Assassin's Creed Rogue - Interview with Ivan Balabanov (Producer on AC Rogue)

A chat with Assassin's Creed Rogue producer Ivan Balabanov about the gameplay and story of Rogue. Timestamps to specific questions listed below (sadly the first few questions were stonewalled). I have played all of Sequence 3 and 5 of Rogue, let me know if you have any questions about the game.
0:00 - Modern Day in Rogue
1:24 - How long is Rogue's campaign?
2:15 - DLC?
2:30 - Are Anne Bonney and Shay related?
2:48 - Shay and the Forsaken novel
4:00 - Historical characters in Rogue
4:36 - Assassin and Templar HQ
5:21 - Who is writing Rogue? Who is composing Rogue? Who plays Shay?
6:02 - Will the Assassin's be portrayed negatively?
7:30 - How long was Rogue in development?
8:38 - Thoughts on similarities to Black Flag
11:52 - PC / PS4 / Xbox One release?
12:45 - Multiplayer elements and lack of multiplayer in Rogue
14:36 - Are there outfits for Shay with a hood?
/ loomer979
/ loomer979

[@Felpscos]

Loomer: "So could you tell me abou the modern day part of the game?" Ivan: "sorry, we can't comment on that" Loomer: "Oh, ok, so what about--" Ivan: "Sorry, cant's comment" Loomer:"No, but it was about--" Ivan:"No comments, sorry" Loomer:"But i just--" Ivan:"Can't comment" Loomer:"Bu--" Ivan:"Sorry, can't" . . . Loomer:"Is it called Assassin's Creed Rogue?" Ivan: "Can't comment on this either"

[@loomer]

Felipe CC hahaha

[@WesleyAlves42]

"I can't talk about this in the moment" -Ivan Balabanov

[@caballuscollecting]

I love this comment o.o

[@cokestudioacapella.883]

LMAO xD

[@XIDeuce]

Where is Charles Lee?! One of my favourite characters of the Templars! (And one of few fans who likes them >_< ) I'd like to see some interaction between Haytham and Adewalé, would be interesting to see if he mentions anything to Haytham about knowing Edward.

[@Mega_1500]

We can't talk about anything right know. Goddamnit.

[@Gbiese]

These things happen. Sometimes, its just better to let you all discover things for yourselves ;)

[@loomer]

Hey everyone, regarding the modern day... I did see a disabled game menu option to quit to the Animus workstation with a picture of an Abstergo Entertainment workstation like AC4 (but colored red/orange). So it seems likely that the modern day has us returning to a setup similar to AC4.

[@SadFishChannel]

Thanks for doing this Loomer, your hard work is appreciated

[@2Hot2Handle37]

I knew it would be, quite disappointing tbh :(

[@DPIII1]

not your fault, but why even have a interview smh #reallyUbisoft

[@Thor071]

Thank you for the description makes it easier to get to the really good parts :)

[@matssm123]

Looks we will be discovering a lot by ourselves in this game :)

[@darkoceanswecry666]

Thank you very much for answering my question about whether or not AC Rogue would have modern day gameplay. :)

[@KevinVillalobos26]

This guy must be part of that club we are not supposed to talk about it!!

[@JohnBoy617]

Ivan may have avoided many questions but this was still a good enough interview for me. I'm looking forward to play as a Templar and I'd be damned if I sided with them too after finishing Rogue.

[@hmCAKE024]

Thank u! Keep up the great work! :)

[@cesarmendez7000]

Best interview EVER

[@ghiiitrooper9861]

Rogue looks like a fantastic game, but it Ivan's interviewing ability scares me.

[@BlaineStorm]

Did you happen to take a shot, or could you describe some of the Outfits?

[@jebjeb911]

Hey loomer,loved the interview! Can you tell a bit about what happens in the sequences you played?

[@TMAC_93X]

Present day is indeed similar to 4 because one of the leaked achievements has you repairing computers at abstergo entainment

[@EziooAuditore]

Will there be ambient tracks in the game? Thanks for doing these interviews Loomer :)

[@Oversamma]

Great interview. Could you tell me what kinda outfits you already saw? And do some come with a hat? And when he's wearing a hat, is he still wearing his ponytail?

