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Assassin's Creed Movie Merchandise Guide 18/9/16 Updated 20/10/19 By Colum Blackett Share We here at The Ones Who Came Before love Assassin's Creed Merchandise. Here we will be logging all the Movie Merchandise we find, and the best places to buy items. Images below come from a range of sources. Assassin's Creed Movie: Kernel T-shirt This T-shirt was available as a promo item for fans who pre-ordered a ticket bundle on the Kernel website. This T-shirt was also available in limited quantities at 2016 events. Learn more here T-shirts Hidden Blade T-shirt This T-shirt could only be purchased on the Kernel Website in a ticket bundle (US Only) Assassin's Creed - Carved Insignia T-shirt. Currently available at: Damaged Society Assassin's Creed: Aguilar T-shirt Currently available on Ebay Assassin's Creed: Aguilar T-shirt (Without Colour) Currently available at Merchandising Plaza Assassin's Creed: Find Your Past Brain Crest T-shirt Currently available at GamerSheek Assassin's Creed Movie: Floral Crest T-shirt Available at Funidelia Assassin's Creed Movie: Floral Crest T-shirt (Red) Currently available at Amazon UK Assassin's Creed: Gold Icon T-shirt. Link unavailable Templar Cross T-shirt. Currently available at: Multiplayer Assassin's Creed: Find your Past T-shirt. Gamestore Assassin's Creed Movie: Apple of Eden T-shirt. Previously available on EMP Leap of Faith T-shirt. Currently unavailable Group of Assassins T-shirt Currently available at GameStop AC Movie Floral Design T-shirt (Female) Currently available at Amazon UK AC Movie Floral Design T-shirt (Female) Currently available at Amazon UK Assassin's Creed: Abstergo T-shirt. Previously available on Jack of all Trades. Assassin's Creed: Movie Hidden Blades T-shirt Previously available on Jack of all Trades Hidden Blade T-shirt. Previously available on EMP Villanonnifelici Hidden Blade T-shirt Link unavailable Abstergo T-shirt Hot Topic Assassin's Creed Gold Foil T-shirt Hot Topic Assassin's Creed Movie T-shirt Available on EBGames - Out of Stock Hoods/Jackets/Coats Assassin's Creed Jacket (Callum Lynch) SlimFitJackets Callum Lynch Premium Coat by UbiWorkshop Out of Stock Assassin's Creed Movie Hoodie by Bioworld Currently available on Ebay Find your Past Hoodie (Female) Available at SciFi Planet Assassin's Creed: Aguilar Cosplay Hoodie Available at HotTopic Women's Assassin's Creed Movie Hoodie Available at Funidelia Aguilar Hoodie by UbiWorkshop Available at the Ubisoft Store Aguilar inspired Hoodie by Bioworld Currently only available from Czech Retailer Padawn Women's Assassin's Creed Flyaway Cardigan (Plus Size) Available from Hot Topic Blade Sleeve Hoodie. Available from Hot Topic Aguilar Coat Available from Hot Topic Maria Hooded Vest Hot Topic Assassin's Creed Blade Print Shirt Hot Topic McFarlane Toys Assassin's Creed Movie Aguilar's Hidden Blade Gauntlet Available on Ebay Aguilar 7 inch colour tops figure Available on Amazon UbiWorkshop/ UbiCollectibles Apple of Eden Replica by UbiWorkshop Currently unavailable Apple & Chest (Only 2700 chests exist) Sold Out - Ubisoft Store Spanish Crossbow by UbiWorkshop. Available in a Kernel Package for $1200. Extremely Rare! Assassin's Creed Movie Pin by UbiWorkshop Available exclusively at Fan Expo Canada 2016 Star Amulet Silver Necklace Ubisoft Store - Out of Stock Aguilar Figurine by UbiCollectibles Available on Amazon Maria Figurine by UbiCollectibles Available on Amazon Hidden Blade Replica by UbiCollectibles Available at OzzieCollectibles Replica Weapons Sword of Odeja Replica. Available at Replica Dungeon Aguilar's Throwing Knife Replica Gift Set. Available at Replica Dungeon. Books Assassin's Creed: Into the Animus. Available on Amazon Assassin's Creed Movie Poster Book Available on Amazon Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Novelization Amazon Other Items Maria Replica Hidden Blade Gauntlet Hot Topic- Out of Stock Assassin's Creed Movie: Tattoos + Watch. These items were sold in a Kernel Bundle for one week only, making them rare. Triforce Assassin's Creed Collector's Edition 14" Aguilar de Nerha Statue 3 high-quality lithographs Available on Amazon Posters 1) Available on Amazon 2) Available on Amazon Aguilar and Maria Costumes by Palamon 1) Available from Jet 2) Available from Jet Assassin's Creed Movie 2017 Wall Calendar Assassin's Creed Movie Poster Currently unavailable Assassin's Creed Movie Poster Stand Revealed by Trenz International Assassin's Creed Movie Mug. Available on Ebay AC Movie Flyer (Japanese) Available on Ebay AC Movie Promo Pins (Given out at events. Rare right now) AC Movie Badge Set Available on Amazon AC Movie Hidden Blade Mug Available on Amazon AC Movie - Aguilar Dive Mug Available on Amazon Assassin's Creed Spire Teaser Ceramic Mug, Available on Amazon Assassin's Creed Movie Vinyl Stickers Available on Ebay AC Movie: Lenticular Poster Previously available on Ebay AC Movie Keyring. Available from StylinOnline Assassin's Creed Movie Fleece Blanket. Available on Ebay Assassin's Creed Movie Keyring. Available from Medieval Collectibles Assassin's Creed Funko POP! Figures Aguilar - Available on Amazon (On Sale) Maria - Available on Amazon (On Sale) Ojeda - Available on Amazon (On Sale) Callum Lynch - Available on Amazon Crouching Aguilar - Available on Amazon Assassin's Creed Movie Lanyard. Available from Dark Knight Armoury. Movie Pin badges. Previously available on Ebay Assassin's Creed Movie Wallet Previously available on Ebay Merchandise Floral Insignia Wallet Available on Amazon Assassin's Creed Movie Bedding Set Available on Ebay Aguilar plush toy by Bleacher Creatures Available on Amazon AC Movie Notepads. Previously available on Lepok Assassin's Creed Movie: Collectable AriZona Green Tea Cans Previously available in stores for a limited time AC Movie Playing Cards Available from Hot Topic Assassin's Creed Emblem Cup. Previously available at Cinemas - Rare item 3D Assassin's Creed Movie Limited Edition SteelBook Zavvi - Sold Out Amazon - Currently Unavailable Rare Steelbook Available on Ebay Assassin's Creed Movie - Deadpool Edition Available on Amazon IT Assassin's Creed Movie Pin Badge Given out by FOX at promo events Extremely Rare Assassin's Creed Movie Aguilar 1/6 Figure Available at IndemandToys

Answers Lost in Time: A Review of Assassin’s Creed Escape Room Puzzle Book Review Share 17 Feb 2023 Written By: Edited By: Michael Smith Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Banner Art by TOWCB Artist Thea Marie Rivedal (@ Moonchildgecko ) This article contains amazon affliliate links which help to financially support TOWCB #AD Glyph Puzzle from Assassin's Creed II (image by ActualSpider-Man) Stealth, combat, parkour, and puzzles have all been staples of Assassin’s Creed since the first game, but more so since AC II. Clay Kaczmerek was the first puzzle master that we unknowingly followed as we solved his clues to find “The Truth” of the Isu and the core of the Assassin’s Creed story. Solving the various glyphs that were sprinkled around Italy brought a logical aspect to the games that players hadn’t experienced in the first instalment. With each release after AC II, puzzles of some sort have been included to reward the player with additional stories or physical rewards (in-game) that we could use with our character. Author James Hamer-Morton Influenced and crafted by the mind of Escape Room artist James Hamer-Morton, comes a new experience for puzzle enthusiasts and fans of Assassin’s Creed titl es ' Assassin’s Creed Escape Room Puzzle Book .' A new adventure that traverses previous locales of the games as the reader follows an original character Joey through the ages, solving puzzles to stop an impending vision of the future, where a mysterious new villain uses an Isu Artifact to control the masses. Through the use of various puzzle types, readers of this book will pull at the threads of the interwoven story and have an experience similar to that of an escape room themed within the AC Universe. The escape room company that James co-founded “James Hamer-Morton is one of the masterminds behind UK boutique escape room chain 'Deadlocked' - the pioneering powerhouse behind hit episodic online escape rooms 'The Insiders' and 'The Cyphstress'. He was created in a lab specifically for the world of immersive experiences - whilst cutting his teeth starring in art house films and moonlighting as games level designers, he soon turned their hand to the world of 'alternative reality games' -devoting his life to transporting their audiences into the centre of their own artisan adventures. From this he came up with the 'Escape Room Puzzles' series, of which there are now four books.” (Quote provided by the author) The third Escape Room book by James Hamer-Morton I learned during a chat with James that he was approached by Ubisoft as they wanted a similar book for the Assassin’s Creed series to that of his previous works; something he was very excited to do being a fan of the series himself. Having a chance to write an original story for Assassin’s Creed and injecting the pages with puzzles, guiding the reader from one era to the next via the use of the Animus, is a dream for any author and fan of the series. The print error from the end of Chapter 3 While I will be breaking down the contents of the book fro m the story to the dificulty of puzzles, I must start this review with a note for anyone that is planning on picking up this unique entry to the transmedia line; the book has a handful of editing errors that resulted in a broken progression half way through the book. At the end of the third chapter, the Assassin that Joey is controlling within the Animus is provided incorrect information by the target of the confession room. This incorrect information, which is a puzzle itself, provides a list of numbers that are clues to the letter placement of the various identifiers of the target “My name 4, my location - 3,...” This will lead readers to a collection of letters that do not solve the puzzle, in turn stopping them from progressing without looking at the answer section of the book, or turning the page and disregarding the error. The answer section is the correct answer to the puzzle but due to a change of Editors and the publishing of a draft that James had provided to show what he would do, before making the actual puzzle (which changed the order and numbers used in confession), the book in the English version was printed with this broken experience. The correct solution from Chapter 3 James shared his annoyance with this issue as, before I reached out to him about it, prior to our chat he was not aware that his latest work was released with such an error. He shared his process of how he will write the story of each chapter and decide the puzzles he wants to use before sending them to the puzzle checkers and editor to make sure that they will work in all translations. For example, if the phrase “Leaving something up to chance” is said for a puzzle that uses directions such as up, down, left , and right, you can’t use that clue as in another language the key word “up” would not translate in the context that he was using. This is why puzzles that use names or deliberate translations are used. So when he was sent the copy for the test read, it was the correct version, but unfortunately the printing did not follow that same copy and was released incorrectly. He also informed me that he did not write the Answer section of the book, but thankfully the answers are correct so the reader can progress with its assistance. So knowing this, please keep in mind that the current English publication has this error, but can be solved via the Answer section or by just continuing to read the story. The story is a great read and worth purchasing the book for this alone. It fits well within the confines of the series’ lore without damaging anything. Both the author and myself consider it canon, but there isn’t a hard yes to the question of if it actually is. When asked about it by another fan, Aymar Azaïzia (Transmedia and Business Development Director for Assassin’s Creed) stated in his response, "It’s a puzzle book! It’s full of riddles inspired by our lore and characters. It’s definitely not bi[n]ding and would not affect our games with crazy twist that would jeopardize the universe" ( Source ) Readers complete puzzles as they work through the story The story follows a new character Joey (an easter egg to fans of the game Tunneling Through Time , another Deadlocked creation), a museum security guard that notices an artifact having moved when watching the CCTV feed. What is really cool about Joey is that the author deliberately did not gender the character so that the reader could give their own choice to the protagonist much like how you can choose your gender in some of the most recent titles in Assassin’s Creed. This leads to the book’s first puzzle (a letter organization puzzle based on the sides of dice) and the introduction of the Isu Artifact (a double bladed dagger ) which the adventure is shaped around. In this prologue, and the following first chapter, Joey meets the Assassin’s Brotherhood and begins to learn about the opposing Templar Order and the use of the Animus. From here, each chapter takes place in both the modern (day for story progression) and a genetic memory for the bulk of the puzzles, as well as exploring the mystery of the artifact that Joey found. The Animus revisits Ancient Greece, Egypt, Viking London, Damascus, and Venice, with cameos of main characters such as Bayek and Altair, but also supporting characters like Leonardo Di Vinci and fan favorite Markos from Kefalonia. With this and the addition of a new Isu who influences Joey and acts as a sort of AC III Juno (another Isu) with each page turn. Each memory fits within the timeline of their respective game which provides the story the possibility of being canon. However in certain chapters such as Chapter 4 where the Animus Avatar and Masyaf Assassin, Faisal watches Al Mualim give his speech to the attacking Templar forces as his three Assassins take their Leap of Faith from the fortress above (the opening scenes of the original Assassin’s Creed), to then read that Faisal is assisted by a horse riding Altair is a bit confusing as the time frame of making said jump and getting to the gates seems possible but out of place. However the speech Al Mualim is giving is cut directly from the game; another point towards the book being canon in my opinion. The first puzzle of the book The puzzles progress in difficulty and as the story moves forward and each will provide solutions for other puzzles in the chapter. So while in the first chapter, the reader will find a solution to every puzzle when they complete it, later chapters won’t give clues for a puzzle right away, but the solution to a later one will provide what is needed to complete said challenge. This is clearly explained in the “How to Use This Book” section in the opening pages. The reader is directed to read the story up until a labeled stopping point and then review the content of the story up until that point to gather what is needed to solve the forthcoming pu zzles. However, the story does not have false answers, or dead ends like similar books of this type that would make the reader restart an area in the chapter. This is something that I shared with James, about being a cool idea to improve on replayability. We also discussed how some of his earlier books had suggested time frames for puzzles, but that was not something the publisher wanted going forward. Additionally, some of the puzzles can be answered just by knowing the history of the games and which genetic memory follows the current one depicted in the chapter the reader is on. Puzzle 1 Difficult Hint If the reader still has issues figuring out a solution, the answer section is broken up into 4 levels of hints and solutions. Difficult Hints for inspiration on how to approach the puzzle. Puzzle 1 Medium Hint M edium hints prov ide pointers for those that are stuck. Puzzle 1 Easy Hint Ea sy hints provid e help to those that are truly lost, and the final section contains the actual answer to the puzzle. I myself had to reference all of them at some point for individual puzzles either due to being stuck, just wanting to see what the hints would be for a puzzle, or due to the unfortunate misprints in the text. So every level of puzzle lover should get a fun experience from the book and the challenges it presents. One of the various cut-out sections of the book Discussing the physical book itself, I mentioned the fact that while only a $15 USD book, being informed that certain pages would require you to cut out sections to make things like a cipher disk or sliding items into place to get a phrase, is hard for myself and a lot of other collectors who do not like to damage their items. I had made suggestions on adding additional pages that are left blank on one side or even having sliding pieces like those used in a children’s book would be nice. Understandably though, this would add to the production cost of the book and raise the cover price. James shared that in his other titles, a QR code is provided for all of the pieces that need to be removed for puzzles on a printable document so the reader didn’t need to do this to the book itself. When reading, I used a combination of a document software on my phone, a notebook, and scraps of paper to make what I needed to solve the puzzles without making marks or cuts. It was also mentioned that Jame’s bio or “About the Author” page was not included in this book unlike his previous releases, which is sad as it would be a great insight into who this author is to the series, learning that he is a master at his craft in escape rooms and puzzles. Luckily, the publisher is aware of the various errors I brought to his attention and will hopefully print a revised edition in the future. An addition that I will easily repurchase to have a complete and working copy of this enjoyable experience. I hope we get a sequel to Assassin’s Creed Escape Room Puzzle Book as I loved this entry to the series and, now knowing the level of care the author puts into his work, makes me want more. In addition, compared to the VR Escape Rooms that Ubisoft has released in the past, this is something that requires no physical and expensive hardware which means anyone and everyone can pick up a copy and “play” this title at their own pace no matter where they are. For fans of the series and those that enjoy the escape room experience, this is worth picking up and spending an afternoon with. Currently the book has only been published in English (from what I can find) and is available from various bookstores at an MSRP of £14.99/$16.95. Amazon US: Amazon UK: comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Mike Smith is a collector of all things Assassin's Creed and a major supporter of transmedia who joined TOWCB as a writer from 2021 - 2024 With nearly a full library of Assassin's Creed media, his work explored the universe in order of Genetic Memory. Notably, his Assassin's Creed Timeline became an essential tool for fans of the franchise looking to complete their collection and consume AC media in a particular order. Michael Smith

