Representation of History in Assassin’s Creed

Abstract: In this essay, I have analysed the video game franchise Assassin’s Creed and looked at it from an intermedial standpoint, where I have also focused on the educational qualities Assassin’s Creed can provide players. By applying Lars Elleström’s theories of intermediality and multimodality I have explained different parts of what builds up certain video games and how they are different from other media. My main purposes with this essay have been to observe how Assassin’s Creed handles intermediality in various ways, ranging from discussions about remediation to intermedial references to discussing it as a multimedia franchise. I have also aimed to analyse how Assassin’s Creed Origins uses its Ancient Egyptian setting to go beyond just entertainment, where the video game has become an educational tool for teachers and students in the studying of cultures, histories, and languages. The results of my research show how Assassin’s Creed have been able to fill a different purpose than other similar media products. It involves historical and cultural settings in highly intermedial ways by using the different modalities and the different categories of media (basic, qualified, technical). My research also showed how the educational advantages brought forward with such video games are being used by the public in education.