00:00One thing we really wanted to do at the start is deliver on a great player fantasy and as
00:11we started diving, we had two emerging player fantasies that were awesome, the Shinobi and
00:16the Samurai.
00:18What we didn't want is to try to dilute them into one fantasy.
00:21We really wanted to explore both sides, so that's something where we said, well, we need
00:26two characters.
00:27The setting that we had, the Izuchi-Momoyama period in feudal Japan, was in such a nuanced
00:32time, so it was really interesting to be able to work with dual protagonists and develop
00:37these two characters as individuals because we really had the opportunity to explore this
00:42era by playing off these two different perspectives.
00:46As we worked our way through it and came up with a dual protagonist, it became very clear
00:50that Naoe is the stealth character and Ieyasuke is the fight character.
00:55Speed and agility on one side, then brawn and strength on the other, they differ in
01:00every possible way we could make them differ.
01:11Our Shinobi, Naoe, is the imagined daughter of a legendary Egan Shinobi, Fujibayashi Nagato.
01:19And up until this point, she's actually been quite protected from a lot of the horrors
01:23of war that have been going on in other parts of Japan.
01:26So this is going to be her first real taste of what lies beyond, and it has a profound
01:32impact on her.
01:33I wanted to have the stealth as a core pillar in Assassin's Creed Shadows.
01:38Players will recognize the classic Assassin's Creed experience in Naoe, but we are adding
01:43a lot of things that make her super unique, so she's the best Assassin ever.
01:48We wanted Naoe to be extremely fast, efficient, acrobatic.
01:53We've worked a lot to make sure that she has the coolest, most spectacular parkour
01:58we could give her.
02:00She can squeeze in tight corners, she can go prone, meaning that the character can go
02:05underbelly and just crawl around in the dirt and disappear from view.
02:10We really wanted to leverage all the light elements that come with our new tech and use
02:16it in a core way for our Shinobi fantasy specifically.
02:20So what that means, at night, you have to read the environment and hide in the pockets
02:25of shadows that are cast naturally in the world, and that affects how NPCs can see you
02:30and if they can sense you at all.
02:36What we want the player to experience is the feeling of being the predator.
02:40So you feel like a ninja, you can break light, you can vanish into the shadows, and you're
02:45flipping on a roof with the physics base grappling you, so the stealth is more rich
02:49than ever, and you really feel that she's like a blade in the shadows.
02:57Yasuke is our first historical protagonist in Assassin's Creed.
03:02What we know about Yasuke historically is just a bit, but it was enough to get the team
03:07really excited about the opportunity to work with him as a character.
03:11He can fight his way out of anything, but he's also super smart and can think his way
03:16through things equally as well, and is going to be somebody who always has a commanding presence.
03:21So especially in combat, when we think about Yasuke, it's really about dictating how the
03:25fight will go, and to do so, we created a mechanic called the postural attack.
03:28So he can chamber an attack, and then he can launch that attack to do a massive amount
03:32of damage and take out anyone.
03:35Yasuke is very, very strong.
03:36He can barge through reinforced doors, he can lift heavy objects that Naoi can't, but
03:41that means that he's somewhat slowed down compared to Naoi.
03:46That hurts.
03:48On the ground, that's where he shines.
03:58We have two characters who have such different gameplay styles, so for every situation, every
04:03gameplay moment you're going to encounter, you really need to think through everything
04:08from these two perspectives.
04:10Blood must be paid in blood, Yasuke.
04:14We always want to respect player choice, so you can do quests with any character.
04:20So if you are Yasuke, you play with his strengths, but also with his weaknesses.
04:25Same for Naoi.
04:26Each character has their own skill trees, but also they can master their different weapons.
04:31So it's not just about stats, it's about the player competency to really understand
04:36how the different mechanics work.
04:38They have different speeds, they have different HP, they have different gear sets, so they're
04:43very unique, and they're a great balance of two player fantasies.
04:51The most exciting part of having our dual protagonists is the distinction and the fact
04:56that they don't really overlap.
04:58Narratively, they have common goals and they are aligned on what they want to do, but the
05:01way they go about it is drastically different.
05:04Sometimes playing Naoi, even if you're very good, you'll hit a wall and some enemy is
05:08going to kick your ass, and you go, you know what, let me switch.
05:12And the same is true for Yasuke, sometimes you'll get a setup, a couple of enemies are
05:15high on rooftop that you cannot quite reach, and having to go, you know what, let me switch
05:18back to Naoi.
05:20And having this push-pull that players get to experience of which character is good in
05:24what situation, it gives us lots of levers to play with and try to break the mold.
05:30I think it's the most fantastic thing we've achieved with our dual protagonists from a
05:33gameplay perspective.
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