Desmond Miles

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Desmond Miles
American

Desmond Miles is a fictional character from

video game journalists and authors, Desmond's character is meant to represent a form of transcendence symbolically from the necessity of the human body.[1]

In the franchise, Desmond is a descendant of a long line of important characters, including

Isu, who were wiped out by a similar disaster.[24][25]

Critical reception of the character has been mixed. Many reviewers and video game journalists criticized Desmond as a dull and uninteresting protagonist, whose story arc does not match the quality of the historical plots featured in each of the games, though more positive commentary focused on North's performance and Desmond's character development. The decision to have Desmond killed off in Assassin's Creed III also proved controversial, as both critics and players noticed a significant decrease in the importance of the series' modern-day storyline after his death. Nevertheless, Desmond is considered to be a significant part of the franchise's identity.[26]

Creation and development

According to his voice actor Nolan North, the original plan for Desmond was that he would feature in six games, acquiring the skills of his Assassin ancestors to become "The Ultimate Assassin",[27] and at some point would be able to time-travel between different time periods. North became greatly interested in the concept but was scrapped. Adding upon this, North commented that he saw Desmond as a boring protagonist who ultimately had no direction to go forward, describing the character as "a fork in the road". Desmond has been defined as a MacGuffin, namely that "he exists to move the story forward, but he provides little substance."[1]

Following the release of Assassin's Creed III and the conclusion of Desmond's storyline, lead designer Steve Master said: "What we're trying to do is bring some finality to Desmond's story. To actually wrap up what you've opened and experienced with him." Jean Guesdon, the creative director of the series, later said that Desmond is an important character in the Assassin's Creed series, and that despite his death, he would continue to play an important role in the franchise.[28]

In 2016, Michael Fassbender starred in and co-produced a film adaptation of the series, titled Assassin's Creed.[29] Initially thought to be cast as Desmond, Ubisoft later stated that Fassbender would play a new character, named Callum "Cal" Lynch.[30][31]

Appearances

Assassin's Creed

In the original

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad (1165–1257; Syria), to help Abstergo find specific information they are looking for, which Vidic refuses to disclose.[32][33]

After recovering the information sought by Abstergo—a map showing the locations of various Pieces of Eden, ancient artifacts of great power created by a Precursor race—Vidic's superiors order Desmond to be killed. Lucy's quick thinking saves him, as she persuades Vidic to keep him alive until they know he is of no further use. Upon returning to his room, Desmond, suffering from the "Bleeding Effect" due to prolonged exposure to the Animus, discovers he has gained one of Altaïr's abilities: Eagle Vision.[34][35][36] This allows him to discern friend from foe and to read cryptic messages written on walls and floors by Subject 16, the previous Animus test subject that Lucy and Vidic occasionally mention.[24]

Assassin's Creed II

Rebecca Crane—and enters the Animus 2.0, built by Rebecca, to be quickly trained as an Assassin via the Bleeding Effect. Desmond begins reliving the memories of Ezio Auditore da Firenze (1459–1524; Italy), his ancestor from the Renaissance, in order to graft his skills and abilities onto himself.[37] After successfully navigating Ezio's early memories, Desmond is extracted from the Animus to avoid the mental degradation that Subject 16 suffered as a consequence of the Bleeding Effect. Soon after, Desmond involuntarily relives a memory of Altaïr while outside of the Animus, as a result of the Bleeding Effect.[24]

After spending more time in Animus 2.0, Desmond begins to adjust to his newly developed skills and becomes a master freerunner and expert fighter, just like his ancestors. The last segment of Ezio's memories brings an astonished Ezio and Desmond to a futuristic chamber underneath the

Minerva, a member of the Precursor race known as the Isu that created humanity and the Pieces of Eden. Minerva addresses Desmond by name, knowing that he is reliving Ezio's memories, and talks about a cataclysm which wiped out most of her race thousands of years ago, and which is set to occur again by the end of that year, if Desmond does not prevent it. Desmond is then pulled from the Animus as Abstergo discovers the Assassins' hideout, forcing the team to escape to a new hideout.[24]

