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Assassin's Creed: The Complete Visual History
Assassin’s Creed is one of the biggest entertainment properties in the world. A sweeping and visually rich narrative covering the Crusades in medieval Jerusalem, the pirate-infested oceans of the Caribbean, the height of the French Revolution, and more, Assassin’s Creed immerses fans in the most dramatic periods in human history and brings to life some of its most intriguing and influential characters. This comprehensive book explores the history and legacy of Assassin’s Creed, its rich mythology, and the vivid artwork of the entire franchise, including works created for the graphic novels and downloadable content. With never-before-seen concept and character art, Assassin’s The Complete Visual History reveals the creative process behind the immersive historical settings as well as the development of such iconic characters as Altair, Ezio, Connor, and Arno, to name a few, chronicling how the franchise has evolved over the years while retaining its bold, signature look. Written by gaming journalist Matthew Miller and featuring commentary from key Ubisoft developers and artists, this comprehensive visual history offers unparalleled insight into one of the industry’s most acclaimed franchises. The ultimate word on the blockbuster gaming phenomenon, Assassin’s The Complete Visual History is a must read for fans of the franchise and those interested in discovering the astounding artistry behind the creation of a major contemporary video game series.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 8, 2015
9 people are currently reading
239 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Miller
1 bookMatthew Miller is a writer and editor for Game Informer magazine and website, where he has covered games since 2004. He lives just outside of Minneapolis, MN, with his wife and two exuberant dogs.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 22, 2017
I'm a massive Assassin's Creed fan, as well as being a big fan of everything "behind the scenes", so this book was definitely inside my wheelhouse.
It includes a lot of incredibly beautiful concept art from all the games up to Syndicate, as well as text describing the background of each game.
I would have maybe liked a little more on the main characters and their design process, but overall it's a beautiful coffee table book for fans of the series.
It includes a lot of incredibly beautiful concept art from all the games up to Syndicate, as well as text describing the background of each game.
I would have maybe liked a little more on the main characters and their design process, but overall it's a beautiful coffee table book for fans of the series.
January 23, 2018
5/5 Stars
I realize this isn't as complete of a visual history as it could be, seeing as it was published before the newer movie and game. But overall, I felt that this was a beautiful representation of the games that so many people enjoy.
Looking at the concept art was amazing. It's such an amazing feeling to see artists' original concepts; you can see the subtle changes they made and the parts they kept. Plus, the background about how the game designers went about their research was pretty cool.
Sure, I would've loved a more in depth look into the psychology of the characters and how the creators developed them. But hey, at least for the former, the games are a fair representation of that!
I realize this isn't as complete of a visual history as it could be, seeing as it was published before the newer movie and game. But overall, I felt that this was a beautiful representation of the games that so many people enjoy.
Looking at the concept art was amazing. It's such an amazing feeling to see artists' original concepts; you can see the subtle changes they made and the parts they kept. Plus, the background about how the game designers went about their research was pretty cool.
Sure, I would've loved a more in depth look into the psychology of the characters and how the creators developed them. But hey, at least for the former, the games are a fair representation of that!
April 27, 2019
Obligatorio para fanáticos de Assassin's Creed. No solo porque es una hermosa colección de arte, sino porque las entrevistas y anotaciones realmente informan muchas de las ideas detrás de todos y cada uno de los juegos de la franquicia (bueno, al menos hasta Syndicate) y va más allá, dedicando un espacio a explorar el arte de los cómics, figuras de acción y hasta ARG basados en AC.
Si yo, que no son un seguidor de la saga, disfruté tanto este libro, no me imagino como será alguien que realmente la adore.
Si yo, que no son un seguidor de la saga, disfruté tanto este libro, no me imagino como será alguien que realmente la adore.
July 3, 2019
I love seeing all the concept art that is included in this. I am always a sucker for things like that. It's true that my undying love has waned over the years for Assassin's Creed, but seeing all the work that went into some of my favorite games from the beginnings of this franchise was great.
I wish this had been put together after Origins. It would have been amazing to see the art and details that went into recreating Ancient Egypt and exploring the mythology and culture. A missed opportunity honestly. But what is in this is interesting and the art is very beautiful.
I wish this had been put together after Origins. It would have been amazing to see the art and details that went into recreating Ancient Egypt and exploring the mythology and culture. A missed opportunity honestly. But what is in this is interesting and the art is very beautiful.
December 16, 2018
As an avid reader, concept art lover, history nerd and massive Assassin's Creed fan, this book was everything I could ever have dreamt of.
I've been playing AC since the beginning of the franchise and it's always a pleasure to learn more about the way the games are made as well as the history they're based on. Long story short, this is a beautiful and well-written book that every AC fan must read!
