"Assassin's Creed" has been a video game franchise for sometime now and this past year, Ubisoft, the company developer of the franchise, has chosen to not put out an installment. I believe this is a sign for good things to come because Ubisoft can take their time developing new characters, a strong narrative, and compelling action. For those who don't know, Assassin's Creed games are set in fictional history surrounding real world events with a group of assassins, fighting for peace against the Templars, a powerful and wealthy Western Christian military order. Members of the templars infiltrate occupations such as military commanders, politicians, and even religious ones like the Pope. You can imagine the corruption.
For future installments, it would be great to have past events that are centered around themes/issues that we are currently discussing today. One important issue is the colonization of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico belongs to the United States but is not part of it, like other island possessions in the world. According to the U.S. government, these islands are “unincorporated territories”. U.S. Congress can suspend the Puerto Rican Constitution. Also, the U.S. Congress can veto any law written by the local government of Puerto Rico and prevent it from establishing relations with other countries or its own military. The Jones Act of 1920 made it so that Puerto Ricans were mandatory citizens. This is the definition of colonization and it has been redefined in recent memory with the debt crisis in Puerto Rico and President Barack Obama's decision to appoint a board of seven members to oversee a financial restructuring for Puerto Rico, which is a majority Republican panel, who's allegiances are to the U.S. Artists like Ricky Martin and Lin-Manuel Miranda have given their two cents on the future of their island.
Being Puerto Rican, this would make for a historical Assassin's Creed game. Ubisoft could use the foundation of colonization, just as they did in "Assassin's Creed III", which focused on the American Revolution. That was an important game for the fact that the protagonist was Native American and was fighting against the British not for the independence of America, but for the massacre of his tribe. Another example, is "Assassin's Creed Unity", which focused on the French Revolution and you had to watch out for Napoleon Bonaparte and fight against Maximilien de Robespierre.
What can also benefit the game, is the fact of having an island as your main setting. This formula has proven to work, in the case of "Assassin's Creed: Black Flag", where you embark on missions in Havana, the capital of Cuba. Roaming in the city is fun and has a vibrant cultural representation of Cuba. Also, it gives off that Caribbean feel since you are playing as a swashbuckling assassin. Much of Puerto Rico's island play could take influence from "Assassin's Creed: Black Flag".
As far as narrative goes, the game could introduce the story in the year of 1868, when there was an uprising of Puerto Ricans from the town of Lares. These Puerto Ricans revolted against Spanish Rule, seeking independence. This was known as "El Grito de Lares". This revolt can be seen through the eyes of a young child. The child grows up struggling with the idea of Puerto Rico's sovereignty and learns the ways of combat through a Spanish commander, who sees potential in the child to become a templar. The child grows under the commander but runs away, realizing the Spaniard's intentions. Now, as an adult, he or she has a family. Unfortunately, the year is 1898, the year of the Spanish-American War. The daughter, knowing the ways of combat from her parent, realizes her calling (we need more female protagonists in the franchise) and partakes as an assassin to help the Puerto Ricans to be free of Spanish and U.S. rule, in the game's case, Templar rule.
It would be great to change the course of history and like in other installments, where you meet famous historical figures like Leonardo Da Vinci and George Washington, you can meet famous Puerto Ricans, such as independence advocates Pedro Albizu Campos and Eugenio Maria de Hostos. The game will educate individuals on Puerto Rican history and give the message that Puerto Rico should be free. The "Assassin's Creed" franchise is a powerful tool for historical narrative and open world exploration, which I always appreciated. I learned a lot of facts and events through these games, why not use it for a good cause?