This Week in Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 6th to 12th March Community Share 14 Mar 2023 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week I will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. This week’s theme: Assassin’s Creed The Battle Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey VP Artist: @ coalabr14 This week’s showcase begins with an epic battle shot from Odyssey. I am really enjoying the mood of this capture. It has a very cinematic style and reminds me of the Gladiator movie. Kassandra looks like a true warrior, deflecting the Athenian shield while her sword is on fire. I wish these battles were in Valhalla. Would have been great to be part of a shield wall. Link: https://twitter.com/coalabr14/status/1632687287137103873?s=46&t=rIujpeSq9644fgpRWA_xMA The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Week: Judge - Colum Blackett ( Col_96 ) from TOWCB Core Team I love how Kassandra and her flaming sword take centre stage in this shot, captured during one of the large-scale battles which Odyssey recreated so well. For me, this shot looks good enough to have been an official promotional image for the game, and uses colour particularly well to create an atmosphere. Kassandra almost certainly executed her attacker moments later. Surprise Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ m_nt_13 A bit of comedy for our second shot this week. This capture just brings a smile to my face. My daughter does the same thing to me if I don’t pay her attention. All jokes aside this shot is fantastic, it is the perfect mix of timing and positioning. I applaud m for originality here, really brings something quirky and different to our VP showcase. Women of the Creed Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Platform: PS5 VP Artist: @ Amaya_Nocturna It was International Women’s day on Wednesday and what better way to celebrate than this beautiful capture of Eivor. I am always a sucker for black background shots, I feel it elevates the subject so well. The lack of colour in general here adds to a vintage feel that compliments the classic Assassin look. This shot would make a stunning phone wallpaper. Enter the Creed Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ Virtual_Polly Valhalla often receives criticism for its lack of Assassin’s, however I enjoyed exploring the hidden Bureaus. This shot certainly shows off why they are such a delight to uncover. I like the angle of this capture as it encompasses the fiery Assassin symbol with Eivor stood in the centre. I love the shadow work, especially Eivor’s. This photo is full of mystery and intent, and it makes me want to fire up the game again. Edward Kenway Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ FrameHoldPhotos I had to end this week with a celebration of everyone’s favourite Pirate. It is very much a pirate’s life for this seafaring Assassin. Edward brought about a change to the formula and the reception was favourable. I love this capture, a beautiful celebratory shot in the modern format. The sea, sand, outfit and sky are a pleasure to look at. Happy Birthday Edward Kenway! Link: https://twitter.com/frameholdphotos/status/1634255117544202257?s=46&t=rIujpeSq9644fgpRWA_xMA And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Assassin's Creed Shadows is delayed yet again to March 20th Ubisoft announces News Share 13 Jan 2025 Written By: Edited By: UbiCypher (Joe) Colum Blackett Back To Database Yes, this is happening, Assassin's Creed: Shadows, Ubisoft's most anticipated title for 2025 has been delayed yet again. The sad news delivered by the Assassin's Creed Content Director Marc-Alexis Côté in a official statement made public a little while ago. At this point we can but only speculate what this could mean for the French company looking at the future it may lead its most coveted franchise to. Official statement made by Marc-Alexis Cote -"As part of the renewed focus on gameplay quality and engaging Day-1 experiences, it has been decided to provide an additional month of development to Assassin’s Creed Shadows," -Marc-Alexis Côté said in his statement. Ubisoft is now in a more delicate situation than ever before and albeit the second delay being due to prefectionist reasons aiming to "ensure and even more ambitious and engaging day-one experience" the wave of criticism that will befall on Ubisoft will be even more non-filtered this time. Hopefully, Shadows delivers and is the product we all deserve after all this years craving for a game set in Feudal Japan. Now we will have to wait and see for the upcoming days and weeks what Ubisoft has to offer in compensation for this, specially in terms of marketing and blogposts of which only one remained to be released prior to the announcement of the delay. It is important to note that the pre-orders weren't active still at only a few weeks before its previous accorded release date being February 14 as well as no statements on whether the Game's development achieved GOLD status, normally being a transparent indicator from the company behind a game towards the consumers, which in this case has been absent compared to previous games from the franchise. Lack of confidence or a buggy mess? One only wonders if February 14 was never going to be the real release date and it was but an attempt at handling the situation in a shady way -dare I say. Don't lose hope.🏯🦅 Article adapted from Isu_Network article comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author UbiCypher (Joe) is an Assassin's Creed Transmedia expert who works as the Lead Admin for the Isu_Network social media team! He provides consistent social media content in the form of Assassin's Creed lore trivia, puzzles and news coverage, spending countless hours researching the series and real history. He has also been working on an AC events timeline to help fans of the franchise looking to learn more about the lore. UbiCypher (Joe)

TOWCB 5 Year Anniversary News Share 18 Sept 2019 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Check out the ways in which we celebrated our 5 year anniversary! New Website Launched On the 10th August 2019 we launched our new website! The site is one of our most ambitious projects to date, and provides an interactive platform for members of our passionate community. We will be working hard to provide regular content that is both interesting and engaging. Stay tuned for more. Brotherhood of Venice Interview We released an interview with Thibaud de la Touanne, Founder of Triton Noir, the Montreal based studio behind Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood of Venice. You can read it here. Follower of Romulus Giveaway We ran a giveaway for an exclusive Follower of Romulus Figure from the AC Brotherhood of Venice tabletop board game, kindly donated by the Triton Noir team! Congrats to our fan Shell from the UK for winning this limited edition prize! Bundle Giveaways To celebrate the launch of our new website, and 5 years as an Assassin's Creed community, Ubisoft kindly donated a range of items for a giveaway! Congrats to our fans Cole from the US and Nader from Egypt for winning the epic merchandise bundles! Assassin's Creed Movie Interview We released an interview with Chris Wildgoose, Weapons Concept Artist on the Assassin's Creed Movie! You can read it here Giveaway We teamed up with Lisa Zaman and ran an art giveaway! Three lucky winners received exclusive art prints to add to their collections! Congratulations to Peter from Denmark, Joseph from Michigan and Adrienn from Hungary! We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported TOWCB, and hope to see you all again in August of next year for the year 6 celebrations! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

Frame Hold Photography is a passionate Virtual Photographer who joined our Video Content Creation Team in Summer 2022, as we began our efforts to break away from solely written content. During a period of uncertainty for TOWCB website, FHP stepped up and took on the role of Site Manager, overseeing our restoration efforts. Our website today now sits at the top of many Google searches📈 Outside of AC, she is also a full time editor and visual effects artist on TV commercials, and has been putting her skills to use in the community by creating epic Assassin's Creed tribute videos, miniature figure painting videos and editing episodes of our Rally the Creed podcast! Previous Next Frame Hold Photography Video Content Frame Hold Photography is a passionate Virtual Photographer who joined our Video Content Creation Team in Summer 2022, as we began our efforts to break away from solely written content. During a period of uncertainty for TOWCB website, FHP stepped up and took on the role of Site Manager, overseeing our restoration efforts. Our website today now sits at the top of many Google searches📈 Outside of AC, she is also a full time editor and visual effects artist on TV commercials, and has been putting her skills to use in the community by creating epic Assassin's Creed tribute videos, miniature figure painting videos and editing episodes of our Rally the Creed podcast! Twitter | Instagram | YouTube Work