I've been playing AC since the beginning of the franchise and it's always a pleasure to learn more about the way the games are made as well as the history they're based on. Long story short, this is a beautiful and well-written book that every AC fan must read!
November 12, 2020
Pretty much everything you might wanna know about this extraordinary game series in included here. I wish Ubisoft would release an updated edition of this now that another half-a-dozen new instalments have been released since this book was published.
August 25, 2019
A favourite art book of mine
February 11, 2021
Beautiful
August 5, 2022
Beautiful novel; I have such respect for artists, especially since I can’t draw
Read
September 13, 2022really pretty art <3
October 2, 2023
I mean it’s super hard to go wrong with a visual art book, as a assassin’s creed fan I of curse loved to see all the concepts and inspirations that went into the games.
April 15, 2025
I have been meaning to re-read this one for a while now. This is technically out of date, I suppose–it came out in 2016, and so the latest games it has are the “Chronicles” side-scrollers, and the last main game in the series then was “Syndicate”. Makes me wonder how the concept art of the newer games compares, though I suppose I could ALSO just pull out the book I have of the art from “Odyssey” and do that myself.
It is interesting to see what carried over in the visual language between games, and how things developed. Did you know that they didn’t know for sure that they would carry over the hood and eagle motifs between games? They considered switching to a corvid theme and no hood while working out the protagonist for the second game, before deciding the hood would remain an iconic part of the visual language.
[Interestingly, they would eventually switch to a raven theme for “Valhalla” because that has stronger ties to Norse mythology.]
It’s really cool, because in the art direction, you have the creators not just asking how to show what a historical city looks like, but also how to make them evoke certain feelings. What feelings do we want these places to give the player, and how do we make them do it? And that’s a great way to build a location.
And then there’s the way of designing characters: how do we give certain messages to the players about characters by the way they look? For instance, Templars tend to draw on more straight lines, right angles, and inorganic looks, while the Assassins have much smoother looks to them.
Obviously it’s a great book if you are like me and love concept art, though if you’re into video game design, or heck, just visual design of historical settings and characters, I think it’s a helpful book. And if you like the games, then you should definitely give it a try.
It is interesting to see what carried over in the visual language between games, and how things developed. Did you know that they didn’t know for sure that they would carry over the hood and eagle motifs between games? They considered switching to a corvid theme and no hood while working out the protagonist for the second game, before deciding the hood would remain an iconic part of the visual language.
[Interestingly, they would eventually switch to a raven theme for “Valhalla” because that has stronger ties to Norse mythology.]
It’s really cool, because in the art direction, you have the creators not just asking how to show what a historical city looks like, but also how to make them evoke certain feelings. What feelings do we want these places to give the player, and how do we make them do it? And that’s a great way to build a location.
And then there’s the way of designing characters: how do we give certain messages to the players about characters by the way they look? For instance, Templars tend to draw on more straight lines, right angles, and inorganic looks, while the Assassins have much smoother looks to them.
Obviously it’s a great book if you are like me and love concept art, though if you’re into video game design, or heck, just visual design of historical settings and characters, I think it’s a helpful book. And if you like the games, then you should definitely give it a try.
June 28, 2018
I've been playing Assassin's Creed since the beginning of the franchise and I haven't missed an installment yet. Being a huge history nerd, Assassin's Creed is video game perfection for me. I get to run around, climb on important historical sites, talk to some of history's most influential figures and fight for the freedom of humanity all while looking super stylish and traveling to exotic and beautiful locales. What more could I want? This art book really delves deep into the lore and creative inspiration for the franchise and is full of full page color illustrations from all the games through Assassin's Creed Syndicate.
It features interviews with some of the series creators and artistic leads and I loved reading all the little blurbs about why certain color palettes were chosen, why certain cities were altered and what inspired the way all the assassin's outfits changed over time. It was fascinating to hear the designers talk about bringing historic places and people to life and how they balanced making a game historically accurate and also fun to play. But what really makes this book shine was the sheer amount of gorgeous artwork and concept art crammed into it. Each piece is so unique and the entire thing was simply stunning.
If you are a fan of Assassin's Creed this book is a must have. It makes a great read and a beautiful art book or coffee table book. I'm so happy to have it.
It features interviews with some of the series creators and artistic leads and I loved reading all the little blurbs about why certain color palettes were chosen, why certain cities were altered and what inspired the way all the assassin's outfits changed over time. It was fascinating to hear the designers talk about bringing historic places and people to life and how they balanced making a game historically accurate and also fun to play. But what really makes this book shine was the sheer amount of gorgeous artwork and concept art crammed into it. Each piece is so unique and the entire thing was simply stunning.
If you are a fan of Assassin's Creed this book is a must have. It makes a great read and a beautiful art book or coffee table book. I'm so happy to have it.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews