Friday, October 21, 2011

Assassin's Creed: A Journey in Art Appreciation

Assassin’s Creed is a franchise that began in 2007 and has had three game releases so far. If you asked me what was at the very heart of Assassin’s Creed, it would be art. Not just because it is so artfully crafted, but also because it’s oozing with appreciation of art done by real-world artists, primarily from the Renaissance.

The easiest place to start is Assassin’s Creed II, which takes place in Italy during the Renaissance. This in and of itself sets the stage for a game filled with art. The developers of the game created digital representations of Italian cities like Florence and Venice, taking special care in recreating these cities’ most famous and beautiful architectural works of art.

In the screenshot below, you can see the player standing on the rooftops of Florence, Italy, with the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore in the distance. I learned about the Basilica in an art appreciation class—how cool is it that I get to explore it while playing a video game?


© 2009 Ubisoft Entertainment

As another example, the next game in the franchise, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, takes place in Rome. In Brotherhood, you can explore famous structures such as the Coliseum (pictured) and the Pantheon.


© 2010 Ubisoft Entertainment

Some people may argue that Assassin’s Creed is not art, that it is simply a recreation of other people’s real art. I would argue that this game seamlessly integrates the Renaissance, and all the art that comes with it, into a fictional story, which results in a game being rich in art in so many ways that it would be silly to consider it as anything less. Not to mention that it instills a sense of art appreciation in its players, which cannot be said about practically any other game in existence. In this sense, Assassin's Creed is a franchise that is pivotal to the movement of games as art.

2 comments:

  1. I agree with you. Assassin's Creed is made base of wonderful Renaissance art. I played it a long time ago. But when I was playing it, I wanted to see more buildings, environments and characters. I didn't like the game play that much, it was the art that motivated me to play the whole story line and finish the game.

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  2. I haven't played Assassin's Creed, but I've wanted too for a long time. I was particularly attracted to the art style as well as story. From your post, it makes me want to play it even more! I'll have to steal my boyfriends over the weekend so I can see all these cool places! I haven't been able to travel to them, so walking through them in a game that tries to give them as much realistic detail as Assassin's Creed is awesome.

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