Assassins Creed Syndicate is the ninth installment of the franchise. It's an action adventure game
developed by Ubisoft Quebec and produced by Ubisoft The main story is set in London in 1868, at the onset of the Second Industrial Revolution, and follows twin Assassins Jacob and Evie Frye as they navigate the corridors of organised crime and take back the city from Templar control. The game also includes segments set in 1916, during World War I, which follow Jacob's granddaughter, Lydia Frye. The game was released on the 23rd of October 2015 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and was released on the 19th of November the same year for Windows. After launch, the game was supported with several releases of downloadable content including three story expansions. The most notable of these, Jack the Ripper, is set twenty years after the main campaign and involves Evie's pursuit of the unidentified serial killer.
Seen as an oddity to the AC franchise by some, Syndicate introduces new travelling systems to the series, as well as refined combat and stealth mechanics. Players control the two lead characters throughout the main story, switching between them both during and outside of missions. After being met with criticism of the previous game Assassins Creed Unity because of the technical issues during the co-op mode, Syndicate abandoned the co-op mode and instead adopted a new combat system. This was changed from Assassin's Creed Unity, and focused on chaining together fast-paced attacks and blocks. The stealth system also saw several improvements with the addition of new gadgets and a kidnapping mechanic, which allows the player to take an enemy hostage and blend in with them to remain unseen, as long as they are not in close proximity to another enemy.
The budget for Syndicate was less than the majority of the other games, with it ranging from around 80-85 million dollars. Additionally, Syndicate was less financially successful; as of November 2017, Assassin's Creed Syndicate has sold over 5.5 million copies worldwide. The game was developed by Ubisoft Quebec. Ubisoft Quebec is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Quebec City. The studio was established and formally opened on the 27th of June, 2005 and is best known for its work in the Assassin's Creed franchise. Though it is not specified how many people worked on Syndicate in particular, sources state that over 1000 people have worked on the Assassins Creed games in general.
The games market in 2015 saw a increase in Action-Adventure games, with games such as The Witcher 3 (winner of game of the year in 2015) and Rise of the Tomb Raider. Syndicate was also nominated for GOTY in 2015. Sales of video games in 2015 reached $61 billion, an 8% increase from 2014. Of this, the largest part of this was in computer game sales and subscription services, accounting for $32 billion. In the United States, the total video game market revenues stood at $23.5 billion. In the United Kingdom, the total video game market was valued at nearly £4.2 billion.
In terms of the target audience, Syndicate targets targets teenagers, similar to the typical audience you associate with video games. However, because of its being part of a franchise, the audience spreads to hardcore fans of the games. Fans will be desperately awaiting the next game to see how the overall story line progresses. However, because of the disappointment from the previous game, Unity, fans may have been less inclined to play Syndicate, for fear of it being as mediocre as Unity was. Alternatively, fans may have been more inclined to play it out of hope that they will see a vast improvement-they may view Syndicate as a chance for redemption. In terms of the 4Cs, I would say that the explorer fits the audience the best, perhaps with sub-genres of mainstream and reformer audiences.
In terms of marketing, we can see many traditional forms: web page takeovers, YouTube pre-roll ads, online TV streaming ads, sponsored lets plays etc. Less traditionally, two YouTube channels that have a lot to do with various crafts such as Sword-making were also sponsored by Syndicate. The items they were building weren't iconic or well known aspects of franchise, but instead they were two of the new gimmicks that were being added to the game: the Cane Sword and Grappling Hook.
The trailer opens with action, which immediately establishes the genre of the game. Additionally, we have the mise en scene of Jacobs costume and his weapons, as he wears gold knuckle dusters engraved with the phrase 'God Save The Queen'-a sign of pride for the nation, but also liberation as the main premise of the game is too liberate London and save it from a corrupt government. We see a close up shot of the gadgets Jacob wears, hinting to the new gadgets that were created for this game. The time in which the game is set in is established and we align with our protagonist as we are shown he has a set of morals, as he kills a man who was previously holding a boy up by his collar. Along with neat technical transitions we are shown what Jacob and Evie strive for which is to take London back from the enemy. Following this, we are again shown action sequences, while the trailer finishes with two opposing gangs running to attack each other. The game is typical of the 21st Century in term of graphics, gameplay and other elements. Though Evie is a dual protagonist along with Jacob, she isn't really featured in the trailer and we don't see her demonstrating her skills, we only see her walking alongside Jacob and other background characters; because of this, it could be argued that the representation of gender isn't particularly strong. There is a strong representation of poverty and mistreatment by the government as this is an integral aspect of the games storyline. There is a strong aspect of violence in the trailer which seems to be glamorised, though we see lots of fighting, we don't see anyone killed outright with any real aspect of gore. For ethnicity, there are no people of colour, so they are underrepresented in this trailer.
These two adverts can be seen as an example of synergy as this marketing isn't similar to the other Syndicate marketing, despite the fact that it was created by Ubisoft. These posters are more niche and unique in comparison to the rest.
The Ubisoft website draws attention to the open world of the game, along with one of our main characters. The website also talks about 'taking over the London underworld'.
In terms of social media, the game was featured on YouTube with sponsored playthroughs, and the game will have been talked about on Reddit, which has an Assassins Creed community consisting of around 494,000 members, in the top 1% of the largest communities on Reddit.
