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Would Assassin's Creed be better off without the Desmond subplot?
- Thread starter Jibbed
- Start date
Nope - the concept was sound and the conspiracy theory over-arch clearly drew in and held people, particularly in 2 when they got that element more or less pitch perfect.
Of course in the end they nuked the fridge and screwed the pooch on the over-arch but I'm confident that had the series purely launched with you as Altair killing a few obscure figures without the animus over-arch the series would not have been nearly as popular.
In a way AC and ME define this gen for me - clever setups that totally blow resolutions. You'd think it wouldn't be too hard to actually sort out your end game ahead of time (writers on TV and other episodic mediums do it all the time) with a few carefully placed trapdoors and get out of jail options depending on how the market reacts.
Of course in the end they nuked the fridge and screwed the pooch on the over-arch but I'm confident that had the series purely launched with you as Altair killing a few obscure figures without the animus over-arch the series would not have been nearly as popular.
In a way AC and ME define this gen for me - clever setups that totally blow resolutions. You'd think it wouldn't be too hard to actually sort out your end game ahead of time (writers on TV and other episodic mediums do it all the time) with a few carefully placed trapdoors and get out of jail options depending on how the market reacts.
No. The present/near-future storyline, conspiracy, end of the world stuff was the reason I got into the first game, and kept playing the series after the first was mediocre. I do think the Desmond story ended up kinda sucking, but I don't want it removed. I want it to not suck.
staticneuron
Member
I agree. My only problem was that they messed up that ending so horribly. I was kind of hoping for a modern day romp as Desmond that basically absorbed the best traits of his predecessors. But.... well we all know what happened to that storyline.
I prefer modern day or future based settings so Watch dogs has my attention more than the AC series at this point in time. I am kinda secretly hoping they bridge the two series and the reason why Aiden Pearce is fighting the system is because the CtOS is controlled by Abstergo.
What's weird is that it seems like that story arc is there to ground the player and explain how these things are supposed to happen, but it's the most ridiculous part of those stories and it would be more believable if they just follow a family of assassins through the generations? I know no one who cares about the sci fi stuff it's the historic setting that people are interested in the game.
Zen_Arcade
Banned
I've only played part of the first Assassins Creed, but the reasons I stopped were that it was too repetitive and the modern subplot totally killed the pacing of the story. People have told me that the sequels are less repetitive but I wont have any interest in the franchise again until they stop with the Animus and just let me play as an assassin. It really killed any enthusiasm I had in finishing the game.
AlejandroDaJ
Neo Member
The AC series would've been far better without Desmond. The sci fi/DNA memory storytelling method is an interesting one, but in the end it's just so bloated that it infects everything in the actual period piece sections of the game... HUD, boundaries, health, easter eggs, you name it. It had a lot of potential, but novelty alone doesn't change the fact that it made the games ponderous and creaky.
Streamlined period pieces that the devs committed to would've been far better. Or if you really want an overarching modern plot, do it the Eternal Darkness style: have a modern family member researching the actions of their ancestors.
Actually, that's a good point. If you think there was no better way to tell a period piece with a modern hook... ED:SR did it first and best.
Streamlined period pieces that the devs committed to would've been far better. Or if you really want an overarching modern plot, do it the Eternal Darkness style: have a modern family member researching the actions of their ancestors.
Actually, that's a good point. If you think there was no better way to tell a period piece with a modern hook... ED:SR did it first and best.
MoonsaultSlayer
Member
If the modern stuff wasn't there, we would never have had the amazing glyph puzzles and truth reveal in ACII. While, the modern stuff did take a bad turn, the series is still what it is because of it.
Going forward, though, I'd like to see some changes. Not sure what or how, but anything to make the modern stuff less dividing and more captivating.
Going forward, though, I'd like to see some changes. Not sure what or how, but anything to make the modern stuff less dividing and more captivating.
I always liked that stuff. Just thought he'd be the protagonist in his own modern/futuristic setting by now.
He's really the only character that has been dragged through all of these versions and he never got any due, so they basically threw him under a bus.
It's no wonder we're sick of him.
He's really the only character that has been dragged through all of these versions and he never got any due, so they basically threw him under a bus.
It's no wonder we're sick of him.
SpoonyBard
Banned
I have only played AC3, and didn't really like Desmond. Most of the stuff that was set in the future was just talking, walking around a bit, talking, and then bit of platforming and back to Animus. Totally pointless, the temple was not an interesting level for platforming and I felt this plot was lot less interesting than the main plot. But some of the levels, like the skyscraper and stadium were really good.
I got bored of the series by the end of AssCree2:2 anyway, but I don't know that I would have been interested enough in the plot to finish the first game without Desmond's section. It was handled terribly in the end, but everything in the series was so I can't blame it on the Desmond sections alone. I'm 100% of the opinion that I would be more interested in a well-executed game and story featuring the modern ties and Desmond idea than I would be in a game without it.
Me too; after liking them a lot in AC1 and 2, I was beginning to hate the Desmond sections until the Brazil one came along. It was a fun surprise to realize that I could "blend" into crowds just like Ezio could, only without an HUD to help me out, and I started hoping that the end sequence of that game would involve this somehow. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.
Projectjustice
Banned
The entire Animus sections need to be completely removed from the series. Its dumb and it interrupts the immersion of being in that time period.
Nemesis_
Member
I guess that's kind of how they made the bleeding effect work - literally for the player. You're so used to doing it with Ezio that it is second nature to Desmond, who doesn't have a HUD at all.
A nice touch I guess.