Someone once told me to "lean towards what you love doing most, mate, and pour yourself into it. If you love drawing, then practice until you’re the best at it. It’s a journey, not a destination."
Those words always stayed with me, and I have continued to work and do my very best to stay on top. Even if I hadn’t posted as much as I would have liked in the past. This same person also told me to try out a little practice exercise. "Why don’t you try redesigning the UI for your favourite Assassin’s Creed game? Try fixing the things you don’t like by redesigning them, or reskin them in a new style you think is better than the original."
This exercise has left me with some thinking, and recently I’ve actually been giving some serious thought to this project. My favourite Assassin’s Creed game is Assassin’s Creed 2. I wanted to jump into this and see if I could design a UI redo for this task. This task feels very difficult, and this is where I had to rethink my approach. If you are going to understand how to redesign something like this, you need to understand the context and the reason it is there. Why it is necessary, how it can be interacted with, and how it informs the player
In this way, I am going to go into things like menu design and HUD (heads-up display).
The best thing to remember is that Assassin’s Creed is a science fiction series, and the UI is supposed to reflect that. In saying this, I do have to describe the franchise in this context. The Assassin's Creed series is an action-adventure video game franchise published by Ubisoft. It depicts a centuries-old struggle pitting the Assassins, who fight for peace with free will, against the Templars, who desire peace through control. The series features historical fiction, science fiction, and characters intertwined with real-world historical events and figures. The main games in the series revolve around the Assassins and their fight against the Templar Order and their attempt to end the violence and oppression caused by the Order. The games primarily take place during the Third Crusade in the Holy Land in 1191, the Renaissance in Italy during the 15th and 16th centuries, the American Revolution in the late 18th century, the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean during the early 18th century, the Industrial Revolution in Victorian England during the 19th century, the Russian Revolution in the early 20th century, and the modern day.
The magic of having the freedom to hope through history and explore those times Is through a device called the Animus. So originally, this series was all about the exploration of family trees and genealogy through a theory called "genetic memory." It is based on the idea that the memories and experiences of a person's ancestors can be passed down and accessed through their DNA. In the game, the main character is a modern-day assassin who is able to access the memories and experiences of his ancestors by using a device called the Animus. Through the Animus, the player can explore the memories of their ancestors and experience the same events and actions that they did, allowing them to learn more about the past. The Genetic Memory Theory is an important part of the game's plot and provides a unique and interesting way for players to experience the past.
So when we think of this, it’s got a lot of vibes of something like the Matrix and plays around with that simulation feel. As these events being depicted in the game "really happened," in Lore the viewer isn’t doing anything but experiencing them the way the ancestor did.
After that little crash course in the lore of AC, I wanted to go back to why I said all of that. Since these games are set in "modern day" (AC 2 being set in 2012). The Animus differs from the one from the original Assassin’s Creed game. AC2’s Animus is an Assassin Order-developed version with upgraded tech and also some stolen tech from the templars, and is used as a way to contrast the feel of the two different organisations. In AC1, the Animus was Templar developed by the front of a very powerful multinational corporate conglomerate originally based in a pharmaceuticals called Abstergo.
The colour theory here is a lot of blue in the UI, for the menus and HUD of the animus. In theory, blue connects to the idea of cleanliness. Many brands use blue for a pure, almost medical feel. Which really utilised Abstergo's being a pharmaceutical company. This contrasted with a lot of greys and some blacks, with a hint of white. These can all be linked to feelings of formality, conservatism, and some ideas of purity and virtue. Showing the Templars goal of peace through control.
