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  1. #1
    SixKeys's Avatar Senior Member
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    Mentors Guild Community Discussion - The Setting of AC Valhalla

    Hi everyone! It has been a while since our last community discussion. This time we're interested in hearing your thoughts on the setting of Valhalla.


    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:
    The Setting of Assassin's Creed Valhalla


    Info: Assassin's Creed Valhalla takes place in 9th century England and Norway, most specifically the kingdoms of North Umbria, East Anglia, Wessex, and Mercia. Alfred the Great rules the kingdom of Wessex and is the only king to successfully fend off the continuous Viking attacks. Eivor, the protagonist, is a Viking clan leader, and is looking for a place to call home for their people. Rolling hills, snowy cliffs, shallow rivers, and dense forests cover this chaotic land.


    QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

    -Are you excited for this setting? If so, what has you most excited?


    -In your opinion, does this setting fit well within the universe of AC?


    -Are you interested in seeing the religious cultures that dominated the cultures of the land represented in the game? (Norse Paganism and Christianity)


    -Have the trailers shown a world that looks aesthetically pleasing to you? Why or why not?


    -What are your thoughts on the phrase "A Viking experience in the world of Assassin's Creed"?


    -What concerns do you have for the setting?


    -What do you want to see more of from the setting?


    -Was this a setting you were hoping to see from the franchise?



    As always, please feel free to add any thoughts you might have that are not covered by these example questions!


    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
    AORUS2017's Avatar Senior Member
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    Info: Assassin's Creed Valhalla takes place in 9th century England? that can't be right on 26 October – King Alfred of Wessex dies 899 before the 9th century and his son Edward the Elder succeeded him. Get the history right Ubisoft you're worst then Hollywood
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  3. #3
    cap.cla's Avatar Senior Member
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    Wow!I am very happy of this news and I'm curious to know the arguments of the discussions of the next weeks.
    I think that the viking setting will be fantastic.
    We can see how two peoples(the vikings and the anglo-saxons)will cohabit and we will learn more things about an interesting culture.
    The England and the Norway are two beautiful countries and probably the secret worlds that we will see will be the nine kingdoms,so I think that there is nothing to worry about this setting.
    I like the viking culture,but I have to admit that I was a bit more excited when some rumors said that the next setting would be the Roman empire,because I am italian and the empire was very big,so it would have been fantastic to have a game set in that age.
    Anyhow I am happy of this setting and I hope that the rumors weren't so false and in 2021 we will see the ancient Rome.
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  4. #4
    Originally Posted by AORUS2017 Go to original post
    Info: Assassin's Creed Valhalla takes place in 9th century England? that can't be right on 26 October – King Alfred of Wessex dies 899 before the 9th century and his son Edward the Elder succeeded him. Get the history right Ubisoft you're worst then Hollywood
    They got it right. The 9th century is the 800s. The reason it is off is because the first century is years 0-99. That’s why we are in the 21st century despite the date being 2020.
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  5. #5
    cawatrooper9's Avatar AC Forum Moderator
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    I've really been wanting another game set in the Middle Ages, especially after the opening of Unity and its siege rift.



    I know that a lot of fantasy games already borrow from that time period quite a bit, and other RPGs like Kingdom Come: Deliverance have done an incredible job of showing the more historical side of the setting. But Assassin's Creed manages to tow that line so well, presenting a relatively believable historical fiction with extraordinary action and strange mysteries.

    So, even though "medieval" might be a somewhat overplayed setting, I think the time still deserves to get the Assassin's Creed treatment again.

    I'm excited to see some of the weapon variety in upcoming promotional material. There's a reason fantasy RPGs so often draw from this period- there's a ton of weapon variety, and I do hope that's reflected in game.




    What are your thoughts on the phrase "A Viking experience in the world of Assassin's Creed"

    Hmmmm... I don't want to fall into the rabbit hole of overanalyzing a single quote, but I'll say this: the Assassin experience is something that I think many fans have felt was lacking in recent games, yet should still be a major staple of the series.

    However, I have always liked the idea that the Assassins are always products of their time. Altair lived in the Masyaf Brotherhood during the crusades, the Italian Brotherhood lived more in the shadows, robes started incorporating more contemporary elements... the protagonists are all still Assassins, but their life experiences have shaped them into unique individuals. That way, it helps to avoid the pitfall of each character becoming just another in a line of silent, generic protagonists.

    And I think the series has done pretty well with that so far. The protagonists have character, both in the writing as well as their controls and gameplay. Optimistically, that's how I'd read this- that Eivor will be a Viking, but of course an Assassin as well.

    Though I think the marketing so far has lacked showing that Assassin part (among other things, like lady Eivor). So I'd like to see that side explored a lot more. Less of the open field battles, more of the sneaky stabbies in an urban environment- which, by the way, I'm also very excited to see how London looks in this one.
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  6. #6
    The 1st century was from 1ce to 99ce, therfore the 9th century was from 800ce to 899 ce, they said 9th century not the 900s.
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  7. #7
    -Are you excited for this setting? If so, what has you most excited?
    I really am because I love Vikings! I'm the most excited about discovering Eivor since I always love AV protagonists and stories, and also about History of this area.


    -In your opinion, does this setting fit well within the universe of AC?
    Of course. I think AC can fit in pretty much any setting.


    -Are you interested in seeing the religious cultures that dominated the cultures of the land represented in the game? (Norse Paganism and Christianity)
    Yes. It's part of History, so I love seeing the culture and religion in general. It's part of the immersion.

