The rumored Assassin’s Creed Infinity project has little more than speculation about what the full game will introduce into the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Ubisoft only released confirmation about the project after it had been leaked, and revealed that the upcoming title was still in very early development. A few details about Assassin’s Creed Infinity have been announced however, including the introduction of a live-service development style for the game’s lifetime and the current plan for players to be able to explore several time periods. These decisions would both be a significant departure from the traditional Assassin’s Creed games the community has come to know and love, but Infinity could very well bring more desirable features into the series.
While the Assassin’s Creed fanbase has more than a few features that they would love to see added into the games, one feature that Assassin’s Creed Infinity could introduce into the franchise is a customizable playable character. The franchise has rarely allowed for customization beyond choosing the wardrobe (and weapon loadout) of playable characters, as the identities of certain characters needed to remain absolute for the sake of continuity throughout the series. The death of Desmond Miles in Assassin’s Creed Revelations opened some opportunities for players to get more involved in the action through first-person gameplay, but the series was quickly drawn back to a more linear style. Introducing customizable characters in Assassin’s Creed Infinity could be the change that brings player involvement back into the Assassin’s Creed equation.
The Assassin’s Creed franchise only recently began introducing some customization options into the series. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla allowed players to choose male or female genders, influencing available romances and dialogue options in-game. By giving players more control over their characters, more features in-game could be affected by how the player character advances throughout the story. Options like choosing a character’s background and gender could impact gameplay, with different connections to businesses or side characters throughout the game’s narrative. Past actions, mistakes, and choices designed into the playable character could also introduce a risk-reward or reputation system that changes the way players interact with Assassin’s Creed Infinity’s world, encouraging different gameplay styles.
Assassin’s Creed Infinity Could Give Players Full Customization Over Characters
Given the rather linear form of Assassin’s Creed stories, players have usually had little control over their characters identities and appearances. Assassin’s Creed Infinity’s shift to a live service format could be the first step towards a more personable experience in-game, as continued development over the game’s lifetime could allow players to access more information about the Assassin Brotherhood and the Templar Order. Designing a character based on a player’s opinion on these two factions, or the time period that they currently occupy, encourages a deeper investment into the game’s world. Furthermore, allowing players to design characters in a way that represents a specific identity or culture could veer Assassin’s Creed away from its habitually Western European roots.
In addition to a new development style, the Assassin’s Creed Infinity project will explore different settings. With the steady advancement of story and incorporation of additional content over the game’s lifetime, it makes sense that a consistent playable character would be needed. If the modern-day story continues in Assassin’s Creed Infinity, being able to design a modern protagonist could help place more weight and interest in the Assassin Brotherhood and Templar Order’s war. By allowing players to design a modern protagonist, Ubisoft would still be able to control the appearance of playable Assassins in the past without taking complete agency away from the fanbase in the present.
The ability for a player to be able to customize their own Assassin (modern day or otherwise) would be an invigorating addition to the Assassin’s Creed franchise. While the playable characters that Ubisoft has developed over the past few installments have created enjoyable experiences in-game with their personalities, dialogue, and appearances, giving players the ability to directly influence the legacy of Assassins could be an exhilarating change. Rarely have players had power over larger aspects of the Assassin’s Creed narrative, and customizing a playable character could be a very important first step towards increased player agency in the franchise.
