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DESIGNING ASSASSIN’S CREED 2
GDC 2010
DESIGN CHALLENGE:
230+ features to produceSchedule doesn’t allow iterationsMust be Commercially successful
and Critically acclaimed
“Fail early, Fail often”
CURRENT MOTTO:
FAIL
Assassin’s Creed = Fastest Selling New
IP– 8+ million sold– Mixed reviews
THE ORDER
AC2: Objective:–Repeat the commercial
success–Answer every criticism of
the first game
230+ features to develop– Economic System– Revamped Fight System– Hiring Factions– Notoriety System– New Assassination
techniques– New Mission structure– Villa management– Prince of Persia-like maps– Etc…
SCOPE?
Short Timeline made even shorter by a Scope
revision asking to INCREASE the number of features:
– Project started early 2008– Scope Revision in September 2008– In stores November 2009
CURVE BALL
300+ developers 3 internal studios across the world
ENORMOUS TEAM
UBISOFT
MONTREAL
UBISOFT
SINGAPORE
UBISOFT ANNECY,
Linear
Missions
Core Game VillaFRANCE
What can be done:
To achieve our ambitious results?
Produce everything first pass?
1. Identify and focus your efforts on core of your game.
2. Have a Strong Documentation Structure.
3. Use Play Testing and Data Tracking to validate designs
Keep the Design focused on the right things
DECIDE WHAT GAME YOU ARE MAKING
Identify your Core Gameplay to create a hierarchy
in your features:1. Guaranties that you game is fun2. Helps you realize where you can cut corners
(and maintain quality)
1. Gameplay pillars – Used to create the challenge
2. Supporting features– Give meaning and depth to your core
3. Exotic Features – Change the pace
FEATURE CATEGORIZATION
“The road to hell is paved with good intentions”
Keep perspective:– What is not part of the core
shouldn’t overshadow what is.
HIERARCHY IN THE FEATURES
BE HONEST…
Navigation
Fight
THE GAMEPLAY PILLARS NEED TO BE ROCK SOLID
Social Stealth
Fight – Based on Timing
Moves Tools
AC2 GAMEPLAY PILLARS (1/3)
Enemies
AC2 Objective – Add Tactical choices
Navigation: Focus on Fluidity
AC2 GAMEPLAY PILLARS (2/3)
Social Stealth: Social Behaviour makes you invisible
AC2 GAMEPLAY PILLARS (3/3)
AC2 Objective: Crowd as a gameplay tool
AC1 Missions = Didn’t use Core Gameplays
AC2 Secret Missions = Focus on Navigation
BUILD AROUND THE GAMEPLAY PILLARS
BORING
FUN!
Gameplay Pillars have the greatest impact
on your game.
Other features can have less polish. But don’t cut them!
CASE 1: ECONOMIC SYSTEM
Don’t let satellite features interfere with the core of
your game. Side Features should highlights your
strengths, not become your weakness.
CASE 2: ASSASSINATIONS
Core to what Players expect from our game.
However assassinating is not a Gameplay!It’s the end result of the Player using
the core Gameplay within the confine of the fantasy.
Design Goal: No challenge to execute them
Remove needless frustration Reward for the Player
Understanding what game you are creating is the cornerstone of a succesful production
However, how can you communicate it efficiently to your team?
Strong Documentation Process
WHY I THINK GAME DESIGN DOCUMENTS ARE GREAT
1. Force you to think2. Keep tracks of what you have in mind3. Limit questions - people can focus on
deliverables4. It costs less to fail in documentation
rather than in production.
PROGRAMMER APPROVED!
CREATE DOCUMENTATION THAT IS RELEVENT FOR PRODUCTION
LootDescription
Gameplay Loop On Spawn/Despawn Controls AI reactions Level Design implications
Sound/Music design Camera Player Feedback Menu/Localisation Save Games
Looting can be done on:
Dead bodies
Lootable Objects (ex: Stationary Boats, Treasure chests, box, Final List TB D ASAP)
Big Treasure chest
Small Treasure chest
Covered boats / gondolas (player can't drive them)
Looting a body or an object takes [5] seconds.
The player can receive money and [keys] while looting. There's no need to loot a body twice to get both.
AC2 DOCUMENT
[x]Identify Variables we
needin Data
Remove needless debates!
BRACKETS
Very Time consuming
- 2 to 3 hours of approval meetings per day minimum for 6 months.
- Documents were kept up-to-date until the very end.