For appeals, the fact that the game is an instalment from a well known franchise that they may be apart of is an appeal in itself. The combat and gameplay will be an appeal, along with perhaps the setting and storyline. The fact that both the main characters are a boy and a girl allows for a wider variety of audience, as both sexes are able to see themselves represented in a game as a strong, skilled assassin.
This sequence of the game-play involves cut scenes, violence and parkour. The combat isn't necessarily unique, however the utilization of Jacob's cane as the main weapon used in the game-play makes the game slightly unique in this respect. We only really see a representation of men and perhaps corruption of government. the game reflects the historical that it is set in. Additionally, the game-play and graphics reflect the time in which it is made.
Syndicate was less financially successful than previous entries in the series, selling roughly 5.5 million copies by November 2017. In terms of revenue, the game make 245-255 million.
Syndicate has received 18 nominations and 7 wins, including nominations for BAFTAs-Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Best Music. At the Canadian Video-game awards, Syndicate won Game of the Year, Best Animation, Best New Character, Best Audio, and Best Visual Arts.
Many reviews stated that Syndicate was an underrated game in the franchise and rated the game highly. Perhaps on initial release the game wasn't received particularly well, however over time the readings changed or more people were inclined to enjoy the game rather than dismiss it.
Professional reviews vary but the ones I've seen state that the game is good and enjoyable, with the playable duel characters being a strong positive in the game.
I would say that the lower rated review took an oppositional review as they didn't align with the protagonists, particularly Evie because of her gender. However, the highly rated review took a preferred response as they aligned with the setting, writing and story line.
Twitch is an American video live streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of esports competitions, in addition to offering music broad
casts, creative content, and "in real life" streams. Although I couldn't find any Assassins Creed play throughs, Assassins Creed has their own Twitch account that they stream teasers, game-play as well as cosplay.
This fan has created an idea for a new assassins creed game, which demonstrates how fans who are particularly passionate about the franchise will create their own content.
Syndicate was rated 18 by PEGI due to strong violence and infrequent strong language. Its likely that the rating is primarily due to the violence.
Jenkins:
Henry Jenkin's Fandom theory can be applied to Syndicate. The Fandom theory is the idea that fans are active participants in the construction and circulation of textual meanings. Syndicate has a strong fan base that has been instrumental to the success of the games. Over the years, the fan base has provided feedback to the developers and the games have been tailored to some of their requests. Additionally, it is the idea that fans appropriate texts and read them in ways that are not fully authorized by the media producers. Online, many gamers will stream games live and provide commentaries on sites like Twitch. The online gaming community along with video games magazines have also provided reviews of the game that can be seen worldwide. This can have both good and bad consequences. Lastly, Jenkins' theory suggests that fans construct their social and cultural identities through borrowing and inflecting mass culture images. The video games offer social experiences as well as communities outside of the core game experience. Some female gamers may have constructed their own social identities by performing cosplay (dressing up as the main character from AC3: Liberation.) The provides for good free publicity for the games.
Fans may create their own films or incorporate the Assassins Skills into their own. Additionally, fans may go as far as getting a tattoo referencing the game, thus proving Jenkins point as the game now plays a permanent part of some peoples identity.
Bandura:
Albert Bandura's theory can also be applied to AC Syndicate. He argues that the media can implant ideas in the mind of the audience directly. The audience will then acquire attitudes and model themselves on what they see in media productions. The behavior demonstrated in the text will be mimicked and imitated by audiences, especially children. In Assassins Creed Syndicate, the protagonists are attempting to overthrow a government and assassinate corrupt people in power as a way of seeking revenge. Based on the theory, children who play this game may copy some of the transgressive behavior that they play; they may do something like sneaking up on other children and attempting to hurt them just like the game. Alternatively, it can be argued that it is possible to get positive ideas attitudes and behavior from video games.
Although the protagonists are using violence, characters like Evie are presented as a strong female that young female audiences can aspire to. Both Jacob and Evie are courageous role models who seek retribution for oppression. It can be argued that both negative and positive ideas are injected into the audiences minds' from the game. Syndicate reviewed an 18 rating from PEGI due to violent content, so it shouldn't be played by children, however underage children will tend to play this anyway meaning that they won't be protected from transgressive behavior such as the behavior in Assassins Creed: Syndicate.
Hesmondhalgh:
Hesmondhalgh's industry theory is evident through both Assassin's Creed in general and Syndicate as a separate entity. Hesmondhalgh states that cultural industries try to minimize risk and maximize audience through vertical and horizontal integration, and by formatting their cultural products. Syndicate is based on an already existing franchise, which minimizes risk as there is already an established fan base. It is evident that Ubisoft are trying to harness the popularity of the franchise to encourage sales. The game is also a product of vertical integration as Ubisoft is not only the developer of the game but they are also the publisher of the game. This increases their profits from the sales of the game. The theory also suggests that the largest companies or conglomerates now operate across a number of different cultural industries. The franchise also crosses into areas like merchandise. Audiences can create costumes based on characters in the franchise like Jacob and Evie in Syndicate. Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is available on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Amazon Luna.
Ubisoft's marketing plays an integral part in the success of the franchise, as social media allows for the fan base to connect and succuss the latest developments of the game, characters or general storyline.
The last point of Hesmondhalgh's theory suggests that the radical potential of the internet has been contained to some extent by its partial incorporation into a large profit orientated set of cultural industries. Syndicate features 3 separate DLCs that players can buy play additionally to the mains storyline. Illegal downloads of the game via the internet will potentially lose money for Ubisoft so some radical parts of the internet will still present potential problems for the video game industry.
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