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

In

Juno takes control of his body and forces him to stab Lucy, saying that she would have betrayed him if he allowed her to accompany him any further. Desmond then falls into a coma and is placed back into the Animus by two unknown Assassins in a bid to preserve his consciousness.[24]

Assassin's Creed: Revelations

In

William Miles, who are concerned about his state, and access five memory sequences that detail his own life prior to his abduction by Abstergo. In these sequences, Desmond reminisces of his time on "the Farm", where he grew up in secrecy among other Assassins, and his father's harsh training, which prompted him to run away on his 16th birthday, due to not wanting to live the life his parents had chosen for him. Eventually, he moved to New York, where he got a job at a high-end bar, but always regretted not being able to properly say goodbye to his parents. Following his abduction, he blamed himself for not taking his parents' warnings and training more seriously. In the present, Desmond realizes that his easiest days are now behind him and finally accepts his role as an Assassin.[24]

When the Animus begins to delete Animus Island to get rid of excess data. Clay sacrifices himself to prevent Desmond from being deleted, but not before transferring his own genetic memories onto him. Eventually, Desmond is able to reach the Synch Nexus, which allows him to communicate with the Isu

Jupiter, who directs him to find the Grand Temple so that he may use the technology inside to save humanity from the solar flare set to hit the Earth in several weeks. Following this, Desmond awakens from his coma to find Shaun, Rebecca, and William next to him, and simply states that he knows what they have to do.[38]

The Lost Archive downloadable content for Revelations expands upon Desmond's time in the Black Room, as he involuntarily experiences Clay's memories prior to the latter's death. Through these memories, he learns that Lucy was in fact a double agent for the Templars, and that his escape from Abstergo was staged as part of "Project Siren." In reality, Vidic had ordered Lucy to extract Desmond to a place where he would feel safe so that he would willingly enter the Animus and facilitate the search for Ezio's Apple of Eden, which Abstergo planned to send to space via satellite in an effort to enslave humanity. However, this plan came to a halt when Juno forced Desmond to kill Lucy.[24]

Assassin's Creed III

In

Daniel Cross, dispatched by Abstergo to capture him. As the date of the solar flare approaches, William volunteers to retrieve the final battery so Desmond can locate the Key, but is captured by Abstergo and taken to their Rome facility in an attempt to get Desmond to surrender his Apple of Eden. Instead, Desmond storms the facility to rescue his father, killing Cross and Warren Vidic and reconciling with William in the process.[24]

After retrieving the Key, Desmond and his allies enter the Central Vault, discovering a pedestal. The holograms of Minerva and Juno then appear, with the former warning Desmond not to touch the pedestal, as it would kill him and release Juno, who was imprisoned in the Temple to prevent her from conquering humanity. In response, Juno shows Desmond a vision of what will happen if the solar flare hits the Earth: although Desmond will become a messiah-like figure to other survivors and will be revered as a god after his death, future generations will manipulate his legacy for their personal gain. After several moments of consideration, Desmond decides to release Juno, believing humanity has a better chance at fighting her than rebuilding society after the solar flare. As the others leave the Temple, Desmond touches the pedestal, which frees Juno and activates a protective shield around the Earth that stops the solar flare, at the cost of his own life.[24]

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Despite his death, Desmond remains a powerful asset for the Templars and Assassins in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Shortly after his death, an Abstergo recovery team was sent to collect samples from his body for their new Sample 17 Project. His DNA is stored in Abstergo Entertainment's servers, where a crew of analysts is tasked with reliving his copied genetic memories and learning about his ancestors. One of them, the player character, is tasked with reliving the memories of Edward Kenway (1693–1735; Wales), Haytham Kenway's father and Connor's grandfather. While this is ostensibly to gather data for a feature film about Edward's life, in reality Abstergo seeks to find the Observatory, an Isu site hosting an advanced tracking device and several vials of Isu blood samples.[24] During their research, the player character steals and sends back to the Assassins several recordings left by Desmond detailing his initial doubts of leaving the Farm, his acceptance of the role he had been chosen to play, and his love for his parents. Because Abstergo can now collect anyone's genetic memories without having to use blood-related analysts, his body gives Abstergo full knowledge about his family life.[24]

