Saturday, July 14, 2007

Follow-up to Assassin's Creed

In just the previous post, I fopcused attention of a new online game, Assassini's Creed.

Well, if you go here, there is more information which includes the fact that the main character, an Arab, is a member of the Hashashin but is engaged in surpressing both sides of the conflict.

In short:-

The game takes place during the Third Crusade, in the year 1191. The player assumes the role of Altaïr (الطائر, Arabic, "The Flyer"), a member of the Hashshashin sect (the original "assassins"), whose objective is to slay the nine historical figures who are propagating the Crusades. As the player finds and kills these targets, their conspiracy is unveiled. The player will be able to travel through three cities: Jerusalem, Acre and Damascus.


Is there a post-modern, multi-cultural message here?

For example:

Assassin's Creed is set in 1191 AD, when the Third Crusade was tearing the Holy Land apart. Shrouded in secrecy and feared for their ruthlessness, the Assassins intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict. Players, assuming the role of the main character, will have the power to throw their immediate environment into chaos and to shape events during this pivotal moment in history.

The story follows Altaïr, a disgraced master Assassin who embarks on an epic quest to restore his status within the Assassin Order. After failing to liquidate the Templar leader Robert de Sable and recover the legendary Templar Treasure, Altaïr is demoted to Uninitiated (the lowest rank in the Assassin Order).

But Sinan, leader of the Assassins, offers him an opportunity to redeem himself. Altaïr must venture out into the Holy Land and assassinate men said to be exacerbating and exploiting the hostilities created by the Third Crusade. In doing so, he will stabilize the region, allowing Sinan to usher in an age of peace.


and

Altaïr is not religious but rather "spiritual" and is the son of a Christian Mother and Muslim Father.


We'll have to keep track of this.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The concept of the game is in fact extremely post modern. It's main characters reject the meta-narratives that western society has given about religion and events in the middle east. The Templars call into question the authenticity of the Bible and the Qur'an. The main message that is revealed is that reality is an illusion, which in fact a tenat of Post Modern theory. The game switched between memory, present and even the fact that you are a character playing a game. This game is dripping with Post Modern theory.