"Assassin's Creed®: Brotherhood of Venice" is a cooperative board game set within the trans media universe of Assassin's Creed and produced by Triton Noir, chronologically set between the events of "Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" and " Assassin's Creed: Revelations ". We had the opportunity to have a chat with the Triton Noir team, authors of the game in the box - coming out next November, asking him for some information about the game and the role of the community in the development of the game.
The base game set
What was the challenge of dealing with a famous and popular franchise like Assassin's Creed which has such a complex and articulated lore and mythology?
Can we really highlight one big challenge in this project? Well, the project itself was a huge challenge since we want to make a very qualitative game that will convince fans of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, but also players who liked our first game V-Commandos, and those who are into cooperative or infiltration board games in general. Speaking of Assassin’s Creed lovers, one challenge was to respect the franchise’s DNA obviously! We have had some meetings with the Assassin’s Creed teams at Ubisoft Montreal (we are neighbors!) to make sure we stay in line with this universe. But overall in this license deal, we can use some big freedom of creativity in the development process, which is soooo cool.Anyway, this is key to bring a high quality Assassin’s Creed game to the table.
How can this game be different from other board games? What peculiarity does it have?
We tried to find a new language to translate this world into a new medium, for both the game design elements and the narrative ones. Most of us have a video game developer background and this certainly helped to make the transition. Among the design elements, we have stealth, fight, and the ability to move freely everywhere, using rooftops, canals, vantage point at your advantage… and yes you can synchronise from the top of a tower, revealing new things on the map (chests, targets, objectives…) and then of course do a leap of faith! There are tons of events, equipment, many unique weapons and characters from the Assassin’s Creed games that you will be able to find in Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood of Venice. We also have some innovative systems to teach the rules or avoid forgetting some elements in play. The quality of the art is also top notch, with dozens of gorgeous illustrations created specifically for this game and miniatures sculpted by some of the best artists in the world. From a narrative standpoint, we wanted to get into a familiar place, with beloved characters, yet offer a fresh story. That way anyone picking the game, could get immersed in the story, and veterans would discover a new cast and set of adventures in a world they already know and love. All these points are what makes this board game so special.
How important was the feedback from fans and users during the development?
Quality Assurance playtests are part of the video game development, and we work the same way. We have got lots of positive feedback and the fans of the licence tell us that they do find the spirit of the Assassin’s Creed® video games. This is great for us, but what we are looking for, most of all, are all the feedback allowing us to improve the game by any means (cards, icons, rules, etc.). We have very high expectations in terms of quality and quantity since we want to create a collector game. Having spoken a lot with the community on conventions, during dedicated playtests and on social media, we could not resist adding some new features or improve some assets for the game… We also decided to rework some of the assets shown during the Kickstarter campaign, such as the tiles which were entirely redesigned after players comments at Essen Spiel 2018, or Dariâ’s miniature. See the pictures, they speak for themselves. :)
Unlike the majority of board games, Brotherhood of Venice allows a single player experience. Where did this decision come from?
Our first game V-Commandos, which is playable solo, inspired us a lot to create the gameplay of Assassin’s Creed. As these games are fully cooperative, they can be played solo without changing or adding any rule. Most of our fans are video gamers and we know that they appreciate to be able to play either solo or with friends. Our team is very used to the video gaming experience and does want to put the same feel into a tabletop game. To sum up, the game can be played from 1 to 4 players and you can add or remove players during the campaign.
The game and its expansions present a storyline. Are there ramifications that can lead to different endings?
We have one ending, but many ways to reach it. But speaking of the scenario, the storytelling is a mix of text-based elements and in-game dynamics. You start by reading the briefing of a Memory, in which you’ll have the story elements. During the game, you also sometimes have special locations, cards, events or allies/opponents with their own bit of story. Each Headquarter also has its own light story development through a set of cards retelling how your HQ grows when you develop it throughout the course of the campaign. Each Memory (mission) will have its specific map, design and story, but also sometimes new enemies and even Bosses! Each map has been designed to be different from the previous ones. There are many different patterns (assassinate, escort, find clues, get back one of Leonardo da Vinci’s machines, boss fight, etc.). Some of them are optional, and sometimes you have 2 objectives (or more) and you must plan how and in which order you will address them. Most of the maps come with new gameplay elements and surprises (hidden in individual Mission envelopes and boxes). In addition to that, each level is designed to offer a choice between various tactics to win. If you replay a Memory and make different tactical choices, your experience will be different. For example, on a level with two Travel Stations (to enter or exit a level), you could choose to stay together for more safety and in that case, decide by which of the two Travel Stations to enter the level. If you replay this mission, you can split in 2 groups to go faster, but in case of emergency, you will not be able to count on the other group if they are too far… If you add all the expansions to this, we will be able to enjoy great replayability!
We thank Triton Noir infinitely for the availability given to us!
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