[@loomer]

MrBooommbastic I think some had a hat but I can't remember for sure. One of the coolest outfits is an 11th century Templar outfit! Think Robert de Sable in AC1. :)

[@Oversamma]

Ah, I remember him and what his armor looks like! Thanks for your reply, really hope he keeps his ponytail when he's wearing a hat

[@TheMagista88]

loved it!

[@shademaster24601]

Anyone else ticked that he glossed over the hood question. Look, just tell us straight if there will ever be a hood on his templar uniform. You put it in the trailer, you put it in ad images, you put it on the freaking cover. If you didn't apply the hood to the templar uniform, it's a stupid move considering that's the image you built up with, but I'll still accept it. Just stop teasing us.

[@JorraneRei]

Lol this interview was hilarious Thanks anyway Loomer :)

[@Pharaoh025]

I had no idea who Christopher Gist was. I'll go to bed a better man tonight. Thanks Loomer. Great interview (despite a lot of PR-BS "no comment" responses from Ivan, I mean the game is one month away people, just give satisfying interviews already! This kinda hype is what can kill the reception of a game, you know?). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Gist

[@loomer]

***** George Monro is also in the game en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Monro_(British_Army_officer)

[@ProneCreature47]

Christopher Gist is Shay's quartermaster and is also a Colonial Templar. You have to stop the Assassins from hanging him during a mission.

[@2Hot2Handle37]

It's annoying how he avoided answering how long it was in development. I reckon it started after Black Flag :( All the other games in the series had around 2-3 years development.

[@2Hot2Handle37]

I also want to thank you for pressing him to answer the questions more specifically because he kept trying to escape answering the questions directly at times.

[@loomer]

Splinter You're welcome. BTW both Brotherhood and Revelations had a year or less than development (but with different final receptions, which is what I was trying to convey in the interview). Rogue feels very much in the vein of those games. I would be surprised if it was in development for more than a year. Doesn't mean it won't be a good game though.

[@Powerman77775]

My question is why didn't they give either rouge or unity a number title considering they always do for every game that introduces a new assassin to play as?

[@bth23]

Hey I have a question; is there a chance there could be more than six sequences?

[@SgtBarrySarcasm]

How many missions/how long were the sequences you did play?

[@megustaguy469]

For all of those who wonder what the HECK is the nationality of Ivan Balabanov well he is Bulgarian ( a small little country the is just above greece )

[@mylespapercrafts2629]

I don't suppose that you know if we might be getting another companion app for either ac unity or rouge just like we did with black flag? I think it would be good

[@loomer]

MYLES Papercrafts Unity yes, Rogue no

[@mylespapercrafts2629]

Thanks Oh that's cool im getting them both anyway, love your vids 😊

[@darktempest53]

His evasiveness is somewhat nice, yet unnerving

[@ThatJestrGuy]

Tough interview Loomer :P

[@Nieves117591]

Hey Loomer, were you able to find out more about what types of animals we will be able to hunt besides narwhals, polar bears, and arctic wolves? Also is Shay only able to fight with a sword and dagger combo or can he equip different weapons?

[@loomer]

Nieves117591 Not sure about the land animals, the sea animals are all from AC4 (various whales/sharks) except for the narwhal I believe. Shay's sword and dagger are a lot like Edwards dual swords. You can upgrade the stats but you can't swap them out completely.

[@Nieves117591]

Loomer Ok, thanks man for the info. It's a little disappointing that we won't be able to equip different weapons like in any other AC game, like daggers, knives, tomahawks, axes. That kind of killed it with me in Black Flag only equipping dual swords.

[@ghiiitrooper9861]

I'm a little worried about the 6 sequence thing...

