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hoodie and a sash of crimson, was a master of stealth and parkour, and a deliverer of death via a retractable wrist-mounted blade- a surrogate for a missing finger. His quest for redemption, which involves slaying nine influential men in the Holy Land, leads him on a path of discovery, treachery, and self-education, culminating in the revelation of a shadow war fought between the Assassins, who safeguard free will, and their nemeses the Templars, who seek to guide society as its puppet masters.
Assassin’ s Creed broadened my expectations for video games as a storytelling medium in their own right. I once thought cutscenes were deadening, that they killed a game’ s momentum- after all, the distinguishing feature of any video game is that you are taking the entertainment into your own hands. But when I actually started to listen to the conversations in the game, I soon found them as interesting as the parts when I had control over the narrative. The characters discussed topics such as free will, the necessity of duty, and decision-making. It was my first crash course in philosophy, and the classroom was a sandbox video game where one could roam free, fulfilling side missions, protecting civilians, or collecting medieval memorabilia in the bustling alleys of Damascus, Acre, and Jerusalem. Yet, the narrative was bolstered by the cutscene digressions, not hindered by them. History lent Assassin’ s Creed a gravitas that it would have otherwise lacked. There was also something giddy about seeing a historical character of titanic stature, like Richard the Lionheart, portrayed in pixelated flesh and skin. I became so involved in the story I would chastise my friend whenever he didn’ t pay attention or skipped the cutscenes with a flick of a stubby button.
After I left Joburg for Tokyo, one of the first things I bought upon arriving in Japan was my own copy of Assassin’ s Creed. Sadly, Age of Empires was put in a cubby and soon blanketed by dust as the years rolled on. I had migrated from a PC patrician to a console plebeian, but it had zero effect on me. I transferred a nascent love of history into the seemingly tangible world of Assassin’ s Creed, and I lost myself in the past it created through its welldrawn characters. Or perhaps it would be better to say I found some of myself in the stories it told through their voices. Because as fiction, it was simply superb. Whatever the games’ faults( namely the staccato controls), it became one of my favorites. Sequels were inevitable and anticipated.
In 2009 Assassin’ s Creed II was released and it surpassed the original. It became the first of a trilogy set in Renaissance Italy and the Mediterranean. It starred a new follower of the
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“ These games demonstrate a collective effort to import a sense of cultural complexity, if not always in fidelity to accuracy, to the emotional richness of its human characteristics.”