Ubisoft
Assassin’s Creed Shadows: What was it like for Ubisoft Quebec to bring feudal Japan to the franchise?
We spoke to the team at Ubisoft Quebec about what it was like to bring Japan and its protagonists, Yasuke and Naoe, to life in Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
The next title in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, is just around the corner. But what was it like for Ubisoft Quebec to work on this installment? What was it like to develop Naoe and Yasuke as protagonists? And what was it like for the studio to finally bring the Japanese experience, one of the most requested by fans, to the saga?
To learn more about the development process, we spoke with Narrative Director Brooke Davis and Art Director Thierry Dansereau, who shared their impressions of this very special release for the studio.
High expectations from the start
During the conversation, both Brooke and Thierry commented on the high expectation for the Japanese scenario, something Ubisoft Quebec was very aware of. According to Thierry, they knew it was not a common opportunity:
“We knew the expectations were high, and that’s why we decided to be ambitious. As developers, we know that opportunities like this don’t come along very often,” said Thierry. “For many of us, this was a dream come true. A lot of people at Ubisoft wanted to be part of this project.
For her part, Brooke emphasized how meaningful it was to be part of the team: “Personally, it has been a privilege to work on Shadows, immersing myself in the Japanese story and working with the story team to bring it to life. We hope we were able to give players the experience they’ve been waiting for.
The Duality of Yasuke and Naoe
Regarding the duality of the characters, a question was asked about how much work was done on Yasuke and Naoe, characters who are protagonists but very different in every way. Brooke mentioned this:
“Naoe being from Iga and Yasuke being from outside of Japan gives us different perspectives to start with,” Brooke said. “We write a lot because of their different loyalties. Yasuke’s loyalty is to Oda Nobunaga, so she sees him as an enemy. Considering the differences, we came to an interesting point of finding different situations and characters. This led us to go deeper into the story by sharing their perspectives.”
Dansereau highlighted how the choice of two protagonists allowed them to cover two key player fantasies: the shinobi and the samurai. “Having two protagonists allowed us to cover two of the strongest player fantasies: having the shinobi on one side and the samurai on the other,” he noted. Each character has different specializations and playstyles, giving players the freedom to choose their preferred archetype and intertwine their paths at certain points."
You can read our opinion of Assassin’s Creed Shadows to find out what we thought of this new adventure in feudal Japan.
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