[@LadyVale9309]

I want to show to those,who complained being a templar,that are wrong,look at the answer on 6:02....Assassins and templars want to mantain the balance of mankind,but methods are different a bit,so being Shay would be a different point of view,so I don't see this thing so bad as some said "oh we are the bad guy,Rogue will suck.." That's frustrating,ok game skills are almost the same as AC4,but seriously I am also looking forward for this Rogue,together Unity,let's see what will happen :) I admit I am glad playing the part of the "anti hero" ^^

[@Thunderbolt8296]

Does anyone know how Ubisoft is handling the Assassin's Creed story? I only have an Xbox 360 and PS3 (and they said they were going to release games for those consoles for the "foreseeable future") and I'm wondering if I'll be able to understand the story if I only play the games released for those consoles. For example, I can't play Unity so will the story be confusing to me? Like if Xbox 360 and PS3 got Brotherhood but next-gen got Revelations.

[@thangngudxop]

Basically, if you didn't play any of the major ACs released on the previous gen, you couldn't understand anything. To answer to your first questions, Assassin's Creed Universe must have these 3 things, either combined or seperately in each installment: Assassin's Vs Templar War, involved in Historical Events and main character personal story/background/development. Just begin from AC2, try AC1 if you want to know how it really begin, but even if you have played every game, you still need to do some research in ACWiki, cause since AC revolved more around Ideology's conflict since AC3. Hope this doesn't confuse you too much (:

[@voiavictor]

Meh, I really hoped that we would get a third person protagonist for present day or something interesting. But still, rogue holds a lot of promise and I can't wait to discover it myself on november 11th :)))

[@Blballerboy]

Why would they put something as HUGE as a third-person protagonist in a side game like rogue!? At least have hopes for something that makes sense!

[@CommandoofAwe]

Is there a hood in the templar outfit?

[@woodenboxrobot]

Brill! think you can get shay's voice actor on for assassins den?

[@loomer]

Charlie Haycock I will definitely see what I can do :)

[@mileKitic01]

thanks

[@varan04276]

Does Shays standard templar outfit we have seen everywhere have a hood?

[@loomer]

nope

[@Lordhodge1]

Hey Loomer, in regards to gameplay, does Shay have many unique kills or counters?

[@loomer]

Kurt Darkholme yeah most of his combat animations look new since he's using a dual-wield sword/dagger combo.

[@Lordhodge1]

Loomer Ah, that's really cool. Thanks for taking the time to answer :)

[@SuperSaiyan3985]

Well done Loomer, not your fault at all but I was a bit disappointed at how many questions they concealed...everyone knows Unity is what its all about here and as of now most believe Rogue, is like you said, built on the backbone of Black Flag. I personally agree to this however I'm mainly interested in Rogue because of the story yet had they decided to give us some more Intel on the game to most likely would've changed other people's opinions as well don't you think?

[@martimgodinho3461]

Hi Loomer, will there be an ACU interview before the game releases?

[@loomer]

Martim Godinho I did a couple interviews with Alex Amancio at E3 but I don't have plans for any more before the game releases.

[@martimgodinho3461]

Loomer ok thanks

[@SonicRooncoPrime]

How is Shay's actor's surname spelled? Thank you!

[@loomer]

SonicRooncoPrime Steven Piovesan

[@SonicRooncoPrime]

Thank you very much! I greatly appreciate it! :D

[@ProneCreature47]

Loomer Hey Loomer, I don't know if you have the answer to this question, but what is it like to be allied with the British and what are the benefits/perks?

[@caballuscollecting]

Hey Loomer! I've a question: Will you be interviewing Mark Bonnar again to talk to us more about the new character he plays in Unity; Pierre Bellec?

[@loomer]

I'm pretty sure that's not Mark.

[@Arkenway]

Loomer Really ? They do sound extremely similar !

[@GreatMisterE]

Loomer It is mark,that was the first tought i had when heared that guys voice in the gameplay demo. And if im not mistaken if u check the imdb website for unity,the voice actor section,bonnar was there as well. when it becomes official please do another interview with him! He's a good guy who would definitely agree to do one more for this part. Thanks ;p

[@caballuscollecting]

Well, that was unexpected o.o They sound so similar!

[@loomer]

Erik Zuk Sadly, IMDB has incorrect info for some reason twitter.com/mark_bonnar/status/515076613873344512

[@zirrix4795]

Was hoping for another Pilgrimage, but this is also cool.