The Future of Assassin’s Creed at UbiForward 2023 Part 2 - Assassin's Creed Codename Jade Breakdown Share 16 Jun 2023 Written By: Edited By: Michael Smith Colum Blackett Back To Database Banner by Thea Marie Rivedal (Moonchildgecko) from TOWCB Art Team. Welcome to the second part in a new series breaking down all of the Assassin's Creed content presented at Ubisoft Forward 2023. In part two, we take a look at Assassin's Creed Jade reveal! Related articles The Future of Assassin’s Creed at UbiForward 2023 Part 1 - Pre-Show & Assassin's Creed Nexus The Future of Assassin’s Creed at UbiForward 2023 Part 3 - Assassin's Creed Mirage Story Trailer The Future of Assassin’s Creed at UbiForward 2023 Part 4 - Assassin's Creed Mirage Gameplay Trailer This title from Ubisoft & Level Infinite will be the first open-world RPG on mobile, taking players to Ancient China in the year 215 of the 3rd Century BCE; the Qin Dynasty. This places the game between AC Odyssey and AC Origins. The trailer opens in a dark room containing the historical Terracotta Army as the narrator defines “Legacy” as learning from the triumphs and mistakes of those that came before us. An Assassin who represents the player walks through the army to the door, closing the cinematic with the image at the top of this section, and how players will make their own Legacy. We can see from this shot that the character wields a Chinese officer’s sword, a dagger, and a Qiang (spear) while looking out at the Great Wall of China, the set piece for this game (though it wasn’t opened until 220 BC, 400+ years later) A series of landscapes are shown from mountain ranges, nomadic camps, farmlands, and cities. This provides a vast array of areas that players will be able to explore and the various peoples that reside in each. Based on the size of the city shown, it appears to be a capital city, most likely the imperial city of Xianyang (from AC Jade’s website) due to the size of the fortress in the top right of the 4th image. These cities will most likely be where the Assassin’s Bureaus are housed and where players can purchase needed weapons and gear. This is followed by a shot of the character performing a Leap of Faith. You can notice the blue colored sash around the player waist which indicates that this is an Initiate or Apprentice (like Basim in AC Mirage). Could this be upgraded to the red color “Assassin” sash as players level up and progress in the story? The character is shown firing multiple arrows at once. This could be an ability that is unlocked, or a reference to different bow types such as the multi-shot Light Bows that we have seen in past RPG titles. The Assassin climbs the Great Wall of China, showing vertical leaps to traverse the larger gaps between hand holds. Combat is displayed in a one on one with a Heavy Guard wielding two maces while the character performs a series of attacks with their daggers. Another shot shows an air assassination in action as the player descends on an unaware enemy. The woolen hat and lack of armor makes me think this is either a local guard for a village, or a Xiongnu raider. The action continues with a series of combat abilities from an enhanced Qiang sweep that may or not be an Isu Artifact (most likely just a powered ability like AC Odyssey)... To a pole vault kick… And an air attack (similar to the Dive of the Valkyries from AC Valhalla) using a giant axe, which also informs us that there are more weapon types that can be unlocked or used than just the ones from the cinematic trailer. The gameplay trailer ends on the Codename Jade Logo and the website to register for the closed beta ( here ). On the website, the navigation banner has three sections that change to a Chinese character when the cursor hovers over each button. Home: Featured The character has a similar appearance to the Chinese character “Qi” which translates to “strange” which may be a way to show that this “stands out” or in short “is featured”. News most likely a combination of the characters for “Xìnxī” which translates to the characters “remove + interest” or “information”. The “Home” page is where the trailer and link to register for the closed beta are located and when you scroll down, you are moved to the “Featured” page with notes on the game. Journey through 2000 years of history in ancient China (possibly an indication of how long the content may cover) Explore the path of “Xia” in the first unified empire of China. (Xia stories are one of the major heroic traditions in Chinese literature*) *from @xuetingni (Twitter) personal website ( here ) Protect your home from Xiongnu* raiders behind the Great Wall. *The website spells this as "Xionanu" which maybe a misspelling. Experience the blooming trade and cultural exchanges between East and West in the imperial city of Xianyang. Codename Jade is marketed as an “Iconic Assassin’s Creed Experience” with gameplay and features on mobile, for free. Lastly, the “News” section links to an article that provides more information on the game. Built on Unreal Engine Free-to-play on iOS and Android Players will follow the path of “Xia” as an adopted child of Master Assassin, Wei Yu (who is enshrined beneath Monteriggioni in AC II and Brotherhood. Master Wei Yu (Image from Assassin’s Creed Wiki) Codename Jade will allow players to fully customize an avatar for the first time. Weapons include Qiangs, double swords, and bows. Further information is to come from the newly established social media sites such as the @AC_CodenameJade on Twitter. I am personally excited to try the Closed Beta and hope I am able to get in. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Mike Smith is a collector of all things Assassin's Creed and a major supporter of transmedia who joined TOWCB as a writer from 2021 - 2024 With nearly a full library of Assassin's Creed media, his work explored the universe in order of Genetic Memory. Notably, his Assassin's Creed Timeline became an essential tool for fans of the franchise looking to complete their collection and consume AC media in a particular order. Michael Smith

Launch Day: AC Partnership Program News Share 1 Dec 2019 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) Ashlea Blackett Back To Database We're proud to announce the launch of a new community initiative known as the AC Partnership Program. The aim of the program is to promote and share content created by community members, and we are now establishing a network of dedicated and passionate fans who are all individually working on AC related projects. Each one of our partners brings something different to the table, and all of them will be adding their own unique projects to our new Community Hub , a database which will store the projects. We have been working behind the scenes for four months on the new website, and we have almost finished the huge task of adding all past projects to the database. It's now time to think about future projects, and the AC Partnership Program is one which will continue to thrive as regular content is released. We are always on the look out for new members, so if you believe the program is for you, simply message one of our admins and we will be in touch. We currently have nine members on the program, all of whom are now working hard on their next project. Learn more about our members here. The initial idea for the program comes from a desire to help hardworking members of the community who are passionate about creating content. We believe that with the help of TOWCB admins, and our social media influence, the projects created by our members will be viewed by a larger audience, and will gain a regular following. In return, we will have new and exciting content on our new website, and members will help us with projects such as fundraising and giveaways. We can't wait to see what our talented members create next! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

AC Community Questions: Ben Weal (TOWCB Digital Analyst) Community Interview Share 14 Apr 2023 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) Ashlea Blackett Back To Database For this round of Assassin's Creed Community Questions, we invited Ben Weal, Digital Analyst for The Assassin's Creed Partnership Program // TOWCB's Core Team. Col: Hi Ben. Thanks for joining us today! Please could you tell us a little bit about yourself, and your role within the Assassin's Creed Community. Ben: First of all, hi Col and thank you for welcoming me to The Ones Who Came Before. So, at the moment I am currently working in London in private healthcare but would like to move more into a marketing role. That is what led me to get in contact with you to try and get some experience by working with you on TOWCB community. So, my role within the community will be to help with the analytical side of things, helping us understand what our audiences like and what they want to see more of. I will also be assisting with the social media side of things to help increase our following within that department. Col: How did you end up joining The Ones Who Came Before Team, and how are you finding it so far? Ben: As I was saying I am currently in private health care but I am interested in moving into a more marketing type role. I am specifically interested in the numbers and the statistics of things. For example, seeing how many people visited a certain page and the percentage of those people who returned to that page. So far, I’ve just been going over the analytics side of things and making notes on what pages are performing well and what can be improved on. I’m excited to delve deeper and get my teeth stuck in! Col: Do you have any project plans for 2023, and what are you hoping to achieve by joining TOWCB? Ben: I don’t have any specific plans for 2023 but I am excited to be a part of the TOWCB team and to help you guys grow as a community. Col: Do you have any personal AC goals you would like to achieve, or for The Ones Who Came Before? Ben: I think the main goal for me is to help increase TOWCB presence and improve the site's SEO throughout the coming year. Col: Are you looking forward to working alongside the team to help boost The Ones Who Came Before on social media channels and search engines. Ben: I’m very excited to get cracking with the rest of the team and to help out in any way I can. I believe me and Michael will be working alongside each other on some social media projects to help improve the community's presence. This will be very interesting and insightful for me as I know Michael has quite a good knowledge around this sort of area. I’m looking forward to learning lots of new things from the whole of the team! Col: Which game would you consider to be your favourite? Ben: I first started playing Assassin's Creed when I got an Xbox 360 which was a while ago now. I believe it was Assassins Creed II but I have been playing the games ever since then. The franchise has come so far since then, it’s crazy. I think my favourite game at the moment has to be Odyssey. I’m big into Roman times and love all films that have to do with that period of time. So the fact that I could Sparta kick NPCs non stop was such a win for me. Valhalla is a close second but it has to be Odyssey. Col: Do you have a favourite piece of Assassin's Creed merchandise? Ben: I do not have any merchandise myself but I am a big fan of the replica sword that you own Col. I remember the first time I went round to yours and it was the first thing you showed me. Very cool! Col: Have you visited any of the locations from the games? Ben: When I went to Greece on holiday it was my plan to try and visit some of the places from the game but unfortunately I did not manage it. Maybe next time. Col: Which Assassin's Creed character would you say you have the most in common with? Ben: Difficult question. I cannot remember the characters name but it was in Odyssey on the first island you start on. The character gives Alexios tasks to do which eventually helps him to leave. The character was just very chill and laid back; not much stressed him out. I like to think I am similar in that respects. Col: Are you excited for the launch of Assassin's Creed Mirage? Ben: I am looking forward to the new game. I have not seen too much about it as I like going into it without knowing too much. From the same bits that I have seen though it kind of looks like the Assassin's Creed of old, which is very exciting. Col: What would be your dream setting for the upcoming AC Netflix TV series? Ben: My dream setting for the series would obviously be based around Greece like the Odyssey game. Col: Are there any cut features from the series you would like to see return in the next installment? Ben: One of my favourite side quests within any game has always been hunting mythical creatures and collecting their special items. It was done well in Odyssey and Valhalla so Im excited to see if they will keep that in Mirage. Col: Where can our community members find you online? Ben: I can be found on instagram under BGW1703. We would like to say a huge thank you to Ben for joining us for this round of AC Community Questions! . His work behind the scenes will massively boost our digital profile, and we look forward to working alongside him and the rest of the team to leave our mark on the Assassin's Creed community. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

Best Quotes in Assassin's Creed Mirage Share Written By: Edited By: TOWCB Team Back To Database kgkhg ''I can be an Instrument that sees us out of this life.'' (Basim) ''I won't let the past define me. This is why I now consider myself to be the daughter of no one.'' (Roshan) comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author A collection of articles from The Ones Who Came Before team. TOWCB Team

Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 7th to 18th October Community Share 8 Dec 2023 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Renzo Back To Database Welcome to the biweekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from the AC Partnership Program. Every two weeks we will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. This theme has been run by the TOWCB VP team. We have been monitoring the hashtag and the community hub to see all your wonderful shots. Keep an eye on the site as more shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to #ACFirstCivVP for a chance to be featured. Theme: Halloween Spirit Slayer Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @Its__Gurly The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Week Judge: @TuridTorkil Turid I was immediately captivated by the composition of this shot. The combination of tattoos, clothing and weapons make a dark warrior out of Eivor, and you can sense that he is not afraid of the monster that lurks in the dark. Smoke and fog create an eerie mood, perfect for our theme this week. Aaron One of my favourite games to play in October is Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, especially the Wrath of the Druids DLC. The mood and tone of that expansion perfectly lends itself to the spooky vibes. The hallucinations Eivor experiences such as in this creepy capture from Mel really added a new element to the game. The shadowy figure looks so ominous, while Eivor stands there with axe and flail in hand. I think his dark hair and tattoos add to that eerie feel. Everything kind of aligns in this shot to make it a worthy winner for our Halloween theme. The Mask Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @Cll3ar Selected by @Falconswift87 Spooky theme weeks always offer up some inventive photography. I think Raven’s VP style fits effortlessly with this. Once again, the variety of outfits in Valhalla help to cater for all types of shots. Here I am getting some real Order of the Ancient vibes with the white mask on Eivor’s face. The hood is so large that it is resembling the grim reaper. I am such a fan of the foggy white background as it marries beautifully with the blacks. The feather like features that are entering the shot from the right make me think of Odin. Maybe Eivor is Odin’s messenger of death. Draugr Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @m_nt_13 Selected by @_VirtualTourism Once again, we find ourselves in Valhalla but this time it is the Draugr who have been sent to haunt us. These creatures of Norse mythology don’t have a huge part to play in the story but the outfit for Eivor is a real fright. This disturbing shot of the Draugr appearing in the darkness brings the scares for sure. I love the lighting here, the bones on the arm and the teeth coupled with those freaky yellow eyes work so well together. You can really see that this creature is not of this world, I would have very much liked to see Eivor face off against this beast. Ghost Ship Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey VP Artist: @Yumejin2416 Selected by @TuridTorkil Assassin’s Creed Odyssey isn’t really known for its spooky nature, although you do come up against some mythical creatures. That’s why I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed the ship in this shot wasn’t from Valhalla. I adore the composition of this photo, especially the placement of the ship in relation to the moon, and how the light is reflecting on the water adding to the mood. The eeriness brought on by the ship's silhouette and the bluey/purple fog make for a very atmospheric photo. It reminds me a little of the pirate movies where the ship just appears out of nowhere. Frozen Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey VP Artist: @WonDerNooB_VP Selected by @CapturesByRenzo There is nothing like a bit of Greek mythology to bring the spooky. This shot gives me massive Jason and the Argonauts vibes. At the same time, it is going to expose my age, sorry everyone. Once again, the use of fog is so critical creating that creepy atmosphere. I think the orange and black tones, along with the architecture make this feel like a graveyard. Furthermore, the people frozen as statues elevate the sinister sensations. It is when you wander through this section of the game that you realise how impressive the level design is. RS has showcased that so well here. Mists Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey VP Artist: @ cyriellevp.bsky.social Selected by @CapturesByRenz o I have spoken before about how great the fog function is in the Assassin’s Creed photo mode. By adding it you can immediately change a photo's style and feel. This capture by Cyrielle is so hauntingly beautiful. It reminds me of the concept art you see, mostly due to the composition and the placement of Alexios. The path disappearing into the water and the marsh land that surrounds it gives off immense ghostly vibes. The trees covered in fog help to bring a sense of impending doom. I am not sure what Alexios is walking into, but it gives me the creeps. Skull Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @saskiaemmischVP Selected by @Falconswift87 Everyone knows I am a massive fan of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and especially the portraits that you can produce. Added to that the game lends itself perfectly for the Halloween theme. Here Saskia has knocked it out of the park with this super ominous shot of Eivor in the Druid mask. I just love how the white of the mask pops, and with the dark hood it looks so cool. Eivor has the appearance of one of Odin's undead horseman sent to collect souls of the unworthy. It even appears like the fog is exiting the eye hole, giving a real menacing aura to the portrait. I would not immediately think this is from Valhalla and that is a testament to how good the shot is. And that sums it up for this Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out the photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next time keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Michael is a close personal friend of the admin team who has worked alongside TOWCB for many years, lending a hand behind the scenes. He is known for being one of the lead Rally the Creed video-podcast hosts, and in 2024, will be releasing a series of episodes featuring guests from the AC Community. In 2022, Michael stepped out of the shadows and joined TOWCB's Writing Team, where he explored game journalism by expanding TOWCB database, filling it with guides, tips and tricks and more. After a series of article launches, he joined TOWCB's Core Team, where he now works as a Strategist, overseeing major campaigns, establishing internal systems and managing charity efforts for the group. Previous Next Michael Doyle Writer Michael is a close personal friend of the admin team who has worked alongside TOWCB for many years, lending a hand behind the scenes. He is known for being one of the lead Rally the Creed video-podcast hosts, and in 2024, will be releasing a series of episodes featuring guests from the AC Community. In 2022, Michael stepped out of the shadows and joined TOWCB's Writing Team, where he explored game journalism by expanding TOWCB database, filling it with guides, tips and tricks and more. After a series of article launches, he joined TOWCB's Core Team, where he now works as a Strategist, overseeing major campaigns, establishing internal systems and managing charity efforts for the group. Twitter Work

