Assassin's Creed info from Dutch OPS2

[yankee lion]

"He's like a bird of prey. We took that as a reference for all his moves, looks and attitudes."

"Game set between July and September of 1191... Three major cities will all be completely open to the player, each with it's own distinctive missions and atmosphere."

All the screens are from one of the cities called Acre, it's a oceanside city. There is a pic of the entire city in the magazine and it's awsome looking.

"In between each of the major cities lay two sprawling countrysides - A playground for horseback chases, fights with brigands, and even some of the primary assassinations."

"To preserve the idea of true multiple days of travel between diffferent cities, every major area will be separated by a fade out that takes you to the next area."

"Joining cravans will allow players to traverse distance between two places instantaniously, rather than making the trip manually."

"Beyond the major enviroments players will also visit both the cold and mountainous Assassin fortress of Masyaf, as well as the forested region that is the site for the climactic historical conflict that was the Battle of Arsuf."

Main characters name is Altair (pronounced al-tie-ear),an apprentice Assasin at the historic castle of Masyaf.

Altair translates as "eagle" from Arabic.

"thanks to the bank of over 4,000 animations that will govern his interaction with the world. Prince of Persia had 800 animations in comparison"

They discuss how the team wants people to have a different idea of what an Assasin is compared to modern day belief, they want to set the record straight.

"Even the way he kills is strange, each of his victims he treats with the utmost respect."

"Decades of religious war have left whole cities as melting pots of different peoples and faiths. Under the tutelage of the Assassin chief Sinan, Altair is tasked with helping to bring an end to the Crusade with as little loss of innocent life as possible."

"You're not just out killing people. You're solving a mystery."

"While every assassination will be unique in place, style, and challenge ther are three steps to each mission that will remain the same. First, players must locate the target in one of the sprawling cities or wilderness areas of the open game world... getting close will often necessitate carefully navigationg through hordes of city populace, or alternatley scaling buildings and slipping from roof to roof to reach the enemy."

"The second step is the leathal attack, players will reconnoiter the area around a target and discover any number of paths to get close, neutralize any protection, and finally kill the enemy in person."

"The moment of the kill is being meticulously designed to offer a wealth of emotional experiences for players in the brief seconds that it will lasts. Time will slow, and the action will zoom close, Excitement mixes with the gravity and horror of taking a human life, as you'll often bear witness to the fear and pain etched on the victims face."

"Finally every major assassination will have the dying man relay a piece of information to Altair about the larger conspiracy that is at the true heart of the game, pushing the story foward with the last words of the dying man."

"Altair will always try to make a point of offering respect and honor to him (as the enemy dies)"

"our reference (for the above ^) was when the German kill the American in Saving Private Ryan with the knife and he say's "shhh.. shhh" There is a moment between two human beings."

"When the deed is done the third act of a misssion is the escape, which can involve any combination of combat with guards, acrobatic roof running, or finding a way to hide or blend in with the surroundings and slip away, depending on the players preference"

"The full arc of once assassination can take anywhere from 10 minutes to a full hour, entirely based on players choices and decisions"

"The Scimitar game engine allowed us to have over 60 NPCs onscreen, each with individual AI and behaviours"

"Every NPC has a wealth of needs, each with a relative value. High social need might send a person to find someone to talk with. NPCs can develop thirst or hunger, and be drawn to a market fruit stand or fountain. Those that desire rest might look for a bench. Those who want entertainment might seek out a streetside piper, a juggler, or even an afternoon hangout at the town square"

"Finally some NPCs will be driven by a certain duty like a patrol, the protection of another NPC, or other set tasks."

"As you move among the tightly packed clusters of people, a pushing and balancing feature dictates both physics and the need for civil conduct with others. In other words, every NPC carries weight and force. Just as you wouldn't be able to run to the front of the stage at a musical concert, in the game the crowd will block your way. Run full tilt into a very large fellow, and you might knock him off his balance, but you will almost certainly be thrown to the ground as well."

"Beyond physical reaction from such a man as you might in real life, he may very well be angry or even violent. Meanwhile other passerby will stop and react, some will point and stare at your socially abnormal behaviour, others might join in the fight."

"Every character in the world will have multiple layers of tolerance for the actions of a player. Climb onto a roof in broad daylight on the main street and just like real life, people will pause and stare. Guards will act more forcefully and climb up after you in pursuit."

"NPC tollerence acts as a totally organic solution to the "wanted stars" dilemma of open world games."

"The only way to return tolerance to normal is to find a place to hide, enter a place of worship, assassin hideout, etc"

"Dynamic camera that alters based on player action. It will zoom in when moving slow, and out when moving fast, every behavior has a related camera, from horseback riding to climbing"

"Enviroments will also be filled with "NPC traps" as the designers called it, These are groups of like minded individuals who will act as a force to either impede you or your enemies, depending on their opinion of you."

"Beggars, prostitutes, monks and gossiping women, groups like these will all start out generally hostile to a person like the player who disrupts the natural order of the city"

"Beyond dozens of assassination missions that the players will undertake, they can also chose to attempt helping missions for the struggling populace."

"Aid the monks and the next time your being pursued they will help you hide amid their white robes, rather than breaking apart and pinpointing your location."

"Burly men might block your way to a side street if they don't know you, but split open if you aided them."

"Beggars may trip guards, citizens may even through rocks at the guards instead of you"

"There are no spinning blades or spouting flames to hinder progress in a realistic setting like this, that role is now reserved for the crowd which now doubles as camoflague."

"Assassin's creed seeks to offer the actuality of freedom, for that reason, every inch of the game world and enviromental geometry has been set up as part of a massive grid."

"Any object on this grid that sticks out more than five centimeters from its surroundings has been made interactive."

"Any ledge, rock, pole, box, window or countless other objects can all be leaped over, climbed into, or in many cases knocked over."

"levels designed so that any direction you go there will be excitement movement, also a plan that every 10 meters should offer at least once chance to interact meaningfully with the enviroment."

"The ground may demand quick dodges and blind turns into dark alleys, Players might jump between interconnected rooftops along a patchwork of thick planks. Countless paths are open to you at any step"

"Even a simple low wall offers at least two options, run forward and press the legs button and you'll hurdle (jump) the wall. Press your arms button and Altair will throw down his hands on the wall and vault (Push himself up and over) the wall."

"The head button has Altair use his mind, in some cases it'll simply let you see in first person view.

"Sometimes it'll show you where the enemy is, but it also can give you a cinimatic view of an event unfolding in front of you."

"The head button also translates what the passerby is speaking, for authantisity the people will be speaking in their native tounge like Arabic, press the head button and it'll translate to english"

"Fights with guards will mostly leave you outnumbered, observation and timing will be primary tool for victory."

"Timed guardings will leave enemy momentarily open giving you enough time to finish him off."

"Sticking to realism means that neither you nor your opponent can take massive damage before collapsing"

"An auto block feature for Altair helps to simulate the idea that when the player fails to halt an attack, he is still able to ward off the blade, but will be exausted by the clumsy manuever."

"Only those final fatal blows against Altair will actually register as full on wounds leading to a game over."

"Most enemies will fall into one of three categories. Straight up fighters will face of head to head with you. Flankers will atempt to encircle you, or suprise you by leaping from a building interior at your back."

"This AI extends beyond the traditional trigger mechanism we so often see in action game enemies."

They go on to describe that in most games enemies will just attack to either they or their enemy dies.

"While some opponents in AC might adopt this attitude, others most certainly will not, reinforcing the concept that NOT every conflict must end in death."

"If you start a fight and you kill the toughest guy in the fight and two of his friends, the others will not just stand there as if they don't know what's going on. One may drop to his knees and beg for mercy. Another may run for help around the corner and bring reinforcements back. Still another may make a break for it, scaling a nearby ladder and platforming away across the roofs."

"Yes, while most the NPCs arent as acrobatic as Altair they can still use the enviromental grid just like you."

"Progression plays out as a mild degree of leveling, which finds him ranking up through the many tiers of the Assassins clan, A process which will change both his physical appearance and his weapons."

"The entire story of Altair will be framed by a character far in the future who will be looking back on his ancestor's exploits."

"This strange process of genetic memory will play out in an important way within gameplay. As the player moves through the world of the game, new situations and places are a mystery. Confidence in the memory will be low, and thus Altair's ability to survive injuries and death will be lower. With further exploration confidence in memory will grow and so will the plausability of survival"

".. an epic story that stretches from before human history to our prestent day in a way that has us spinning with anticipation."

Info taken from members of GAF and psinext/e-mpire.