The process of creating a video game doesn’t start and end with strict development, all that code and programming that makes things work the way they should. Nor should we stay with the design and modeling of characters and textures , dubbing or motion capture. A video game begins with an idea , that of one or more people who have something to tell and, from there, it expands and grows like the branches of a tree. It is interesting, if not fascinating, to know all that process and the anecdotes that it leaves along the way and that is why we want to embark (pun intended) on that journey for what is probably one of the most anticipated games of a year as strange as It’s been 2020 : Assassin’s Creed Valhalla .
The idea
During the official presentation event of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla , many curious facts were revealed that allow us to peek into the creation and development process that gave rise to the game. The main people in charge of this installment revealed that the original idea of making an Assassin’s Creed in the Viking Age was something they had in mind for a long time (because, in their words, “Vikings are great”) and that they launched the proposal very little some time after AC Origins hit the market, beginning development while AC Odyssey was in production.
Darby McDevitt and Philippe Bergeron , Narrative Director and Level Design Producer respectively, wanted to highlight that two of the main aspects they wanted to focus on during the creation of the video game were the narrative and the naturalness and immersion of the plot in the video game world. Regarding the first point, they had to assess the construction of the story taking into account details such as that Eivor is an invader in hostile territory (so it cannot help random people) and the amount of gaps and details that we do not know of the time, which must have been filled in with fidelity and respect. For the narrative construction itself, the ancient Norse sagas have served as a source of inspiration and that is why the development of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla presents “an episodic structure”. Regarding the second aspect that we have highlighted, the team was clear that they wanted “the game to feel fresh after 70 hours”, something very difficult to achieve. To do this, they sought a better integration of the missions in the world and in the story itself, making it more natural to both accept and complete them and avoid those tedious checklists that we have seen in other installments.
They also highlighted their determination to be more selective with the content they offered , thus reducing the missions, collectibles and equippable items but improving the quality and the player’s experience with those available.
In the place of the events
With these clear concepts, it was time for the inspiration trip , a visit to Norway and England to see first-hand some of the most iconic places of these two kingdoms that can be explored in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and its atmosphere in order to transfer an experience very close to reality.
In the north (Norway and Denmark) they not only recognized the shapes and textures of the landscape, but also came closer to the Viking culture in a unique way thanks to the communities and museums that recreate what life was like at that time with great historical fidelity . Bows were fired, axes were wielded, chain mail was dressed, instruments of the time were played, looms were used and it was celebrated in the great hall, with the horns raised, as if Odin himself were paying them a visit. Of course, it was also sailed (with work as a rower included) in an authentic longship built as at the time . In England they rediscovered the wild beauty and greenery of the islands, as well as the magical essence and past echoes that places like Stonehenge or Hadrian’s wall give off. According to the team, this journey of inspiration allowed them to offer a much more real experience in the game by taking elements that they saw in situ and, in turn, moving away from the clichés and stereotypes that still exist today about the Vikings to contribute a look much more complex to the looters of the north.
The historical element
While it is true that Assassin’s Creed is still an adventure saga that plays with certain elements of science fiction, the careful historical recreation and the changes of time with each installment have become its hallmark and one of the Features most loved by fans.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is no exception and this was assured by Thierry Noël, a historian who has been part of the Research Unit for this title. Its function was to “nurture the creativity of the developers” and “provide answers” to any questions that might arise during the creative process, but it has also had “a large part of reconstruction. The Viking Age is not the most documented that is said and many of the chronicles and texts associated with these years were written by the victims of Viking looting, so they cannot be considered very objective … Thierry recognizes that the historical work of AC Valhalla “has been a challenge” due to the scarce documentation and that they have had to “turn to experts, historians, archaeologists …” .
But it does not end there, because we must not forget that we are talking about a game and not a documentary . What does this mean? Well, they had to be very clear about their objectives and priorities. In Thierry’s words: “It has to be fun and exciting but we know that for Assassin’s Creed it is very important to have a historical base.” This difficult balance seems to have been achieved and, in fact, the historian considers that AC Valhalla has “75% history and 25% creativity” ( roughly speaking , to say the least).
It is precisely this joint work between creatives and historians and the respect that the saga has for historical events that explains one of the strengths of any Assassin’s Creed . In the case of AC Valhalla , following in the footsteps of Eivor will not only lead us to fierce pitched battles from which we will only get out alive wielding the ax, but it will also show us that the fearsome Vikings did other things than kill and had their little hearts . “They had their dreams, their families…” says Thierry, perhaps thinking about how the inherent complexity of any culture is sometimes clouded by stereotypes and black legends.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has an extra advantage that has either not been seen or was barely seen in previous titles: multiculturalism . In other installments, the differences between factions or societies were hardly relevant and went very unnoticed by the player, but in this case, the differences are undeniable. The Vikings have nothing to do with the Christian Anglo-Saxons or the Bretons who long for the times of Rome on the islands. It can be seen in the religion, in the clothes, in the constructions… AC Valhalla offers the opportunity to “discover the culture of the Anglo-Saxons and of all the levels on which they were added (Celts, Romans…), as well as the differences between them ” . It is more than likely that this experience will only grow as the game’s Season Pass contains two expansions that will take us to Ireland and Frankia.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla puts us in the tough skin of a Viking willing to do anything to achieve glory and win the favor of the gods, but also introduces us “not only in Viking culture, but in much of the world of the time.”
