As reported earlier this week, Electronic Theatre recently had the opportunity to sit down with Assassin’s Creed III writer Matt Turner and discuss the forthcoming videogame title. Talking about the history of the franchise, the gameplay design of Assassin’s Creed III and our protagonist, Connor Kenway, Turner revealed some very interesting details about the highly anticipated release.
Clearly enthusiastic about Assassin’s Creed, not just his own work but of the franchise as a whole, Turner takes the time to chat with Electronic Theatre about his favourite elements before discussing the finite detail of his 
work, the character his team have created and how he fits into the world. You can read the first part of the extensive interview with Matt Turner below, and Electronic Theatre will conclude this chapter early next week.
Electronic Theatre: So what’s your opinion of the franchise… how it’s developed?
Matt Turner (MT): It’s interesting. The franchise is growing almost exponentially. You know, we’ve got graphic novels, the comic books and novels and you know, a [PlayStation Vita] game and then this game; there’s been four instalments on the main consoles. It’s just this kind of massive ‘thing,’ and it’s interesting to have this kind of scope and able to tell stories in different directions and places but it’s also very difficult to manage the canon…
Electronic Theatre: Have you had input into every aspect of Assassin’s Creed?
MT: Well the core writing team definitely, we’re always asked to read things and make sure it doesn’t, you know, impinge on our narrative or contradict anything that we might say. We actually have a team of people that manages just the universe; that makes sure people are always on point and the franchise is kept on track.
Electronic Theatre: So what would you say has been your favourite out of everything; the comic books, the videogames, what piece of story do you thing defines the franchise?
MJ: Hmm, good question. I mean, ‘defines’ is a tough word, but my actual favourite was the first one, the first Assassin’s Creed. I’m not kidding! People knock it for being repetitive and all these things but it was so well crafted and all the stuff was part of the experience of being an assassin and that was kind of part of the intention, it was to make people, 
like, not want to go and kill people. I don’t know, it was really well crafted. I had nothing to do with it. I was just a consumer at that point and I really enjoyed it from the beginning. For me that was kind of like the definitive Assassin’s Creed and I think it’s grown and evolved from there. You know, each one has something new to offer and for me, that’s the big one.
Electronic Theatre: So at what point did you jump in? You say you were a consumer with the first one.
MJ: Oh no, sorry. I was working with EA when the first one came out so I was a consumer of Ubisoft products.
Electronic Theatre: So at what point did you jump into Assassin’s Creed?
MJ: It was just under three years ago know, I came for [Assassin’s Creed III]. I did some support work on [Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood] but it was mostly for [Assassin’s Creed III] all the way through. Since I’ve been here I suppose I’ve had high visibility on books and comic books…
Electronic Theatre: So we had Assassin’s Creed II, then Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin’s Creed: Revelation and now we’ve got Assassin’s Creed III. Assassin’s Creed III is obviously a significant step forward in the same way Assassin’s Creed II was from Assassin’s Creed. Has some development overlapped?
MT: There were always different teams. So, like, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, they were different teams. We’re always kind of our own thing and for us, from the very beginning we had earned the ‘III’, we were telling ourselves from the start this is us. You know, with Assassin’s Creed, Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, I think are great instalments on a narrative level and it was like ‘we are Assassin’s Creed III, we have to be the next thing’. There has to be a reason that we are the ‘III’ so that’s been a 
challenge from the beginning. But basically our mantra has been that we have to refresh everything or even just renew everything and have a fresh set of eyes on all the mechanics, and take what people loved, maintain it and then grow it. Everything felt like it had to be patched and I think we managed that: the fight scenes are brand new, the navigation has changed, the world is exponentially bigger than it ever has been before, the graphic fidelity is better, everything about it is better on a technical and aesthetic level and I think that we did earn the ‘III’ and hopefully the fans will agree.
Electronic Theatre: There are many points obviously in history when Assassin’s Creed III could have taken place. What was it that made you settled on the American Revolution?
MT: There are a lot of reasons and I actually wasn’t privy to the conversations, the choice had been made when I arrived, so I wasn’t privy to those conversations but I was… I do know the reasons behind it. And it was a bunch of reasons; one we wanted to take the Assassin to a new environment and for us the next step was organic environments and one of the things that we kind of associate [with this idea], with all the other teams, was the frontier of North America, and [the] wilderness was quintessential with that idea and if we’re going to tackle that kind of environment with an assassin what better place to do it than there.
