We hosted an Ask Me Anything on Reddit with the Creative Director of Assassin's Creed® Odyssey Jonathan Dumont. Here are some of his answers about what went into recreating ancient Greece and the new exciting gameplay elements!
Artschoolreject15: What source material did you look at when creating the game environment? Obviously some of the historical stuff is common knowledge, but what did you do in attempt to recreate the culture, formation of cities, etc?
Jonathan Dumont: We visited Greece to see the country first-hand, understand the topography and get a feel for the culture. We studied up on archaeological research and read ancient and contemporary authors of the classical period. We also hired on a historical specialist of ancient Greece, Stéphanie-Anne Ruatta, who has been instrumental in helping us recreate ancient Greece, and who we run our decisions past to make sure they are as historically accurate as possible.
Sejisoylam: Hi Jonathan! Thanks for coming to answer questions today. I've been a big fan of the franchise for some time, and have always particularly enjoyed how the Assassin's Creed universe turns historical events and settings we think we know into behind-the-scenes struggles between Assassins and Templars.
I was a bit worried after watching the E3 gameplay trailer for Assassin's Creed Odyssey, as I didn't understand how this game could have any relation to the Assassin's Creed universe when the events seem to take place before the Assassins' inception in Origins. Can you speak to how Odyssey will fit into the universe as an Assassin's Creed game, as opposed to just a quasi-RPG with parkour movements in an historical setting?
Jonathan Dumont: Great question. We are absolutely an AC game. AC games are about experiencing a key moment in history, a place and time that were host to major historical events. In Assassin's Creed Odyssey players will visit ancient Greece during the Peloponnesian War, meeting historical characters like Sokrates and Hippocrates.
With our new dialogue system, players will be able to truly interact with history, which is something we're really excited about. So get ready to debate with Socrates! From a lore perspective, we wanted to tell the story of how First Civ artifacts created what would become the Templars vs Assassins story, which took place long before the Brotherhood. Also, Assassin's Creed Odyssey is a continuation of the modern day story from Layla, so players will pick-up right after Assassin's Creed Origins.
Rubensaurus: Many people are asking for reversible covers. Can this be done to PS4 game icons as well? And will there be avatars of Alexios and Kassandra available at or after the launch of the game?
Jonathan Dumont: It's like you read our minds! We were hoping to have it ready to show it today, but it still needs a little fine tuning. So we will share it soon! All physical copies of Assassin's Creed Odyssey will have reversible covers, featuring Alexios on one side and Kassandra on the other.
Protectbabysif: Hi Jonathan! Welcome to /r/assassinscreed. It looks like you guys have made the decision to make the modern day storyline in Assassin's Creed Odyssey optional to players. Can you possibly expand a little more on that? Many worry that by making the modern day optional, it will be skippable content that won't do much to move the storyline forward in a meaningful way.
Jonathan Dumont: Thanks for asking – glad to clear this up! Modern day is not optional. Everyone will experience modern day in their playthroughs and because of the narrative choices players can make in the game, there will be opportunities to experience more present day for players who want to.
Crazybeibifeit: Hi Jonathan! For us who prefer a more traditional and "realistic" Assassin's Creed experience, is it possible to avoid magical powers and NOT send enemies flying the distance of a football field when kicking them?
Jonathan Dumont: Since you select the abilities you want to use, you can adapt your playstyle to suit your level of realism. You can be a pretty epic over-the-top warrior or a down-to-earth Assassin if you wish. We have showcased in our material so far more spectacular abilities, but there are some more subtle ones too.
Joostcr: Can we use shields? The shield was the single most important part of equipment for a Spartan warrior. It feels silly to not be able to use one in a game about a Spartan (even if you are an outcast). Not to mention it looks cool IMO. Will social stealth and in-depth-parkour ever return to the franchise? I feel these were the features that kick-started the popularity of AC, so I find it unfortunate to see them neglected.
Jonathan Dumont: Yes, Spartans did use shields, but our hero is a mercenary, not a Spartan soldier. Our gameplay is much more versatile than that of Assassin's Creed Origins, and a shield was not suited to it, so we replaced shields with dodging, rolling, and parrying mechanics.
The parry mechanics give a bit more feel of old-school AC fight of counter-attack, while still retaining fight mechanics of Assassin's Creed Origins. I can't speak for the future of the franchise for social stealth and parkour.
Manae: Can you pet the dogs (and/or other animals?)
Jonathan Dumont: You can pet and tame many animals. But there are no cats (only big cats ;)).
We hope you're as excited as we are to befriend animals in Assassin's Creed Odyssey! Thank you again to the Reddit community for all of their great questions.
You can find more of Jonathan Dumont's answers in the Reddit AMA thread or follow us on Twitter for more highlights.
