One of the best things regarding video games is the ability to transport the player into new and exciting worlds. We get to participate in fantastical stories; like taking control of a massive halo weapon, or raiding tombs as a kick ass archeologist. Video games allow us the opportunity to be transported to worlds we could never imagine.
When it comes to ancient history, it can be tough to explore those worlds in real life. Sure, we have ancient buildings, or we can go look at objects and ancient art in museums. But outside of movies, which only shows the audience what the director wants to see, and history books, it is hard to imagine what life was like thousands of years ago. The Assassin’s Creed series has been great at transporting players to different eras of human history. It started with the first Assassin’s Creed game, taking players to the Holy Land in the 12th century during the Third Crusade. Assassin’s Creed 2, Brotherhood, and Revelations saw Ezio go from different Italian cities, to Rome, to finally Constantinople, all based around the Renaissance period. Assassin’s Creed 3 took the player to the early days of the United States, Black Flag was focused on the pirating age in the Caribbean, Unity was set in Paris during the French Revolution, and Syndicate was in London during the Industrial Revolution. That is just the main games, too. There have been numerous off-shoot games that have taken place in historical China, India, and Louisiana.
Just looking at that list, a good amount of human history has been present in Assassin’s Creed games. But one era has been requested since the very first game, and it is a prominent era: Egypt. Between the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom, and the Hellenistic Period, there is a lot of source material to bring Egypt into the series. At first, Ubisoft seemed a bit hesitant to take the series to Egypt. Creative Direct Alex Hutchinson even suggested that ancient Egypt would be an incredibly boring setting when he was promoting Assassin’s Creed 3. I’m glad Ubisoft realized how wrong this statement was.
Enter Ashraf Ismail. He has been working at Ubisoft since 2009, and had his first game director credit with Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. After Black Flag was released in 2013, he pitched Assassin’s Creed Origins, and work began in January 2014, according to his LinkedIn profile (which is still listed as a secret project). It’s fascinating that the game would be in development for almost four years, and they knew exactly what they wanted to do with the game starting in 2014.
When it comes to the Egyptian setting in Assassin’s Creed Origins, it is easy to mistake it as being set in ancient Egypt. But according to Egyptologists (archaeologists who study ancient Egypt), ancient Egypt starts around 3150 BCE, and concludes in 525 BCE, which is about 500 years prior to the events of Assassin’s Creed Origins.
This game made me realize how little I know of Egyptian history, and how I want to learn so much more. It’s easy to see the pyramids and think this game is set way in the past. And while it is true that it is about 2050 years in the past, that’s minuscule on the entire timeline of human history. Just the period considered ancient Egypt is roughly the same amount of time.
The Assassin’s Creed games have always done a great job of building realistic worlds from different parts of history, but there is something different with Origins. It’s almost too perfect. You can tell the developers at Ubisoft Montreal really wanted to build the best world ever in an Assassin’s Creed game, and they succeeded. You travel to different cities around Egypt, from Alexandria, to Memphis, to Krokodilopolis. In these different cities, you visit the markets that are filled with people shopping, you visit the temples that are filled with people worshiping. Out in the country side merchants are moving products from city to city, and Roman guards are patrolling the roads. On the Nile River, ships are moving goods from port to port. While it isn’t new for a video game to simulate every day life in a world, it feels different in Origins. Actually seeing these cities in Egypt alive and moving is so much more than just reading about the civilization in a book.
In addition to a full open world game, Ubisoft developed a Discovery Mode. In this mode, there is no combat, and markers around the world give the player historical details about Egypt. I’ve only “played” through the first tour, which drops you outside the gates of Alexandria, and tells you about the history and founding of the ancient city. Outside of just teaching the player about Egyptian history, I believe this has the potential to be so much more. Imagine playing the Discovery Mode in a classroom, with the game being projected for the class, and students can see a visual representation of what they are studying.
This potential has me excited for the future of video games. As much as I love playing games, completing objectives, and growing as a powerful hero in RPGs, there is so much more we can do with video games. I think creating these living museums could be one of the best developments in recent memory with regards to video games, and I hope other studios follow suit.
This living museum is what keeps me coming back to Assassin’s Creed Origins. I have put over 60 hours into the game over the past three months, and I’m at 97% percent completion. I’m the first to admit that I am not a completionist when it comes to big open world games, but because of how well this world is built, I can’t stop playing. It’s also the most refined Assassin’s Creed with lite RPG elements, but that’s a topic for another time. Egypt in Assassin’s Creed Origins is one of the best settings ever in a video game. I’m excited to dig more into the Discovery Mode and learn more about Egyptian history.
All images in this article were taken by me using the in-game photo mode.
