“Assassin’s Creed: Unity” features Elise, a Templar that plays a big role in Assassin Arno’s journey during the French Revolution.
Creative Director Alex Amancio recently spoke to Game Informer about Elise’s importance throughout the title. She’s not a damsel-in-distress character; Elise is a strong, skilled fighter and who’s known Arno most of her life after her father takes him in.
“We wanted to create a smart and intelligent, multi-layered character that didn’t represent any cliches that any character may have,” Amancio said. “When we create any character, whether it’s Arno or Elise, we treat all of them as characters. Gender is something that is an intricate part, but it is never a deciding factor in anything of how that character will be. All that’s [important] is that she’s a strong character.”
She fell in love with Arno, who she doesn’t know is aligned with the Brotherhood. Arno's also unaware Elise’s family is a part of the Order. However, life takes the two characters in separate directions, but the murder of Elise’s fathers brings them back together. The love Arno and Elise have for each other complicates their story.
“This is something we’ve wanted to do for a very long time,” Amancio told Game Informer. “We felt that with this generation it was a good opportunity to crank it up a notch and have a story that’s a bit more serious and more mature. Love stories are always a hard thing in video games because ultimately they can very easily become a tangent. By making Elise a Templar and making that part of the core, it’s part of the actual struggle of the character. It prevents it from becoming a B-plot or a tangent.”
Arno and Elise’s actions are motivated by the same cause; the two desire revenge on her father’s murderer. However, Arno’s motivations come from guilt while Elise comes from a place of honor. It’s unclear who murdered Elise’s father, but Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC gamers can find out when the game’s released on Oct. 28.
