Just hours before E3 (2015) began its bombardment of commercials and videos, Patrice Désilets, the creator of the Assassin's Creed saga, gave the first details and showed the first trailer for their upcoming new game, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey . An adventure action in episodic format that aims to review some of the greatest achievements in the history of humanity, with the usual ingredients of his previous work, and the same ambition, but with a much smaller budget and equipment.
As the day of his presentation said Patrice Désilets cannot do anything other than big productions or triple A, it takes more than ten years, from Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003). But given the size of its new study, Panache Digital Games, which has only 20 people compared to the teams of hundreds of people used to work at Ubisoft, here are offering a blockbuster kind cut, as if they do one Assassin's Creed in episodic format, in small doses of 2 hours. Although until now there was a certain air of mystery in everything that surrounds this game, thanks to an interview conducted by the American web Polygon already have quite clear what will be in this new adventure.
Désilets is not yet certain that "episodic format" is the best way to define his new work, as opposed to games from Telltale Games, in which through several episodes within a season we have the same story with continuity between the different parties, Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey chapters will tell a different story, with its own atmosphere and characters. Each chapter will tell us in something important happened in the history of mankind. As if it were a documentary series, but without forgetting that this is a third-person action adventure.
The first chapter will be carried out by an Orrorin tugenensis, a hominid that was more than an ape but was not still human, and lived about six million years ago. With him we learn to take the first upright steps to climb, and curiously be a narrator who will explain what we see on screen, as if it were a documentary.
The second chapter will be less focused on the body and our physical interaction with the world, and in the brain and how to recognize certain patterns to warn of danger, but have not yet revealed neither the newspaper nor the historical protagonist. Regardless of the setting, there will always be certain ingredients of action adventure and survival, and for example in the chapter of the discovery of fire could be part of a tribe that we must protect.
In each episode we will have a linear story, about an hour or two, and once we have overcome the complete freedom to explore the scenes and discover more about the world around us, we imagine as side quests or some kind of collectibles. This will also serve to enhance the character and make it evolve, because the progression system will be maintained between the different components, because it is assumed that all players belong to the same family tree, an idea certainly inherited from Assassin's Creed, and will serve to connect the different chapters. Once they are finished all episodes, we could have a game of 25-30 hours, the extent of any chapter of the saga of Ubisoft.
They have not yet revealed who the partner is putting the money but apparently Panache Digital Games under funded to produce several chapters, regardless of how work first. The game will launch both consoles and PCs, and although they have not yet revealed the platforms. They not yet know how often launch various episodes, but they said that six months apart seems too long, as people lose interest in the game.
They don’t know exactly what achievements in the history of humanity want to review, although of course have many ideas in mind, for example treating the discovery of the aforementioned fire, or the domestication of animals, how wolves became dogs. They want start with small stories, and go by increasingly ambitious chapter to provide big cities and sword fights and horses, in line with what was seen in the first Assassin's Creed, but will have to wait to get to historical moments so advanced.
It sounds great what they promise, as ambitious as risky, and the work of Patrice Désilets creating the first three Assassin's Creed was more remarkable, in fact there are few who think that with his departure from Ubisoft series lost its way. After five years without releasing a game with nasty drink to be fighting in court for his latest creation, 1666: Amsterdam -, he is noted with looking forward to making games.
A very interesting project
If something has always liked the Assassin's Creed is giving the opportunity to visit places and interesting historical newspapers, and this game will give further on that day, allowing live events that changed history forever. With a production that has just started, you may not see the first episode of Ancestors: The Odyssey Humankind well into 2016, although considering that will be small chapters, you may not have to wait too long.