How Ubisoft turned an urban mirage into a real city in Assassin’s Creed: Mirage
2023.10.12
執筆：Meghan Sullivan, Contributor
We know that Assassin’s Creed: Mirage takes place in 9th-century Baghdad, which was during the “Golden Age” of the Abbasid Caliphate. What made Baghdad such a special city at this time?
Jean-Luc Sala, Artistic Director, Ubisoft Bordeaux: This Golden Age coexists with the European “Dark Ages,” and contrasts so much with our common idea of the Middle Ages. Baghdad was the center of this world. At the time of the game, the city is a hundred years old and is home to the very best of this Golden Age with arts, science, and philosophy…[it] is also a surprising city. Most people expect sand and ruins, but this was not the case. Water is everywhere, with canals, pools, fountains, lush gardens, and trees. Baghdad is also a commercial hub in the middle of the Silk Road. It is also a very diverse city, with three religions and many nationalities coexisting under the Caliph. Obviously, there are challenges when trying to recreate an ancient city, particularly one that was later destroyed and rebuilt.
What were some of the difficulties you faced when designing 9th-century Baghdad, and how were you able to overcome these obstacles?
Sala: The main issue is that the Mongol invasion destroyed the city (1258 AD), and today there is nothing left of the original Baghdad. We had to rely on literature of the time and descriptions of the city from medieval travelers. The city was so incredible that we have a lot of descriptions of all the streets and landmarks. (Except the famous “House of Wisdom.” We had to rebuild [it] from scratch, and [then] decide where to locate it). Fortunately, Guy Le Strange—the most recognized historical geographer of medieval Islam—drew maps 100 years ago and published Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate. This book and [those] maps were our starting point, and soon afterwards scholars joined the team and helped us to accurately fill in the streets. For the architecture, we also looked at other Abbasid cities that are still standing today as a source of inspiration.
What are some of the real locations Basim can visit while parkouring around Baghdad, and are there any locations that you're excited for players to explore in Assassin’s Creed: Mirage?
Sala: A few miles outside of Baghdad, we have the amazing site of Dur-Kurigalzu. A ruined Babylonian ziggurat towering above the sand dunes; you must not miss this! Inside the city…we cannot wait for the players to discover the gigantic Bazaar, the peaceful and imposing House of Wisdom, and of course the Round City itself, [which] is a jewel and a wonder to see.
How big is Baghdad compared to cities like classical Athens in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, or Hellenistic Alexandria in Assassin's Creed: Origins?
Sala: Since we are a more focused game, we decided to do less (in terms of the size of the world), [and] to give more details and life to our city. However, it is for sure bigger than any city from the last three Assassin’s Creed games, so bigger than Alexandria and Athens combined. I never checked the numbers, but Baghdad feels as big as Paris [in] Assassin’s Creed Unity and London in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate.
Baghdad was an extremely diverse city in the 9th century. Were there any specific cultural, religious, or linguistic details that proved challenging or that you needed to be mindful of?
Sala: Baghdad was a capital city, the center of an empire expanding from Algeria to India, the future place of an African slave rebellion, the gathering of scholars, scientists, [and] artists of many origins and languages. Besides Islam, Baghdad was also home to Greek Christians (Nestorians) and Jews. So, many aspects of the city and population offered interesting opportunities to show diversity, both with people and buildings. We worked with cultural advisors and experts in order to respect every topic under that scope. [For example], the accents, expressions, and classic Arabic [used in the game] were supervised.
Gameplay mechanics like stealth and parkour are major pillars of Assassin's Creed. How was the team able to balance the need for visual and historically accurate architecture with clever ways for Basim to use the environment to complete different objectives?
Sala: Our priority is really to make a great game. We use prototypes with placeholder buildings [that look like] sugar cubes to ensure metrics of street size for parkour. Then, we manage to adjust the game design and world design with what we know from historians. Luckily for us, the Abbasid classic architecture is the basis of the architecture from Damascus. Damascus, Jerusalem, and Acre were the first cities of the Assassin's Creed saga and all the parkour rules are designed for those cities. Bringing back [the Abbasid architecture to] the franchise helped to bring back classic parkour and the nostalgia of early games.
The decision was made not to include a Discovery Tour mode in Assassin’s Creed: Mirage. What are some of the ways in which players can learn more about the city and culture of 9th-century Baghdad?
Sala: Instead of having educational content in another support such as our Discovery Tours, we decided to come back to the early games' Codex formula. You will have to collect some Animus “codex glitches” in very specific places in the world, and every one of them you collect will add a new page in the game Codex. So, during your exploration of Baghdad, you will have the opportunity to learn more about daily life, politics, arts and science, religion, and more.
Are there any achievements or trophies for thoroughly exploring the city like in previous Assassin's Creed games?
Sala: Yes! You will have rewards like specific costumes and trophies. Collecting all the “Lost Books,” for example, will give you a nice reward.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage is currently available on Epic Games Store.