Next it was the narrative had kind of led itself, in a weird kind of way. It hadn’t been planned from the beginning or anything but it was the stage that the Assassin versus Templar conflict was at, both in the present and in the past, and the kind of reflections that offered in terms of narrative stuff in the revolution. It all kind of lined-up and we kind of sat back and looked at it and we said we’d research and we discovered all these characters and there was stuff that people didn’t know, and these interesting moments, and we said this is a great place to put a game in for us. Once we kind of looked at everything it was the best place for us to go but the thing is there’s so many beautiful and interesting periods of history, it’s almost infinite, like you can go anywhere in time and find something awesome to play a game in so at some point you just have to call a shot and go with it.
Electronic Theatre: So obviously one thing that everyone is constantly debating is when an Assassin’s Creed is going to hit modern day. Is that something that you’ve discussed internally because obviously it’s going to be quite a challenge.
MT: Well, Desmond is modern day and while I can’t say too much about Desmond because we’re potentially being guarded at this time but you will do more with Desmond in the present day than you ever have before. So that can hint that maybe we touch on some of that stuff.
Electronic Theatre: And will there ever be a point that you believe in which the whole game is set, not necessarily with Desmond, in a modern day world?
MT: Yeah, it’s definitely a possibility. I couldn’t tell you if it will or not. I honestly just don’t know, but I think it could be a possibility. I personally enjoy the fantasy of the period piece, like going somewhere that I can’t go. So to recreate that kind of environment and just be able to immerse a player in a history that they may have read about and may have fantasised about or seen a cool movie on and allow them to explore that. I think that’s something that’s pretty special and I have to say the present day would be interesting in its own right. I think it’s something that’s important to the brand, and again it’s possible but I personally like the history aspect to it.
Electronic Theatre: Connor is quite an aggressive character, especially compared to Ezio who was more subtle. He had a very human characteristic about him whereas Connor’s coming from a background that is almost full of hatred. Was that a conscious decision? Is there a way that affects the gameplay?
MJ: Yeah, well for us it was imperative that Connor was a different character to Ezio and Altair. People had to like him for different reasons. It couldn’t just be like a rehash of the charismatic ‘Romeo’ that was Ezio, so we wanted him to come from a place of power and as well emotions, again that human side. The human aspect of him isn’t that he’s more subtle or understated. It’s that he is an emotional person and things affect him and he responds to those emotions so 
we could try to explore that a little bit and I think that it was important for us to have him be driven by something outside of revenge because revenge was obviously Ezio’s ulterior motive, and Altair’s was made of duty we needed Connor to be something else and for us he was a man of justice. It was not that he was going out to revenge anyone’s death but he was going out to prevent such things to happen to anybody else. I think to make that kind of differentiation provided players to learn about him and grow a relationship with him that with Ezio was vital and that’s why we decided to go with a thirty year period with him so that you can actually see the fortunes that shape him when he was a little kid and then how that kind of pushes him forward when he’s an adult. I think that all that stuff together will hopefully bring players to the same kind of closeness they have with Ezio.
Electronic Theatre: I loved Ezio as a character. I’m sure there’s lots of people who will agree with me on this especially when they get Assassin’s Creed III in their hands: I personally don’t like Connor. Not that I don’t like him as a character, I don’t like him as a person. What he stands for is right but he’s, like I say, a very aggressive person. But that to me creates a different kind of a bond to the character than with Ezio. Was that intentional or did you put him there to be a barometer for people? Some people love him, some people hate him, but either way that still drives the story.
MT: Yeah, but I also think that maybe what you’ve seen of him, is that aggressive and that’s what you see, but I think he is a person that changes throughout his trajectory, you see different aspects of him and he may respond to that kind of reaction from people in the world. I think that we wanted to have that different relationship, and have… for us to elicit a reaction like that is good.
Electronic Theatre: After having a character like Ezio where it’s so easy to fall in love with that guy, he’s such a charismatic person, having this character which is a beast and the fact that you don’t like him drives the videogame forward. Was that a conscious decision?
MT: Absolutely. And that’s what we were talking about in making him different and as hard as we try there are very few character archetypes for heroes and we’re trying to do something that was a little different. I think that that was one of the intentions, to have someone that the reason that you push him forward is different to the reason that you push Ezio forward, and you’re maybe trying to turn him into someone you may be able to relate with. Or you want to see how he grows or why he does this and can you make him stop. It’s a different kind of relationship and I think that if players can connect with that, then I think it’s going to be kind of special.