Understanding the Isu Language: The Basics Analysis Share 30 Sept 2024 Written By: Edited By: Edenoi ActualSpider-Man Back To Database If you've been following the Assassin's Creed series recently, you've probably noticed a mysterious language associated with the precursor civilization from which this website gets its name, the Isu. It isn't just gibberish: the Isu language is an actual language with its own grammar and vocabulary, originally created by a developer formerly with Ubisoft named Antoine Henry. Over the past few years, a number of people in the Assassin's Creed fan community have worked to understand the language, including myself (Eden), TOWCB's own ActualSpider-Man , bool0011 on Reddit, Tormis Narno and, most famously, the people over at Access the Animus . This article will serve as a kind of jumping off point for a series of articles examining the Isu language, starting with the fundamentals and including links to further topics. Let's start with some context. If you're reading this article, you're probably aware that in the world of Assassin's Creed, humans did not create the first civilizations on Earth. An ancient, technologically advanced species called the Isu built cities that predate humanity and which lasted until an apocalyptic event wiped out their entire world around 75,000 BC (an event known in the real world as the Toba Catastrophe and supposedly caused by a supervolcano eruption). The Isu, though long gone, left behind many of their near-magical devices (referred to as Pieces of Eden) and lived on in myth as the inspiration for the deities of various religions, such as the Roman Minerva or the Norse Odin. In the real world, many of the languages which originated in Europe and parts of Asia, such as English, German, Spanish, Russian, Farsi and Hindi, evolved from an ancient, lost language known as Proto-Indo-European. There are no surviving examples of Proto-Indo-European, but linguists have worked to reconstruct much of the language by studying and comparing the various languages descended from it. In the world of Assassin's Creed, Proto-Indo-European was itself a descendant of the language of the Isu. What this means in real-world terms is that Antoine Henry created the Isu language by looking at reconstructions of Proto-Indo-European and working backwards to build something that could've changed over time to become Proto-Indo-European. For this reason, you might recognize some of the words in the Isu language. For instance, the Isu word for "mother" is the very similar machtér, and the Isu word for "hidden" is kḷto, which looks a lot like the English word "cult." In this series of articles, I'll include the connections I've identified between Isu and Proto-Indo-European (sometimes abbreviated as PIE). Note that not all linguists always agree on how Proto-Indo-European words should be reconstructed. For the purpose of my own analysis which you'll see in these articles, I've used the reconstructions on Wiktionary (like Wikipedia but a dictionary), which are very consistent with the known Isu lexicon. While the Isu language can be transcribed into the Latin alphabet (the one you're reading right now), the Isu actually wrote in their own alphabet, which you can see here in both a capital and cursive script: Image taken from the Codex Transferendum by Your Friendly Neighborhood Mentor The script I'm referring to as capitals (by analogy with Roman square capitals) doesn't actually have anything to do with uppercase letters, but rather was used by the Isu to inscribe text in stone (or adamant) and can be found at the top and left in the image, whereas the cursive script was used to write manuscripts on soft surfaces such as paper. In fact, one such manuscript exists in the real world: the Voynich manuscript, which contains text in an unknown script and which has never been successfully translated. The Isu alphabet in the Assassin's Creed series is thus based on the letters that appear in the Voynich manuscript. The mysterious text in the Voynich manuscript The Canterbury manuscript from Assassin's Creed: Valhalla written in the Isu language In these articles I will pretty much exclusively write Isu text in the Latin alphabet, for both ease of writing and ease of reading. Look out for more articles in the series, coming October 2024! Related Articles comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Eden is a codebreaker who joined The Ones Who Came Before during the Assassin's Creed Shadows (Red) promotional campaign, helping the team to decipher numerous codes and puzzles used for marketing. She is also a high school Maths tutor, and has previously published a few short TTRPG's with more projects in the works. She first started playing Assassin's Creed in 2010, and is especially interested in the glyphs and puzzles, and platforms such as Assassin's Creed Initiates that expand the lore in creative ways. Edenoi

The Importance of Assassin's Creed Rogue Analysis Share 3 Aug 2024 Written By: Edited By: Hayden Bird (TombAssassin) Colum Blackett Back To Database When Ubisoft released ‘ Assassin’s Creed Rogue ’ on November 11 2014, it was overlooked for several reasons, mainly because it was a simultaneous release with the more anticipated game, ‘ Assassin’s Creed Unity ’, which was also released on November 11 of that year. ‘ Unity ’ gathered more hype from fans since it was the first new ‘ Assassin’s Creed ’ game to be released exclusively on the next-generation PlayStation 4 and Xbox One gaming consoles, while ‘ Rogue ’ was seen as more of a filler for the final ‘ Assassin’s Creed ’ game released on the older consoles and perhaps a farewell to the console generation where the series was born back in 2007, on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. ‘ Assassin’s Creed Rogue ’ was released exclusively to the last-gen consoles, and was good for those who were still unable to upgrade their gaming consoles. ‘ Rogue ’ was fun and a great alternative to the fans waiting to upgrade and be able to play ‘ Unity ’. Due to its release timeline, ‘ Rogue ’ is very often possibly the most forgotten ‘ Assassin’s Creed ’ game still to this day, nearly ten years since its release. However, gamers who may not be familiar with most ‘ Assassin’s Creed ’ games, would likely not believe that ‘ Assassin’s Creed Rogue ’ was the most creative and influential game in the entire series. Somehow a game that is somewhat forgotten at times, and it happens to be Ubisoft’s most daring story. For one, ‘ Rogue ’ is often overlooked due to its more familiar gameplay seen in the game a year prior to this one, ‘ Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag ’. It followed a very identical formula that was actually very well received by fans, so repeating a very similar style was only just adding onto an already great gameplay style that fans grew to love so much. ‘Rogue’ was another naval combat based game in the series. The combat on your ship in the game is nearly identical to that of ‘ Black Flag ’, and the hand to hand fighting formula was very similar to its predecessor as well. Specifically wielding a variety of weapons like cutlass swords, the famous hidden blade, pistols, and a ranged device to knock out or confuse enemies. The two games had a lot in common, but in the eyes of gamers and ‘ Assassin’s Creed ’ fans alike, it continued to work. In ‘ Rogue ’ the device to disorient enemies was a rifle, while in ‘ Black Flag ’ it was a blowpipe with darts, so a lot of familiar gameplay aspects returned, but still unique in its own way. In a way, Ubisoft was really just giving players more of what they loved. The gameplay, however, isn't the main important difference in ‘ Rogue ’, it was instead its storyline. Since 'Rogue' released alongside the much more anticipated 'Assassin's Creed Unity' , it was already at a major disadvantage, and it got even worse when 'Unity' launched in a broken, bug-filled state. The game quickly turned into a internet meme. With pictures of ridiculous glitches of both the characters and the environment. The poor initial reception to 'Unity' only made things worse for 'Rogue' , even though the game launched in a graphically stable state, the damage had been done already from the failures of 'Unity' . Fans already labelled ' Rogue' as a glorified DLC, and discouraged its full game price tag. 'Rogue' however, did have some unique connections to 'Unity' . Both games had similar timelines, so once 'Rogue' ended, it led directly into 'Unity' . The prologue of 'Unity' showed Arno, the protagonist of the game, arriving in Versailles with his father, Charles Dorian, who had to leave his son temporarily and told him to wait for him. Arno then meets Elise, who was also a main character throughout the game. Both Arno and Elise are children at this time and around the same age. The story takes off after that when Arno's father, Charles, is mysteriously murdered while Arno was exploring with Elise. That point in the game was a mystery, until the very end of 'Rogue' , when we play as Shay Cormac, who's mission was to enter Versailles and assassinate Arno's father, which connected the two games together. We even see Arno and Elise talking together in the hallway while Shay walks past them and finishes his job to kill Charles. The crossover between the two games was a pleasant surprise, and some gamers did not even know about this connection for some time because of how badly 'Rogue' was overshadowed. ‘ Assassin’s Creed Rogue ’ did the unthinkable, playing the game as a character who sides with the infamous Templar Order, the main antagonist group throughout the entire series. Ubisoft decided to show gamers the perspective of a Templar for once, and not that of a member of the Assassins Brotherhood. The story showed how there are always two sides to a story. For the longest time ‘ Assassin’s Creed ’ fans were only accustomed to, of course, being on the Assassin’s side, and never the idea of following and understanding the viewpoint of the enemy, as all Templars were considered evil and power-greedy. ‘ Rogue ’ however showed us the story of a man named Shay Patrick Cormac, who initially was a member of the Assassins Brotherhood, but was turned to the Templar Order after a major disagreement with his mentors. The story explained how the Assassins were looking to capture and obtain certain artifacts in history, but they were unaware that the artifacts were not supposed to be meddled with. Shay finds this out the hard way, and so he leaves the Assassins and becomes a member of the Templar Order, with Shay knowing he’s made the right decision for himself. This viewpoint change showed us that the Assassin’s can very well be wrong for once, and that the so-called evil Templars could be on the right side of history. This idea would’ve never made sense to fans of the games before ‘ Rogue ’ released, because realistically we have been shown from the beginning that Assassins were the heroes and Templars were the enemies. Fans couldn’t believe the Templars could actually be right, which is very understandable. Ubisoft clearly took another major risk with this game. Having the main character betray and hunt down members of the Assassins Brotherhood. This choice could clearly upset some fans, but the importance of showing that not one side is always right and winning every single time was vital to the narrative of the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ series, and to other game franchises as well, showing major depth to the story. ‘ Rogue’ may very well be a less heard of and underrated game, but in a way it may have the most important narrative angle in the entire franchise. It shows Ubisoft’s job at creating stories for games isn’t predictable or repetitive, and instead shows risky, but very wise storytelling and creative depth. A lot of game developers and gaming franchises are unable to create and show the importance of dual sided storytelling, but Ubisoft took this path and proved their brilliance in the narrative arts. It is ironic that a game like ‘ Rogue’ could be this important and be so less talked about compared to the other major games in the series. This game did an excellent job being a bridge to the next generation of ‘ Assassin’s Creed ’ games, as it marks the end of a historic generation of gaming consoles for the franchise, but also ends on a strong note and successfully set the stage for the then-hyped PS4 and Xbox One consoles. Maybe Ubisoft was onto something here. Storytelling isn’t supposed to be one sided, and often is in need of narrative depth. There might always be fans who disagree with the direction ‘ Rogue ’ took, and may not like the turncoat side of the story, but there is no denying its evident importance. Ubisoft took an angle to this story that we may not see again in another ‘ Assassin’s Creed ’ game, but for now we can be thankful we were able to experience the important idea of having two sides to a story. Ubisoft knew exactly what they were doing when creating this game, and still to this day it remains a creative masterpiece for the ‘ Assassin’s Creed ’ series. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Hayden is a passionate Freelance Writer based in South Carolina who joined TOWCB's Writing Team in 2020 during the Covid-19 Pandemic, writing articles on all things Assassin's Creed Valhalla. He left the group to focus on studies, joining our Alumni program, but triumphantly returned with fresh ideas in 2024 to pick up where he left off, only this time covering Assassin's Creed Shadows. Hayden Bird (TombAssassin)

