Assassin's Creed

"Nothing is true, Everything is permitted"

                            ~The Assassin's Creed

Every time I turn on the news concerning our government, I typically see experts and public leaders debating over tough topics. Sometimes, I'll even catch a glimpse of Donald Trump and his "extreme" views and hordes of people who oppose him. No matter the context, there will always be people who agree and disagree to varying degrees. It wasn't until I substituted for a teacher who taught both Freshman Social Studies and AP Government that I found the connection between our current political system and a game series that I love: Assassin's Creed.

A beautiful graphic of all the playable Assassins to date (minus the two from Syndicate)

...well, if you want a full perspective of the games without actually playing the 12+ titles in the series, follow this link. However, here's all that you need to know.

This is the story of Assassin's Creed:

Your character is Desmond Miles, and over the course of several games, your primary play is as Desmond as he goes into a simulator machine called an Animus. While in the Animus, Desmond is capable of experiencing scenes of his memory as memories are embedded in one's DNA and passed on to offspring. You play Desmond playing any of his featured ancestors through several distinct historical eras, including,the Medieval Middle East, Renaissance Italy, Colonial Americas, etc. Each ancestor is linked in that they are all Assassins - a secret group of agents who attempt to maintain the liberties and freedoms of the world. Assassins are in a continuous struggle with the Templars, another secret cult who aims to bring peace to the world through control and coercion. Desmond is a modern day Assassin whose role in playing through memories is to locate powerful artifacts, called Pieces of Eden, left by an ancient civilization. This is where the story gets very sci-fi conspiracy like, so if you are into that, I suggest reading this summary article, but I have stated the important part of the story.

You are an Assassin and you are fighting Templars. Both groups want what's best for the world, but they go about it in different ways.

Templar insignia alongside the Assassin's 

Gameplay Mechanics:

Each title in the Assassin's Creed is beautifully rich with culture and history. Following the original Assassin's Creed entry, every game after brought a database with it that provided history and perspective to people, landmarks, and other important tidbits of the time. As a player, you can access it upon discovery or at your leisure or never access it at all if that is your goal in the game.

A typical entry in the database. 

This game is an open world sand-box, meaning exploration and pace of story advancement is completely optional. There are puzzles to be solved and many collectibles that act as puzzle pieces of a larger more enthralling conspiracy story. One can spend hours just doing side missions and doing parkour over vast beautiful landscapes, but eventually they will have to get back to the main storyline.

Teaching Points:

There are many opportunities to teach lessons here. Most notably, one could use the engaging time periods to introduce lessons based on the culture and era. For instance, you actually take part in Paul Revere's ride, rallying militia and warning of the coming of British soldiers during the Revolutionary War. However, the main lesson I would draw from this series is one that my substitute class revealed to me.

I was giving a lesson on Rome, and the difference between the patrician class and plebeian class. Then, the AP Government class comes in and I was giving a lesson on political spectrums - the left (liberals) vs the right (conservatives) and authoritarian vs libertarian ideology. Society is full of so many dichotomies like this, just like the eternal struggle between Assassin and Templar. Identifying students who resonate with game may be more open to discussing the several perspectives of the political spectrum.

Try this quiz out first to determine if you are Assassin or Templar

Then try this quiz to find out your political ideology 

Stupid Sensei's Grade:

This game gets a solid B. I love the story and the gameplay is fun, but the time it would take to make meaningful headway into the material in order to start a good discussion or lecture is not worth it. Unless you are willing to have a class read a synopsis and watch a few gameply vids to get the story, this resource is best used to engage those students who have played and enjoy this game already. Being a AAA title, most people will have heard of this game, unlike several indie titles I have covered already. This is like the War and Peace compared to Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie. Lot's of opportunity to teach and learn if classes weren't a mere 52 minutes each.

Stick to the Creed folks, and happy reading!

~StupidSensei