Assassin's Creed Mirage | Exclusive Developer Interview with Animation Director Ben Potts

Summary

In this insightful discussion about *Assassin's Creed Mirage*, the speaker highlights the blend of traditional animation techniques and modern technology, such as motion capture and keyframe animation, to achieve fluid, believable character movements. The team worked closely to recreate the core elements of the franchise—stealth, assassination, and parkour—while incorporating improvements in AI and detection systems for a more immersive experience. The development process focused on designing a dense yet navigable world, particularly the city of Baghdad, ensuring a balance between realism and gameplay fluidity. The speaker expresses pride in the collaborative effort and the game's ability to evoke nostalgia while introducing innovative gameplay elements.

Takeaways

• 😀 Animation in games focuses on believability, not always realism, to make actions feel possible even if they aren't physically realistic.
• 😀 *Assassin's Creed Mirage* aims to be a tightly crafted stealth-based action adventure, blending RPG elements without being an open-world RPG.
• 😀 Motion capture is used for gameplay animations, but keyframe animation is employed in situations like parkour where motion capture is difficult.
• 😀 Parkour mechanics and world navigation in *Assassin's Creed Mirage* focus on seamless movement and fluidity through a densely designed city, ensuring players don't get stuck.
• 😀 The game team worked closely with historians and authenticity teams to ensure that the depiction of Baghdad is historically accurate while still being fun to explore.
• 😀 The animation process requires collaboration with design, art teams, and prop riggers to ensure smooth interactions in the game world.
• 😀 AI detection and vision systems were heavily worked on to create a more immersive and fair stealth experience, addressing past issues with detection radius.
• 😀 The development team’s focus on stealth includes enhancing the player’s ability to sneak past guards with more accurate detection and vision cones.
• 😀 There was a strong emphasis on nostalgia, trying to bring back the original *Assassin's Creed* feeling by focusing on assassinations, stealth, and parkour.
• 😀 The development of *Assassin's Creed Mirage* was highly collaborative, with input from various teams, including animation, game design, camera, and AI to ensure a cohesive final product.
• 😀 The studio is proud of the final game, reflecting the passion and dedication of the team in delivering a game that captures the essence of the *Assassin's Creed* franchise.

Q & A

What is the main goal behind the animation approach in *Assassin's Creed Mirage*?

The main goal is believability, where the animations are designed to make the player feel like the actions are possible, even if they're not physically realistic. It's about creating a seamless experience that feels natural within the game world.

How does *Assassin's Creed Mirage* balance between traditional and modern animation techniques?

The game uses a mix of motion capture for high-quality cinematic scenes and keyframe animation for certain gameplay elements like parkour and combat. The keyframe method is particularly useful for precise movements that are difficult to capture with motion capture alone.

Why are keyframe animations used in some parkour movements?

Keyframe animations are used in parkour to ensure fluidity and precision, especially for moves like running up walls or performing long jumps that are difficult to replicate in real life, even by parkour experts.

What role did collaboration between different departments play in the development of *Assassin's Creed Mirage*?

Collaboration was key to the development process. Teams from animation, design, art, AI programming, and even historians worked together to create a world that was both authentic and fun, ensuring all elements aligned to deliver a cohesive gaming experience.

What challenges did the development team face in designing Baghdad as a game world?

Designing Baghdad involved balancing historical accuracy with gameplay needs. The team had to ensure that the city felt dense and alive while allowing for smooth navigation that supported parkour mechanics. It was also important to maintain a balance between authenticity and fun.

How does *Assassin's Creed Mirage* handle stealth mechanics differently from previous titles?

The game improves AI detection by ensuring that guards look in the correct direction and have realistic vision cones. The stealth system is designed to be fair, allowing players to make calculated decisions when sneaking past enemies, without feeling like the system is unfair or broken.

What specific improvements were made to the AI detection system in *Assassin's Creed Mirage*?

The AI's vision cones were refined to eliminate unrealistic detection behavior, such as guards being able to spot players from absurd angles. The animations were adjusted to ensure guards react appropriately to the player's movements, creating a more immersive stealth experience.

What was the team's approach to recreating the feeling of parkour in *Assassin's Creed Mirage*?

The team focused on ensuring fluid movement through the dense city of Baghdad, making sure that players could parkour smoothly from one location to another. They emphasized momentum and ensured that players wouldn't get stuck or frustrated by blocked routes during parkour sequences.

What is the significance of nostalgia in *Assassin's Creed Mirage*?

Nostalgia plays a crucial role in *Assassin's Creed Mirage*. The team aimed to bring back elements from the original *Assassin's Creed* games, particularly stealth, assassinations, and parkour, while refining these mechanics to provide a fresh yet familiar experience for long-time fans.

How did the development team balance the inclusion of RPG elements in *Assassin's Creed Mirage*?

While *Assassin's Creed Mirage* is not an open-world RPG, it incorporates RPG elements like character progression and choice-based gameplay. The focus was on delivering a more precise, focused experience rather than an expansive RPG world.