This Week in Assassin's Creed Virtual Photography: 28th May - 3rd June 2022 Community Share 12 Jun 2022 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the new weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week, we will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for capture across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. 1) Caveman Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey This week’s first capture comes from @CosmosThief over on Twitter. I am not sure if Alexios has been featured yet in our weekly showcases, however this shot makes a great debut for him. I am a fan of how this capture has been put together, such a small snapshot yet so striking. A fantastic silhouette of the Eagle Bearer brought to life by the light pouring in from above. 2) Eagle Vision Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Photo number two comes from @ kingforever008 , member of our Assassin's Creed VP Twitter community. For me this is photo of the week in our community. What an incredible capture of Ikaros and Kassandra. The striking thing about this is the positioning. It’s not always easy to line these sort of shots up. The subtle colour added to the eyes really make this capture something special. I think Bayek and Eivor should be next to complete the set. 3) Birdman Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins This week’s third shot comes from @ IshaanMishra05 over on Twitter. There had to be an Assassin’s Creed Origins capture in this week after the release of the 60fps patch. Continuing with the theme of hero and their pets, we see Bayek and Senu watching over the land. I love the colours in this picture, they really make the silhouette of Bayek stand out. The white pouring in also makes it feel like there is a sandstorm blowing in. 4) Landscape Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP number four comes from @ jules_vp_ over on Twitter. The fourth capture of the week actually comes from an amazing set of environmental shots. This picture really shows off how stunning the landscape is in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. The positioning of this capture is beautiful. Your eyes are just drawn down to the rocks and the amazing reflections in the water. I have been blown away by the details and the design of England in Valhalla. I think it was a nice change of pace after two very sun-drenched entries. 5) Night in Venice Game: Assassin’s Creed II The final capture of the week comes from @ Sirnotbanndwulf , member of our AC VP Twitter Community. For our final shot of the week we return to Italy and roll back the years to Assassin’s Creed two. I love this capture it is full of nostalgia for me. I would adore to play this game again with improved graphics and Unity movements. This is a fantastic capture showcasing the rooftops of Venice, I am mostly liking the light coming from the moon. And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Check out the Assassin's Creed Merchandise Collection belonging to our admin Col_96 (Colum Blackett), Col- I became an Assassin's Creed Merchandise Collector in 2014, and I have some really special items in my collection. On this page I will be logging all Assassin's Creed items in my collection. (Please note: Not everything in my collection is logged. Just items bought after May 2015) Items I am looking for May 2015- Assassin's Creed Syndicate Replica T-Shirt- £10 in Game. Limited Edition Assassins Creed Unity Promo T-shirt - £6 on Ebay. Shao Jun Replica Necklace- £6 on Ebay- AC Embers Signed by Kulpreet Virdi. I won this on the Drink,Relax,Play Live Stream. June 2015- 3/6/15- Assassin's Creed Pin- £4.50 on Ebay 19/6/15- El Cakr Graphic Novel- £5.79 on Ebay 20/6/15- Assassin's Creed Syndicate Coin- £25 on Ebay (including P+P)- 21/6/15- Assassin's Creed Syndicate Lithograph- From the AC Syndicate Tour in London- £18 including P+P on Ebay 21/6/15- Assassin's Creed Syndicate Jacob Frye Shilling Necklace- £7.55 on Ebay- (Not the official one but still a nice replica) July 2015 3/7/15- Assassin's Creed Poster Collection- £12 on Ebay 15/7/15- AC Official Jacob Frye Shilling (Free thanks to a friend) 24/7/15- Art Cards - £3 on Ebay August- 2/8/15- AC Unity Guide- £10 in Game 3/8/15- The Art of AC Unity- £30 in Game 5/8/15- Haytham Figure for £7 10/8/15- Steel Cases have been signed by the Ubisoft Team at E3! 15/8/15- Assassin's Creed Hawk- £4 on Ebay 25.8.15- Replica Throwing Knife- £3.65 on Ebay 25.8.15- MCV Magazine- £3.50 28/8/15- Playstation Magazine (Free ACS Stickers) - £6 September 2015- 3/9/15- Ezio Bust- £30 at Game 4/9/15- AC1 Steel Case- £10 on Ebay 12/9/15- AC Unity Card Holder (£2 in Game) 12/9/15- AC Unity Gift Wrap set (£3 in Game) 12/9/15- Assassin's Creed 3 Tattoo Pack (£1.20 in a retro shop- Newcastle Metro Centre) 12.9.15- AC Unity Tattoo Pack (£2 in Game) 12.9.15- Play Magazine- Issue 261 (£5 in Tesco) October 2015 Edward Kenway- The Fearless Assassin Pirate (Birthday Present) AC Rogue Shay T-shirt (Birthday Present) Assassin's Creed Shot Glasses (Birthday Present) Assassin's Creed Lanyard (Birthday Present) 'The Life of a City' by Liza Picard- (One of the books used by the developers when creating AC Syndicate) (Birthday Present) AC Syndicate Promo Hat (Slightly Damaged Unfortunately. (Birthday Present) Assassin's Creed Birthday Cake! (Custom Made) AC Syndicate T shirt- £8 in Primark 20/10/15- AC Syndicate Promo Temporary Tattoo= £3 on Ebay 23/10/15- AC Syndicate Prima Guide- £15 23/10/15- (Came with Guide)- ACS Poster 23/10/15- AC Syndicate Promo Bag- 5p in Game 23/10/15- (Came with Guide)- AC Stickers 26/10/15- Assassin's Creed #1- 2 Covers Assassin's Creed Syndicate Promo Poster- (Stock image)- £4.05 on Ebay Assassin's Creed Syndicate Promo Poster- (Stock image)- £4.99 on Ebay November 2015: Assassin's Creed #1- Diamond UK Variant Cover- £3 on Ebay. 2x Assassin's Creed Syndicate Promo Poster- Free in Asda. Jacob Frye Promotional Stand- Free in Asda. Assassin's Creed Syndicate Promotional Cube- Free in Asda. Assassin's Creed #1- Subscription Variant Cover- £3 on Ebay. Assassin's Creed Syndicate Promo Money- £6.50 on Ebay. 19/11/15- Big Ben Collector's Case! 19/11/15- Assassin's Creed Underworld by Oliver Bowden. 19/11/15- Assassin's Creed Ultimate series guide. 20/11/15- Assassin's Creed Syndicate- Big Ben Collectors Case 20/11/15- Table Display images. December 2015. 18/12/15 - Assassin's Creed #3 Comic - £3 18/12/15 - Altair Bookmark from Etsy. - £2.60 25/12/15: Christmas - AC Syndicate Calendar - Jacob The Impetuous Brother Statue - Eagle Vision Ezio Figure - AC Syndicate T-shirt - AC Roma Creed T-shirt - Ezio with wings T- shirt - AC Syndicate Duvet set - AC3 Medallion - Connor Figure - AC Brotherhood - Auditore Edition - AC #1 - Signed Variant - Blank - Assassin's Creed - Assassin/Templar Coin - Connor Keyring - AC Black Flag Promo Map - AC Unity Torch (Shines a light in the Assassin Logo shape!) - AC Syndicate Promo Postcards from PAX East 26/12/15 - Syndicate Poster January 2016 Assassin's Creed - The Complete Visual History - £25 on Ebay Assassin's Creed Encyclopedia - Black Edition (Present) Jacob Frye McFarlane Figure (Present) Assassin's Creed Lanyard (Present) - (Double - This one is for home - Other is at Uni) UbiWorkshop Time Map (Present) Edward Kenway McFarlane Figure (Present) AC Rogue Coaster - £3.30 on Ebay AC Chronicles China Poster - £4 2 Syndicate Promo Rooks Bear Map Coasters - £7 for the 2 Assassin's Creed Syndicate Postcards - £7 on Ebay Assassin's Creed #2 - £3 in Comic Book Store Assassin's Creed #2 - £3 in Comic Book Store February 2016 Assassin's Creed Comics Syndicate Tshirt - £10.43 on Ebay. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood - Ezio's Codex Box. - £27. Assassin's Creed #5 Cover A - £3 in Comic Book store Assassin's Creed #5 Cover B - £3 in Comic Book store AC Unity Flag - £6 on Ebay Starrick's Soothing Syrup Bottle - £11 on Ebay March 2016. Assassin's Creed Black Flag Steel Case - £8 on Ebay Assassin's Creed Movie T-shirt! - This was a gift from Ubisoft! Thank you so much Andie and Holly! Photographs with Paul Amos and Victoria Atkin! - £20 each. - Signed for £15 each more Syndicate Keyring - £6 Assassin's Creed #6 - Cover A, B and C - Like £3 each at Comic Book Store AC1 Numbered Steel Case. - £10 on Ebay Connor Statue - £18.50 +3.50 p+p Easter 2016: Shay Cormac McFarlane Figure (present) AC Unity (Arno/Elise) Necklace (present) 3 Assassin/Templar coins (present) - Ezio Leap of Faith Statue - £39.99 - Click here for all the photos - Connor Statue - £18.50 +3.50 p+p - Grand Temple Key unofficial replica - £2.77 - Templar Necklace - £2.70 - Assassin's Creed Anthology Steel Case - £13.50 on Ebay April 2016. Altair Print signed by Cas Anvar at Edinburgh Comic Con! - £15 Assassin's Creed #7 Cover A Assassin's Creed Templars #2 Cover Assassin's Creed Templars #1 Cover C May 2016 Assassin's Creed Unity Promo T-shirt - £6.05 on Ebay AC Syndicate Keyring. Special Thanks to Aymar for this Assassin's Creed FCBD issue signed by Aymar Azaizia. Special Thanks to Fae for this :) Assassin's Creed Anthology Steel Case has now been signed by Aymar Assassin's Creed #8 (x2 covers) £6 Assassin's Creed: Templars #2 (2 covers) £6 Hachette Ezio Statue (Very Rare at this point) - £15 on Ebay Assassin's Creed Jewellery Box (Rings, Pendants etc) - Present Connor Coin - Present June/July Assassin's Creed Movie Fridge Magnet: £3 Connor Mini figure - £6 on Ebay Assassin's Creed #9 - £3 Assassin's Creed: Templars #3 Ezio £50 note - £1 in shop Assassin's Creed #9 Cover C - £3 online Ezio Hachette Figure - £3 on Ebay Altair Hachette Figure - £5 on Ebay Ezio Mentor Legacy Bust - £30 in Game Altair Legacy Bust - £27 on Amazon Assassin's Creed #10 Cover A - £2.80 Assassin's Creed #10 Cover B - £2.80 Assassin's Creed #10 Cover C - £2.80 Black and Red Hoodie (Templar Style) - £15.29 Haytham Kenway Hachette Figure - £4.95 Assassin's Creed: Templars #4 Cover C - £3.10 August 2016: Assassin's Creed Movie Poster: £5 Abstergo Entertainment ID Card - Gift from a friend Ezio Coaster - £3 Assassin's Creed Hardcover Ruled Journal - £6.82 on Ebay Assassin's Creed #5 Cover C - £1.84 on Ebay Gamescom Ezio Print. Number 3 out of 100! (Handed out at Gamescom) Edward Kenway Dorbz Figure. (Gift from Assassin's Creed Community Team at Gamescom) AC Syndicate Red T-shirt. (Gift from Assassin's Creed Community Team at Gamescom) Assassin's Creed Movie Poster (Gift from Ubisoft Star Player Guides) (Image of all the Ubisoft Loot I was given at Gamescom) Special thanks to Star Player Guides + AC Community Team Assassin's Creed Movie Booth Photos. (Gamescom) Ezio Auditore McFarlane Toy. (Gift from Assassin's Creed Community Team at Gamescom) Assassin's Creed #11. Covers A, B and C Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants: £9.14 on Ebay September 2016 Assassin's Creed: Templars #5 Cover A. £3.10 on Ebay Assassin's Creed: Templars #5 Cover B. £3.10 in shop. Assassin's Creed: Templars #5 Cover C. £3.10 in shop. Jacob Frye Statue (Gift from Ubisoft) Evie Frye Statue (Gift from Ubisoft) Altair Bust (Gift from Ubisoft) Assassin's Creed Movie: Aguilar Costume (For Halloween): £40 October: Birthday Presents: AC Movie Promo Poster (Japenese) Edward Kenway Hidden Blade AC1 Steel Case (Brand new. Rare) AC Wax Letter Seal AC Pocket Watch AC Wallet Grand Temple Key by Ubiworkshop AC Movie poster November: Assassin's Creed Heresy (Special Edition + Aguilar McFarlane Figure. Gift from Ubisoft (Thank you so much to Holly Rawlinson) December 2016: Christmas - Assassin's Creed Movie Calendar - Replica Apple of Eden (UbiWorkshop) - AC Syndicate Rooks Keyring - AC Unity Lithograph Art print by Angry Blue - AC Syndicate Tshirt - Aguilar McFarlane Figure - AC Movie Poster with replica signatures by Michael Fassbender, Jeremy Irons, Marion Cotillard and Brendan Gleeson. - AC1 Medallion from San Diego Comic Con 2007 - Altair Mini Figure - Shay Mini Figure - Assassin's Creed Lego Set - AC Ezio Wallet+ Pencil Case - 3d Assassin's Creed Movie Lenticular Picture - AC Black Flag Pocket Watch - Assassin's Creed Promo Pen - Rooks Keyring - AC Unity Arno Bedset - AC Timeline. UbiWorkshop - Assassin's Creed Movie T-shirt: £6 in Primark January 2016: - Assassin's Creed: The Official Movie Tie in - Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag: Blackbeard: The Lost Journal - Assassin's Creed Movie: Aguilar Tshirt - Assassin Insignia Bullet Necklace Assassin's Creed: Into the Animus: £30 on Amazon Febuary 2017 AC Movie Promo Stand - Free from Cinema Altair Pop Vinyl - Valentines Day Syndicate Wallet - Valentines Day April 2017 Sword of Altair: £35 from Blade and Bows Easter Aguilar Bleacher Creature Syndicate Bracelet Unity Promo Notebook Unity Wax Badge/Pin Black Flag promo Playing Card AC Movie Boxers AC Movie Vinyl Stickers Aguilar de Nerha Pop Vinyl Ojeda Pop Vinyl Assassin's Creed Official Collection #3 + #4 thanks to Hachette June 2017 Assassin's Creed: Origins: Dawn of the Creed Edition (Pre-ordered. £120) Assassin's Creed: Identity T-shirt (Won in Competition) July/August 2017 Assassin's Creed Origins T-shirt - £20 TeeRepublic Mini Sword of Altair - £10 on Ebay Last Descendants: Tomb of the Khan x2 Live by the Creed Wristbands Assassin's Creed Art Prints from The Desmond Files £4 Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Art Cards £4 Assassin's Creed Origins Pin: £2 on Ebay Assassin's Creed Origins: Bayek T-shirt by Grindstore: £12 September 2017 Aguilar's Hidden Blade by Ubiworkshop (£20 from EGX Ubisoft Store) October 2017: 21st Birthday: Assassin's Creed Arena Assassin's Creed Altair Rabbit Assassin's Creed Movie Cell Ezio Brotherhood Belt Buckle Assassin's Creed Movie Art Print + Bookmark Assassin's Creed Tshirt ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Assassin's Creed Legacy T-shirt: We work in the dark to serve the light: £11 on Ebay Assassin's Creed Movie: Blueray edition Assassin's Creed Origins: Dawn of the Creed Edition: Bayek and Seny Figurine 2 Artcards Artbook Origins Map Soundtrack Green Steelbook Assassin's Creed Origins Shirt: Anubis: £8 Primark AC Origins Promo Material: Bayek, ACO Stand, 2 Promo Cubes November 2017 Callum Lynch Pop Vinyl: £7 in Forbidden Planet Assassin's Creed Movie Promo Material from FOX: 6x Aguilar Pins Promo Shirt Assassin's Creed Movie DVD Hidden Blade Sleeve December 2017 Ezio Plush (White) Ezio Plush (Black) Knights Templar Coin Assassin's Creed III Guitar Pick/Connor Plectrum Christmas 2017 Assassin's Creed Origins Geek Geer Enamel Pin 3/4 of the Arizona Promotional Cans (Missing Aguilar Synronising) Assassin's Creed Origins: Bayek T-shirt Ezio Auditore FigPin Assassin's Creed Minis: Altair (Double) Lego Ezio Auditore Keyring Assassin's Creed 2018 Wall Calendar Ezio Auditore Five Pound Note Assassin's Creed Soundboard Keychain by NECA Ezio Auditore Kubros by Mega Bloks Assassin's Creed Zippo Lighter (Arno, AC Unity) Assassin's Creed "Leave your Legacy" Coin: 25 Years of Ubisoft: Given out by EB Games: (Rare item) Connor FigPin Loot Gaming Edward Kenway Figure (From July 2017 Loot Gaming Crate: "Booty" Theme) Aya Figurine (Assassin's Creed Origins) Assassin's Creed Origins Coaster (From Playstation Magazine) Assassin's Creed Brotheehood Necklace (Ezio/Italian Brotherhood Black Flag Vinyl Sticker by GB Eye Assassin's Creed Unity Flag (France/French Brotherhood) January 2018 Assassin's Creed Jigsaw: 1000 piece Aguilar de Nerha by Trefl Altair FigPIN Edward Kenway FigPIN Assassin's Creed Freedom Cry: Mega Blox Set: Adewale Assassin's Creed Playing Cards Assassin's Creed Origins Wallet (present) Assassin's Creed Origins Keyring (Rare) : Promotional item from Australia Feb Assassin's Creed Origins Necklace: Gift March 2018 Crouching Aguilar Funko Pop Vinyl Assassin's Creed Origins Bioworld Necklace April: Jacob Frye Dorbz figure Bayek FigPIN Assassin's Creed Pen Assassin's Creed Playing Cards May: Assassin's Creed Rare Figurine: Altair: £35 in Ebay Auction (Worth £90+) May + 2018 Assassin's Creed III Promotional George Washington Coin Ezio Auditore Christmas tree decoration Assassin's Creed Odyssey Promo Pins AC Odyssey pin Christmas 2018 Broken Spear of Leonidas Replica by UbiCollectibles The Art of Assassin's Creed Odyssey & Map (From Omega Edition) Assassin's Creed Mini Figures by ZagToys: Ezio, Desmond, Shay, EV Connor, Adewale, Arno Assassin's Creed Top Trumps Assassin's Creed Lego: Jacob - Aveline - Adewale 2019 Assassin's Creed Origins Promo Card from Gamescom - Signed by Abubakar Salim Assassin's Creed - The Official Colouring Book AC Movie Brain Scan T-shirt Assassin's Creed Odyssey necklace (signed by Michael Antonakos - Alexios) 3x Assassin's Creed art prints by Lisa Zaman Black Assassin's Creed Symphony T-shirt Assassin's Creed III Pin Badge Ezio Auditore Statue Assassin's Creed III Lithograph - Rare and Numbered - 4000 made Assassin's Creed Liberation Lithograph - Rare and Numbered - 4000 made Assassin's Creed Odyssey Pin Assassin's Creed Movie Collector's Edition - Aguilar statue and 3x lithographs Assassin's Creed Postcard Christmas 2019 Elise de la Serre Funko! Pop Figure Assassins Creed Game Case Rack Assassin's Creed Odyssey Pin Ezio Caricature Trading Card signed by artist RAK Assassin's Creed Loot Gaming Playing Cards Assassin's Creed Syndicate Air Freshener AC Odyssey Promotional Spartan Mask (Rare) 2020 Assassin's Creed Official Collection: Limited edition Altair art print by Denis Calero x2 Assassin's Creed Valhalla T-shirts from ASDA Eivor print by Lisa Zaman Jacob Frye print by Lisa Zaman Assassin's Creed Pin by AbyStyle Aveline de Grandpré Statue Assassin's Creed Valhalla Snood Assassin's Creed Zippo: 10 Year Anniversary Edition Assassin's Creed 1 Japanese Promo Book Assassin's Creed Valhalla Jigsaw Christmas Assassin's Creed Multitool by Paladone Assassin's Creed Unity Pen Assassin's Creed Lanyard Assassin's Creed Legacy T-shirt Assassin's Creed Movie Promo Cans: Tornado Energy Drink (x2) Assassin's Creed III Connor Can Cooler Assassin's Creed Brotherhood: Harlequin Jack in the Box (Rare) 2021: Eivor FigPIN Assassin's Creed Revelations 3D Glasses (Promo item) Assassin's Creed Syndicate Bag Assassin's Creed Pint Glass 2022 Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Plague Doctor Jack in the Box (Rare) Connor Axe Necklace (AC3) Assassin's Creed Valhalla Promo Card (Origin Unknown) Assassin's Creed Odyssey Xbox Ultimate Rivals Alexios and Kassandra combat cards Assassin's Creed & V For Vendetta Crossover T-shirt Shao Jun Figurine: Gold edition (Rare - Mentors Guild exclusive) 2024 Assassin's Creed: Infographics Book Assassin's Creed Shadows Shot Glass, gifted by Ubisoft (Rare) Yasuke: The true story of the legendary African Samurai Paperback by Thomas Lockley Assassin's Creed Shadows Promotional Lockbox (Extremely Rare. 70 sent worldwide). Gifted by Ubisoft

