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Forums - Gaming Discussion - An Assassin's Creed set in feudal Japan would feel over-familiar, says AC3 director

I rather like Alex Hutchinson, the outspoken creative director of Far Cry 4, but in one regard, he and I are and shall forever remain mortal foes. Hutchinson, you see,observed to OXM in 2012 that an Assassin's Creed set in feudal Japan would be "boring" - a remark that roused me to a fearful, office-emptying splutter when I wrote it up for the website.

Earlier this month, I was able to broach my difference of opinion to the man himself at a preview event. "Say Mr Hutchinson, sir," I recall saying through clenched teeth, the souls of my outraged and probably fictional ronin ancestors shrieking in my ears. "What's all this rot about Japan as a setting? Sounds like you just don't like ninjas, if you ask me. Are you prejudiced against ninjas, Alex? Such terrible bigotry. You have made a powerful enemy, my friend."

It transpired, however, that Hutchinson's apathy is grounded in something slightly more complex than an inexplicable hatred of murderers in black pyjamas: he feels Japan is too well-explored as a setting, though it would work perfectly well from a design perspective.

"You could always do it, but the point I was trying to make was that in the broad strokes and scale of history, that's a theme that's been well-mined in videogames," Hutchinson began. "So, Assassin's Creed is one of those games that can take [lesser-known] time periods or corners of the world and make them cool, fun, new and refreshing.

"Feudal Japan would work as an Assassin's game, for sure, but I feel like it would start to look like 'oh, have I played this?' You know what I mean - 'oh, I've been a ninja before, I've been a samurai before'."

"Is the setting really so over-subscribed right now, though?" I objected, reaching involuntarily for an invisible katana. "It's been a while since somebody released a new Tenchu." "Well, I did say it a few years ago!" retorted Hutchinson.

As for where Hutchinson might take Assassin's Creed, were he back in charge of the franchise - the answer remains India during the British Raj (aka, the mid-19th to mid-20th century). It's not just Hutchinson's call, of course: Assassin's Creed 4 game director Ashraf Ismail has said that he'd "love" to visit Egypt during the time of the Pharaohs.

I'm just going to leave this little, unrelated list of cool things here, for historians of the internet to ponder: throwing stars, bamboo forests, walls made out of paper, nodachi, mountain temples and dangling from a beam to garrotte the Shogun's adversaries. Your call, Ubisoft. 

http://www.totalxbox.com/82294/an-assassins-creed-set-in-feudal-japan-would-feel-over-familiar-says-ac3-director/



    

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LOL!!! Is he serious? Assasins creed itself feels over-familiar at this point. If anything having different settings, even if it is one that other games do, is the only thing that will keep it somewhat fresh. Im glad to see that ideas of taking the sereies to places like egypt are still being considered.



Well, it would be interesting if they set it around the Meiji Era where West powers were trying to get their hand on Japanese politics and the Samurai were being fazed out. Japan has a lot of impressive historical locations. I guess the Feudal Era would be more impressive though since it has more fighting and clan wars until the Tokugawa clan came into power. I mean, they're doing some seven years war in an upcoming game for Assassin's Creed. Well, until Tokugawa came into power, it was like a 100 years of war. 100 is a bigger number!

Joking aside, I can see why he wouldn't want to do it. Since ninjas and samurai are done quite a lot. Though a historical look at Feudal Japan doesn't seem like a bad idea in my opinion.



Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward = best game ever made.

Based off the last few games, what's stopping him? :P jk



Yeah, I probably agree. There are other, less traveled paths that would make for more interesting adventures. Personally, I'd prefer something set in ancient China or perhaps even Joseon period Korea.



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are you kidding me? how has it been done before, off the top of my head i cant think of a single game that would be even remotely similar

dynasty warriors? genji days of the blade? lol. yakuza ishin*? (not even localized)



Chevinator123 said:

are you kidding me? how has it been done before, off the top of my head i cant think of a single game that would be even remotely similar

dynasty warriors? genji days of the blade? lol. yakuza ishin*? (not even localized)


Might be before your time but back in ps1/ps2 days there were tons of similar ninja games. Ninja Gaiden  or Tenchu or even Bushido Blade. Heck even the true crime franchise. 



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All Hail the Jester King. The King is back, and I am still a dirty girl prof ;)

I agree, it wouldn't be very interesting. The whole point is that you're an amazing assassin in a world where most people, well...aren't amazing assassins. Stick the character in a time when ninjas were everywhere and suddenly that feeling of power is a bit lessened. Sometimes I feel like people suggest the setting not because it would actually be a good one but because it's obvious.



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I think they should go back to the early days before the great flood when men and dinosaurs walked the earth together



“It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grams a week. And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grams a week. Was it possible that they could swallow that, after only twenty-four hours? Yes, they swallowed it.”

- George Orwell, ‘1984’

Ok, that's the last straw. Ubi has to be dealt with. I'm going over there destroying something. Who's with me?



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