Assassin's Creed Syndicate

In 2015, during the events of

Isabelle Ardant, opposes the idea, stating that it would be better to abduct the boy when he is older and place him in the Animus for 50 years so that Abstergo can study his lineage.[24]

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

In

Layla Hassan enters the Grey in an attempt to slow the magnetism of the global aurora borealis device, which was activated by Desmond when he died. Here, Layla meets the Reader and shows him more possibilities and calculations based on timelines he had not explored. Layla then decides to stay in the Grey and help the Reader explore more timelines, allowing her mortal body to die.[25]

Additionally, the player can find and listen to two audio logs of Desmond on Layla's computer, recorded shortly before his death. In the first, he talks about his life as an Assassin and his lack of choice in the matter, which he finds ironic given the Brotherhood's advocation for free will. He also expresses his belief that the Assassins have become more dogmatic and stagnant in time, as most have stopped thinking about the actual meaning of the Creed; despite this, he still believes in the Assassins' cause and considers that people sometimes need limitations. In the second log, Desmond talks about his ancestors and how he feels overwhelmed after having relived so many different lives in a short time span, as well as how he doesn't consider himself special for being descended from the Isu, believing that anyone can join the Assassins and make a difference in the world.[25]

Reception and analysis

Desmond received mixed reviews from critics,[39] primarily due to his uneven characterization and development.[40] He was voted the 20th top character of the 2000s by Game Informer readers.[41] PlayStation Universe rated him as one of the PlayStation 3's worst characters, saying: "While voiced admirably by the ubiquitous Nolan North, it's impossible to shake the feeling of pure monotony when stepping into Desmond's shoes when all you want to do is hop back in time and stab people in the face."[42]

The significance of Desmond as an atypical video game protagonist and as a character study on posthumanism is analyzed by Aubrie Adams in the 2017 publication 100 Greatest Video Game Characters.[1] Adams commented that as his mind travel through time and experiences the memories of his ancestors, aided by the technological innovations of science fiction plot devices like the Animus, his body appears to have become increasingly unnecessary throughout the franchise. From this view, the technology that enables him to transcend the biological limitations of his frail body taps into a cultural zeitgeist that desire the idea of extending life throughout technology.[43] Adams cited the character's continued presence in the storylines of later games in spite of his apparent death in Assassin's Creed III, along with fan theories and official in-game lore which confirm the persistence of his consciousness in the virtual environment, which is indicative of his conclusive change into a posthuman character who transcended his trivial need for a physical form.[44]

