Assassin's Creed Shadows offers a very freeform open world to journey across as both Naoe and Yasuke, but there's still plenty within that which is meticulously planned and authored. Talking with Ubisoft Quebec's David Nibbelin, the game's realization and cinematic director, he tells me his role is easiest to think about as "almost like the emotional flow director". Beyond specific cutscenes and cinematic sequences, a lot has gone into the game to ensure you're always feeling like you're along for the ride with the heroic duo.
Nibbelin explains his role encompasses direction of performance capture, as well as being involved with the cutscenes, "but it's also being in the realization aspect". Like in my conversation with technical director Pierre Fortin, many systems in Assassin's Creed Shadows come together to share that workload. "How can we drive the story to the rest of the game," says Nibbelin, "in terms of the transitions, the cinematography, the weather, and all the tools that we have to help deliver our storyline to the player?"
