Platform: Xbox 360/ Xbox One/ Wii U/ Ps3/ Ps4/ PC
Genre: Action-Adventure
Publisher: Ubisoft
Assassin's Creed is a second game that I discussed during my contextual essay. This was a good example of a game in terms of fiction based on a real culture, as I've previously mentioned in the review. Okay, so again it's pirates, like Skies of Arcadia, however the extreme difference between them is that Skies of Arcadia is fantasized. Wherein Skies of Arcadia there is a bigger artistic license and the inspiration isn't quite so direct, Assassin's Creed: Black Flag is a historical fiction game.
There's a danger in games like these. It restricts the design freedom of a character that is largely based on a historical figure, and restricts the characteristics too. However Assassin's Creed is successful in that it stays pretty historically accurate for the most part, yet offers a compelling fiction.
There's a danger in games like these. It restricts the design freedom of a character that is largely based on a historical figure, and restricts the characteristics too. However Assassin's Creed is successful in that it stays pretty historically accurate for the most part, yet offers a compelling fiction.
I found that the main character Edward Kenway was actually surprisingly relatable, but maybe that had something to due with his backstory i.e. he hails from Cardiff, which is about twenty minutes away from the town I come from. Okay, so I can't relate to the fact that he's a privateer-turned-pirate, but it's still closer to home than any other fictional character.
Most of the game is set in the Caribbean, across three main cities, one of which is pirate-influenced, one controlled by the Spanish and one by Britain. Edward Kenway is pretty suited to at least two of these, being a British Pirate - albeit specifically Welsh.
Most of the game is set in the Caribbean, across three main cities, one of which is pirate-influenced, one controlled by the Spanish and one by Britain. Edward Kenway is pretty suited to at least two of these, being a British Pirate - albeit specifically Welsh.
What is significant about Kenway regarding his design, is the mix of culture within his clothing. Obviously, he retains the iconic assassin design that has spread through the series, however it has essentially been hybridized in such a way that you can blatantly tell that he is a pirate. I personally really like Kenway's design, a rough around the edges rogue. Because his clothes have elements of both assassin and pirate, he is neither too bland nor too detached from the piratical environment in which he adventures.
Again different elements of the character can plausibly draw the player inwards and into the game world. Although the story and certain aspects are completely fictional, it is set in a real historical period of time with real figureheads. Edward Kenway works a good bridge between the player and this half-real world, coming across as a person who could have existed in this time along with those real figureheads, despite the fact that he is fictional.
I think this is another game that demonstrates the relationships between characters, players, game worlds and cultures, especially when you consider how the hybridization of the multiplayer characters works so well. Characters from different cultures were adapted to the pirate culture, using the matter of stereotyping in a positive manner. The designers discussed that this was a bit of fun for the players, however as a case study this displays the importance of how characters should appear like they belong in their world. If a highway-woman had been put into the game, she would look so detached from it, but the fact that she was adapted to suit the piracy environments means that she works convincingly, as do the others.
I think this is another game that demonstrates the relationships between characters, players, game worlds and cultures, especially when you consider how the hybridization of the multiplayer characters works so well. Characters from different cultures were adapted to the pirate culture, using the matter of stereotyping in a positive manner. The designers discussed that this was a bit of fun for the players, however as a case study this displays the importance of how characters should appear like they belong in their world. If a highway-woman had been put into the game, she would look so detached from it, but the fact that she was adapted to suit the piracy environments means that she works convincingly, as do the others.
The only issue I really have, is the intertwined story-lines between the 'real' and fictional worlds within the game itself. Meta-stories - they really do grate on me sometimes, although there is some cleverness in what they've done. The 'real' character is unnamed, and is basically you anyway. When you go into the historical world you are then Edward Kenway, however it is not only the player who takes the role of this character - it is also the unnamed character whose role you play. It's actually so meta it hurts my brain, regarding character-player identification. I suppose through becoming the unnamed character it makes it that little bit easier to become and/or relate to Edward Kenway.
HOWEVER, as much as you become immersed as Kenway in the historical world, it really annoys me when you get pulled out of it. I just wanted to stay in that other world into which I had been drawn through the main character and my relation with him and his place in his world.
But that nit-pick aside, looking solely at culture and game spaces, Edward Kenway is a cleverly designed character and has pretty real characteristics that allow for a good engagement between all of these aspects.
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