The basics:
The 2019 video game Assassins Creed Rebellion takes place in 15th century Spain during the Spanish Inquisition. During this time in history, there was a conflict between the templars, who were commanded by Tomas De Torquemada, and the Spanish brotherhood of assassins, who were led by Aguilar De Nehra. As assassins, players must assemble strong allies to establish their own sorority. Their objective is to get together to fight the oppression that is overtaking Spain and to oppose the templars. Prominent assassins from the series, such as Niccolò Machiqvelli, Ezio Auditore, his sister Claudia, Shaojun, and others, team up with more than fifty new characters made specifically for Rebellion.
Assassins Creed Rebellion was developed with a strong creative vision and the specific objective of bringing the Assassins Creed series to mobile devices in the most sensible manner. Jonathan Lavergne was looking to create a new Assassin’s Creed mobile game and was looking for a game that really fit what the platform is best at. Rebellion chooses to use cartoon graphics as opposed to the photorealistic approach taken by earlier Assassins Creed games. There are excellent models, environments, sound effects, and a soundtrack, among other things. Fans of Assassin’s Creed rebellion have spoke about how they find the setting of Spain exciting as Assassins Creed made it their own. It created an interesting and exclusive opportunity to expand the story of the Spanish Brotherhood and find out how the story ends.
The production of the game:
There is no exact amount that was said to be the budget for Assassin’s Creed Rebellion but the budget for games in the Assassin’s Creed series can vary widely, but major titles from big studios like Ubisoft often have significant budgets and the Assassin’s Creed franchise have development and marketing budgets that exceed $100 million. For instance, "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag" was reported to have a budget of around $100 million for both development and marketing. These budgets include costs for game development, staff salaries, marketing campaigns, and other expenses. Each new title in the series might have a different budget, depending on its scope, the technology used, and the marketing strategy.
Behaviour Interactive developed Assassin’s Creed Rebellion and it was published by Ubisoft. Behaviour Interactive is a Canadian video game developer based in Montreal. It is best known for the multiplayer horror game Dead by Daylight. Founded in 1992 and the company’s current CEO and executive producer is Remi Racine. Some of the team members at Behaviour Interactive where long time fans of the Assassin’s Creed franchise and came to Ubisoft with an interesting pitch that kick-started a close design and development collaboration between them, Ubisoft mobile and the Assassin’s Creed brand team. Ubisoft is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint- Mande with development studios across the world. They have a video game franchise including games like, Assassin’s Creed, Driver, Just Dance, and many more. Ubisoft recently confirmed that each series of Assassin’s Creed takes about 2000 developers.
Exploring the audiences:
The target audience for Assassin’s Creed Rebellion is 18+ as suggested by the PEGI 18 age rating. This is because of the violent content and criminal activity that is shown in the game. The continuous depiction of violence in all Assassin's Creed games aligns with the Cultivation hypothesis proposed by George Gerbner. This theory proposes that our perception of the outside world can be shaped and influenced by exposure to recurring patterns of representation over extended periods of time. Since children are among the game's primary player demographic and are more open to influence, some of the transgressive behaviours, like stabbing people, may be mimicked by them. Assassins Creed is a violent game that almost prides itself on its violent nature, with each game becoming more violent and creative in how someone can kill a person. As it demonstrates how people are greatly influenced by the media they consume, this may illustrate the social and cultural influence that the game has on people. Males are stereotypically more interested in the gaming industry and tend to play games such as Assassin’s Creed more than females typically would. New advances in the games have introduced more female protagonist characters making females feel ore included in the game. This will make them feel like they are welcome in the gaming community. For race and ethnicity, the game is suitable for everyone but is more lenient to the western world. Some hobbies and interests that you may have been fighting, guns and of course gaming. Young and Rubicam’s 4C’s would suggest that the struggler would be suitable for the game as they seek escape and Explorer as they seek adventure. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs shows that the person playing the game would have these qualities of esteem, self-esteem, achievement, independence, prestige and respect.
