Assassin's Creed III has caught a bit of flack for its focus on the American Revolution, but in a recent interview with Game Informer, writers Corey May and Matt Turner delved into the rationale behind the decision, explaining some of the unique opportunities the setting provides.
In essence, Turner says the reasoning is no different from the other eras the franchise has focused on: there's an allure to peeling back and the myths and legends to uncover the truth behind a well known slice of history.
"It's such a widely taught history that people have a certain notion of it, and it's fun to go in there and try and find the little facts that people don't know as much."
And no figure in the Revolution has been quite become quite as legendary as George Washington.
"My perpection was that he was almost undefeated," Turner says. "He just went in there and kicked ass. When I was diving into it, he lost a lot and he made a lot of big mistakes. His actual strength was being able to motivate people and inspire troops and keep the fight going and surviving to fight another day. That's what really made him special as a commander in the military. It wasn't so much that he was a tactial genius or anything."
Paul Revere's famous midnight ride will also be making an appearance in the game, though it may be quite a bit different than the way you learned it in grade school.
"Paul Revere was not the only person to ride to warn the people the night before the battle," May explains. There were actually several people that were sent out. He didn't even make it all the way to Concord. He was captured on the way from Lexington to Concord. What happened is several years later they were writing a song and his named rhymed. His last named rhymed with the previous voice, and so he became the face of the midnight ride."
What's more, Turner adds, none of the riders would have shouted the oft-repeated phrase, "The British are coming." The colonists of the day would have made no distinction between the British and themselves, so the message probably referred to the incoming army as "regulars." Given that support for independence was hardly unaniumous, it's unlikely anyone would have shouted anything. Instead the riders would have stopped at houses of known Patriots, and delivered the news rather quietly.
By focusing on these overlooked aspects of history, the team hopes to ensure that the game's storyline offers a balanced and accurate depiction of the era. Well, accurate up to the point the Assassins come in, but you get the picture.
"We're not promoting any sort of political agenda," May says. "We literally want to say, 'These are the people, here's what they did. You, as an individual, can make a decision as to whether or not they were good or bad.'"
Assassin's Creed III is out October 30 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