[@loomer]

DerpyZirrix Venice next week :)

[@zirrix4795]

Yeeeeeeeee

[@mahamadapoosi5162]

Will Shay's Templar Outfit have a hood?

[@stockloc]

I want another AC game that takes place in the Middle East again.

[@Awesome-fh2yh]

We can discuss this right now.... How cryptic

[@TheRealAVC89]

It really felt like this interview got shut down at every question

[@mattbettcher7439]

Im not very excited for the gameplay because it looks exactly like black flag and im getting tired of naval stuff, but the story looks sooo interesting!!!

[@guy1856]

Loomer will there be season pass,if not can you ask next time you interviev.

[@jacobchase1790]

Why would you want all of the info before the game comes out? Would it not be much more fun to be surprised when playing though the game.

[@arnodorian9014]

lol you're on the wrong video bro. This is an interview. He is going to ask them questions about the game.

[@Torjacr37]

The answer to all of the most controversial and important questions: we can tell right now...

[@YakuKikyo]

I understand there are matters that are better to keep secret for now, but there are some I just don't get why... In what a lenght of a game shouldn't be revealed ? XD It kind of puzzles me. XD Kinda suspicious if you overthink it... Dangerous path, won't go there... Not speaking about possible DLCs either ? Usually they tend to make promos of them... I guess that refusing to talk about it means there is at least one ? Not enough advanced project or secrecy? We can pretty much assume the project/game was all done in a bit less than two years. Most possibly, when seeing the reception Haytham got they decided to go for another/full Templar protagonist and it led to Shay's game. Simple reason why Shay isn't mentioned in Forsaken.

[@YakuKikyo]

Superman13195 Because it would bring up even more "incoherence" ? There's a novel focusing on him already, which mention absolutly nothing, not the slightest thing, about the events of Rogue. And no, the game, Rogue, doesn't even give the slightest explanation of why Haytham would have avoided writing about it (if we take into consideration Shay's story was outplaned). Also, fanservice doesn't automatically mean an entire game. Cameos or "main" charas becoming secondary charas are extremly common as fanservice.

[@YakuKikyo]

Superman13195 Erm....there's a huge difference in varying the wound and other minor changes than a complete hole(s). (oh and yes....they are officially canons, which is why they said even if there are some minor changes - which they are aware and do not care of - they avoid to go with too big changes) Shame you consider them dumb as they answer a lot of questions. Well, you don't exactly have a proof of that. You can believe it was all planned out if you want. I'll stick to my opinion, it wasn't planed out. (they might reveal when it was started and everything, one day, but couldn't find the slighest info about it for now ; oh but they had no issue revealing AC3 started in 2010 as well as ACU, and AC4 started in 2011) Also, as much as I loved Shay, the story of the game was of the level of Brotherhood. It fell a bit too much in pure manicheism. Assassins turning "evil", "oppressive" just because (instead of really showing it from a Templar's perspective, far easier to show them as "bastard"). Thought they'd explain it by the end of the game. But nope. So the best you can come up with is like in Brotherhood : pretend its all Cesare's/Achilles' fault. Or they'll release a DLC from Achilles or whoever's perspective to explain why they ended in that "dark age". Still, I enjoyed the game more than Revelations or Brotherhood.

[@YakuKikyo]

Superman13195 Have you read them ? Novels like Forsaken, the Black Flag and the Unity one bring new perspectives (and complete some aspects of the game) to the events. The four first might not be as useful. There's some paradox in "more grey" than praising manicheism. AC3, even AC4, (with the first game being the least biaised in one way or another) were able to show far more greyness than Rogue or Ezio's arc did. All I saw in Rogue was a reversed ACB. Assassins "heroes", Templars "villains" -> Templars "heroes", Assassins "villains". Oh, in case you wonder, I do not support any of the two sides, they are both hopeless ; so it's not about "but Assassins can't do bad things" there's a major difference between doing bad things and being "evil", doing "evil".

[@YakuKikyo]

Superman13195 Do you like reading to begin with ? If you don't, no need to pain yourself. A dark age ? I'm not the slightest surprised. But it was announced as greyness, not as "dark age" so I'm disappointed.