Marketing:
Rebellion was marketed on social media through various channels to engage with fans and promote the game. Ubisoft, the developer, likely utilized platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to share trailers, gameplay footage, updates, and interact with the community. They might have collaborated with influencers, shared behind-the-scenes content, and run targeted ads to reach a wider audience. This kind of marketing strategy helps build excitement and awareness around the game before and after its release. Influencer marketing is a key aspect, where they would partner with gaming influencers and YouTubers to create content around the game, reaching out to the influencers' followers. Additionally, they could have used targeted advertising on social media to reach potential players based on their interests and gaming habits. Moreover, Ubisoft could have leveraged cross-promotion with other Assassin’s Creed titles or related content, tapping into the existing fan base of the franchise. They often create compelling narratives and visuals that resonate with the audience, ensuring that the posts are not only promotional but also entertaining and informative. This multi-faceted approach is designed to maximize reach and engagement across different segments of the gaming community. TAKEOFF was mandated to create the visual communication campaign for the game Assassin’s Creed Rebellion. The campaign includes the creation of trailers, images and other marketing material for the new game. To create campaign assets, they incorporated their skills in branding, graphic design, video, images processing, motion graphics, and more. A trailer was also put out which was central for the marketing strategy.
Assassin's Creed Rebellion appeals to its target audience through a combination of factors. The game offers a blend of action, strategy, and role-playing elements set in the Assassin's Creed universe. Players can experience engaging gameplay, strategic decision-making, and character customization, all within the familiar Assassin's Creed world. The game also provides opportunities for players to explore different missions, unlock new characters, and develop their own Assassin Brotherhood. These features cater to fans of the Assassin's Creed series and those who enjoy immersive storytelling and strategic gameplay.
The gameplay in Assassin's Creed Rebellion does incorporate many elements that are typical of modern mobile games, but it also has unique features that set it apart. Here's how it fits into the current gaming landscape:
Much like other modern mobile games, Rebellion features a roster of collectible characters, each with unique abilities and stats. This is a common aspect of many mobile games that include gacha mechanics or character collection as a core part of the gameplay. Players can build and upgrade their own Assassin's base, which is a feature seen in many strategy and simulation games today. The game employs a strategic combat system where players must consider the placement and abilities of their Assassins. This strategic layer is common in many turn-based strategy games. Missions are a staple of modern gaming, and Rebellion offers various missions with different objectives and challenges, similar to other action-adventure and role-playing games. Game features stylized graphics that are well-suited for mobile platforms, which is a trend in modern mobile gaming to cater to various device capabilities. Following a common monetization strategy for mobile games, Rebellion is free-to-play but includes in-app purchases for faster progression or exclusive items. While it does have many elements typical of modern games, especially mobile games, Assassin's Creed Rebellion also stands out with its unique blend of Assassin's Creed lore and strategic gameplay. This combination, along with the established brand name, helps the game appeal to both fans of the series and new players looking for a complex mobile gaming experience.
Success:
Because of its enormous fan base and widespread appeal, Assassin's Creed games usually bring in a sizable sum of money. Numerous titles in the franchise have sold millions of copies worldwide, demonstrating the franchise's commercial success. The particular title, marketing initiatives, and general opinion of players and critics can all have an impact on the average income.
Unlike other Assassins Creed games, Rebellion has won any awards as it is a mobile game it has not gathered the same amount of recognition in the awards circuit as its console and PC counterparts. The audience’s response to Assassin’s Creed Rebellion was very varied. Apps like reddit have some of the responses and people have to say that 2it is a nice game with many hours of grind” and people love the “style of the assassin’s”. And other have gone to say that they “played for a few hours and deleted it as it wasn’t engaging or fun.”
Reviews from the app store-
(5 STAR RATING)
Kontrolfreak94, 12/08/2019
Still love this game after almost an entire year!
