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  1. #1
    SixKeys's Avatar Senior Member
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    Mentors Guild Community Discussion - Mobile Games

    Hi all,

    Apologies for being late with this week's topic. This time we're curious about your thoughts on mobile games!


    MAKING SURE THE FANS ARE HEARD

    As part of a set of new Community Initiatives, we'd like to give opportunities to the community to give more direct feedback, and will now host weekly discussion on specific topics that relate the Assassin's Creed Franchise. These community discussions will take place on the AC subreddit, the Official Ubisoft Forums, and on the Mentors Guild Twitter. These discussions will be open for 1 week. The threads and responses will be shared directly with the Assassin's Creed Community Development team, who will then pass that info on to concerned parties within Ubisoft itself.

    While the Mentors get opportunities to speak directly with the creators of Assassin’s Creed and frequently communicate with the Community Development Team, this is not the case for every fan. We want to change that. We want fans to have their voices heard directly, in the same ways the Mentors do. These activities are a step towards meeting this goal. If you want Ubisoft to see what you have to say, this is the place to do it.


    THIS WEEK'S TOPIC

    Topic:
    Mobile AC Games

    Description: Last week we saw the launch of the latest AC mobile game, Rebellion. Ubisoft has released several mobile AC games so far. Some have been straightforward, "shrunken down" versions of the stories that exist on consoles/PC (Revelations, Brotherhood etc.), others introduce an original story or idea. Some, like AC: Bloodsail and AC Online: Alliance have been developed exclusively for the Chinese market and haven't (yet) been released worldwide.


    QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

    -Have you tried AC Rebellion yet? What are your thoughts on it?

    -What other (if any) mobile AC games have you played?

    -Do you believe mobile games have the potential to get new people interested in Assassin's Creed?

    -Mobile games have a reputation for aggressive monetization. How do you feel mobile AC games have fared on this front?

    -As technology evolves, do you see potential in mobile games telling increasingly compelling stories?

    -Would you be interested in Bloodsail and Alliance getting an international release beyond the Chinese market?


    REMEMBER:

    While these discussions are meant to allow for honest and raw feedback directly from the community, the best way to ensure your voice is heard is to be constructive - be critical of the process, not the people. Be specific with your criticisms and suggest tangible solutions and improvements.
    We hope to see active participation and that this will be a successful way of getting the fans' voices truly heard.
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  2. #2
    Rebellion was something I was very excited to see when watching the Apple fall keynote not long ago. As an AC mega fan for over a decade, and former Initiate who would chat with other members and have Q&A talks with Darby once in a while, I practically lived, breathed, and slept AC.

    That being said, I was pumped I pre-registered for Rebellion as soon as I was able to. To date though, I haven't downloaded it. Why of course is the question. From everything I've read, the game is severely limited with progression requiring paying real money. You can't actually 'win' without using IAPs or subscriptions. The following is a quote from a reddit thread about the game.

    Just to give an example the first live event is mathematically impossible to complete (without huge amounts of money):

    You need 1M points for the last reward and if you were to do the highest paying mission you would get 7k points for 25 energy, you get 100 energy per day so that's a cap 28k per day, let's be generous and say 30k per day looting chests... the live event is 10 day long, so that's a total of 300k points maximum you can get without putting money for more energy and doing the best energy/reward mission... you don't even get to half the synchonization gauge of the live event... ridiculous.

    You would need around 2500 more tokens to max the event... I see there are 100 Rift Tokens for 300 helix (around 3,75usd)... if you do the math you need something like 100usd just to reach 1M points. I don't know about you but I like to finish events and get rewards, not chase an impossible goal just to see how far you can go...

    I was enjoying the game until now, I'm calling it quits before it gets worse.
    and

    I played it for like half an hour and found about a dozen different pay to skip mechanics, whats the point of playing a game where the only mechanic is spending money or waiting in order to not spend money? it's not like a puzzle or a challenge, its just mindless stats based tapping

    If that is the case, I will not support a business model of a 'freemium' game where you're constantly chasing the carrot you can never catch, just sell me the game at a fair price and call it a day.


    Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/assassinscr...eed_rebellion/


    As far as AC Identity, I almost bought it when there was a sale, though always on internet requirements and IAPs turned me off for a paid game.
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  3. #3
    TaleraRis's Avatar Member
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    Have you tried AC Rebellion yet? What are your thoughts on it?
    I have and I love it. It feels more like an Assassin's Creed game than the past two Assassin's Creed console games.

    What other (if any) mobile AC games have you played?
    Neither of those listed, but I was a huge fan of Project Legacy on Facebook, though that one wasn't exactly mobile.

    Do you believe mobile games have the potential to get new people interested in Assassin's Creed?
    I think they could, especially when they capture of the essence of what made Assassin's Creed so good like Rebellion does.

    Mobile games have a reputation for aggressive monetization. How do you feel mobile AC games have fared on this front?
    I have been a little annoyed at the popups. Those could probably be set to only come up when you first open the app or once a day. KHUx does something like this. I haven't found myself short of intel for missions, so I have been able to get everything I need for keeping my full stable of ten (so far) Assassins in my level 10 brotherhood max level with good gear with just a little effort in doing missions. The free daily DNA cube is nice. That and focusing on DNA missions have allowed me to get 5 of them to rank 2. I may not get to the top right away, but I can easily see continuing steady progress and do not feel the pressure to pay to win.

