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Exclusive Interview: Assassin's Creed II (Part 1)
We sit down with Ubisoft Montreal producer Sebastien Puel
Written by Dan Hutchinson, 12 October 2009
With the much anticipated release of Assassin's Creed II only a matter of weeks away we took the chance to chew the renaissance fat with producer Sebastien Puel. Part 2 tomorrow...
GamerZines: Did the success of the original Assassin's Creed come as a surprise to you?
Sebastien Puel: The team worked for four years on the first Assassin's Creed and their mandate was to create the action/adventure game that redefined next gen. Assassin's Creed was an astonishing experience; I believe it brought entirely new elements to the industry: allowing players to fluidly navigate an urban environment while enjoying breathtaking views and full freedom of control. And beyond gameplay innovations in the area of free-running and crowd, the team also pushed for innovation in storytelling. Assassin's Creed was the first game to immerse players in a believable and mature experience inspired by historical events.
GZ: You've been keen to stress that you've listened to criticism and expanded on the game's mission structure for the sequel, but what other areas have been improved due to critic and player feedback?
360Zine Issue 47
For our latest Assassins Creed coverage, click here to download 360Zine Issue 47 for free.SP: Of course we will keep and improve on the elements that defines our game plus build on the original concept adding more value to the game such as even more gorgeous city landscapes, more animations, a new and even more exciting historical setting, more ways to interact with the crowd ? Our main focus is to bring diversity and depth to the gameplay: more variety in missions and objectives, more weapons, more areas to explore (secret locations), more depth to the animus and its use in the game, more diverse assassinations and a deep character progression. These will make the experience evolve throughout the game.
Ezio will have a whole new set of skills in different fields - to navigate the world, to stay out of sight, to fight and to assassinate. The free-running in the cities is more fun and fluid than ever, and he will also have the possibility to blend into any group of citizens in the crowd, making the navigation all the more fun and believable. He will also have many new skills concerning the fighting system - without naming all the new possible moves, he can master a great amount of new weapons: long pikes, axes and war hammers to name just a few. As those are heavy weapons, Ezio won't have to carry them all the time: he will now be able to disarm his enemies and use their weapons against them. Each and every one of those weapons has its own set of animations so you're going to be up for some really cool fighting moves playing Assassin's Creed 2.
As a matter of fact, we really want Assassin's Creed 2 to be unpredictable and have the player wonder after each main assassination: 'and now, what's next!?'
GZ: You've added a number of new elements to ACII - is it difficult to find the right balance between ensuring that the game is varied without overcomplicating it?
SP: In Assassin's Creed 2, we wanted to find the perfect mix in between story and game play progression. As the player becomes an assassin, he will meet various characters and learn new skills, get new weapons, learn to act in a crowd - blend, steal etc? The story and character progression was really important and players will get to discover the vast world and all the elements that compose it at a pace that is much more organic. Also, it was important for us that players see all the possibilities and moves the game has to offer. For example, the secret locations were created having in mind to push the player to make the best of ALL the character's skills. In those locations and also in various other missions, we put players in certain situation that pushes them to think of new ways to free-run or how to use certain types of weapons.
Assassins Creed coverage available in 360Zine Issue 47 - click here to download it for free!
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