Marc-Alexis Côté and Assassin’s Creed’s narrative paradigm shift Analysis Share 3 Dec 2024 Written By: Edited By: UbiCypher (Joe) Colum Blackett Back To Database The Vice President Executive Producer of Assassin's Creed, Marc-Alexis Côté, has stepped out into the spotlight on the BAFTA Youtube channel at an event a few days ago giving off a curated speech commenting on Ubisoft's flaws and the intended direction the franchise will follow for the foreseeable future upon the release of Assassin’s Creed Shadows serving as the inflexion point for such a change in the narrative direction. Describing his trajectory as a rookie game developer all the way to his actual status as Executive Producer for the overall franchise, he presented the audience with a complete breakdown of the core values of “What Assassin’s Creed should be” in other words, he transparently commented on the way they develop each iteration via their “Brand Framework” which is basically a codex under the form of internal documents given to the devs from which they need to base their work and efforts for the continuity of the Lore. Breaking the Framework into the following aspects; Identity: Immersion, storytelling and thrilling gameplay. Intentionality: Every creative decision made by the devs ought to reflect the shared vision and values of the Framework to ensure that the identity is not diluted and continuity is strong footed. Official promo image by BAFTA showing Vice President Executive Producer of Assassin's Creed, Marc-Alexis Côté, Prioritizing direct and selected feedback over the community as a means to an end. “Putting the player at the center of our creative vision” is also one of the substantial statements issued by Côté which clearly shows that they are aware of their position with the fanbase that nurtured the franchise for so long and are willing to turn the tables in their favor bringing new experiences in the good old Assassin’s Creed fashion applying the aforementioned “core values” described in their “Brand Framework”. These “core values” will not only restructure their approach to how an Assassin’s Creed game is made, but from now on, they will also implement new data collected by their new initiative that aims to “involve their most engaged fans into the early development cycles” with the intention to listen to a much more direct feedback instead of “actively listening to general community feedback and running large scale studies” which is yet another example of Ubisoft going all in and taking the helm, considering the hard working fan communities and content creators that adhere to what the franchise was originally praised for in the past first and the public that spawned with the latest iterations second. A slide from the BAFTA presentation Or so it seems, given another pungent declaration in which Ubisoft now seems eager to “restore the balance” in terms of narrative both past and present as he acknowledged that “15 years of Lore has made the approach to newcomers difficult to approach”, however, the downside to such a bold move can lead to even more division, to which we can all agree; the fanbase is in a very dire situation. But fear not! Because this means that a great change in how the future instalments will be crafted will come out of this, presenting the “Vertigo Of History” initiative as a new way to develop the Assassin’s Creed games by focusing on the idea that “Past, Present and future are connected” therefore, how the past defines who we are and how it will affect our future. Emotional wording aside, this will basically mean that the way Modern Day and the Historical storyline will be designed will be completely overhauled; by pretending to “place history back at the center of the player’s experience”, which is a bit contradictory to what you just read, I know, but the trade-off is that when Modern Day will be tapped into, they will explore “deeper themes regarding genetic memory, identity and autonomy” which is until now, left to the interpretation of the public and not very clear. In any case, Modern Day will be explored deeper so that’s a good step toward restoring that “balance” if true. Original image source: Assassin's Creed Initiates Balance, accuracy and diversity victims of hate. With this in mind, it is important to note that Côté also openly stated that “Absolute accuracy is not our goal, it has never been and never will” of course referring to the historical aspect of the game the franchise is notoriously known for, for the first time clarifying their intentions when making their games reminding us that it is a “Historical Fiction” at the end of the day in response to the previous months of continuous attacks via their Social Media and even directly to the developers themselves who saw their work tarnished by mentally draining and smile-erasing comments completely destroying their work due to the appearance of anachronistic or plain out non-existent elements in the latest RPG trilogy and most recently, the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows which, dare I say, has suffered from one of the most hateful waves of backlash the internet has seen in the past 4 years for very miserable reasons; from fruits appearing in the wrong season in one of the trailers to plain out racism towards Yasuke because of his African provenance hiding behind pathetic ill-crafted shields of “It’s not me who says it, it’s history!”. Of course, we are not going to deny the fact that they made some inexplicable mistakes that are obviously due to a lack of professional consultation by actual Historians and experts -which were brought in much later into Shadow’s dev cycle according to insiders who have reached out to the renowned leaker and French Youtuber j0nathan- or the scandal over the insensitive design of PureArts promotional figures which displayed the two protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke posing over an iconic Japanese Torii gate, which, was one-legged and very reminiscent of the S annō Shrine, a real life Torii Gate which was left partially destroyed by the bombing of its hosting city, Nagasaki during WWII. In any case, online crusades and Scandals behind, around the 36:00 mark, Marc-Alexis Côté concluded his speech on the attacks to the company by claiming that “Our commitment to inclusivity is grounded in historical authenticity and respect for diverse perspectives, not driven by modern agenda” Image by TOWCB showing the similarity between the AC Shadows prototype by PureArts prototype and a broken Torii gate located in Nagasaki From now on until February 15, 2025, it is but a waiting game to see if all of this turns out to be true or if it falls down to the pile of broken promises. Personal Commentary: Listening very carefully to what Côté openly said during the conference; I realized just how grand this franchise is and how far it has come. I remember the very first time I played Assassin's Creed II -my entry point- back in 2011 and the insta-love that struck my prepubescent brain. These feelings of discovery, wonder and diversity that are constantly talked about throughout the presentation are real, they were there when we first picked up the controller and began exploring the Genetic Memories of Altaïr and Ezio, as the years passed, we eventually discover more and more of this franchise and eventually witness its fall down the rabbit hole of corporate greed and uber-rich execs that would do anything in their power to drain you until your last cent. So it feels refreshing to see such transparency from Ubisoft and from the one that is supposed to be the closest thing to a lore master no-less. All in all, these are just promises and embellished corporate slang to make it more appealing, plus he contradicted himself by claiming that they aim to restore the balance only to say that they will basically put Modern Day on the backburner 5 minutes later... My best guess is that they're attempting to suffocate the fire and make up for their mistakes now that they realized we never were the "Ye Olde Nostalgicus" pricks most of the community and newcomers to that extent make us to be, simply because we don't follow the same opinions, ideas and tastes as them, who are fruit of a modern generation of gaming that, similarly to movies and music is utterly decadent with no more interest behind what is shown at first glance and no self-pondering of things with very few exceptions. This also applies outside of entertainment as well, the masses are somewhat dullified by mainstream and geopolitical engineering crafted by our governments who only want to see us fight each other for the skin tone of a character or goddamned fruits popping up at the wrong season all the while entitled nobodies destroy entire communities and groups of joyful people who just want to love, share and enjoy the experiences this franchise gave them in the first place. But I digress. I'm not very hopeful in terms of Modern Day and it is at this point, for me, the true narrative of the franchise, take it or leave it, up to you of course, but it was once integral and as Côté said and I also think it to be true: "Assassin's Creed is more than just a game, it can be a platform for meaningful exploration and reflection". Question everything. -Joe (Ubicypher) signing off. Images from the original Isu_Network thread by UbiCypher comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author UbiCypher (Joe) is an Assassin's Creed Transmedia expert who works as the Lead Admin for the Isu_Network social media team! He provides consistent social media content in the form of Assassin's Creed lore trivia, puzzles and news coverage, spending countless hours researching the series and real history. He has also been working on an AC events timeline to help fans of the franchise looking to learn more about the lore. UbiCypher (Joe)

