Press X to doubt – In the wake of numerous controversies related to the game’s historical accuracy, Assassin’s Creed Shadows Lead Producer Karl Onnée has claimed that one of the game’s main priorities is to make sure it shows proper “respect” to Japanese culture.
Onnée put forth this assertion while speaking to Gameindustry.biz‘s Christopher Dring regarding the development process behind Ubisoft’s next Assassin’s Creed entry.
Speaking to the game’s supposed dedication to properly representing its historical setting, the producer asserted, “We are trying to create a game that is as authentic as possible. It’s something we take pride in.”
“And that is also a very long process,” he added. “When we build a Japanese house from feudal Japan, it is very different from, say, a French medieval house or an English one. So you have to learn as artists where things go inside a feudal Japanese house… maybe the food doesn’t go there. You have to get everything you need to know and learn it. And that process is long.”
To this end, Onnée turned to his team’s research process, therein noting that one of the most important aspects to their work was apparently making physical visits to Japan proper.
“It’s not feudal Japan, obviously, but it is good to go on site, because it is only then that we realise it is very different to what we think it is,” said the producer. “It is very interesting, because when the team went there, one of the things that jumped out was the forests and how they are. We had made some forests based on the Greece landscape [for Odyssey], but when we went, we noticed it was very different to what we’d done, and we had to change it. You don’t necessarily find that stuff out when doing historical research.”
From there, the producer was then pressed by his host as to how the team was approaching the specific development of a title set in a nation not their own (Ubisoft is a French company, with their headquarters currently residing in Montreuil, Paris), to which he affirmed, “Obviously when we make a game, we are trying to appeal to a global audience.”
“Since we are making a game in Japan, we do hope to appeal to more Japanese players,” posited Onnée. “So, it is very important that we try to be as authentic as possible. We come from a humble position of we don’t know anything and we need to learn everything from scratch. We are making sure we respect things, because that is something very important to Japanese people, as it is in many other countries. When you come in, you don’t want to come in as if you know everything. We want to build something that when they see and play it, they will recognise their own country.”
As referenced above, Onnée’s claim of ‘authenticity’ regarding Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a questionable assertion at best and and an outright lie at worst, as the game has been swamped in controversy regarding its approach to Feudal Japanese history ever since its first trailer.
Such controversies have included such ahistorical developments as the game’s featuring of the historical Yasuke as a full-blown Samurai rather than a retainer, its applying of Chinese architecture to Japanese buildings, the (unauthorized) depiction of a modern day historical re-enactment group’s personal flag as belonging to a historical military unit, and allowing the aforementioned Yasuke to engage in same-sex relationships despite no evidence existing to suggest he ever held such romantic inclinations.
Further, it should be noted that Onnée’s claim stands counter to Ubisoft’s previous admission that while ““We have put significant effort into ensuring an immersive and respectful representation of Feudal Japan,” their “intention has never been to present any of our Assassin’s Creed games, including Assassin’s Creed Shadows, as factual representations of history, or historical characters.”
“Instead, we aim to spark curiosity and encourage players to explore and learn more about the historical settings we get inspired by,” the dev explained in response to Japanese outcry against the game’s narrative and aesthetics. “Assassin’s Creed Shadows is first and foremost, designed to be an entertaining video game that tells a compelling, historical fiction set in Feudal Japan. Our team extensively collaborated with external consultants, historians, researchers, and internal teams at Ubisoft Japan to inform our creative choices. Despite these sustained efforts, we acknowledge that some elements in our promotional materials have caused concern within the Japanese community. For this, we sincerely apologize.””
Given this documented history of playing fast and loose with their historical inspirations, one wonders just how many players will end up unabashedly and uncritically buying Onnée’s claims.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows is currently set for a November 15th release date.