    -Have the trailers shown a world that looks aesthetically pleasing to you? Why or why not?
    Yes! The trailers were really badass. I have to admit I'm curious to see the female Eivor though since I will play as her :P

    -What are your thoughts on the phrase "A Viking experience in the world of Assassin's Creed"?
    I'm really excited about it! Vikings have such a great and interesting History, so I'm curious to see what you'll do with it in AC universe.

    -What concerns do you have for the setting?
    Not much. I'm really open-minded about your setting in general, so I'll see once I'm playing if I have concerns about it.

    -What do you want to see more of from the setting?
    The life of the Vikings and their mythology. It really is an interesting people and we unfortunately don't see them much in school, so it's really fun to learn more about them while gaming.


    -Was this a setting you were hoping to see from the franchise?
    I think it's a really good choice, but I would love to eventually have a full game in one of the world wars, or maybe also something with the Germanic Empire or the Roman Empire. Maybe also Babylon. And I would love the samuraï or the Japan at another time, too. I love History, but I'm open to pretty much any setting.
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  8. #8
    Olympus2018's Avatar Senior Member
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    -Are you excited for this setting? If so, what has you most excited?


    I am excited to see London again, around 1000 years after Syndicate's era.


    -In your opinion, does this setting fit well within the universe of AC?
    It surely does.

    -Are you interested in seeing the religious cultures that dominated the cultures of the land represented in the game? (Norse Paganism and Christianity)


    Yes indeed. But this has never happened in the first game where the Templars were not really Christians and the Assassins were not muslims like they should be.


    -Have the trailers shown a world that looks aesthetically pleasing to you? Why or why not?

    Yes, the trailer shows a world that will look at least as pleasing as Odyssey and Origins. The landscape seems stunning to me.


    -What are your thoughts on the phrase "A Viking experience in the world of Assassin's Creed"?

    It was about time the franchise explored Scandinavia and the British Isles, extensively.


    -What concerns do you have for the setting?

    They may not show Scotland, Wales or Ireland. Also, Denmark and Sweden won't be included, as far as we know....


    -What do you want to see more of from the setting?


    More villages, more forests and more mountains full of snow.


    -Was this a setting you were hoping to see from the franchise?


    ​Yes I did hope to see a Nordic setting, at least. Release the Kraken!
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  9. #9
    Megas_Doux's Avatar Senior Member
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    -Are you excited for this setting? If so, what has you most excited?

    Yes. Exploring the world.



    -In your opinion, does this setting fit well within the universe of AC?

    Yes, I wish there would be more developed urban environments, but it does fit. My favorite bit in the franchise is Unity's prologue and my favorite overall setting has been the Crusades, so I'm certainly looking for more middle ages.

    -Are you interested in seeing the religious cultures that dominated the cultures of the land represented in the game? (Norse Paganism and Christianity)

    I'm certainly interested.


    -Have the trailers shown a world that looks aesthetically pleasing to you? Why or why not?

    Well yes, but a true gameplay is needed.

    -What are your thoughts on the phrase "A Viking experience in the world of Assassin's Creed"?

    A game that heavily relies on exploration.


    -What concerns do you have for the setting?

    Lack of urban environments. The Anglo-Saxon were not exactly the cherry of the pie regarding architecture and engineering.


    -What do you want to see more of from the setting?

    A castle siege. In which we can choose going ghost or bersek



    -Was this a setting you were hoping to see from the franchise?

    No, but I saw it from a mile away


    As always, please feel free to add any thoughts you might have that are not covered by these example questions!

    Not for now.
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  10. #10
    JKAC2013's Avatar Senior Member
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    -Are you excited for this setting? If so, what has you most excited?

    I am very excited because the Viking age is such an interesting time period. What get me most excited is the landscape and terrain we will se in this setting. It has a lot potential to create an great experience. Also to learn more from Vikings and their lifestyle is very interesting for me.

    -In your opinion, does this setting fit well within the universe of AC?
    As long as it has the Assassin vs Templar war in it every setting can fit for AC. Sure a big Urban environment is the spirit of the Series but Black Flag and Origins showed us that a great AC can also be in big landscapes. Hopefully also the parkour will be great in this environment.

    -Are you interested in seeing the religious cultures that dominated the cultures of the land represented in the game? (Norse Paganism and Christianity)

    Yes of course learning more about different cultures is such interesting in AC. Origins handled this pretty well in my opinion.

    -Have the trailers shown a world that looks aesthetically pleasing to you? Why or why not?

    It looked really nice what the trailer showed us and I was very surprised that we will get to England wich is great. First I suspect that the game would only play in Norway/Skandinavia.

    -What are your thoughts on the phrase "A Viking experience in the world of Assassin's Creed"?

    A mix about being Viking with the Assassins Creed gameplay and story we all love. I just hope that it will also focus on the Assassins vs Templar war instead of just using it as a backdrop.

    -What concerns do you have for the setting?

    That it doesn’t evolve on parkour and that it will not use it in a meaningful way. I know that with such a setting we couldn’t have parkour like Unity again but since Origins this gameplay element felt neglected in favor of the open world. But if I think back how for example Black Flag mixed the parkour up with big cities and the nature of the Caribbean I think this should be the way if we get such big open worlds.

    I also fear that the assassin and stealth gameplay will be dumped down because brutal loud Vikings is the opposite of an Assassin.

    -What do you want to see more of from the setting?

    Currently I am totally satisfied with the info we got and saw.

    -Was this a setting you were hoping to see from the franchise?

    Yes, as I read it in the surveys what Ubisoft sends some time I was so excited that Vikings is a possible setting for the Series.


    For the end I am really exited to see what Ubisoft Montreal and Ashrafs Team will do with this setting, they did such a great job with Black Flag where the gave us a pirate experience in Assassins Creed so I expect that this will be also great handled in Valhalla 😊
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