As opposed to the UI seen in Assassin’s Creed 2. Which is all based around the colours white, red, and grey. The primary colours of the Assassin Order and attire are red and white. This brings to mind things like the feather in Blood. Which was used to inform their mentor of an assassination. Red is a colour of extremes in colour theory. In this context, it can be used to represent blood. Red can invoke meanings: it's the colour of passionate love, seduction, violence, danger, anger, and adventure. Our prehistoric ancestors saw red as the colour of fire and blood—energy and primal life forces—and most of red's symbolism today arises from its powerful associations in the past. The other primary colour is heavily represented as white. White stands for purity; its simplicity is untainted by any other hue. White stands for everything good and right, and we use it symbolically in opposition to black. White is the colour of certainty, illumination, and insight, and we associate it with knowledge and learning. Which is great to understand that even the themes of AC2 are not only the values of the Assassin Order. Also, it reflects on the story of the game, which is Memories of Ezio in the Renaissance." Italy is being used to learn not only the knowledge of what happened to the ancient artefacts called "Pieces of Eden," but also to help the modern-day protagonist learn the skills of his ancestors through something called the bleeding effect. If you want to know more about that bleeding effect concept, Well, just watch the video below.
So how would I be able to improve the UI and UX of AC2?
I personally believe we don’t need to do a great deal, in all honesty. After doing a deep dive into the colour theory and knowing the importance of the different systems like the puppeteer control scheme, infamy, synchronisation, economy, and weapons, I think if we were to improve this, we would be creating a new game, which could be to its benefit or even take away what made AC2 great.
The way it could be improved can be done through potentially lots of feedback from fans and even looking into other games. An important step would be to be able to think about the title from the point of view of accessibility. Which has been Ubisoft’s strength in recent years! This would improve the experience for people who may have been hindered by it before, allowing customization for an authentic experience. Visually, I would turn down the brightness of the white in the menus, as it can be quite bright in contrast to the rest of the game.
These would be the elements that would also need to be investigated.
First, give the player more information and indicators to work with. To accomplish this, extra animations, visual effects, and sound effects can be added to the game to better immerse the player in the action.
Secondly, work on the user interface. Make it simpler to use and more user-friendly. Make the user interface more flexible by including more features and settings.
Move the HUD around a bit. Reduce the size and clutter. This will improve the game's aesthetics and make it simpler to pick up and play.
Incorporate more player-controlled gameplay components. To do this, the game's level of interactivity can be increased by making additional objects and characters playable.
Five: upgrade the camera equipment. Facilitate manipulation and add range to the camera's field of view. The player will have less trouble getting around and discovering new things because of this.
Sixth, fine-tune the management system. To facilitate the player's command of their character, the control scheme should be made more user-friendly and intuitive.
Seven, spruce up the visuals and graphics. Improve the game's aesthetic by using higher-quality textures and models. The game experience will be greatly enhanced by this addition.
Believe it or not, a lot of these features, like the visuals, have been improved upon in titles like the Ezio Collection.
So, I decided to change this approach. Instead of redesigning Assassin’s Creed 2, why don’t we learn and reimagine the whole approach for a potential future title?
This will go into many different aspects of this concept. Almost in the form of a pitch.
Now, I am a very avid fan of Assassin’s Creed. I have mentioned my love of history and how I have a concept and plan for a potential trilogy of games. That I would love to one day implement into the franchise.
In this context, I am going to take this approach and put it towards the first in the said trilogy.
This is Assassin’s Creed: Stand and Deliver.
Assassin's Creed: Stand and Deliver is an action-adventure game set in 1860s–1880s Australia. You play as John George Henry Quinlan, a first-generation Irish Australian and member of the Assassin Brotherhood. You will take up the mantle of a bounty hunter and be tasked with tracking down and taking down criminals who have escaped justice. You will use your wits, stealth, and agility to outsmart your foes and complete your objectives. You will also gain access to powerful weapons and abilities to aid you in your mission. Experience a unique and thrilling adventure set in the harsh, unforgiving Outback. The characters of the story are inspired by my own family history, with their struggles and triumphs providing the backdrop for the setting. The title is based on the play of words both highwaymen and bushrangers said when robbing people: "Stand and Deliver."
