Assassin's Creed (Series)

Aroni, Gabriele ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1343-613X, Bregni, Simone and McDonald, Heidi (2019) Assassin's Creed (Series). In: Learning, Education & Games: 100 Games to Use in the Classroom & Beyond. Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press, Pittsburgh, PA, pp. 32-38. ISBN 9780359984015

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Abstract

The Assassin’s Creed (AC) series is one of the most successful video game series (Gaudiosi, 2014). Currently (as of April 2018), the series comprises ten narrative-driven standard game chapters, each covering different chronological eras and locations, with a narrative arc that spans from Ptolemaic Egypt (the most recent entry) through the Holy Land at the time of the third Crusade; Renaissance Italy; the Americas in the Colonial Era; and the French Revolution. Gameplay is centered on openworld exploration, collecting hints and evidence and gathering or delivering information. The narrative centers on two secret societies, the Assassins and the Templars, who have been at war over the total control of humankind. The player engages in a quest to recover ancient “magical” artifacts called “Apples,” which the Templars covet for their plans to take control of the world. When asked how students might use AC as a learning tool, the development team at Ubisoft explained that each game “does contain a Database of historical places, people and events which expands and fills out as the player proceeds through the narrative and explores the world. [Players might] stop after each story sequence and read as much of this Database as they can. It’s well researched and full of information, and apart from a few entries specific to Assassin’s Creed, it’s all historically accurate” (McDonald and McDevitt, 2017).