User blog:Wookieassassin82/Assassin’s Creed: History and real-world Politics.
The first thing that caught my attention the first time I played AC was that sort of disclaimer Ubisoft presents, in which it states that the game was developed by a multicultural team with varied beliefs.
That seemed respectful, given it’s a game where the main character goes around kicking Christian and Muslim derrière. What also seemed very important was the fact that the game developer is Canadian, “so what?”, you might ask, but bare with me for a bit: you know those guys tend to be really multicultural, respectful and tolerant. If AC was being developed by an entire U.S. based company, we might get Assassin’s Creed III: Freedom Fighters, where the protagonist would have to go around after Nazis or Soviets (or worse: in the 21st century killing Hugo Chávez, Kim Jong-Il or Ahmadinejad).
The real-world relation of a Templar-like doctrine is not farfetched. We see every day abuses of power by corporations, civil and human rights ignored by governments all around, and those who step up in defence of the weak are deemed “terrorists”, like the original hashashin. In the game context, could we say that Zionism is backed by the Templars? Free market? The internet?!
“Nothing is true, everything is permitted” the Assassins preach. Both Templars and Assassins know about Those Who Came Before, therefore we could infer that those groups are atheist, or at least agnostic, even though they hide behind religious façades. They free themselves from ethics and morality to act upon others, can we relate to this in real life?
Thanks for bearing with me, I really don’t mean to be preachy, just wanted to share with all the wiki mates that after a job, and volunteering, I really enjoy a fantastic game that reflects the world we live in... and get to do kick-ass assassinations!
So for those wiki mates that raged against the idea of Altaïr, Ezio and Desmond not being of the same bloodline I say this: Chillax, friends! Enjoy AC for what it is, a game. There are plenty of things in real life that are worth getting worked up for, if only we take a few moments to see...
Wookie Assassin - "Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame." 17:48, October 14, 2011 (UTC)