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What Its Like to Be an Architectural Consultant

for Assassins Creed II
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ARTICLES

ConceptartfromAssassinsCreedII.ImageUbisoftMontreal

Inthefollowingarticle,originallypublishedinSpanishonMetaSpaceas"Assassin'sCreed
2Arquitectosquehacenvideojuegos"(ArchitectsWhoMakeVideoGames),Spanish
architectManuelSagainterviewsMaraElisaNavarro,aProfessorofArchitecturalHistory
andTheory,whoworkedwithUbisoftMontrealasahistoricalconsultantonthedesign

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teamforthevideogameAssassin'sCreedII,fromthefirstroughdraftsuptoitslaunchin
Novemberof2009.

WhilegettingherPhDatMcGill,MaraElisaNavarrowasaconsultantfortheentire

MOST
VISITED

andUbisoftMontreal.Sheworkedontheprojectincompletesecrecywith"asmallteamof

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20peopleandthenlatermorethan400inahugebasementinMontreal."Navarro

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developmentprocessofthegameaspartofaresearchprojectbetweentheuniversity

workedoneverythingfromlate15thcenturywardrobestothecorrectionofarchitectural
errorsintherecreatedcities,goingoverthelookandornamentaldetailsofthebuildings.

Eziocouldclimbthem,butwhenthetimecametolaythosepartsout,thereweresome

What Its Like to Be an

Architectural Consultant
for Assassins Creed II

inaccuracies.Forexample,Irememberabalconywithawroughtironrailingthatcouldn't

Articles

"Sometimes,forgameplaypurposes,theyneededtohavewallswithalotoftexturesothat

haveexistedinthattimeperiod.Iwasresponsiblefordetectingthoseissues,"Navarro
notedinherconversationwithMetaSpace.

Is There a European
Identity in Architecture?

Read the full interview with Navarro after the break.

Articles

MOST VISITED
PRODUCTS
laUniversidaddeLosAndesclassof1999,whereshelaterreturnedtoworkasa

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Facade Panels
Hunter Douglas Contract

professorinJanuaryof2014.Duringthose15years,shecontinuedhereducationwitha

Metallics

MaraElisaNavarroisanarchitect,agraduateoftheFacultaddeArquitecturayDiseode

MastersandaPhDfromMcGillUniversityinMontreal,whereshewasabletopersonally
workwiththearchitectAlbertoPrezGomez,aswellaswithotherimportantpeopleinthe
field.

Handicraft Tradition Artematica Vitrum Arte

Butthat'sastoryforanothertime,today,MaraElisaisgoingtotalktousabouther

Valcucine

experienceatUbisoftMontreal,oneofthemostimportantdevelopingstudiosintheworld

KitchenFurniture/Countertops

ofvideogames.We'lltalkmoreaboutthemlaterwhenwediscusstheirgameChildof

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WhatItsLiketoBeanArchitecturalConsultantforAssassinsCreedII|ArchDaily
LightandthedevelopmentoftheUbiartFrameworkEngine,buttodaywe'regoingtofocus
ononeoftheirmostsuccessfultitles:Assassin'sCreedII.

InAssassin'sCreedIIweassumetheroleofEzioAuditoredaFirenze,aFlorentine
assassinduringtheItalianRenaissance,whosestorytakesplaceunderthereignofPope
AlexanderVI,andtakesnumerouselementsthataretypicaloftheRenaissanceinorderto

Paper Composite Siding Richlite Rainshadow

Intectural

createastorylinewhereweinteractwithcharacterslikeMachiavelliorLeonardodaVinci.It
isasandboxstylegame,withanopenworldenvironment,wherewe'reabletomovearound
aswepleasethroughcitieslikeFlorence,VeniceorSanGimignano.

07

Wood/Bamboo

OCT

2015

by Manuel Saga
Translated by Matthew Valletta
News Articles Video Games
Mara Elisa Navarro 3D Modeling
New York Skyscrapers

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Welcome(sic)toVenecia.ImageUbisoftMontreal

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Manuel Saga (MS): What was your experience with video games before
working at Ubisoft?
Mara Elisa Navarro (MEN):IhadbarelyplayedAtarigames,I'veneverbeenavideo
gamefan.Asamatteroffact,IpersonallyhaveneverevenplayedAssassin'sCreed,it's
toodifficultformetogetusedtothecontrols.Ihaveseenitbeingplayedalot,sinceIwas
alongsidethedesignerswhiletheyplayedsothattheycouldexplaintomethepartsthey
wereworkingon.