[@YakuKikyo]

Superman13195 Why thank you, for reminding me the obvious (I play and read as well). ^^' As liking or not to read has nothing to do with gaming the question was fully valid. XD Yes, to some extent.

[@MoHafo]

Maybe not now.. maybe later We're not able to talk about this, but in the coming weeks we shall Sounds like my response to when the teacher asks me for work lol

[@mrdoughtnutman]

What?? 6 sequences? I knew games like revelations and brotherhood were short but thats like half of AC3 and AC4 , sounds like the shortest one yet. Are the sequences going to have more missions in them than usual or something? Huge AC fan but I dont know if I could justify paying full price for that short of a game. Guess we will just have to trust the developer when they say it will be a full experience :/

[@mrdoughtnutman]

Great interview btw Loomer :)

[@SuperSaiyan3985]

Just get it on Black Friday then.

[@mrdoughtnutman]

SuperSaiyan3985 im from england so we dont have that unfortunately

[@SuperSaiyan3985]

***** Oh, my bad :(

[@mrdoughtnutman]

SuperSaiyan3985 no problem haha

[@dimitarivanov8864]

Great interview. Bulgarian power xD

[@vesonator]

знаех си че ще намеря българи в коментарите :) Иначе за играта - кара те да се гордееш че поверяват все по-важни игри на Ubi Sofia - от handheld на порт, а сега оригинална игра

[@dimitarivanov8864]

Veselin Hristov Евала на пичовете, ще се играе с кеф!!

[@megustaguy469]

Yay samo Bulgaria

[@redgreen3b143]

This guy is such a pleasure to listen to. The guy for Unity is so annoying IMO!

[@samblock4937]

You can get 1 hit counter killed?

[@zSolarStorm]

Just admit Ubisoft that you suck at making multiplayer >.< ... Thanks Loomer for this interview!

[@krishnabaishnab9011]

the game looks similar to ac 3 a little bit

[@HellsGayngel]

"Will AC Rogue's main sequence be long like...or short like..." -Laughs in AC Odyssey.

[@Ic3h0rnEt14]

I hope there's no DLC, I don't want to pay for it but I know that if there is DLC I'm gonna buy it. Since there's no multiplayer they should just give us everything at launch for once.

[@TheRainySky]

Oh the nervous smiling, panicky looks to the pr guy off camera :DD

[@loomer]

TheRainySky LOL (PR gal, but yes :) )

[@AdrianDanielGuard]

I personally would love to be a Templar and be counter killed :))) I would be like: Oh I feel terrible for all the guards that i counter killed in previous games. :))

[@ivankaristovska3963]

Go go Bulgaria!

[@Jahnu8]

I personelly liked the good ol fashioned good guy bad guy point of view where assasins are the goodguys and the templars ar the bad guys

[@infernoxratchet4667]

But that's not what its about. Both sides want the same thing:Peace. Its just that they're conflicting ideologies put them at war.

[@manzero134gd]

a.k.a We can't talk about everything!

[@foyez5]

Somewhat unhelpful interview i must say.

[@arnodorian9014]

lol his answer to the "is this game a DLC" question was not convincing. He was saying it's different because of the size of the setting and the story. Doesn't realise all DLC's have their own story and decent sized maps. Even if the map is back the lack of new mechanics really does make this a new DLC. - Same Characters (for the most part) - Same setting (18th Century North America) - Exact same parkour, combat and 'stealth' mechanics as AC4 and 3. - Same graphics - No new gameplay - Same side missions - Hell same music as past games, with slight tweaks.

[@infernoxratchet4667]

Then that makes AC II a DLC for AC 1.

[@arnodorian9014]

clockwerkiswatching Not at all. AC2 had different mechanics, different characters, different weapons, different gameplay, different story, different time period, different music, different graphics, different engine, different hud etc.

