Since the very first Assassin’s Creed, we’ve been treated to short glimpses of a modern day/near-future world, but an Assassin’s Creed game has yet to be fully set in a modern day location.
Many have speculated that the modern day will be the ultimate outcome of the Assassin’s Creed series, but we talked to ACIV‘s lead writer Darby McDevitt about whether that will happen, especially with the upcoming release of Watch Dogs. He told us:
I hope for people that Watch Dogs scratches that itch. It’s not an Assassin’s Creed game, it’s not explicitly set in the Assassin’s Creed universe (although we have some fun, and we do some cross pollination for fun, not in a serious combination of Watch Assassins or Assassin Dogs). We do cross pollinate ideas and gameplay mechanics, and I think for people looking for an Assassin’s Creed in the modern day I hope that Watch Dogs satisfies that urge.
One of the difficulties of an Assassin’s Creed in the modern day is that if we did it, we’d have to deal with the prevalence of cars, vehicles. But we’re a game where parkour is essential element, and modern cities are very difficult for parkouring. Modern day New York would be almost impossible. Maybe Mirror’s Edge could do it, but the streets are too wide…
You could start to do it, but imagine a modern day Assassin’s Creed, you would have to immediately say ‘do we create an entire car system? Do we create an entire traffic system? Can you get into cars and drive them? Where does it end?’ People are already saying ‘argh, naval pirate boarding system, is that too far?’ Maybe it’s too far for some people, but it’d be a tremendous job to bring all that into the Assassin’s Creed universe.
And the question is: Is it worth the effort? Aren’t there games like Watch Dogs that do that really well already? And for me the appeal of Assassin’s Creed has always been historical tourism, so there’s not a plan to do Assassin’s Creed modern day any time soon, we have so many other places we’d like to visit.
Would you like to have seen the series go modern? Or are you still holding out for a game set in the ___ era? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and come back later today for the full interview with Darby McDevitt.
