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Yet, it’s hard to do simply that.

“My role is to basically advise other directors,” Fortin tells me.

Yasuke looks at a shrine in the water in Assassin�s Creed Shadows On The Radar

“Early on in conception, we look at the future in front of us in terms of tech.

We advise on what we think we should be doing, how we should be leveraging new technologies.

For players, the shift in direction fromAssassin’s Creed Originsonward was huge.

With the sun low in the sky, Naoe observes Takatsuki Castle from a nearby rooftop in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

“In fact, it is quite complex,” confirms Fortin and we laugh it’s an understatement.

Naturally, the whole system had to be completely rethought with a new approach.

“The seasons bring their own global illumination,” Fortin confirms there’s layers on layers.

Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin’s Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail

In a lot of games from older generations, “the screen is static”, Fortin says.

Barring specific key elements, “it didn’t feel alive.”

“That’s where the magic happens!”

Naoe looks down at a Samurai Daisho from a rooftop in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, preparing to assassinate a nearby guard in Takatsuki Castle

All of those were built with that in mind.”

The time of day changes gradually, snow falls and melts, and you move through every season periodically.

Don’t think the seasonal load screens are simply pulling different versions of the map in.

Naoe looks over at a dense, lush, green forest in Assassin’s Creed Shadows from a viewpoint

“In the past, there was not a concept of having different states.

If you built a chair, you had a chair.

This system applies to loads of entities all at once.

Yasuke and Oda Nobunaga look across Japan in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

“If you think of it.

We have four seasons.

We have two protagonists.

Covered in snow, Naoe await behind a sliding door for an enemy to approach in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

We have a world that’s pretty big.

We have dynamic time of day.

And on top of that, you have weather,” he says.

Naoe blends in among lush trees in Assassin’s Creed Shadows while observing Amagasaki Castle from a rooftop perch

“You have kind of three axes.

“That’s been quite a challenge,” Fortin says.

“I’m pretty happy with what we’ve been able to achieve there.

Looking over the countryside in Assassin’s Creed Shadows

“Just putting all of that data into the disc is a challenge by itself.

We don’t want to force one terabyte of data on the players.

There’s no rest.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Naoe riding her horse across a red, snow-covered bridge over a river

“But it’s through clever optimization techniques that I think we go beyond them.”

you could find out what’s next in store for the game with theAssassin’s Creed Shadows roadmap.

Looking to play another game in the series?

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