NOT THE EASIEST ROAD
However, the peopleInvolved aren’t
involved inthe creation of data:
doesnot affect production.
In 6 months:• 200 Documents
produced• Rework was kept to
a minimum (only one feature received a 2.0 revision
• Used by the Q/A team for testing the game, up until close to submission!
RESULTS
Validation through Playtests
Part 3
WHAT WAS TRACKED
Quantitative – Data Tracking + Usability ReportsProvide concrete informationOrient the discussion on data instead of
opinions.
Qualitative – Appreciation ReportsGive context to the data you collectedMost Important (for me)Having both provide perspective
ADAPTED TO PROD CYCLE
2 major stages in Production:Pre-Alpha – Validate your Features.Post-Alpha – Smooth out the experience.
CASE 1: NAVIGATION
Problematic: Buildings went from 1-2 story high in
AC1 to 3-4 in Venice.
Climbing felt slow and the players don’t use the Free Running as much as we’d like.
Are Layout changes between AC1 and AC2 going to bite us?
Player 12 rated this mission BORING
Player 13 rated this mission FUN
Playtests proved that more Navigation = More Fun
…except if the Mission requires it…
P9 P10 P11 P12 P13 P14 P15 P16
M10 - Fun 5 Nil 4 Nil 5 4 5 5… and that Mission was rated the most funNo Use of Rooftops…
Overall P9 P10 P11 P12 P13
P14
P15
P16
Overall Fun 5 2 3 3 5 4 5 4
Difficulty 2 4 2 3 2 3 3 3
Navigation Ability to navigate his
environment?5 3 5 2 4 4 5 5
Casual Hardcore
Note that it affected mostly ‘Casual’ Players
CASE 1: NAVIGATION
Don’t change the layout!Hardcore Players didn’t appear to have problems Our first city (Florence) had lower buildings, so
once the Players reached Venice, they would be acclimated with the Free Running
Work on the Strong ClimbThe Character could reach rooftops twice as fast
then what Players experienced during early Playtesting – regaining the fluidity of the first title.
May 18th
June 22nd
Usage is in line with our expectations.
The players learn intuitively to use the Free Running and Climb and maximize the Navigation.
Results
Playtest 1
Playtest 4
Very Bad
Bad Ok Good Very Good
0
4
8Blending
CASE 2: BLENDProblematic: Players didn’t understand the Blend
abilityThis affected the difficulty and
appreciation of several missions and was putting in question the notion of crowd groups.Playtest
4:
Very Bad
Bad Ok Good Very Good
0246 Blending
Solution: Change the controls – blend becomes
automatic when walking in a group.
Playtest 10:
CASE 2: BLEND
Problematic:Players complained about the lack of
variety in the fight system – yet didn’t use all the moves…
CASE 3: FIGHT MOVES
We even compared the Player’s behaviour with one of our Designer
Players
Designer
CASE 4: FIGHT MOVES
Result:no solution…
Lesser focus on Data TrackingNo changes in the layouts possibleWe had to branch out to Post Launch Data
Tracking one month before going in submissionCouldn’t afford the time to analyse the data
POST ALPHA
AC2 production cycle = ZERO time to polish
Walkthrough for the main path only = 25 hours
Playtests became the main tool to identify problematic areas in the walkthrough
POST ALPHA
Playtest 15Playtest 10
Very Bo-ring
Boring OK Fun Very Fun02468
Overall Fun
Playtest 5
41 Issues Flagged:31 Minor7 Major 3 Critical
30 Issues Flagged:13 Minor14 Major 3 Critical
Very Boring
Boring Ok Fun Very Fun
02468 Overall Fun
RESULTS
2 Issues Flagged:1 Minor
1 Critical
ConclusionPart 4
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Critically Acclaimed91% on MetacriticMultiple Game of the Year Awards
nominations and awards Developer Awards, BAFTA, AIAS, New York Times, IGN, Gamespot,
etc…
Commercially Successful1st week sales 33% higher then AC18 million copies sold (sell-in)
When creating big budget games, mistakes can
prove extremely costly– Lead to lower quality– Create needless work– Lower morale
Designers can manage these risks by:– Determining what the core of the game
experience is and building around it– Providing teams with solid documentation
that fits with their production needs
CONCLUSION
QUESTIONS?
THANKS!
Special thanks to:Charles Randall, Jeffrey Yohalem, Laura De Young, Genevieve Laurendeau, Steven Masters, Philippe Therien.
