors, you see. I can even see Cao Cao as a Templar and Liu Bei as an Assassin.

When you're not playing Assassin's Creed, what other games or activities do you enjoy?

Parkour, Free running, learning computer programming languages, hanging out with friends, going to the movies, playing Batman: Arkham City.

Is there anything else you'd like to add or promote?

I’m an up and coming graphic designer. My firm name is “Innovate And Create”, so show me some love!

I’m also Vesferatu on Deviant Art, so feel free to check out the clip art I do for Assassin’s Creed. If you guys have logos/pamphlets/cards you want me to do, email me.

http://vesferatu.deviantart.com/
http://innovateandcreate.deviantart.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Innovate-Create/148307178585163
tewasartm@live.com

What question would you like me to ask the next featured member?

How did you find this forum?

And here is a question from the last featured member, GopherBlaine:
If you could travel to one specific period in time to be a part of a group, what time would it be, what group would you want to be a part of, and why? Would you want to be in a leadership role or a supporting role, and why?

Tough question. I’d probably be a band member of the Beatles. Big fan of them.