Adams highlighted the significance of the introduction of Desmond as a character during a time period when white hypermasculine player characters were the norm in the video game industry, emphasizing in particular his depiction as a subdued protagonist who is psychologically complex, and of an ambiguous ethnicity as the result of his diverse ancestral heritage.[43] The story arc in the early Assassin's Creed titles centered around Desmond, where his identity gradually evolves from a blank state who subsumes the characteristics and skills of others into a highly skilled Master Assassin, is also marked by his evolving individuality as he comes to terms with his shifting personal identity and acceptance that he is part of a lineage that is bigger than the sum of its parts.[43] Adams commented that there is a compelling depth to Desmond as character but only if players are willing to engage in the largely optional experiences that follow his psychological journey and illuminate the details of his past.[44]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Banks, Mejia & Adams 2017, p. 51.
  2. ^ Gera, Emily (2 January 2014). "Troy Baker and Nolan North featuring in upcoming E3 Voices of Gaming panel". Polygon. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  3. ^ Herndon, Neil (25 January 2016). "We Need 'Assassin's Creed' Back". Forbes. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  4. ^ Bernard, Sophie (23 November 2007). "Francisco Randez prête son visage à Altaïr". Lien Multimédia (in French). Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  5. ^ Lepkowsky, Ian (22 October 2015). "Assassin's Creed: Syndicate Backstory Explained – Pieces of Eden, Precursors, and Present-Day". Twinfinite. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
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  10. ^ Granger, Katie (19 February 2016). "Ubisoft's 'Assassin's Creed' Series Might Just Be Saved By New Release Model". Moviepilot. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  11. ^ Crecente, Brian (7 October 2009). "Hands On With Assassin's Creed II: Mario Kart And DiCaprio". Kotaku. Australia. Archived from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  12. ^ Schiesel, Seth (12 December 2011). "Time-Travel Tip for Constantinople: Pack Daggers". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  13. ^ Smith, Nick (26 December 2016). "Like the Assassins, Assassin's Creed Will Stay in the Dark". The Cornell Daily Sun. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  14. ^ Makuch, Eddie (7 October 2013). "All foliage in Xbox One, PS4 ACIV: Black Flag has physics". GameSpot. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  15. ^ Hamilton, Kirk (29 October 2013). "Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag: The Kotaku Review". Kotaku. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  16. ^ Rédaction (10 March 2013). "Partie 1 – L'univers d'Assassin's Creed". Player One (in French). Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  17. ^ Benzeghadi, Yossef (3 November 2014). "Assassin's Creed Unity : Elise, Junon, Première Civilisation et métahistoire". Gameblog (in French). Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  18. ^ Black, Tony (9 May 2016). "Assassin's Creed: How might the movie differ from the games?". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  19. ^ Thomas, Adam Robert (14 November 2012). "Video Game Review: Assassin's Creed 3". California Literary Review. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  20. ^ Cloutier, Jean-François (19 May 2013). "Assassin's Creed: un film pour 2015". TVQC (in French). Archived from the original on 22 June 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  21. ^ Davan-Soulas, Melinda (27 October 2017). "'Assassin's Creed' : Ezio, Altaïr, Connor, Arno... Retour sur dix ans de héros". La Chaîne Info (in French). Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  22. ^ Alvarado, Sebastian (1 April 2012). "The Science Fact Animating Assassin's Creed's Animus". Kotaku. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
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  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Gallagher, Jason; Saavedra, John (26 October 2017). "Assassin's Creed Origins and the Story So Far". Den of Geek. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  25. ^ a b c Gibson, Alex (19 November 2020). "Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Story Summary". Twinfinite. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  26. ^ Banks, Mejia & Adams 2017, pp. 51–53.
  27. ^ Herndon, Neil (25 June 2016). "We Need 'Assassin's Creed' Back". Forbes. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  28. ^ Petitte, Omri (7 March 2013). "Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag references Desmond Miles as part of a 'consistent mythology'". PC Gamer. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  29. ^ Graser, Marc; Keslassy, Elsa (9 July 2012). "Fassbender game for 'Assassin's Creed'". Variety. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  30. ^ Gilbert, Ben (9 July 2012). "Fassbender's Assassin's Creed character not necessarily Desmond". Engadget. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
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  32. Business Week. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022 – via the Daily Herald
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  34. ^ Walton, Jarred (2 June 2008). "Assassin's Creed PC". AnandTech. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  35. ^ "Eagle Vision". Giant Bomb. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  36. ^ Kelly, Zachariah (19 June 2019). "The Video Game Skills You Can Use In Real Life". Junkee. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  37. ^ Baez, Dominic (27 January 2017). "Saying ciao to an old friend". The Register-Guard. Archived from the original on 24 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  38. Assassin's Creed: Revelations (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC). Ubisoft
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  39. EGMNOW. Archived from the original
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  40. ^ Hughes, Nathan (6 April 2014). "Assassin's Creed: What Went Wrong With Desmond Miles?". Only SP. Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  41. ^ Vore, Bryan (3 December 2010). "Readers' Top 30 Characters Results Revealed". Game Informer. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  42. ^ Harradence, Michael (17 May 2012). "PS3's top 5 worst protagonists". PlayStation Universe. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
  43. ^ a b c Banks, Mejia & Adams 2017, p. 52.
  44. ^ a b Banks, Mejia & Adams 2017, p. 53.

Bibliography

  • Banks, Jaime; Mejia, Robert; Adams, Aubrie (2017). 100 Greatest Video Game Characters.
    ISBN 9781442278134
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