14 DAY TRIAL // In a move that's sure to please fans all over the world, Ubisoft has just appointed a new Chief Parkour Officer, who will oversee the free-flowing movement in upcoming Assassin's Creed games.
Rather than deciding to send one of its executives on a parkour crash-course, the company hired famous freerunner Michael "Frosti" Zernow to provide valuable insight that will be applied to Assassin's Creed Unity.
"I've been a long-time fan of the Assassin's Creed franchise, and it's one of the few highly visible examples of parkour that attracts younger athletes to the sport every year," Zernow commented regarding his new role.
His main job will be to ensure that the parkour sections in all upcoming Ubisoft games that employ fleet-footed navigation stand up to the scrutiny of a veteran, as well as to instruct the publisher on how to offer further support to the emerging sport.
"Ubisoft's new Chief Parkour Officer will serve in a strategic advisory role, ensuring an ongoing commitment to the authenticity and accuracy of parkour beginning with the October 28 launch of Assassin's Creed Unity, the next installment of the 76 million unit-selling Assassin's Creed franchise," the publisher told MCV.
This isn't the first instance of Zernow getting down and dirty with the series, as he contributed to past developments as part of Ubisoft's motion capture team.
He has also coached at California's Tempest Freerunning Academy, as well as made appearances on Survivor, Jump City: Seattle and American Ninja Warrior.
Although Zernow's new job title sounds properly silly, his contributions to Ubisoft's projects will definitely translate into smoother action sequences.
The company is already making progress as far as the general flow of movement goes, as the trailers released so far show that Assassin's Creed Unity's protagonist, Arno Dorian, managed to perfect the art of free climbing without the need to resort to conveniently placed haystacks. It must be the proverbial French arrogance that allows him to brazenly hurl himself around cathedrals all day long, without even breaking into a light sweat.
The upcoming historical action-adventure game is based on the events of the French Revolution, and greatly improves on the series' patented third-person open-world exploration and complex melee combat system.
The development team noted that the next-gen hardware allowed them to fulfill their intention to deliver the biggest and most immersive game in the franchise, with a faithfully recreated Paris that is bustling with people and activity on a scale never seen before in the long-standing franchise.
Assassin's Creed Unity is scheduled to come out on October 28, for the Windows PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 platforms.