Announcement: Two of our admins are joining The Mentors Guild! News Share 19 Oct 2020 Written By: Edited By: Ashlea Blackett Colum Blackett Back To Database We're pleased to announce that two members of TOWCB admin team, Col and Ash are officially joining The Mentors Guild! This is a huge opportunity for our community that will hopefully open many doors, and we are extremely excited to join a network of Assassin's Creed leaders around the world. We hope to help bridge the gap between community members and developers, and look forward to the future projects this community initiative will provide. We would like to say a huge thank you to the Assassin's Creed Community Development team for inviting us to join the program. What is the Mentors Guild? The Mentors Guild is a collection of Assassin’s Creed Community leaders, ranging in skillsets and areas of expertise. Members include cosplayers, artists, content creators, opinion leaders, and fan site administrators. The Mentors Guild was initiated by Ubisoft, spearheaded by Assassin's Creed Community Development team, and its members are hand chosen by Ubisoft. The Mentors Guild’s main purposes are to connect disparate community members together, assist in grass-roots community initiatives, and act as a bridge of communication between the developers and the fans for both criticism and praise. Our Admins Colum Blackett ( Col_96 // Col ) is the community admin for The Ones Who Came Before, and is joining the Mentors Guild as a community builder. Col has been a community ambassador in the UK for the last 4 years, and created TOWCB in 2014. It took a great deal of time to grow, but six years later TOWCB is a community that can be found across several different platforms and has an overall number of around 30,000 members. "It's a great honour to be selected for the Mentors Guild community program. I've spent many years within the Assassin's Creed community, and I can't wait to get started. I hope to bring a fresh wave of ideas to TMG that will help with its future. I have a ton of experience when it comes to community building, and hope to work together with fellow Mentors to create opportunities that will benefit the entire community." Trivia: Col is also an Assassin's Creed merchandise collector, and has one of the biggest collections in the UK! See more Ashlea Buckley ( Ashlea_97 // Ash) is the Editor/ Charity Project Coordinator for The Ones Who Came Before, and is joining the Mentors Guild as a community builder. Ash joined the Assassin's Creed community in 2016 during the promotional campaign for the movie, working from the shadows to keep our social media spoiler-free. She later took on the bigger role of Editor, where she reviews and edits all content published by TOWCB. At University, Ash was the Charity Officer for the Fencing society, where she helped raise money for various charities. Upon leaving, this was something she wanted to continue, and took on the additional role of Charity Project Coordinator. Ash has created several fundraising projects since joining TOWCB, most recently for The Italian Red Cross during the Coronavirus pandemic, supporting the efforts to combat the virus by providing resources and aid. To date, Ash has helped to raise over £1000 for various campaigns through Assassin's Creed community fundraisers. "It is such an honour to be selected as part of the Mentors Guild. It was definitely unexpected as I have not been involved in the Assassin's Creed community for as long as the other people in the program, having only been on the scene for the last 4 years, but it is great to see that even when working mostly behind the scenes the work I do as a part of The Ones Who Came Before doesn't go unnoticed. I really appreciate being given this opportunity to further my contributions to the franchise" Trivia: Ash has also cosplayed at several UK events, and is the host of the Rally the Creed podcast! Going Forward A new wave of members are joining the ranks from across the globe, and it's exciting times ahead for all involved. You can expect a ton of fan-led initiatives in the future, as we aim to help and inspire content creators to take the next step. We'll also be sharing community projects over on TMG social media accounts, so keep an eye out for that! Until then, you can find everything you need regarding AC here at the home of Assassin's Creed community content. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Ashlea is the Editor/ Charity Project Coordinator for The Ones Who Came Before on its wide variety of social media platforms. Her main responsibilities for TOWCB involve creating and editing articles, organisation of events and coordinating our charity fundraising, as well as hosting the Rally The Creed Podcast. Ashlea Blackett

