Assassin’s Creed Shadows is a very good game that animal lovers can enjoy because there’s no way to harm a single creature in the game (except for people, of course). That’s a first for the franchise and I wanted to learn why Ubisoft went this route for its latest open-world adventure.
When I played and reviewed Assassin’s Creed Shadows in March, I was surprised to discover that the player can never attack or kill any animals in the game’s virtual recreation of feudal Japan. You can, however, pet them and draw pictures of the various wildlife you encounter. Unlike so many other open-world games, including previous Ubisoft projects, there aren’t even any aggressive predators in Shadows. You are never forced to kill any wolves or bears to survive and craft upgrades. I recently asked Ubisoft about this change, and learned from AC Shadows creative director Jonathan Dumont that there were a few reasons behind it.
Kotaku: In Shadows, players can’t hurt or hunt animals. The only way you can interact with them is by petting or painting them. What was the rationale/design decision behind this?
Jonathan Dumont: There are several reasons behind this design choice. Firstly, feudal Japan didn’t have many large, aggressive animals to challenge players. When we reviewed the available animal roster, it seemed more appealing to observe and pet them rather than engage in combat.
Additionally, we wanted to incorporate world activities that offer a zen-like experience, providing spiritual or contemplative moments in nature to balance Naoe and Yasuke’s journey.
When did the idea of letting players add animals to the base happen? And did you expect people to start building petting zoos (like I did)?
JD: It happened really early on. In a team meeting, we saw the first implementation of the Sumi-e activity, where the initial design was to collect only the paintings, but as soon as we saw the animals it was unanimous that we needed to make them pets for the hideout. And yes, it immediately led to team members making cool-looking petting zoos and animal shelters.
Has the team appreciated the mostly positive online response to the lack of violence against animals in Shadows?
JD: I can’t speak for everyone, but I think players appreciated that it gave a different dimension to the exploration we were going for.
Does the team/Ubisoft feel like hunting animals could return in future installments, or is this a new direction for the series?
JD: I think it will depend on the setting and player fantasy. For AC Shadows, it made sense.
This interview has been lightly edited and formatted.