As a seasoned gamer with decades of gaming experiences under my belt, I must confess that the “canon mode” feature in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows has piqued my interest. Over the years, I’ve found myself stuck between choices more times than I care to remember, particularly when it comes to RPGs and their intricate branching dialogues.
Assassin’s Creed: Shadows will feature a mode that takes every decision in the game away from you.
Who hasn’t experienced the anxiety of being torn between options while playing a game that relies on decisions? Which Pokémon will be your initial choice? Who among your party members would you like to see ascend as the next Divine in Dragon Age: Inquisition? Which Spartan sibling would accompany you in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey? With some RPGs, the choices you make can have a profound impact on the entirety of your gaming journey.
Although such situations might be challenging, they’re what makes it enjoyable. In the grand scheme, these moments lend an authentic feel to the digital realm of gaming since any action or utterance cannot be reversed. Alternatively, you can choose to leave the decision-making to the machine.
Ubisoft proposes an intriguing concept: allowing you to opt for relinquishing your free decision-making ability. In the prospective game, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, they plan to introduce a “scripted mode” that will eliminate any choices you would encounter in the game, letting the story unfold as it was intended.
During a recent AMA on Reddit, director Jonathan Dumont explained:
Choices come more into play when recruiting allies and romance some of the characters. Since the fan base is divided on branching dialogues, we have incorporated an option called Canon Mode which allows you to play the game with choices already made for you, to give you a choice free experience. Hope this makes it fun for everyone.
While the Assassin’s Creed series isn’t typically known for its decision-driven narratives, many players might focus more on the gameplay experience. Consequently, the inclusion of a choice-less mode in the game could cater to those who either prefer not to make choices or find it unusual within the context of a game. However, it still seems like an unconventional feature for such a series.
Discussing the narrative style adopted by developers for the linear campaign in the upcoming Assassin’s Creed game, he commented:
Most of the main targets’ questlines can be tackled through exploration and are not in a predetermined order. However, each target has a coherent story with [a] bottleneck section that can introduce more linear and cinematic narrative sections. The particularity is that we leave open many sections to be played with Naoe or Yasuke which can impact the way some of the questlines evolve.
When asked about the delay of the game, Dumont stated:
We’ve been able to make changes and tweaks on parkour for example, or touch up parry mechanics or work on cinematic transitions. For example, we felt there was a stickiness in the parkour, the delay allowed us to accelerate the responsiveness of inputs and fix rooftop behaviors that were impeding on Naoe’s fluidity. The team is making something we are all proud of with this extra time.
It appears that development on Assassin’s Creed: Shadows might be progressing. If you’re keen and willing to play the game despite its delay until February 14 next year, that’s entirely up to you – but if you prefer a non-interactive “canon mode”, that may not suit your taste.
What are you’re opinions on the “canon mode”? Are you a fan of meaningful decisions in games?
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2024-12-12 17:39