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Here is what the game's creative director has to say: “The history of the invasion itself in this time period is, of course, a critical part of the journey,” I

Here is what the game's creative director has to say: “The history of the invasion itself in this time period is, of course, a critical part of the journey,” Ismail said. “What did it mean for the Vikings of the Norse to land in England and to cohabitate?” Ismail enunciated that last word carefully. He said the historians that his team worked with suggested that the “Viking approach to this invasion was cohabitation.” He continued: “Yes, there was war and it was bloody, and it was very brutal. But they adapted themselves to the people they came to. And this is an aspect of it that we do look at. Some historians will even say that this is maybe why the Vikings sort of lost their way of life and culture over time—that they adapted themselves rather than forcing others. And so that aspect is something we do explore to a certain degree in the game.” Source: https://kotaku.com/the-many-things-we-ve-learned-about-assassin-s-creed-va-1843522310 https://kotaku.com/the-many-things-we-ve-learned-about-assas... No mention of slavery, and even brutal colonisation is dismissed with "but", instead talking about "cohabitation". I'm truly baffled by how ahistoric and whitewashing it is. What for?

mcphage 6y ago
> I'm truly baffled by how ahistoric and whitewashing it is. What for? Because most players don't want to play as someone who captures people for slavery, or invades a monastery by slaughtering all of the monks inside.
- lambdadmitry 6y ago
  I hoped it doesn't mean the creative director has to actively whitewash the period in an interview quite ahead of the release.
- krapp 6y ago
  >Because most players don't want to play as someone who captures people for slavery, or invades a monastery by slaughtering all of the monks inside. The slavery I can understand, but the violence is kind of what makes Vikings a popular character archetype. I can't imagine wanting to play a Viking protagonist in a "realistic" setting without the pillaging and bloodshed. That's kind of the draw.
  - mcphage 6y ago
    > I can't imagine wanting to play a Viking protagonist in a "realistic" setting without the pillaging and bloodshed. I get your point, and you're probably right, but at least one person (namely, myself) has no problem with violent fights in a videogame, but would not enjoy playing a game that required me to slaughter unarmed civilians. I still want to think of myself as a hero, not... that. All those Goombas had it coming to them, is what I'm saying.

mcphage 6y ago

> I'm truly baffled by how ahistoric and whitewashing it is. What for? Because most players don't want to play as someone who captures people for slavery, or invades a monastery by slaughtering all of the monks inside.

lambdadmitry 6y ago
I hoped it doesn't mean the creative director has to actively whitewash the period in an interview quite ahead of the release.
krapp 6y ago
>Because most players don't want to play as someone who captures people for slavery, or invades a monastery by slaughtering all of the monks inside. The slavery I can understand, but the violence is kind of what makes Vikings a popular character archetype. I can't imagine wanting to play a Viking protagonist in a "realistic" setting without the pillaging and bloodshed. That's kind of the draw.
- mcphage 6y ago
  > I can't imagine wanting to play a Viking protagonist in a "realistic" setting without the pillaging and bloodshed. I get your point, and you're probably right, but at least one person (namely, myself) has no problem with violent fights in a videogame, but would not enjoy playing a game that required me to slaughter unarmed civilians. I still want to think of myself as a hero, not... that. All those Goombas had it coming to them, is what I'm saying.