I love collecting every new assassin that come out. Missions are fun when you can use each character’s unique skills but there is just one problem. I’ve ranked up a lot of heroes but I’m almost always using the same ones. The event bonuses for certain heroes make events more fun but a lot of heroes I have don’t get the love they deserve, especially some who have awesome skills that I never get to use because I just never realized they had it. It would be cool if we could filter search for heroes by specific skills like the one in the search criteria in the mobile game Yu-gi-oh Duel links. I also have a bunch of empty rooms waiting to be filled with something, maybe a training room where we can teach new skills to heroes somehow. They could be new skills or maybe skills that are specific to certain heroes. Or a room for a workshop where we can buy or craft equipment or temporary skills that we can use in missions. The game could also use some more support, heal, and disarm specialists that are legendary or epic.
Twitch TV-
One well-known website where users may view and stream live video game broadcasts is Twitch TV. For gamers and gaming fans, it functions as a virtual centre where they can interact, share, and consume gaming material. Numerous gaming streams featuring games, competitions, and even original content are available. It's a fantastic way to join the gaming community, communicate with streamers, and find new games.
Regulation-
Assassin’s Creed Rebellion was given an age rating of 12+. Rebellion was most likely given this rating due to the mild violence and themes that are most suitable for older children. As for other Assassin’s Creed games that are rated an 18+ they are rated that because of the language, strong violence, illegal activity and more. According to the regulations that have been completed Rebellion does not need to be any high like the other games.
Application of theory- media industries-
Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt suggest that there is a struggle in recent UK regulation policy between the need to further the interests of citizens and the need to further the interests of consumers. In the video game industry the regulations are done by PEGI and the BBFC depending on the game. Assassin's Creed Rebellion was rated a 12+ PEGI. This rating will ensure that parents can choose age appropriate games for their children. The reason for the rating of Rebellion was because of the mild cartoon violence. It was rated any higher as it it obvious that nothing in the game is real life and the violence and language is not bad compared to other Assassin Creed games. Livingstone and Lunt also stated that the increasing power of global media corporation, together with the rise of convergent media technologies and transformations in the production, distribution and marketing of digital media have placed traditional approaches to media regulation at risk. Video games can now be streamed or downloaded online and this will prevent video game shops checking the age of the customers. This now means that children can easily download video games if they have permission or access to their parents or older siblings account. This can also damage profits for Ubisoft but also opportunities with easy access for all underage audiences bypassing video game shops.
Audiences-
Henry Jenkins suggested that fans are active participants in the construction and circulation of textual meanings. The Assassins Creed franchise has a strong, well-developed fan-base. The significance of fan culture has ben instrumental to the success of video games. The fan base has provided feedback to the developers of the game which provides them with new ideas to tailor the game. This feedback can be found on Assassin's Creed official Reddit page. On the Reddit page there are some about Rebellion. Fans found the game to be good but the aspect that it is a mobile can is not appealing to fans. They have said that the game is not worth the money and neither are mobile games. Jenkins also suggested that the fans appropriate texts and read them in ways that are not fully authorised by the media producers. Online gamers stream games live and provide video audio commentaries of themselves on sites such as Twitch. They will provide both positive and negative feedback on the game. This was the same for Rebellion as fans did provide reviews on streaming services like Twitch. He also suggested that fans construct their social and cultural identities through borrowing and inflecting mass culture images and are part of participatory culture that has a vital social dimension. Video games offer experiences as well as communities outside of the core game experiences. Some female gamers have constructed their own social identities by performing in cosplay, dressing up as the main character for games in the franchise.
Albert Bandura talks about how the media injects and implants ideas into the brain. The audience will them acquire attitudes and model themselves on what they see in media productions. Behaviour that is transgressive will be mimicked and imitated by audiences, especially children who are easily influenced. The story of Rebellion shows mild violence and doing the wrong thing in a situation when violence should not be the answer. This implants negative behaviours and behaviour in children who think that fighting is the only was to solve conflict, The video game, based on this theory, suggests children may copy behaviour of sneaking up on children and hurting them to seek revenge like characters in the game. However, it is possible to get positive ideas, attitudes and behaviour from video games like Assassin's Creed Rebellion. Rebellion has many female characters who young female audiences can aspire to be and look up too. On twitter, tweets have been posted about the #ACSisterhood movement by celebrating women Assassin's. It can be argued that both negative and positive ideas, attitudes, behaviour can be injected into the audiences minds from the game.
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