The original Assassin’s Creed is one of the most significant games of all time. It spawned an incredibly successful series that’s beloved by millions of fans. It was known for its huge open-world that was best traversed on horseback. However, in news that I (and everyone else) really didn’t need to know, it turns out that Assassin’s Creed horses were actually human skeletons that had been twisted into the shape of a horse. Gross.
Assassin’s Creed’s Horses Were Humans
Even though Assassin’s Creed was something of a groundbreaking title when it was released, the tech of 2007 meant developers at Ubisoft had to work within certain constraints. One of those constraints came from the computer graphics tools and software. And it meant that 3D animations could only work with bipedal models i.e. humans. So, Altair was effectively riding a twisted up, reskinned human on his journey across the Holy Land.
Former Ubisoft developer Charles Randall explained in a tweet: “the horse in AC1 was just a twisted fucked up human skeleton, because our tool chain only worked with biped in 3ds max. Cheers to the amazing animators and riggers that managed to make that guy look like a horse!”
Horses Weren’t The Only Messed Up Thing in Assassin’s Creed
The hilariously messed up revelations don’t stop there, either. Malik, a one-armed assassin in the original game, actually has two arms. It’s just that one of them is scrunched up into the bicep. This creates the illusion that it has been chopped off.
Charles Randall explained: “we didn’t have budget for a custom skeleton or mesh for Malik, so his “missing arm” is just inside out. I assume if you could get the camera to clip into him you’d see a tiny little scrunched up arm inside the bicep.”
So, there you have it. Two incredibly disturbing images that we didn’t need in our heads. Although, this news does offer a fascinating insight into the tricky world of game development.
How do you feel knowing this about Assassin’s Creed horses? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our other gaming articles…