MS:How did you first come into contact withUbisoft Montreal?

MEN:WhenIwaslivinginMontrealImet,completelybychance,someFrenchfriends
whoworkedatUbisoft.Theybecamepartofmygroupoffriends,thepeoplewhomade
upmysociallifeoutsideofuniversity.Oneofthem,VincentGaigneux,wastheArt
Designerwhowasinchargeofdesigningthemaincharacter(Editor'snote:Gaigneuxis
currentlytheSeniorArtDesigneratUbisoftandhasworkedonalltheimportantAssassin's
Creedtitles).Heaskedmehowhecouldfamiliarizehimselfwiththingslikeweapons,
Video: Walking with

CVDB
costumes,etcsothathecoulddesignthem.Itoldhimhowtoaccessthearchivesto

studydocumentsandoriginalpaintingsfromthetimeperiod,butthetaskwassoforeignto
himthattheydecidedtoarrangeameetingformewiththeprojectmanager.Thatwasin
Videos
Februaryof2008.

TheyofferedtocollaboratewithMcGillandbeginaresearchprojectrelatedtoAssassin's
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CreedII,ontheconditionthatIbeinchargeofit.AndthatishowIendedupworkingatthe

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companyfortwoyearsfirstadvisingasmallteamof20peopleandthenlatermore

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than400inahugebasementinMontreal,collaboratingwithofficesinShanghai.Itwasa
secretproject,Icouldn'ttellanyonewhatIwasworkingon,andduringthefinalstagesthe
meetingwasinabigbasementwithacontrolledentrance,securitycards,etc.

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ConceptartforthecharacterofCesareBorgia,madebyVincentGaigneux.Image
UbisoftMontreal

MS:What exactly did your job consist of?

MEN:Ubisoftneededtobecomefamiliarwiththetimeperiodbetween1476and1503,
bothforcharacterdesign,andforthe3Dmodelingandgameplaydesign.Ipreparedakind
ofmasterclassforthemwhereIpresented,forexample,thehistoryoftheHouseofMedici
andofGirolamoSavonarola.Ialsoprepareddocumentsfromthearchivesanddatabases
atMcGill,respondingtothedifferentdesignneeds.

MS:What are some specific aspects we can see represented in the

game? What do you think the players feel about it?
MEN:Forexample,oneofthefirstofthesekindsofdocumentswasalistofbuildingswe
canfindinmoderndayVenicethatalsoexistedbackthen,likechurches.Thisisapieceof
interestinginformation,becausetheydidn'tbeginconstructingtheRenaissance
facadesuntilmuchlater,soIshowedthemtheexampleofSanLorenzo(thatneverhad
thistypeoffacade)sotheycouldimaginehowthechurcheswouldhavebeenatthat
timeandcreatetheirdesignsaccordingly.

Onespecialmomentwaswhentheyneededacityapartfromthemainones,toputa
sectionofthegamethathadalargeamountoftowersandhighspaces.Istarted
researchingandtogetherwecametotheconclusionthatthispartofthestorywouldtake
placeinSanGimignano.

Anotheraspectwedealtwithwasthelookofthebuildingstheyweremodeling,andI
wouldmeetwiththemperiodicallytoverifytheaccuracyofthehistoricalreconstruction.
Sometimes,forgameplaypurposes,theyneededtohavewallswithalotoftexturesothat
Eziocouldclimbthem,butwhenthetimecametolaythosepartsout,thereweresome
inaccuracies.Forexample,Irememberabalconywithawroughtironrailingthatcouldn't
haveexistedinthattimeperiod.Iwasresponsiblefordetectingthoseissues.

Ontheotherhand,late15thcenturybuildingsmostlikelyhadonlyonelevel,two
maximum,buttheydecidedtoignorethatfactforthesakeofgameplay.

