Franchises tend to be stagnant when it comes to every aspect of a video game. Assassin's Creed (AC) has been known to do it, yet players still get their copies and play. The only major things that change, aside from each title's gimmick, are the storylines, which is the purpose of the franchise in the first place so we can't blame them for it.
According to Game Rant, Serge Hascoet - Ubisoft CCO, has confirmed that all games going forward will be less scripted. Assassin's Creed will pioneer the change in philosophy. After it switched formats in Brotherhood, the game series have been losing momentum. This is mainly due to diminishing fan interest and inconsistent quality between the titles.
So, in a quest to make the fans like the game again, Ubisoft has now adopted a new philosophy when it comes to game design. They will now travel to the path of a less scripted approach for all upcoming games which leave the company no choice but to put the next Assassin's Creed title first in line.
What are the changes then?
It is confirmed that Ubisoft will be focusing more on freedom of choice for its upcoming games as opposed to their tradition of a narrative path based games. By doing this, players will have more interaction in the game world, which ultimately have them feel that the game is less scripted.
So far, Far Cry Primal and Watch Dogs 2 make good examples for the new philosophy to follow, the said games let the players decide to roam around or go back to the story. But this isn't the said new philosophy yet, according to Serge Hascoet's statement, the first game to fully acquire the new philosophy would be the next AC title.
If you're curious on the new game design philosophy Ubisoft is talking about, the best game to play as of this writing is Watch Dogs 2. As stated earlier, this is one of the games that would make great basis for the new philosophy. The game is crammed with awesome AI and at the same time lets you explore the world and cater to side contents. If you decide to go back to the main story, then you can do so freely.
Overused open world hindrances such as 'blanketing' unexplored territories are also removed. It is also reported that the upcoming Ghost Recon Wildlands will adopt this style in terms of in-game map.
It's about time they change Philosophy, Assassin's Creed has been running for so long that the recent games tend to look 'recycled' from the previous ones. If I were Ubisoft, I'd adapt Sid Meiers' 33/33/33 philosophy.
When is the next Assassin's Creed game coming out?
Hascoet also expressed that the upcoming Assassin's Creed game will be taking a much more calculated approach when it comes to development. A 2017 release date is currently just tagged as 'plausible' rather than a confirmed launch window so expect it to be delayed further into 2018. Both Ubisoft CEO and VP also said that they are open to a later launch date if needed.
