Assassin’s Creed Mirage art director talks about being wary of cultural appropriation

Assassin’s Creed Mirage art director talks about being wary of cultural appropriation

“Celebrating the Islamic world is not easy,” says Jean-Luc Sala. “We did not want to make a mistake in any aspect.”

October 14
2023
– 2:29 pm

(Updated at 3:02 p.m.)

Assassin's Creed is set in the Islamic Golden Age

Assassin’s Creed is set in the Islamic Golden Age

Image: Ubisoft/Disclosure

Assassin’s Creed Mirage It is one of the attractions in Brazil Games Expo 2023. It is not surprising that the game’s art director, Jean-Luc Sala, Attend the exhibition and talk to GameOn About the production of the new title in the famous franchise Ubisoft.

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Gene spoke about his inspirations for the completed work, the mission of which was to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the franchise Doctrine killer With a return to the roots. Furthermore, he detailed the research his team conducted to bring the place to the Middle Eastern world without falling into stereotypes.

A nostalgic journey with a mirage

This is Jean-Luc’s first time in the Assassin’s Creed series, and his mission was to return the game to a formula similar to the first entries in the series. The artistic director says that nostalgia was one of the great motivators in creating the world of mirages.

According to Jean-Luc, the first games served as an inspiration, but the artistic team did not look at them with the aim of reproducing scene after scene. The production process had a more creative side in this sense.

“I didn’t play the first game to search and pick things. I wanted to search and pick things from my memory, things that reminded me of the first game, even if it wasn’t as good as the first game. My intention with The Mirage was to bring a sense of nostalgia.”analyzes Jan.

He comments that the city of Baghdad had to be improved historically and visually very well, and this was the direction of development. As for gameplay, the mission was to speak to older Assassin’s Creed fans.

“The rest of (the game) needs to remind people why they love it. Remind people that they love the white-robed killer, and that they love jumping from rooftop to rooftop. Every aspect that was special about the series should come back, and the whole team, not just me, is a fan.” series and are old enough to play the first Assassin’s Creed games.”

Respect Islamic culture

Assassin's Creed Mirage is one of the highlights of BGS 2023

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is one of the highlights of BGS 2023

Image: Gameplay/Reproduction

Assassin’s Creed Mirage takes place mainly in Baghdad in 861 AD, a time considered the Golden Age of Islam. Therefore, Jean-Luc and his team were interested in bringing this culture into the game, since the Middle East is often reproduced in popular culture with different stereotypes.

“I grew up in the Middle East, in Iran, and left the country when I was 11. So, while I was looking back at my memories of the first game, I was also looking back at my memories of being a kid growing up in that region. “It helped me a lot in knowing Right and wrong. “I’m not from the Arab culture, but I lived close enough to understand some aspects.”account.

But mere childhood memories will not be enough to do respectable work in the Middle East. Therefore, Jean-Luc has assembled a team that is ready to do the work and ensure that there are no mistakes when delivering the culture.

“The people consulted came into the game with a list of things to do. We didn’t want to make any mistake about cultural appropriation or Eastern mannerisms. Celebrating the Muslim world is not easy, and we wanted to do justice to this world by bringing back “Allocate it in some types of entertainment.”

Assassin’s Creed Mirage was released in early October and is available for PC, Xbox Series, and PlayStation 5.

By Chris Skeldon

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