Journey to the East: A Review of Assassin’s Creed: The Silk Road Review Share 14 Nov 2023 Written By: Edited By: Michael Smith Colum Blackett Back To Database Ban ner by Thea Marie Rivedal (Moonchildgecko) from TOWCB Art Team. Article contains Amazon affiliate links which support TOWCB. Major spoilers for Assassin’s Creed: The Silk Road. Adventure stories have been a staple in my personal life since I was a child. From the early years of school where I explored the pages of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps series, to the modern releases from TellTale Games’ The Walking Dead, Batman, and Tales of the Borderlands . I can remember hitting the Dead End or ' You Died' in the middle of a book and rushing back to try and fix my mistake, or starting over to take another path. It’s something that becomes a skill with thinking before a decision that as a gamer, I’ve learned to utilize better in my hobbies and day to day. Being able to choose a path and experience something in a way that only a percentage of other people may have done previously is one of the reasons I still play games to this day. In 2021, Hatchette Heroes announced a new entry in the Assassin’s Creed transmedia line, Le Livre Dont Vous Êtes L’assassin: La Route De La Soie , or in English, The Book Where You are the Assassin: The Silk Road (in short, Assassin’s Creed: The Silk Road). This new interactive novel, written by Mathieu Rivero, puts you in control of the French Assassin, Oisel. His story starts in Chinon, France where Oisel is tasked by his Mentor to travel to Antioch at the start of the historical Silk Road to locate and assist Master Assassin, Basim Ibn Ishaq (protagonist of Assassin’s Creed Mirage ) in investigating a new enemy. It is here that he learns of a branch within the Order of the Ancients called 'The Snake Eaters' and of their plans to take control of the Silk Road to control the trade and wealth that travels across the Eastern World. With the assistance of your close friend Matthias, and additional allies through the story, readers must choose the direction the Assassin follows to defeat this enemy and save The Silk Road from The Order of the Ancients. I waited for a while before I purchased the book as I had hoped that one day, AC: The Silk Road would be released in English. Yet, after a few years I decided to order and take the time to translate the book myself into my native language. Much like Oisel had to adapt to the Arabic and Sogdian languages of the Silk Road, I had to adapt to the French language using the only tool at my disposal, Google Translate. So with my phone and a word document, I spent two months scanning, formatting, and eventually reading AC: The Silk Road . During this time I would “read” the contents of the book and even have to spoil some aspects of the story so that I could better my future self’s experience reading the book. However, with all of the content that I scanned while editing punctuation for English and dividing each paragraph into individual sections for my outline, I didn’t feel that I ruined the overall experience. The day before I started writing this review, I spent an afternoon reading through my first take of the book and ended with one of five endings in the story, reaching what I believe to be the most positive ending, Future Mentor. What that means, I won’t spoil for you but the overall experience was enjoyable and made me feel like I was playing a solo campaign of Dungeons & Dragons . Navigation, Combat, and Tests made decisions for my overall outcome. Choosing which path to navigate through the various points along The Silk Road, planning my attacks in combat against drunkards and members of The Snake Eaters, and performing Tests using the books built in randomizer of icons printed in the corner of each page made this reading of the book and all future readings, unique. Assassin’s Creed: The Silk Road provides plenty of direction on how to read through and interact with the book. During the first two chapters, small sections of red text with the image of a Hidden Blade will explain the mechanics of the book from the mechanics that I shared above; Navigation, Combat, Tests, Obtaining skills and items, and the Appendices. These are embedded in the Paragraph that you are currently reading, or will direct you to a different paragraph to read the text if it was the currently read paragraph is printed after the initial notice. With 198 Paragraphs divided over 5 Chapters and 95 Appendices, there is plenty of content and replayability with the combination of five endings and various choices. On my first playthrough, I interacted with an estimated 100 individual sections and appendices, leaving a lot of text untouched. You are able to track your progress using the included bookmark (which can be reprinted from the publisher’s website). This bookmark provides a “save file” with the front Synchronization section, as well as the boxes for your Stamina, Max Stamina, and Stealth Damage. The back provides space to list the skills and items you have found and a space to lock them in once you have synchronized your progress. Unfortunately for me, I purchased the book second hand and did not receive a bookmark, but the one provided from the website was great, and to be honest I would have printed regardless as I don’t like marking items with my books. Later on in the book readers will find a pair of puzzles that present a challenge which provides not only a change in content, but makes the reader think like a member of the Brotherhood. In my playthrough, I put myself in the shoes of Oisel and thought hard about my options, keeping the tenets of the Brotherhood in mind and how my decisions could change the relationships with those that surround the lead character. The immersive storytelling from Mathieu Rivero made this experience meaningful as I felt joy, sadness, and fear as my tale brought me to the brink of desynchronization multiple times and excitement when I overcame an obstacle. It's a story that I loved so much that I began playing it again with my wife, allowing her to make all the decisions. After reading the first chapter, she was just as excited and wanted to see what would happen next. While she hasn’t finished it yet, I was super excited to see all aspects of Assassin’s Creed (even those outside of the Genetic Memory…) present in this story. Now, as often seen with mass printed media, I hit a few errors in my reading of the book. Two sections from my playthrough directed me to a paragraph that was either an alternative option to a scene I already completed (ie. choosing to train with one person over the other), or to a scene that was not relevant to the text at all. I was able to identify the errors’ correct paragraph (or what I believed it to be) and continue my reading without additional issue. While not game breaking, it was a disruption in my immersion. Yet, I don’t hold this in a negative light as the complex process of publishing such a book can be handled by multiple parties or departments in a company. I also found myself confused at a few points where I was unsure if I was supposed to recover stamina at the start of a new section, or only if a paragraph informed me that I was healed. Luckily for me, at the end of the story with only 2 HP remaining, I was able to finish the story with no further damage. There were also times where I felt the Test mechanic felt one-sided, or easy to manipulate. Each page has symbols of varying success or failure in the lower left or right corner and are used for the Tests by flipping through the book and stopping at a random page to get your symbol and gather the outcome from the text based on that. My wife said that she felt she could remember by feel, where an Eagle was (the highest success) and could potentially aim for this each time. Yet, I would watch her try, and end up “rolling” a Snake instead (the highest failure). However, this mechanic works for the book and can make the action scenes have an intensity to them when you are trying to roll a combat move multiple times and watch your health, or the opponents fall quickly. One of the unique aspects of the experience I had with this book was that I learned of the author, Mathieu Rivero’s work as a translator. Reaching out to him on the fact that I was translating his book opened a conversation which gave me the opportunity to ask a few questions about the book and his process. In a short back and forth over a few days, I asked the following and have provided his answers to highlight his experience with AC: The Silk Road . What were some of the challenges you had with writing an Assassin’s Creed adventure novel? When you talk about challenges for writing an AC novel, I’m reading “IP complications”. While writing for an IP is undeniably difficult, it also brings its own niceties. What’s difficult, and daunting, is the sheer amount of pre-existing material. I’ve scoured the AC fan wikis in search of many things and, whenever you’re talking about such things as an IP, there are legacies to consider. I wanted to incorporate the social element of AC, and that translates to the Antioch market, whereas the stronghold is all about infiltration. Each sequence is centered about one specific part of the AC experience that I wanted to put in the game. Sadly there’s no crafting and no min-maxing and some of the goofy AC humor isn’t there (while there are a few places where it gets lighthearted). Of course Ubisoft had its own agenda, and told me a few select details that should or should not be there. Overall I would say that while it gives you a humongous set of constraints, it has the benefits of bringing its own universe, its tropes, and constraint breeds creativity, that’s for sure! Did you use any reference materials for the story, such as books about the Silk Road? If so, would you share what you used for those that want to read more about the time period? Weirdly, I did not buy any books for this. I’ve always been a history buff, and the first novel I finished writing was about the Arabian Nights (not available in English, sorry, though the title would translate as 'Of Night and Gold'). So let’s say I already had a headstart when I started designing the story. However, I vividly recall spending evenings reading websites about the Silk Road, about power struggles in the area, about the dialects that were used at the time or trying to figure out how to describe Antioch the way it was, geographically. For Antioch, for instance, I had to look at the maps of the ruins, figure out where it would sit on Google Maps, and then make a mental picture of how the arrival would look like – all that for a puny sentence or two that probably no one cares about or would notice. I like research, but I’m in the camp of calling a spade a spade, and fiction can and should stray from reality at times. There are a few gaps in the book, and some historians might pursue me with a pitchfork… one day, when they read the book. Also I did not want historical accuracy [to] make things feel foreign and pull readers out of the experience. Were there any mechanics or content that you wanted to write about that didn’t get published? The way we worked with Ubisoft (and Hachette, the publisher of the book) was very helpful in not having cut content. First I did a test – which became the Chinon prologue, with some editing, and a grand plan, a structure and a game design document for the entire novel, so that Ubisoft would approve me writing stuff. Then I proceeded to work on the book and then submitted everything back to Ubisoft. They had a few nitpicks with some scenes, thought one of the endings needed some more love, so I touched up whatever needed to be touched up. With my publisher at Hachette, we had defined a certain scope that we did not want to go past, and I did go a little bit overboard. Not too much, though. I had not foreseen the endings would take as much work as they did! So no, no cut content per se. I scrapped a bunch of things to streamline a few moments, but rarely did our plan fail! Was the Silk Road story your decision, or was it pitched to you by Ubisoft? Ubisoft approached one of their former employees, who knew a publisher with whom I had spoken about adventure books, a few years back. My name was submitted unbeknownst to me, and I was contacted by Hachette. As mentioned above, Ubisoft had their own agenda and they wanted the story to happen around the Silk Road, they wanted a Basim cameo (why, of COURSE!) and they also wanted to have a male Hidden One named Oisel (old French for Bird). They wanted him to be of a mixed ethnicity, and the year 850 mark is perfect for that – the Moors had invaded, so a deserter could have had a child. That also helped come up with the excuse for Oisel speaking – kinda – French, Arabic, the dialects of Central Asia, and Chinese. They had an idea about an open world but clearly that was not possible (unless we did a choose your own adventure encyclopedia) in book form so we settled for a few select vignettes. I brought them the entire arc, what I wanted to do with Oisel (and Matthias), and they were on board with that. Having a somewhat canon ending meant the end could not go too far. We had to have a specific direction and a fixed end point. If you were to write another adventure book, would you write a sequel to this story, or would you visit another period and location? I’m not opposed to writing another adventure book. I’m handling a few different projects and writing books as your day job is a tough one, so I’ve dialed this back a bit. I’ve pitched something else to Hachette but they weren’t too much into it (it was a rogue like dating sim adventure book. Do what you want of this weird piece of information). I have other ideas, like an adventure book on a diviner with abilities to foresee pieces of the future. What I like most about this type of game is the involvement a player can have in the story, how emotionally invested you can be. I want to try experimental stuff. I have other things cooking but I can’t talk about them at the moment as they haven’t been announced, but it’s more on the side of board games than books. Writer's Commentary My time reviewing books for Assassin’s Creed has provided me with great insight to the authors that are building the future of the series. While we wait through the development process of each video game, the transmedia for the series is where I believe we will find the most world building and viewpoints of the global Assassins that lived in the timeline of Assassin’s Creed . Mathieu has opened a door for a new format that I would love to see continue with the transmedia, more adventure books with different characters and time periods that while the outcome could not be considered canon, the overall story could be. When I explain the lore of AC: The Silk Road , I would inform of the challenges the Assassin’s Brotherhood had with the Snake Eaters along the Silk Road in the 9th Century, but that the character lore should be considered “unverified” (when speaking in a historical sense) as everyone would be able to tell their own story, or what they believe happened. It's an opening for fun conversation and similar “this is what I did” moments that I love seeing from the games. If I was to suggest a new story for this, I would love to see either a sequel to this book with references to The Silk Road , or maybe a story that is based in a time of war such as WWII due to the amount of history and stories that have come from those periods that could be adapted for an adventure story. Assassin’s Creed: The Silk Road is available in physical format online for anyone to purchase. I made my purchase via Amazon, and we will share an affiliate link at the bottom of this article if you would like to purchase a copy for yourself. While the book is in French only, I would still suggest this book to anyone that wants a new avenue for the AC series and maybe one day we will see an English option from Hatchette Heroes. We would like to say a big thank you to Mathieu for joining us for this interview! Amazon Affiliate Link comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Mike Smith is a collector of all things Assassin's Creed and a major supporter of transmedia who joined TOWCB as a writer from 2021 - 2024 With nearly a full library of Assassin's Creed media, his work explored the universe in order of Genetic Memory. Notably, his Assassin's Creed Timeline became an essential tool for fans of the franchise looking to complete their collection and consume AC media in a particular order. Michael Smith

TOWCB Interview with AC: The Golden City Author Jaleigh Johnson Interview Share 30 Apr 2023 Written By: Edited By: Michael Smith Colum Blackett Back To Database Banner by Thea Marie Rivedal (Moonchildgecko) from TOWCB Art Team. Author photo credit - Kobey Felter Character photo credit - Aaron Young (Falconswift87) from TOWCB Photo Team Back in January I was provided an early access review copy for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed book The Golden City by author Jaleigh Johnson and publisher Aconyte Books. It was a unique story that tells a tale about a young Assassin Apprentice Hytham and his mentor Basim Ibn Ishaq on a mission in Constantinople to protect the young Prince Leo VI from his paranoid father Basil I. The review is available here , but a light spoiler warning is listed with the article. I reached out to author Jaleigh Johnson via her personal website for an interview and thanks to assistance from Aconyte Books I was able to have the following questions communicated to Jaleigh and with approval from Ubisoft, answered for this written interview. The contents of this interview have not been edited in any form to keep accuracy and transparency. Which game was your introduction into Assassin’s Creed? Was there a particular scene or character that grabbed your interest the most? I actually had this conversation with my husband while I was writing the book, because I remember my introduction to the game was watching him play it, and we were both trying to remember which game it was. I believe it was the very first game, and I remember asking him all kinds of questions about what he was doing. Why are you assassinating all these people? Why are you spending so much time climbing that building? Why did you then just jump off the building and land in a pile of straw? And my husband’s response was always something along the lines of, “You just have to watch or play it yourself.” But I remember the moment when the game switched to the present day and introduced the concept of the animus. That was the moment I really got intrigued with the game and the story, and I knew I had to try it myself. That was the beginning of the path that led to this point. Having worked with Aconyte before on Marvel’s Xavier Institute series, how are you enjoying writing for these large franchises? Are there challenges writing historical fiction compared to superhero driven stories? The large franchises are a huge amount of fun to write and special because I get to leave my own mark on something that’s been important to me, but there’s also this massive sense of responsibility and the desire to do justice to the stories and the characters and contribute something that builds on everything that’s come before. The challenge with writing historical fiction for AC in particular is to craft a story that fits with history but also melds seamlessly with the game lore and the characters you’re writing about, so in that way it takes much more time to write than the superhero driven stories because of the amount of research. But with the superhero stories, you also have this rich and deep history of the comics, so there’s always going to be a lot of time and work involved. Fortunately, I love to do research, so that’s been a fun part of the process as well. Your new book, The Golden City follows Hytham and Basim from Assassin’s Creed Valhalla in an earlier timeline than the game’s main story. What kind of process do you go through to do a “prequel” of sorts for a character’s personal history? In the beginning, it was reacquainting myself with everything that was known about Hytham and Basim from the events of Valhalla – re-watching all the cutscenes in the game that involve them, things like that – to get a sense of who they are at that point in their lives and asking myself how they might have gotten to that point and how their relationship might have evolved. Later, I was also given information about Basim’s journey in Assassin’s Creed Mirage, and it then became a matter of bridging the gap for him between Mirage and Valhalla. A prequel and sequel of sorts, for Basim, which sounds particularly confusing since Mirage hasn’t been released yet. It was definitely an interesting challenge! Basim Ibn Ishaq (photo by @Falconswift87) On a similar note to the setting of Constantinople, what kind of research did you do to prepare for this new story? Being a fan of historical books, were there any titles in particular that you read about the period of Basil I and Leo VI? Researching for this project was wild because one day, I’d be reading books like Herrin’s Byzantium or Bury’s History of the Eastern Roman Empire , among others, and then the next I’d be digging into AC lore or cutscenes that reference Constantinople to get a sense of the city as it’s presented in the game. They were both fascinating perspectives, and I admit, I loved getting to play video games and have it count as actual research, heh. Your story, for me personally, speaks to a sense of fatherhood in a character that cannot have a family, something that hasn’t been discussed much by the Assassins Brotherhood in the past. What was your drive to explore this concept? You know, one of the first things I thought about Hytham in Valhalla was that he was someone who should have a family, somehow who would make a good father. And then I remembered, that’s not the path of these characters, and it made me wonder how Hytham felt about that. Did he dwell on it at all? Was it something he mourned? Or was it a relief? Over the last several years, I’ve also watched a lot of my friends become fathers, and I’ve seen the way it changes them, but I’ve also witnessed how their personalities have shaped the type of father they are. I look at them and think, yes, you’ve got this, this is what you’re meant to do. I liked the idea of exposing Hytham to that role and seeing how he would handle it, this glimpse into a world that was not his path. How would his strengths and weaknesses show in this role? I loved exploring the answers to all those questions. Hytham (photo by @Falconswift87) Additionally, the relationship between Hytham and Basim is explored more in your book than what we saw in AC Valhalla. Were there any ideas that you had from the Valhalla story that you wanted to expand on in your book? I always wanted to know how the relationship between Hytham and Basim became what it is. In Valhalla, I got the sense that Hytham had a great deal of respect for Basim and loyalty to him, even when he doesn’t agree with Basim or his methods. I wondered how that bond developed between the two men, especially when you consider Basim’s secretive nature and his skill at manipulation. How does a man like that earn the loyalty of someone like Hytham, who is a much more open character? That was the place I started from in developing their story. I myself enjoyed the stand-alone nature of the book on a character, Hytham, that is becoming an anchor for the AC Valhalla storyline. Would you like to write about him again in the future, if so what kind of story would you like to tell about his life? I love Hytham, and I think he’s a fascinating character, so I’d always welcome the opportunity to return to his story. I think if I did, I would love to explore his early life and his recruitment by the Hidden Ones. I’d love to see the forces that shaped who he is and made him the man you see in Valhalla. There is definitely a passion that is growing with the works of the various authors that Aconyte and Ubisoft have chosen for the Assassin’s Creed series of late. It is nice to learn how authors like Jaleigh process concepts and research for such a project. With additional titles being announced with growing frequency, I am looking forward to seeing more content in the transmedia line and having a chance like this to interact with the scribes of these fantastic stories. Assassin’s Creed: The Golden City will be available on digital platforms globally and in paperback format in the US on May 2, 2023, followed by a physical release in the UK on June 22, 2023. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Mike Smith is a collector of all things Assassin's Creed and a major supporter of transmedia who joined TOWCB as a writer from 2021 - 2024 With nearly a full library of Assassin's Creed media, his work explored the universe in order of Genetic Memory. Notably, his Assassin's Creed Timeline became an essential tool for fans of the franchise looking to complete their collection and consume AC media in a particular order. Michael Smith