[@infernoxratchet4667]

Well then, Rogue isn't a DLC. Why? -new music -new gameplay mechanics(reverse boarding, you can get assassinated, intercept assassinations,civilians can be killed without consequence, etc.) -there are new characters -the story is brand new -a DLC wouldn't be 20-27 hours long. a DLC would be about 5-6. -the hud is slightly tweaked. that in all shows that Rogue is not a DLC. Sure it was built using Black Flag's engine but so was Brotherhood and people say that one was one of the best games in the series.

[@arnodorian9014]

clockwerkiswatching I agree with most of what you said. However this game just has rehash written all over it. - A lot of the tunes are ripped from AC2 and AC3. - Combat, stealth and parkour is literally exactly the same as BF. - The HUD is the exact same. - The graphics are the exact same. - Things like reverse boarding and assassination interceptions aren't new mechanics, they're just different versions of old mechanics. - Some characters are new, but a lot are ones from previous games (not that it's a bad thing) - The story in a DLC is brand new as well - The story may not be 20+ hours. Rockstar said the GTA 5 campaign could take over 30 hours, which it didn't. They said AC Rev was about 15-17 hours. I finished it in 10. Don't believe stuff like that until you test it for yourself. - A slight colour change on the HUD doesn't warrant a new HUD in my books. All in all, I'm not trying to hate on this game. The story does in fact look interesting. But to pretend that this should be considered a main installment in the franchise is perplexing to me. So much is the exact same as Black Flag. I understand it's Ubisoft Sofia who are making this so I won't hold it against them (they made the hilarious Liberations) but a bit of different would be nice. Perhaps a crouch button? Would it hurt to do some new fighting animations? New weapons (and not just visual facades ahem air rifle). This game for me is a DLC. A big one yes, but a DLC nonetheless. I would be very surprised if this has been in development for over a year. Hell Revelations was finished in less than 10 months.

[@alfa8728]

This isn't a dlc it's just an expansion. Expect nothing new in terms of game play but I think the story alone will be worth playing. The rest is the same. It's like frozen throne was an expansion for warcraft 3 reign of chaos.

[@MaysonChris71]

"Assassin's Creed is the evolution of everything that was in AC so far." Mr. Balabanov would make a perfect politician. This is complete bullshit, the game is a rehash of Black Flag with another character and that's about it.

[@fgdj2000]

I hate the f***ing ads!!!

[@vilsplays6384]

тос кво се смее на акцента на горкия българин еми българи сме не може да знаем перфектно англииски той поне знае езика на тоя смешник

[@kristiyangrigorov5232]

мдa

[@kristiyangrigorov5232]

предстaви си дa почне дa говори бг

[@hellomikie92]

Worst interviewee ever. No I cant say. No I can't talk about it. Players will find the answer to that question when it comes out, I'm mean wth.

[@lightsidemaster]

I'm not going to buy this game. I can't kill assassins... Seriously I can't. I've been playing assassins for 6 AC games now.... Guess I'll just watch the game movie on youtube.

[@lightsidemaster]

Superman13195 It's easy... I like the character of all the assassins ( except the character of Connor ) more than the characters of ANY templar.

[@lightsidemaster]

Superman13195 Very true, indeed. However that doesn't mean that both sides are always correct. Sometimes both are at fault, sometimes one of them. And sometimes one of them is just not as bad as the other. As for me, I'm certainly seeing how the templars also have their reasons, but they try to control the whole planet, and take away all freedom from the people. I can't support that. If us humans are not civilised enough for peace and justice, then it might be that we simply don't deserve it. But then one could ask what we should do with Extremists that cannot be reasoned with... I know an answer to that, however I don't know if it is a good one...

[@lightsidemaster]

Superman13195 Interesting, I might check it out then. Though in my opinion every creed can be misunderstood if one wants to misunderstand it. It took Altair and Ezio quite some time to truly understand it.

[@lightsidemaster]

Superman13195 But everything leaves room for interpretation for those who seek that room right? The bible is very clear about many things but some radical believers still do evil stuff that they think has been allowed through the bible. People seek, and they find, in order to justify what they do. A creed is nothing if it isn't aimed at wise people.

[@lightsidemaster]

Superman13195 Indeed, doesn't seem to be any easy way to avoid this problem.