Electronic Theatre: So obviously Assassin’s Creed II led on to Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, it was almost a platform for that period, do you see the same thing potential for Assassin’s Creed III.
MT: I don’t know, I would imagine so but I can’t really answer yes or no to that because I don’t know. I would honesty like to have Connor go different places but if he will or not I really have no idea.
Electronic Theatre: Obviously we don’t know how the story with Connor turns out but he does seem like he’s built for more adventures.
MT: Well we wanted to have some longevity in the character, that’s for sure, you know, we didn’t want to just end him at any point but again like I said I actually don’t know if there’ll be anything in the future. Let’s see how this one turns out first.
-END-
Electronic Theatre: Assassin’s Creed III is pushing the envelope even further than previous Assassin’s Creed in terms of visual fidelity. Was it a conscious decision that that had to be done or was it just a by product of the generation getting older?
MT: Yeah, I think it’s a combination of the two. We definitely wanted it to be better on all fronts, and graphic fidelity was included in that, but I think that the experience that our technical team had from building four other worlds, and the knowledge that we had, and the engine and what the consoles could do and all that stuff also contributes to the 
ability to tweak it and push it even further. I think those two things together allowed us to do some pretty special stuff in terms of the vistas and the character models and the animation. Connor’s animation, that is pretty wild. Like he has such incredible variety and you know different environments and when the snows deep or when it’s raining, when he’s in a tree, or with the buildings, or when he’s fighting with weapons. There’s not a single animation about Connor that’s the same as any one of Ezio’s. It’s brand new and the fluidity in the way that he moves is I think even better. So I think all that stuff, our experience plus our goal to make him even better together allowed us to do it.
Electronic Theatre: So were you involved in Assassin’s Creed: Liberation at all?
MT: No I wasn’t, that was a totally different team. I did read the stories as they were coming through and gave my thoughts on them but I wasn’t a writer.
Electronic Theatre: Was there any collaboration between the two teams during development. Was there anyone that you worked with on Assassin’s Creed III?
MT: We always try and share information and make sure everyone knows where these things are going, for one, for the peace of mind, for knowing what’s happening but also just to have other ideas coming in on projects. People in [Assassin’s Creed: Liberation] would read our scripts and let us know what was going on so it was very collaborative. But I wouldn’t say that we were, you know, I wouldn’t go over there and sit with the team and tell them what to do, that’s not how it works.
Electronic Theatre: So Assassin’s Creed: Liberation is set a few years before…
MT: It’s the same period.
Electronic Theatre: So will we see some plot threads from Assassin’s Creed: Liberation bleed into Assassin’s Creed III?
MT: There’s a couple of… I don’t want to do any spoilers… a couple of things that tie in, but it’s more just the period and… but it’s a different part of the states obviously, not ‘states,’ what was the colonies and it’s just a different kind of story in the same environment which I think is kind of neat.
Electronic Theatre: So is it a case of, if you play Assassin’s Creed: Liberation you will get a smile on your face when you see certain things happen in Assassin’s Creed III? A kind of wink and nod situation.
MT: I don’t know how much of that stuff got in actually so, I haven’t had any visibility on it towards the end so… hopefully.
Electronic Theatre: In Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations the multiplayer was like a step aside from the main campaign. Obviously I understand that it’s a different team that’s been working on the multiplayer but has there been much collaboration between single-player and multiplayer?
MT: Yeah. Narratively they’re different worlds, you have to understand that right because when you’re in Assassin’s Creed, Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations, Assassin’s Creed III you’re playing Desmond. It’s a very specific narrative device that drives it forward and we remain very true to that. The very function of multiplayer doesn’t translate into that same thing so it’s a different beast in its construction but yes, all the characters they have and the choices they make, we always consult on them, we always talk about them. It’s all about keeping that high way of information, the world wide web, you know, keeping avenues open so that people feel free enough to comment and make sure that things are at least it has to feel like it’s in the same universe.
Electronic Theatre: So were there points in development where you sat there and thought this will be really good for the multiplayer team and you could put that in their direction?
