SPONSORED: Assassin's Creed Revelations developer Q&A

**Promotional Feature**

Members of the Assassin's Creed Revelations development team answer questions about their upcoming game.

Assassins versus the Templars is always a key element of the game, how is each faction lining up during the time of Revelations?

Darby McDevitt, Scriptwriter: In Revelations – as in most stories in the Assassin’s Creed universe – the Assassins are at war with the Templars in an ideological battle that often spills into the real world. In revelations this is not a battle between good versus evil, but rather a fight between those who prefer an open, “ground up” approach to human liberty – the Assassins – and those who believe that humanity is too capricious to be truly free, and must be guided by a strong and benevolent oligarchy – The Templars.

What will become the key battleground between the Assassins and Templars in Revelations?

DM: Constantinople is the main location in Assassin’s Creed Revelations. Among the many reasons we chose this location, the first and simplest among them being that we wanted to explore the city’s incredible beauty and rich history. Known variously over the years as Byzantium, Nova Roma, Constantinople, Tsarigrad, and Istanbul, few major cities have changed hands more frequently and with such drama as this magnificent outpost on the edge of the Bosphorus.

Secondly, we saw in Constantinople an excellent opportunity to introduce players to the beginnings of the golden age of the Ottoman Empire, an era familiar to many in name only, but whose impacts on world history can still be felt to this day.

And lastly, as a metaphor for the “meeting” of our two assassins, there is no better city than Constantinople. Sometimes called “the crossroads of the world”, it was one of the most diverse cities of the era – a nexus where Europe meets Asia, and where an incredible mix of Turks, Greeks, Arabs, Italians, Jews and Romani (to name a few) lived, worked, and worshipped. Similarly, Constantinople serves as the crossroads for our assassins – where east becomes west, where fortunes reverse, and where new connections are made.

Will we see any favourite Assassin characters return in Revelations?

Alex Amancio, Creative Director: The Italian cast, aside from Ezio, will not make an appearance in Assassin’s Creed Revelations as the action takes place in settings far away from Italy, notably Constantinople. But Altaïr, anyone?

Which Templars will we see plotting to destroy the Assassins? Who's your principal enemy in Revelations?

DM: For Revelations, we have decided to take a more mysterious and subtle approach to our “villains”. Ezio knows right away who his enemies are – a faction of Byzantine Templars left over from the days of Constantine XI – but he is not immediately sure who is leading them. So, unlike previous AC games, Revelations unfolds like a good detective novel, with many twists and turns in its [ahem] ‘byzantine’ plot.

The series has always been sprinkled with some authentic characters from history, who will you encounter this time? What role will they play?

DM: Multiple historical figurines will be encountered by Ezio. Hanging over Ezio’s storyline like a dark thundercloud is the heated Ottoman war for succession to the throne. The ailing, but still canny Sultan Bayezid II has already named his son Ahmet as his rightful heir. But Ahmet’s ambitious brother Selim has raised an army in a bid to take the throne for himself. This fight between father and son affects the decisions of every major player in our story. Everyone, as they say, has a horse in this race.

Other minor details will adorn the backdrop: A few years earlier, Constantinople suffered through a devastating earthquake, from which the city is still recovering. And we will catch glimpses of several historical events that happened on the margins of the Ottoman’s lands, hearing from those who benefited from the spread of the Empire, and those who suffered.

How will the more strategic Assassins versus Templars side of the game work - have you evolved the Borgia Towers mechanic?

AA: The Assassin’s Dens is a feature built from the ground up for Assassin’s Creed Revelations, where you gain (and lose) control of Constantinople’s districts. It best represents the battle that is fought in the streets between the Assassins and the Templars. It’s very organic, so a district that is controlled by the assassins can be attacked by the Templars and then taken back and vice-versa.

Will Revelations also conclude the Assassins versus Templars struggle or will this go forward into new chapters of the game?

AA: The Assassins versus Templars plot is the cornerstone of the Assassin’s Creed universe and will remain so going forward. We will always look for ways to complicate this basic narrative element, but it will remain the central focus of all Assassins Creed titles.

Oct 11, 2011