Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 795: Mindset Expanded

In the original version of the game, the explorable area in Assassin's Creed I wasn't particularly large. Calculated on a 1:1 real-world scale, each map had a playable area of about 0.3 square kilometers.

But for the average player, that was already big enough.

For comparison, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time didn't offer much more in terms of map size.

However, Assassin's Creed had far more detailed environments.

That was the advantage of a new-generation console—something older consoles simply couldn't achieve.

It was also the first game to fully embrace the reuse of assets, minimizing repetitive development tasks while giving creators more room for imagination. This allowed developers to add more interactive elements to the open world.

The initial framework for the game was actually created by thousands of people during a classroom-style collaborative development session.

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The total development time for that phase was just one week.

Afterward, Gamestar Electronic Entertainment's main task was to add smaller gameplay elements and polish the models and environments. The final product ended up with visuals on par with Assassin's Creed III–IV.

In this version, Takayuki expanded the game's map to nearly three times the size of the original.

But just expanding the map wasn't technically impressive. Takayuki wasn't interested in doing just that—he wanted to make it rich and complex.

He kept familiar features like clearing enemy bases and question marks but simplified them to avoid overwhelming the player.

There was no need to clutter the map with too many icons that left players mentally exhausted.

In that regard, Red Dead Redemption and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild served as excellent examples.

They let players explore freely, never forcing you to find everything. You could ignore the side content—but if you chose to explore, you might stumble upon something fun or interesting. That desire to explore was deeply rewarding.

Still, everything had to serve the game's core gameplay and narrative.

The main story followed the Assassin Brotherhood, working from the shadows for good, while the Templars represented a more righteous face on the surface—but were corrupt underneath.

The lore set up a conflict that had been going on for thousands of years.

The main storyline took place during the historical Crusades.

There was also a subplot: everything the player experienced in the past was actually being simulated through futuristic technology developed by a powerful corporation.

It looked so real, almost like a live-action simulation, and could easily make players lose themselves.

The game opened with the same CG from the trailers, but soon transitioned to a near-future setting.

A mysterious company kidnapped a bartender named Desmond and began conducting secret experiments on him.

Desmond appeared to have a hidden identity of his own.

That strong sense of realism made Davidson love the game even more.

He was amazed that video games could have this level of depth—he'd truly underestimated them.

Everything he saw in the game felt so real, so detailed.

Of course, he wasn't an archaeologist—just someone with an interest in history.

So he really had nothing to complain about.

Once the main story started, he couldn't wait to run around the world.

11th-century Jerusalem, the despair in the citizens—it all felt incredibly immersive, as if he had actually traveled to that time.

He swore it was the most realistic ancient world he'd ever seen.

In movies and TV shows, you're only shown what the director allows within the frame.

But video games? They build an entire world from scratch.

He also remembered some of the games his coworkers had recommended.

They'd said some of those game worlds were incredibly beautiful and worth exploring.

Now he understood. He didn't want to miss out on something this amazing.

On the market, Assassin's Creed represented a breakthrough in game design.

While it was built upon the foundation of earlier titles, its presentation was refreshing and exciting.

Recreating historical environments with such accuracy had never really been done before.

To ensure historical credibility, Gamestar Electronic Entertainment hired several world-renowned historians who specialized in the Crusades.

Let the professionals do what they do best—and that gave the game a special kind of authenticity.

Add to that the involvement of Takayuki, the so-called god of game development.

According to various interviews, the project had a grander purpose.

The first installment of Assassin's Creed was co-created with input from many people, and Takayuki made a public commitment: aside from covering necessary production costs, all profits from the first game would go into a game development fund.

Future titles would follow the same model.

That fund would be used to support developers who dared to innovate and indie game creators.

Anyone with bold and creative ideas, once approved by Gamestar and other respected developers, could receive funding from the profits of Assassin's Creed.

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Everyone knew Takayuki wasn't just focused on growing his own company—he wanted the entire gaming industry to thrive.

With such a vision behind the game, people felt it would be a real shame not to buy and experience it.

And so, in its first week, Assassin's Creed easily sold over one million copies.

Gamestar soon announced that the game would be coming to even more platforms in the future.

Whether on rival consoles or its own systems, they wanted as many people as possible to play the game—no platform limitations.

This would also help grow the game development fund to support future creators.