Assassin's Creed series
Contents
Brief
Short description of the game.
Main Gameplay Design Patterns
Gameplay
Eagle Vision
Notoriety rating
Minimap, including distance left
The gameplay is explained as reliving memories, but with the abilities to choose what to do. Failures in the game are explained as desynchronization between what the player tries do to and what Ezio actually did. This concept of desynchronization is also used to bound the player deigetically in what is possible to do and not, letting the gameplay be limited so it follows the intended narration as well as forcing players to behave according to Ezio's personality, e.g. not kill innocent (killing one warns the player and killing three causes desynchronization).
Goal Structures
Stealth is for most part of the game a Continuous Goal.
All quests can be accepted or declined.
Codex pages
Completed goals are cataloged in a DNA structure, with the main goals sorted as part of different Sequences of the game narration. Additional, options goals are stored in other categorizes with some classified as Secondary Memories.
The game also keep track of Gameplay Statistics in five categories: Overall, Fight, Navigation, Locked, Social.
Completion of goals are mapped to receiving Achievements.
Non-Player Characters
Historical figures such as Leonardo da Vinci
Due to the story, guards are a permanent types of Enemies in the game. However, they do not attack as soon as they notice you due the possibility of avoiding to draw attention to oneself in various ways. How suspicious guards are of Ezio is shown both by Status Indicators but of utterances they make.
Money can also be acquired by stealing from NPCs on bumping into, but this of course attracts attention.
Those NPCs that can be interacted with in other ways than opponent in battle or victims of theft have a glow, a Non-Diegetic Element.
Doctors
Art Merchant
Fast Travel Agents?
Blacksmiths
Ezio can draw attention to him by failing to Act According to Social Norms, e.g. starting to climb walls and banners.
Attention can be avoided by Blending with NPCs, which is done by simply moving as a group of them do or sitting on benches together with them. This is indicated with a glow, a Non-Diegetic Element when done successfully.
Officials
Mercenaries, Thieves, and Courtesans can be hired as Allies to help Ezio either to avoid detection by distracting guards or to support him in battle.
Game World
All known places in the game world where services, treasures or new quest are available can be see on the game map. By selecting any of these are being current targets, players can guide themselves there through how the mini map shows which direction Ezio need to travel in to get there.
Assassin's Creed 2 makes use of Deigetically Outstanding Features in the form of bird droppings to convey where the Ezio can make Leaps of Faith actions, long falls that safely end in carts filled with hay or leaves (note that these are not examples of the Leap of Faith pattern since players know beforehand that they are safe to do).
Another example of Deigetically Outstanding Features are the viewpoints which are located on many of the tallest buildings in the game world. These, which are indicated by Eagles either perching on the spot or circling above them, allow the player to update the game map with new marker. Since there is a certain challenge to reach them, and the game keeps track of how many one has found, the unlocking of marker that help Navigation is also Optional Goals.
Treasure chests provide an additional way to get money, and the number of treasures found are kept track of as a Gameplay Statistic.
Areas not yet accessible are shown with a slight glimmer, and these act as Invisible Walls but are given an deigetic explanation through missing information in the database which cause desynchronization.
Posters
Other Noteworthy Aspects
Developer
Publisher
References
Other Noteworthy Aspects
Developer
Publisher
References
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References to external sources that describe the game, e.g. Wikipedia entries.
Contributions
Place to acknowledge people that have provided examples and insights but not directly worked on the description.