I can always go into more depth on the story behind the title in a future blog.
To design the UI for the game, a designer would need to consider the game's setting, characters, and tone. They would need to create a user interface that is visually appealing and easy to navigate. Elements to consider would be the game's HUD, menus, buttons, and other graphical elements. The designer would also need to consider how the UI would be used by the player, how it should interact with the game mechanics, and how it can be optimised for console platforms. Additionally, the designer must ensure that the game's UI is accessible to all players, regardless of their skill level.
So, let's design the UI for it, and let’s do this by looking at games that were inspired by the elements introduced by AC2. Perhaps even one that an idea can be implemented.
The images depicted show the UI HUD of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Assassin’s Creed Origins, Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, Immortals: Fenyx Rising, and Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor.
In looking at these alone, you can see some consistent elements that have developed since 2009’s Assassin’s Creed 2. Depending on the genre, the HUD has become more minimalistic, while others have gone more objective-based.
In Stand and Deliver, we are moving away from the Witcher-inspired HUD of Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla and are going to revamp the UI with a modern feel with a touch of the old AC Magic.
Due to the magic of writing this blog, you don’t need to wait for the redesign! Because poof, it's already been done, and I’m going to share the journey of how this was done.
First, I decided to pull out the good ol' notepad to sketch the wireframes roughly down in order to know what they could potentially look like and also have it all on paper so it can make sense when adapting the wireframes on Adobe XD.
After that, I got to designing the HUD, which went through some trial and error. I am using a screenshot of Red Dead Redemption 2 as an example of how the gameplay setting feels, so it isn’t just an empty image..
The weapons selection menu was inspired by the one used in Assassin’s Creed 4 Black flag.
Now for the title screen and menu that would usually be used for a pause menu. This contains elements like a resume, quest selection, equipment, upgrades, crafting, databases, options, and an option to return to the main menu.
This also contains elements like the option to go to Ubisoft Connect to get those sweet rewards and see which challenges are ready. An in-game relevance Vital Monitor: This is just to make the point that this animus is reading not only the DNA and memories of the modern-day user but also making sure the user is stable.
This is also tied together with a nice little DNA motif.
Additional elements, player icon, and economy counter (In this context, Australia at this time was using the British pound, just as an indicator of how much money the ancestor has at this point in the game.)
To further improve this design and make it more unique, I would look at other games and their UI design. For example, I could look at the UI of popular games such as The Last of Us and Horizon Zero Dawn. From these games, I could observe how they use subtle animations, visual effects and sound effects to further immerse the player in the game. I could also observe how they incorporate player-controlled gameplay components and how they use a flexible user interface with additional features and settings. Additionally, I could look at how these titles use higher quality textures and models, how they fine-tune their management system and how they upgrade their camera equipment to make the game easier to navigate.
Moreover, I could also look into making the game more accessible to players with different levels of skill and experience. This could involve making the UI easier to understand and navigate, as well as allowing players to customize their experience to make it more authentic. Additionally, I could look into making use of colour theory to further enhance the game's aesthetic.
Finally, I would also need to remember that game development and design in general is all about trial, error and prototyping to see what works. This means that I would need to test out my design through playtesting and feedback from players, and then adjust where necessary. This would be an ongoing process that would need to be repeated until I am happy with the design.
In conclusion, designing the UI for Assassin's Creed: Stand and Deliver involved taking elements from past games while also creating something new. By taking into consideration the game's setting, characters, and tone, I was able to create a user interface that was visually appealing and easy to navigate. The HUD and menus drew inspiration from games such as Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Assassin’s Creed Origins, Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, Immortals: Fenyx Rising, and Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor. I also included elements such as an in-game relevance Vital Monitor and a DNA motif to distinguish the game from other titles in the franchise. By taking a thoughtful and considered approach, I believe I have been able to create a UI and UX design that, when combined with the story and game mechanics, will provide players with an engaging and immersive experience.