EzioAuditoredaFirenzejumpingfromfourstorybuildings.ImageUbisoftMontreal

MS: That is an interesting point. The urban and architectural space is

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WhatItsLiketoBeanArchitecturalConsultantforAssassinsCreedII|ArchDaily
based on reality, but it is a fantasy designed to tell a story andprovidean
experience in the same way ascriptrespects some historical factsand
modifies others. It works in a similar manner to literature or cinema.
MEN:Yes.Theytriedtomakeitsothateachdecisiontodeviatefromhistoricalaccuracy
wasalwaysdonewithsomepartofthegameinmind.

MS: What other aspects did your work influence, beyond the
architecture?
MEN:Oneexamplewouldbethewardrobe.Iwouldhaveneverimaginedthattheclothing
couldbesodifferentbetweenFlorenceandVenice.TodocumentthatIhadtobasealot
offofthepaintingsofthattimeperiod,studyingthemingreatdetailtodetecttheparticular
differences.Forexample,thecitieshaddifferentlawsaboutthekindofnecklinewomen
wereallowedtowear.InVenicethelawsweremorelax,andthat'swherethecourtesan
charactershowsup.Nonetheless,thenoblewomenweren'tallowedtogointothestreets
uncoveredinVeniceorinFlorence.InFlorencethemenworeauniquehat,whileinVenice
theydidn't,etc.

Anotherthingwasthehairstyles,thatwestudiedthroughartistslikeBotticelli.For
example,theidealbeautyinVenicewastheblondewoman,somanywomendyedtheir
hair.Apartfromthosemoregeneraltypesofjobs,therewasaquestionnairethattheartists
couldfillouttoaskmemorespecificthings.Allofthatappearedinthegame.

CarnivalinVenice:wardrobesandmasks.ImageUbisoftMontreal

MS: What was a typical meeting like?

MEN:MydirectcontactwasproducerGenevieveDufourthewomanImetwiththe
most.

MS: Were there a lot of women in Ubisoft?

MEN:Notatall,weworkedcompletelysurroundedbymen.Wewereveryveryfewwomen
atUbisoft,tothepointofitbeinguncomfortable.Imagineaproportionofahundredtoone.

MS: Wow!
MEN:Yes,apartfrommeetingswiththeproducer,Ihadalotofworksessions
withVincentGaigneuxandhisteammates.Theywereinchargeoftheconceptart,bothof
thecharactersandtheirsurroundings,thatistosay,theymadedrawingsthatwere
transformedandservedasabaseforthe3Dmodeling.Theyshowedmetheirworkin
Photoshopandwemodifiedittogether.Later,Ialsometwiththe3Dartists.Theywould
playsothatIcouldverifythedesign,sayiftherewereanychangesthatneededtobe
made,etc.

MS: Your job was always like that for the whole two years?
MEN:Afterthefirstmeetings,Iwentontoassisttheartistsandmodelers.Fromthere,my
timeincreasedlittlebylittle,fromonlyoneweeklymeetingtothreeorfour.Later,whenthe
projectwasalreadyveryestablished,wewenttothehighsecuritybasementthatI

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WhatItsLiketoBeanArchitecturalConsultantforAssassinsCreedII|ArchDaily
mentionedearlier,andthereIworkedonthecinematiccutscenes.

YvesSimoneau,thedirector,arrangedatwohourmeetingformewhereIrespondedtoa
barrageofquestions.Irememberthattherewerealotofdoubtsabouttheinteriorsandthe
furniture,abouthowtheyimaginedthePapalApartmentstobe.Itwasallprefilmingwork,
fordrawingsandmodelsoftheenvironment.

ScenefromAssassinsCreedII.ImageUbisoftMontreal

MS: One question people are sure to ask, were there other architects on
the team?
MEN:NotthatIknowof.Therewereconceptualartistsand3Dmodelersthatwere
specializedinarchitecture.Theywereprofessionalswithaveryspecifictechnical
education,aspecialtypeofdegree.

MS: What would you say is your takeaway from this experience? How has
your way of seeing video games changed?
MEN:Formethemostinterestingthingabouttheexperiencewasthehistoricalinterestin
thedevelopmentofavideogame.Thegenuineconcernontheirpartwasapleasant
surprise.What'smore,itseemslikeanexcellentwaytospreadinformationthatisnormally
quitehidden.Infact,compilingtheinformationwashalfofmyjobfortwoyears,soit
seemstomeanexcellentwaytomakesurethatknowledgedoesn'tstayhidden.It
representsanotherformoflearning.

