When Ubisoft Montreal set out to create the second adventure in its bestselling Assassin’s Creed franchise, Corey May, lead scriptwriter of Assassin’s Creed I and II, said the Italian Renaissance was ripe for exploration. In order to bring this world to life, May worked closely with real historians and traveled to Florence and Venice to accurately recreate the 3D world that players are currently exploring. May talks about the role history played in the creation of this game and why games are a new avenue for further exploration into the past in this exclusive interview.

How was history incorporated into Assassin’s Creed II?

Ezio Auditore

Historical events, figures, and landmarks were used to frame and support our narrative framework. Before work even began on the story, we established a matrix of events that included important historical happenings, births, deaths, and whenever possible, actual assassinations. We don’t intend for the game to serve as a replacement for a history lesson (we’re not trying to make an interactive documentary!), but to provide players with enough credible context that they’d buy into our fiction. A secondary hope of mine is that people will be captivated by the setting, and encouraged to actually learn more about it outside of the game. With that disclaimer out of the way, historical accuracy was important to us. As a general rule, if the answer to a historical query can be found within 10 minutes of searching on the Internet, we tried to remain true to it. However, in some cases, historical accuracy and production resources may not be compatible. For example – while we tried to keep the proper participants involved in the Pazzi Conspiracy, the actual event takes place on the front steps of the Duomo rather than inside. They’re minor details – but hopefully history buffs will understand when we deviate it’s not for lack of knowing what actually happened.

How can players learn more about the Italian Renaissance?

In an attempt to further flesh out the game world and support the notion that these are real people, places, and events, the player will have access to Animus Database entries over the course of the game. These are short, encyclopedia-lite entries that detail the history and significance of various figures and landmarks encountered throughout the game.

Can you talk about the research that went into this game?

I spent about around nine to 12 months just learning about the time period before I actually started on the story proper – trying to educate myself on not just the history, but the culture and customs of the time. Once writing began, we brought on a research assistant who was available to fact check and help find answers to more obscure questions. Once the script was finished, it was handed over to a historian named Margaret Meserve. She and I then went through the script – correcting what we could to improve historical accuracy. But again, it’s important to mention that sometimes we deviated from historical accuracy. As Assassin’s Creed is first and foremost a game, gameplay and production constraints had to come first. So don’t expect a perfect recreation of Renaissance Italy. But it’s pretty close, all things considered.

Did you guys visit Italy for this game?

Italian Renaissance

It’s one thing to read about a place, its history and people. It’s another to actually experience it. And so at the very beginning of the project, a small group of us (comprised mainly of department leads) took a trip to Italy in order to better educate ourselves. We travelled through Rome, Florence, Venice, and several smaller villages in the Tuscan countryside. We visited dozens of locations (many of which are in the game) and took tens of thousands of photographs (many of which became textures). We absorbed and recorded as much as we could. And in the end, I think the game is better for it.

How did this authenticity impact other areas of game development?

Beyond the story, we also worked with Italian localization to ensure all the Italian heard in the game is proper. When voice recording began, we had dialect coaches on hand to guide and assist the actors (some of whom were not native Italian speakers.) The art department also had access to a woman who was on hand to help them with the art, architecture, and wardrobe of the time.

Can you talk about how real people have been integrated into the gameplay?

Ezio will cross paths with various historical figures throughout the game. Some will become allies, others enemies. One of the main pillars of the Assassin’s Creed franchise is that the Assassins work in secret – behind the scenes – to prop up those who would help mankind, and remove those who would do us harm. So we provide new takes on familiar faces. I don’t want to spoil the surprises, but as a general rule we tried to take what most people know about historical figures and push a bit deeper or provide a new way to view them. Our goal is not to contradict historical depictions – but rather build off of them and bring a little something new to the proceedings.

And how did you research Leonardo da Vinci for this game?

More action

Leonardo da Vinci is a good example. Most people picture an older, bearded man (made famous by his early 16th century self portrait). However, our game begins in 1459 and ends in 1499 – so the Leonardo players encounter and interact with is much younger. Just as Ezio is discovering who he is, so too is Leonardo. And so our Leonardo is not a pensive, all-knowing, mentor. He is vivacious and manic – full of youthful exuberance and delighted by every new discovery he makes. He is not our hero’s mentor. He is not his side-kick. He is a friend. He’s still a genius – the very definition of a Renaissance man – but he’s not perfect. Our hope was to infuse him with a bit of depth – balance what people know about him, with how we imagine he might have been as a younger man.