The latest sequel to the Assassin’s Creed series had to live up to the pressure of being the most important episode so far. The production immerses players into the events that eventually led to the creation of this order. However, the team behind the game needed professional assistance to recreate the historical birthplace of this league of assassins, namely the Ancient Egypt.
Professor Evelyne Ferron Worked with Ubisoft Four Years for Assassin’s Creed: Origins
Ubisoft Montreal has touched popular cultures in its previous Assassin’s Creed games such as the American and French Revolutions and the Italian Renaissance. These eras were all pillars of today’s society. Therefore, it was easy for the team to find materials and recreate a fine virtual version of these times.
However, the ancient Egypt was quite a challenge for them especially the period that culminated with the fall of the Ptolemaic empire. This is why they turned to Evelyne Ferron for aid.
Ferron is an ancient history professor at University Sherbrooke and College Merici in Quebec. Together with other versed specialists, she formed the team of historians and Egyptologists that guided Ubisoft into building a believable world that existed 2,000 years ago.
Ferron worked four years with Ubisoft closely. She taught designers and developers Egyptian history and the Greco-Roman world, especially during Cleopatra’s reign.
Among Challenges of Recreating the Ancient Egypt Was to Avoid False Constructs of Old Hollywood that Went Down in Public Culture
Thanks to her input, Ubisoft managed to stay true to this period’s climate, environment, fauna, flora, buildings, roads, but also occupations such as farming, trade, and others. The job did have its perks. Ferron got to visit and investigate the ancient Greek city of Pergamon. This settlement was built according to the fashion of Alexandria.
“I had to work in a way I had never worked before. Just to recreate Alexandria, the kind of research you have to do is not the kind I would normally do.”
Nonetheless, the most complex challenge was to paint a comprehensive image of that era’s political theater. The main character in Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Bayek, is witnessing the presence of Cleopatra, her brother and adversary Ptolemy XIII, and Julius Caesar.
Therefore, in their efforts to stay true to this ancient era, the company had to go against the representation the old Hollywood created for this period. While Elizabeth Taylor’s interpretation of a seductive Cleopatra is a classic, the real character was known as an implacable politician. Ubisoft had to leave behind other mishaps with which the movie industry imbued public culture.
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