Personally,Ilearnedalot,notonlyabouthistorybutalsoabouthowthevideogame
industryworks.InthespecificcaseofAssassin'sCreedIIthedevelopmentwasmore
artisticallyorientedratherthantechnologically.Irememberthateachmaincharactercould
easilytakeupayear'sworthofwork.

Truthfullytheprimarypartofmyjobwasn'tanythingsexylookingfordocuments,
compilingthem,scanningthem...TheywereallsentinreallyplainWorddocuments.
However,forthemthedocumentswereavitalresourcethatallowedthemtomakea
veryrealisticexperience,trulybeautiful.

Formeitwasapleasuretoworkonacreationthatmixessuchayoungindustry,withthe
oldestintheworld,history.

MS: Have you gone back to work on any of the other Assassin's Creeds?
MEN:No.Itwasaonetimejob,thecompanydidn'twanttobetiedtomenormetothem.
LateronIworkedwithAlbertoPrezGmezonotherprojectsrelatedtovideogames,with
acompletelydifferentfocus,butwe'llsavethatstoryforanothertime.

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ConceptartfromAssassins

EzioAuditoredaFirenze

ScenefromAssassinsCreed

CreedII.ImageUbisoft

jumpingfromfourstory

II.ImageUbisoftMontreal

Montreal

buildings.ImageUbisoft
Montreal

CarnivalinVenice:wardrobes Welcome(sic)toVenecia.
andmasks.ImageUbisoft

ImageUbisoftMontreal

Montreal

Conceptartforthecharacter
ofCesareBorgia,madeby
VincentGaigneux.Image
UbisoftMontreal

Cite:
Saga, Manuel. "What Its Like to Be an Architectural Consultant for Assassins Creed II" [Mara Elisa
Navarro, la arquitecta que asesor el desarrollo de Assassin's Creed II ] 07 Oct 2015. ArchDaily. (Trans.
Matthew Valletta) Accessed 9 Oct 2015. <http://www.archdaily.com/774210/maria-elisa-navarro-thearchitectural-consultant-for-assassins-creed-ii/>

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Jointhediscussion
AlfredHaus 2daysago

It'sinterestingthatitisbeingtalkedaboutatall.Thereisanopensecret
thatalotofgamesarebasedonarchitecture,butadmittingitcanbe
tricky.IwouldlovetoseealevelmadebyZahaHadid,andabuilding
designedbyagreatlevelEditor.

Reply Share

andcore 2daysago

Interestingthattheydidn'tevenbotherinvolvinganitalianhistorian/
architectwhenthewholegamebasedinItaly.

Reply Share

ManuelSaga>andcore 2daysago

MariaElisawaslivingatMontrealatthatmoment,andherPhd
Thesisisaboutitalianrenaissancearchitecture,so...

Reply Share

andcore>ManuelSaga 2daysago

She'sobviosulypreparered,butinmyhumbleopiniona
historianItalianthatlivesthere,withaccesstoItalian
museumswheneverhewant,witharealdirect
understandingofLeonardoDaVincibooks(ifthatmatters
forthegame)wouldhavebeenacompletedifferentthing.
OfcourseI'dhavesaidthesamethingifthegamewas
basedinMontrealwithanItalianarchitectinvolved,butfor
thegamefidelityit'sagreatthinganyways,forsure!

Reply Share

ManuelSaga>andcore adayago

Agree.Ithinkthat,intheend,logisticand
networkingiswhatmatters.M.E.knewtheart
director,theybecamefriends,theartdirector
askedhowtoconsultandresearchinacademic
archivesaboutitalianrenaissance,andubisoft
hiredM.E.becauseitisnotaneasywork.
Ubisoftdidn'thavethiskindofconsultingin
Assassin'sCreedI,atleastnotfromthevery
beginningoftheproject,sohavingoneinAC2
wasanexperiment.

Reply Share

AR>andcore 2daysago

sheisahistoryprofessorthough,andanarchitect

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