Assassin’s Creed II: progression & immersion

Ubisoft nous dévoile en anglais la progression du héros du très attendu Assassin’s Creed II, Ezio, de fils de noble habitué à la vie (et aux femmes) facile à redoutable maître assassin.

Answered by: Patrick Plourde –Lead Game Designer
Immersion is very important in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. By immersion I mean evolving in an environment the player can almost fully interact with, but also putting one’s self into the main character’s skin. So based on that, one of the main aspects we wanted to focus on in Assassin’s Creed 2 is progression.

Unlike Altair, Ezio is not an Assassin from the very beginning. He is born in a noble family and therefore a member of Florence’s high society. He’s more interested in women and having fun than in any kind of responsibility. Even when he is young, Ezio is a ‘prodigy’ – meaning that he already has the attributes of a master assassin (even when he’s young) but he will learn to develop his skills with the help of others throughout the events of the game.
Tragic events will have him change his lifestyle and will have him striving for a slow, long, but inevitable revenge. With the help of the underworld, he is going to walk down the long path to learn to embrace his destiny, that of an Assassin. Indeed, as the story goes, he is going to realise that quenching his thirst for revenge is not going to bring the ones he lost back, and he will also discover the true meaning of being an Assassin: fight for the truth and for justice against the powerful Templar order.
It will take Ezio the spawn of his life to evolve into a Master Assassin and get his revenge and unfold the conspiracy that threatens Italy. The player is going to witness a great progression from him being young noble men to a complete master assassin. As the game goes, you will follow Ezio as he first learns new running and navigation capabilities – like the leap climb – new NPC interaction moves such as blending in the crowd and hiring faction members, and also new fight moves he will be able to learn by buying training sessions in the villa’s fight ring. The economic system is actually going to play a large role in character progression. With the money you earned in the game, you will be able to buy armor and clothing upgrades – in addition to weapons and tools – that will visually reflect your progression in the game.
There is also a learning aspect to the game. Indeed, the Animus 2.0 is a real database for historical facts and will give the player many opportunities to learn about the great monuments or real historical figures he will come across during his journey through the game.