Ubisoft developer Thierry Dansereau has insisted “creative choices” had to be made in ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ after facing backlash for the game’s protagonist.
Ubisoft developer Thierry Dansereau has insisted 'creative choices' had to be made in Assassin’s Creed Shadows after facing backlash for the game’s protagonist
The upcoming action-adventure title received some criticism after it was revealed its protagonist would be Yasuke - a black samurai living in Feudal Japan - though the project’s art director has reaffirmed the studio had to make a game that would be “the best experience possible for our players” while also ensuring the team would “depict this world in a respectful way”.
During an interview with Eurogamer at Gamescom, Dansereau said: “Of course we're making creative choices. It's a video game in the end, so we want to make the best experience possible for our players.
“We've worked with a lot of experts, to just understand well the time period. We did a lot of our own work so we're making sure we depict this world in a respectful way, while fulfilling the gameplay needs and making it entertaining.”
There was also controversy surrounding the title in Japan after promotional material released by Ubisoft included a flag with the logo of a modern day re-enactment group in the country, which the studio apologised for.
Despite the criticisms, Dansereau insisted the company had “paid a lot of attention to stay as respectful as possible to Japanese culture”.
He explained: “There was a letter published by Ubisoft apologising to that group of people in Japan. But something they need to know is we are working with experts, world-renowned experts, and if we have in any way offended [people] we are sorry but this is not the goal.
“We've paid a lot of attention to stay as respectful as possible to Japanese culture, but creative choices are made on our side, based on all the discussions we had with our own group of experts. We're confident with how the game will be received.”