This article appears in the new issue ofDEN OF GEEKmagazine.
All while following up on plot threads fromValhallaand adding a few new wrinkles to the series sprawling story.
But that last part is easier said than done.
Lets put a word on it: its a mess.
You have to choose what you’re free to do and what you cant do.
You dont want to make any mistakes with the lore because we have a responsibility.
Ad content continues below
The Assassin
The word epic doesnt begin to cover this time-hopping saga.
Yes, theres a lot going on.
Theres so much to tell and so much to untie [with Basim].
As Beaulieu says, All the stars aligned.
We didnt see him as the bad guy [inValhalla].
At the start ofMirage, Basim is surviving as a street thief before he is recruited by the Brotherhood.
Its a somewhat common origin story forAssassins Creed, but remember, Basim isnt your ordinary Assassin.
He has something to resolve first before becoming a Hidden One.
Finding the hero of the story was only one piece of the much larger puzzle, though.
Ubisoft Bordeaux would also need to build a city from scratch, a completely different kind of undertaking.
The Lost City
The Middle East was a must-have for us from the get-go, Boudon says.
The city itself, theres nothing remaining now, Beaulieu laments.
We dont have anything, not one single stone from the 9th century.
Its not the same thing as in Greece or Rome.
Medieval Baghdad is a lost city which was destroyed by the Mongols during their conquest of the Middle East.
The mission wasnt just to recreate the aesthetic and geography of the ancient city.
Recreating a city for anACgame is an immense challenge, Weyland says.
Ubisoft also collaborated with museums, which provided artifacts from the era.
The team studied everything from uniforms and weapons to floor tiles and astronomical instruments for inspiration.
We didnt really know where it was exactly or even the shape of it, Boudon says.
[We] took inspiration from other cities and writings.
Players can visit the House of Wisdom in the Abbasiyah district, a location tied to Basims own childhood.
It was the most advanced place in the world during the Abbasid Golden Age.
At the same time, Europe was living in its Dark Ages.
So, showing this amazing world at the peak of its glory felt important for us.
You learn about Rome, you learn about Greece, but not 9th-century Baghdad.
Everyone knows about Da Vinci, but most people dont know about the Banu Musa.
The database includes articles as well as art and photographs curated by museums around the world.
But that wasnt as simple as doing whatever the first game did.
We didnt want to just copy past eras, Boudon explains.
We had creative liberty to change things.
For instance, stealth was a big part of the rework.
We reworked AI detection as well.
Thats why we brought back the vision cone for AI and the Last Known Position.
The higher Basims Notoriety, the faster city guards will attack him, making taking down targets more difficult.
Nostalgia was a key consideration, of course.
But it wasntallabout fan service.
Sala describes it as a growing up of the team.
Meanwhile, Beaulieu feels a mix of emotions as they reach the finish line.
For Boudon, the fact that theyve hit this milestone with anAssassins Creedgame makes it all that much sweeter.
It didnt work out back then, but 16 years later, things have come full circle for him.
Now I can work on anAssassins Creedand make a tribute to that original game.
Its an honor for me to be a part of that storyline, Boudon says.
Assassins Creed: Mirageis out now on Xbox and PlayStation consoles as well as PC and Amazon Luna.
An iOS version of the game is slated for 2024.
