- Jun 3
- 6 min read
Assassin’s Creed: The Struggle for Uniformity
in a Series which Values Freedom
Written by Adam
Since Assassin’s Creed was released in 2007, the Assassin Brotherhood has undergone numerous iterations, interpretations, and branches as the games evolved in both storytelling and gameplay. But I’m here to talk about an aspect of games that Shadows brought to my attention and that I feel gets overlooked.
Defining Uniformity and its Relationship with Assassin’s Creed
As you might have already guessed, the word of the day is Uniformity. Uniformity is defined as ‘the state of being the same or consistent, lacking variation or diversity.’ It can refer to the sameness in appearance, behaviour or characteristics, but for the purposes of this article, we’ll be mainly discussing appearance.
Assassin’s Creed has had a touch-and-go relationship with uniformity. The first game in the series, Assassin’s Creed, leaned heavily into the concept, with each member of the Brotherhood wearing clothes based on their role and rank within the Brotherhood. Rafiq wore black, field assassins wore white with variations based on rank etc, etc.
Altair and Malik - Assassin’s Creed - Ubisoft
This would continue until Altair decreed that the Assassins spread their wings and proliferate across the world. This changed everything. Altair opened the floodgates, so to speak. From then on, the Assassins were free to adopt aspects of the culture they resided in, leading to more diverse and unique looks.
The only other games in the series that follow AC1 in this regard are Brotherhood, Revelations and Black Flag. Brotherhood is an interesting case because all recruits wear the same robes depending on their rank, with only the colour being a customisable option, and upon reaching Master Assassin, they wear the same robes as Ezio.
Ezio and a recruit, both wearing Master Assassin robes - Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood - Ubisoft
You may have read all this and have thought to yourself: ‘Uniformity is the exact opposite of what Assassins stand for!’ And yes, you would be right. Uniformity doesn’t exactly scream freedom and free will. But I’m here to tell you the series has yet to strike a consistent balance between the two concepts, and since the series has shifted away from uniformity not just on a visual level but also regarding the games' premises and themes , they've lost something special.
The Psychology behind the Phenomenon
The psychology of uniforms takes advantage of a phenomenon known as conformity. While not directly related to this topic, the most famous experiment displaying conformity is Asch (1951). His experiment demonstrates how one individual can be swayed by social pressure to conform to a group’s opinion even when that group is wrong.
This sounds like a negative, but in the case of uniformity, it’s the opposite, as conformity can lead to cohesion and groupthink, with people all working towards the same goals. There’s a reason schools and most employers insist on a uniform or dress code. This produces a well-oiled and productive environment.
Procedure
Before I explain the method, there are a couple of things to note.
All but one participant was a confederate. This means that they were actors who had all agreed to work together.
This lone participant was naive. They had no idea that they were the only true participant. In fact, they were deliberately misled in order to make the experiment work.
Using a line judgment task, Asch put a naïve participant in a room with seven confederates. The confederates agreed beforehand what their responses would be when presented with the line task.
Each person in the room had to state aloud which comparison line (A, B or C) was most like the target line. The answer was always made to be obvious.
An example of a line judgement test
The group sat in a line or around a table, and the real participant was positioned such that they answered near the end of the order (typically second-to-last). This meant the naïve person would hear most of the others give their answers before it was their turn.
In the first few trials, all the confederates gave the correct answer, so the naïve participant would feel at ease and confident in the task. However, on the critical trials the confederates had been instructed to unanimously give the wrong answer.
Findings
The findings showed participants conformed to the group's incorrect answer 33% of the time, even when the correct answer was obvious. Furthermore, 75% of participants conformed at least once.
As stated before, this isn’t directly related to the topic, but I believe it helps to explain the positives of uniformity and why it’s so important to a group or organisation.
A uniform can lead to a sense of belonging and make people feel like they are part of a team. This fosters a sense of identity and purpose, leading to stronger team spirit and cooperation. Furthermore, wearing a uniform can garner a reputation, whether good or bad, and this reputation can improve morale among those who wear it.
This is highlighted in Assassin’s Creed with this quote: ‘They know you come, the man in the white hood.’ The Levantine Brotherhood has a presence and a reputation enjoyed by few other iterations and characters in subsequent games.
The Problem
What does this mean for Assassin’s Creed as a whole? Well, those games that include a brotherhood, a branch thereof or an organisation akin to one (think Shadows, AC3) lack a sense of purpose, of identity. They obviously wear clothes, but there isn’t an underlying theme or common thread that connects them. They feel like a ragtag bunch of misfits rather than a group dedicated to preserving free will and stopping the Templar's nefarious schemes.
Assassin’s Creed III’s recruits - Ubisoft
Take the Kakushiba Ikki, for example; you recruit allies from all across Japan with their own skills and abilities, and that’s fine. But there’s such a lack of cohesion and consistency - that they might as well be random strangers. It feels like the Kakushiba Ikki consists of just Naoe and Yasuke, while everyone else just stumbled on the hideout by accident.
The Kakushiba Ikki - Assassin’s Creed Shadows - Ubisoft
And maybe that’s the point. They are just starting out after all, but I don’t see that as an excuse. They are still a group that is supposedly dedicated to the same cause -freeing Japan from the oppressive grip of the Shinbakufu, but they have no cohesive visual identity, and therefore they become less believable. They don’t need to be connected to the Assassins to have a common clothing theme that establishes them as part of the same group.
Shadows also brings another problem to the forefront. All of the RPG games have had this problem in one form or another and that’s gear and personas. Now, I don’t have an issue with this normally. I love customising my character and changing their gear based on perks and play style.
The problem arises when the gear looks vastly different and does not gel with other characters. Granted, this isn’t much of an issue with a single protagonist and no ally or recruitment system.
Another problem that the RPG formula brings to light is that it’s much harder to achieve a consistent, uniform look when your characters are the exact opposite of each other and have different skills and backgrounds.
Take Shadows for example. I applaud Ubisoft Quebec for not blending both Ninja and Samurai, smashing all their respective aesthetics into one character.
It’s certainly plausible. We know historically that Ninja and Samurai were not mutually exclusive; however, that would have diluted the gameplay and story significantly.
Naoe and Yasuke - Assassin’s Creed Shadows - Ubisoft
The Solution
Now, I’m not saying that Ubisoft shoehorn Assassin iconography into the next game and make the next protagonist an Assassin.
In fact, some of the franchise’s best stories have had less Assassin presence in them (looking at you Assassin’s Creed Heresy), but future games, whether they include Assassins, Templars or something similar, need to have a shared visual identity among its members.
It’s not impossible. The way I see it, there are two ways of going about this. The first is to follow something similar to how Brotherhood did it and both Revelations and Black Flag to a lesser degree.
By recruiting citizens or unnamed NPCs, and having them wear the same outfits based on rank with certain customisable elements. This is more poetic, as they represent the wider humanity taking a stand against oppression. Ironically, something similar is represented in this Shadows concept art depicting the League:
Naoe and her League - Assassin's Creed Shadows - Ubisoft
The second is the route Ubisoft is somewhat taking with the RPG games. Having a cast of characters with their own unique abilities and giving them different outfits.
What Ubisoft is not doing, however, is making these characters feel united in the same cause. The solution is simple, just pick ONE element that these characters will all share, like a missing ring finger or Templar pin as we’ve seen in past games.
Honestly, I don’t feel there’s a one-size-fits-all solution to this problem. It’s multi-faceted where each solution can be picked apart from a certain perspective. But at the very least, they provide something to make these organisations just a bit more believable and perhaps more immersive.
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