OLD
NEW
So let's get something straight. Assassin's Creed started out as a series that depicted some potentially (read: absolutely) offensive things when it came to religion, and religious figures, and also depicted cultures and history in a way some might take offense to. So the cop-out disclaimer preceded each game. Its primary purpose is arguably to dissuade backlash over Assassin's Creed very strongly implying that, among other things, Christianity and Judaism and such are incorrect and not just that, their leaders and founders were fakes. By claiming that their team is diverse, Ubisoft can claim that they're not actually making any sort of statement about whether Jesus was actually God or whether God exists or whether Islam's beliefs trump Christianity or anything like that.
With Syndicate, the introduction was changed. According to the creative director, Marc-Alexis Côté:
Secondly, the original opening statement is not some fuzzy, feelgood statement of inclusion. It is a blatant attempt to cover Ubisoft's arse and deflect criticism over the religious subtext of their games. If we take the new statement in the spirit the old one was received, Ubisoft is basically apologetic they creative vision involves elements that some people may find offensive, such as gay people, but that it's totally okay because Ubisoft doesn't take sides, guise.
To be honest, this strikes me as Cote and his team misunderstanding the purpose the original disclaimer served in a headscratching manner. That said, whatever purpose Cote believes the disclaimer serves, there are Tumblr types waiting to be offended by the slightest thing, and this sort of fluff helps stave them off a bit.
Maybe this is an indication of the huge loss of direction Assassin's Creed has experienced over the past few years. The original storyline (that is now on semi-hiatus) concerned the origins of the human race and the role of religion and political ideology in history. The original disclaimer made total sense. It wasn't really needed because most religious people are fairly tolerant of science fiction that contradicts their dearly held beliefs, but it made sense in the context of the game's overarching storyline.
![](http://i.imgur.com/H6S3o48.jpg)
NEW
![](http://i.imgur.com/fq2hvmn.jpg)
So let's get something straight. Assassin's Creed started out as a series that depicted some potentially (read: absolutely) offensive things when it came to religion, and religious figures, and also depicted cultures and history in a way some might take offense to. So the cop-out disclaimer preceded each game. Its primary purpose is arguably to dissuade backlash over Assassin's Creed very strongly implying that, among other things, Christianity and Judaism and such are incorrect and not just that, their leaders and founders were fakes. By claiming that their team is diverse, Ubisoft can claim that they're not actually making any sort of statement about whether Jesus was actually God or whether God exists or whether Islam's beliefs trump Christianity or anything like that.
With Syndicate, the introduction was changed. According to the creative director, Marc-Alexis Côté:
Firstly, that's a loose "we". Cote didn't work on AC1 as far as I'm aware.It felt like when we first wrote that for AC1 it was something that was very inclusive. But I've had the chance to work with more than 12 different writers on Syndicate. At one point, one approached me and said that we were not embracing diversity fully enough.
I had reviewed all our crowd dialogue, I was happy with our two protagonists, but they were talking about the statement at the beginning of the game ? that it was exclusive of some people. So I asked for them to propose a new statement.
Secondly, the original opening statement is not some fuzzy, feelgood statement of inclusion. It is a blatant attempt to cover Ubisoft's arse and deflect criticism over the religious subtext of their games. If we take the new statement in the spirit the old one was received, Ubisoft is basically apologetic they creative vision involves elements that some people may find offensive, such as gay people, but that it's totally okay because Ubisoft doesn't take sides, guise.
To be honest, this strikes me as Cote and his team misunderstanding the purpose the original disclaimer served in a headscratching manner. That said, whatever purpose Cote believes the disclaimer serves, there are Tumblr types waiting to be offended by the slightest thing, and this sort of fluff helps stave them off a bit.
Maybe this is an indication of the huge loss of direction Assassin's Creed has experienced over the past few years. The original storyline (that is now on semi-hiatus) concerned the origins of the human race and the role of religion and political ideology in history. The original disclaimer made total sense. It wasn't really needed because most religious people are fairly tolerant of science fiction that contradicts their dearly held beliefs, but it made sense in the context of the game's overarching storyline.