    As technology evolves, do you see potential in mobile games telling increasingly compelling stories?
    I think they could now, with the right storyteller. I've played JRPGs since I was young and many of the early and best had no cutscenes and no voicing acting, with very simplistic graphics. But they could make you laugh and cry and cheer with the story they told and the characters they presented. I think evolution in technology will allow the gameplay to become more refined and compelling.

    Would you be interested in Bloodsail and Alliance getting an international release beyond the Chinese market?
    It would depend on the focus in those and the stories they tell. If they are in the same vein as Rebellion, I would probably be interested.
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  4. #4
    strigoi1958's Avatar Senior Member
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    Never tried it. Mobile games do not interest me. I remember installing an AC game for Unity (I think ??? ) but playing a game on one device to be able to complete a game on another device is not a great idea. Luckily, I'm not a completionist and so I do not feel compelled to do everything.

    The only mobile/ pc game link I've ever used is the ifruit app for GTA V but once I discovered Bluestacks and other android emulators, I ran mobile apps on my pc... but although that made things simpler, I thought it was silly to run 2 different programs or 2 different games on 1 pc in order to achieve goals.

    I believe free mobile games will DEFINITELY introduce new potential ac fans/ players to the franchise.

    Most people I know have bought one ac game and then have gone on to purchase the entire series, that alone should be enough to warrant them being free and not monetized... (if I were Ubi I'd rather sell a box set of AC games on console or pc, than get a few $ from a mobile game).

    But personally, cross platform joint games is not a good idea, whether it is mobiles, PC's or consoles. I know in Unity I had to keep pausing my game to look at my phone and it was more annoying that MD cutscenes and I detest cutscenes.
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  5. #5
    ProdiGurl's Avatar Senior Member
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    The only input I can offer is that I haven't played and have no interest in any mobile games for a few different reasons.

    The farthest I've gone is 1 online game that my sister asked me to play with her and my niece a few years ago.
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  6. #6
    Olympus2018's Avatar Senior Member
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    -Have you tried AC Rebellion yet? What are your thoughts on it?


    I have not tried it out yet. It looks like fun to me.




    -What other (if any) mobile AC games have you played?

    None.




    -Do you believe mobile games have the potential to get new people interested in Assassin's Creed?

    I am not so sure about that.... Maybe some limited potential.





    -Mobile games have a reputation for aggressive monetization. How do you feel mobile AC games have fared on this front?

    I wouldn't know...





    -As technology evolves, do you see potential in mobile games telling increasingly compelling stories?

    Yes indeed. Mobile games are getting better and better.





    -Would you be interested in Bloodsail and Alliance getting an international release beyond the Chinese market?

    It seems like an interesting idea.
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  7. #7
    Nothing but milking the populous dry.
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  8. #8
    ProdiGurl's Avatar Senior Member
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    Originally Posted by bizantura Go to original post
    Nothing but milking the populous dry.
    Just remember that no one is "milked" unless they want to be. They are a company that continues to stay in business becuz they provide games to people who are interested in them.
    That's how business works.
    If that's the case, then every Golf course is milking golfers (esp. if they have a sales shop on premisis that sells golf clubs, shirts, shoes, hats, golf balls, tees, towels,...), every Boat maker is milking boat enthusiasts who buy boats to enjoy them as entertainment on weekends ...
    every ski lodge is milking people who love to ski. Every gambling Casino is milking tourists & gamblers.... I think you get the picture.

    People have hobbies, they all cost money to enjoy them. It doesn't make the companies who provide entertainment, bad or even greedy.
    This keeps people employed so they can make a living and continue to provide enjoyment to us
     1 people found this helpful
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  9. #9
    cawatrooper9's Avatar AC Forum Moderator
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    -Have you tried AC Rebellion yet? What are your thoughts on it?
    I've played a little bit so far. I enjoy the character art and the theme of building a Brotherhood. I'm a little wary of how microtransactions will affect the game, but it is free to download, so I guess I can't complain.

    -What other (if any) mobile AC games have you played?
    Oh, I've played a little bit of Pirates and Memories, and a pretty good deal of Identity.

    I've also played through Liberation a few times, if that counts.

    -Do you believe mobile games have the potential to get new people interested in Assassin's Creed?
    Maybe. I think a big hurdle is that it's tough for mobile titles to be representative of the main games at the moment. Due to tech limitations, they really can't mimic the open world parkour gameplay that well, and even Identity doesn't quite do it well enough to serve as an effective springboard into the series for new players (though it's a fun distraction for series veterans, if you can swing the controls).

    So, they can try and rely on fanservice like Rebellion, which is fine- but again, I'm not sure that's really a draw for new players.

    If a game tries to really expand the lore, that's cool too- but I think that given the interest generated in Origins and Odyssey, lore isn't necessarily the biggest draw for new players either.


    -Mobile games have a reputation for aggressive monetization. How do you feel mobile AC games have fared on this front?
    Not terribly. It's there, but it's not anything close to Clash of Clans or whatever the kids are playing these days.

    -As technology evolves, do you see potential in mobile games telling increasingly compelling stories?
    I don't think storytelling is that heavily dependent on technology. Look at a game like Florence, about as simple as you can get and with an incredibly short runtime, but it still packs a story that easily rivals anything most major gaming companies can offer.



    I'm not even sure it's fair to say that better tech necessarily means better gameplay. But it's still definitely worth pursuing, for the potential.
    -Would you be interested in Bloodsail and Alliance getting an international release beyond the Chinese market?
    Alliance especially looked pretty cool, but I won't complain about another pirate game, too.
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