MT: We would totally send them an email and say we thought this would be interested. Or we would read a character breakdown and say we want to try this and then they would send us things and say we’re going to do this and what do you think so there… and they would play builds of our game and say that’s kind of interesting, what if we use this. So there was always… I think it’s something that was harboured from the team from the beginning was this idea of being open and being open to positive criticism. Being able to have people give you feedback on anything and the game business specifically is really important. I think the team did a really good job of like pushing that out and making sure that people were in that mindset.
Electronic Theatre: Were you involved in the naval combat?
MT: I was, very much so, yes.
Electronic Theatre: There’s a rumour going around, doing the rounds as these things do on the internet, that the naval combat was originally designed as a spin off almost, maybe a digital title?
MT: Not to my knowledge, no. We started way back, we were looking at the American Revolution and this war was basically won at sea and if we want to portray it accurately we’re going to have to have some representation of that and that means being on a boat, and if you’re going to be on a boat you’re going to want to drive it so let’s see if we can do this thing. So we got these Singapore guys going out and building really early prototypes to see what we can do and it didn’t take long before they had something that we were like ok this is interesting, we can do this. And from there it crystallised and as far as I’m aware it was always meant to be in Assassin’s Creed III as part of the American Revolution narrative and I think it fits really well with what we’re doing.
Electronic Theatre: Was it there right from the start when you said this is Assassin’s Creed III or was naval combat always part of the plan.
MT: It was a desire from the start, and in the very beginning we weren’t sure if it was possible because it was a big, technically we have fluid dynamics and waves and organic weather systems that are dynamic and ships and cannons and smoke. It’s pretty crazy.
Electronic Theatre: It does seem like an entire step apart. It’s almost like a whole new component. Well it is a whole new component…
MT: Yeah exactly it is but I think in an interesting way it remains true to the original Assassin’s fantasy where you were like, I’ve always kind of like equate the Aquiller, which is the ship you have to Connor’s hidden blade but it’s sea. It’s a weapon that he uses in a different context so it’s navigation, it’s combat and there’s a little bit of stealth in the there, when you’re using the ship and using the weather and trying to come up on people. I think it remains true to what Assassin’s Creed’s about but it’s a whole new fantasy and I think that’s really exciting and I think we’ve managed to weave it in there pretty well so that it’s really part of the fabric of the story.
Electronic Theatre: So obviously Connor is a man of many talents being able to pilot this ship.
MT: Well yeah, that’s part of the story you learn how he gets it and how he learns to pilot it. So I’m not going to spoil that but there’s definitely in the main thread you’ll learn how Connor gets it.
Electronic Theatre: Is it a situation of… as you learn to do it is the same point which Connor learns?
MT: Yeah, it’s made as organic as possible for players so it doesn’t feel like it’s wedged in there. But it was definitely something we were aware of and we wanted to make sure it was clear he learned this at a very specific point of a reason.
Electronic Theatre: Where do you see Assassin’s Creed going from here?
MT: Where do I see Assassin’s Creed going from here? That’s a tough one. I think a lot of that depends on where the industry goes with the next generation of consoles. I’d like to find out what that’s going to be but I think that’ll definitely have a massive impact on where all franchises are going, Assassin’s Creed being no exception. I am a big fan 
of the historical aspect of it so I hope that it remains in there. I think that it’s just going to continue to evolve itself and become… I’d like to see it be more connected maybe, on an online sense, who knows if that’s possible, I’d love to see it, I think it would be interesting for the game. I think it would be interesting but I don’t know if it’s something that’s going to happen. I think a lot of it depends on where we’re going to go with technology.
Electronic Theatre: When you say ‘connected,’ do you mean like an MMO type situation?
MT: I don’t know. I just mean like being able to communicate with your friends in the game. I don’t know, I don’t really know what that even means. I see the industry moving that way in a pretty important sense.
Electronic Theatre: So presumably you already have story ideas for that…
MT: I don’t know, I’m not that far ahead, no. Honestly, I’m excited just to see… this’ll come out, Assassin’s Creed III and we’ll see how people respond, if it’s positive presumably they’ll be something else, I’ll be excited to see what that is but I really don’t know.
Electronic Theatre: So are you looking forward to the launch I take it?
MT: It’s been two and a half… almost… it’ll have been three years when it comes out so it’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears in this baby and right now we’re in that anxious stage where people are finally playing it and we’re getting like “do you, do you like it?” “Do you think it’s good?” “Please.”
Electronic Theatre: Well I’m sure the response is going to be just as positive as it was with previous titles.
-END-
Loading ...
Gaming News 24/7
