Assassin's Creed 1 is the 'purest,' says creator

The original Assassin’s Creed is the “purest” in the historical action-adventure franchise, according to the game’s creator, Patrice Desilets.

Speaking during an interview with EDGE, Desilets said he prefers the original title, though conceded it wasn’t until the series progressed to the sequel that it became an actual game.

“I like the first Assassin’s Creed because it’s the purest one. There’s a bunch of stories that you can have, but it’s all in your head. You have to create your own adventures,” he said.

“Whereas in Assassin’s Creed 2, we created the adventures for you and you’re following them. For me, the first one is an amazing toy. The second one is the real game with rules and missions and it’s really precise.

“But personally I like the poetry of the first one. It’s pure.”

Unlike ACII, where scenarios are clearly set-up for players, Altair’s adventure had gamers creating them themselves, leading to a sort of improvised gameplay experience. 

“Out in the kingdom, with your horse, there are so many places with little setups with Crusaders where you can tell a story. When you get close to Damascus, there’s a guy on a stage and he has 35 soldiers in front of him. If you kill him, they all chase you. I played that and it became my little story,” he said.

“With Assassin’s Creed, our problem was we never actually asked anyone to do it. Most of the players just pass by those setups. But in Assassin’s Creed II, we had a mission for all of them.”

Desilets worked on Assassin’s Creed, Assassin’s Creed II and AC: Brotherhood before departing Ubisoft in June 2010. He joined THQ Montreal the following year, a studio which was later purchased by Ubisoft in January 2013.

The next instalment in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, subtitled Black Flag, is scheduled for release in October.