Connor's homestead adds new gameplay and storytelling possibilities. Every other element was fair game. "We said, what do we want to keep, what do we want to modify, and what do we want to delete? We asked, does this fit with the character? The period? Does it fit with the kind of game we want to make?" Laferrière said. Everything in Assassin's Creed III comes from the new hero, a Native American named Connor. While the story is still tightly under wraps until launch day, we do know that he is a descendant of the bloodline of Altaïr and Ezio, and an ancestor of the series' binding character, Desmond Miles, whose genetic memories we are exploring. While the same clash of assassins and templars is still going on, this time the backdrop is the American Revolutionary War, with events taking place throughout most of the latter half of the eighteenth century. Connor is a child of the forest, and his very different background dictated a very different game. "We couldn't do the American Revolution without the big forests - confining it to the cities just wouldn't have been the same, especially with a Native American character," Laferrière explained. "Having a forest with trees and rocks you can't climb? We couldn't do it. Probably the only thing that real people can climb is trees - I've never climbed a building but I've certainly climbed a tree!"

Taking to the trees, Connor moves in a whole new way. Philippe Bergeron, Mission Director on the project, explained how this affected the entire design process. "Tree traversal was right there at the start," he said. "When we chose the era, that caused a problem, because in European cities everything is cramped and built up tall, they didn't have space." He sat back and spread his hands. "They got to the Americas and had pretty much infinite space, compared to Europe, so everything was very wide apart." He explained that climbing and running through trees was not only great in forests, but made life easier in the wide open spaces of colonial America. "Before we had two roofs that couldn't be any more than six metres apart so you could jump them. Now you can stay up on roof level by gapping with trees." Assassin's Creed III adds dynamic ship-to-ship combat. The choice of hero also affected the tone of the game. "We really wanted to have a real, authentic showcase of Native American culture," said Laferrière. "We wanted to move as far away as possible from the stereotypes." The game's creators consulted with the tribes depicted in the game, ensuring they made the language, clothing, weapons, and dwellings as authentic as possible. While it may bug some players, I was pleased to see that the tribespeople speak in their native language and have English subtitles.

With all of these climbable trees and traversable forest canopies, a new animation system was needed, and the team stuck with what they know. "The guy on this is the guy who designed the animation for the Prince of Persia, Altaïr, and Ezio, so he's been with us for a long time," Laferrière explained. The old game engine has been radically overhauled in many other ways, as well. Dynamic weather has been added, the artificial intelligence of enemies has been entirely re-written, and the engine now supports a staggering 2,000 fully animated characters on screen at any one time. "We're making huge battles, so you need to have a lot of soldiers. You can't have a fight with thirty versus thirty, right?" quipped Laferrière with a chuckle. Perhaps the two most impressive additions, however, are gigantic naval battles and a dynamic, interactive economic system. "Naval battles were a big part of the American Revolution, and many famous battles happened at sea," explained Laferrière. "It was part of warfare and strategy at the time, so we felt that there was reason enough to have naval battles in the game." Bergeron then explained how naval missions are structured. "We tried to find existing mission structures that apply to naval," he said. The classic Assassin's Creed "chase and kill" mission translated neatly across. "You see your enemy ship, and you're going to sail after in, try to manoeuvre yourself into a firing position to try to take it down," Bergeron said. The non-fatal "chase and tackle" has become a naval pursuit and capture without sinking the target. "It involves chasing down the enemy and try to de-mast them to stop them dead in the water, and then boarding the ship." Naval strategy is made more complex by an unpredictable sea, thanks to the extremely beautiful new water dynamics. "The sea can range from completely flat to tempest-sized waves," said Bergeron. Laferrière added that the naval battles give a change of pace from the rest of the game. "I think they give you a fresh experience, a sort of breather," he said. "You can be hunting in the forest, head into Boston and do some missions, then go to sea and get a totally different experience."

Laferrière grins and waves his hands as he describes the ship-to-ship combat. "There's cannons firing, explosions, your ship can catch on fire, and there can be gory battles going on, so it gives a very different experience." he added that in a quiet moment, however, you can also explore your ship. "You can actually climb your own ship while you're at sea. At any time you can leave the wheel and say, I'm climbing the mast. Maybe not a good idea while you're being fired at." Apart from the fun and spectacle, naval manoeuvres also have an impact on the game's economy. Your home base in the game is a country homestead, which you can populate with farmers and artisans by carrying out missions in the world. "You might stumble across farmers in need, for example, because they lost their farm, and you can say, well, come and farm on my land," Laferrière explained. "Then you can do more missions for the farmers, and improve your relationship with them." Each of these people will settle on Connor's expansive estate, and each will have a name and a personal story, and an impact on the economy. Farmers and hunters will find or create basic resources, and the artisans like woodcrafters and blacksmiths will turn them into saleable items. "To make ale, for example, you need some wheat and some barrels, so you talk to your woodcrafter to get barrels and your farmers to get wheat, and you can make ale," said Laferrière. This ale can then be loaded onto a cart and sent off to be sold at various stores you have discovered within the game's world, along established convoy routes, and here is where the naval battles kick in. Maritime trade routes are threatened by pirated and privateers, and engaging in a naval battle along a route will lessen its risk. You can also liberate enemy forts along land routes, which will reduce taxes. Laferrière explained how it all ties together. "So, you do a privateer mission and drop the risk on a route, and think okay, I'm going to send a convoy on that route now, so you go back to your homestead, make items with your tenants, and ship it off. It's not just a way to make money; it's also a way to tell a story." he paused and added, "It makes it meaningful."

Assassin's Creed III will go on sale tomorrow in Australia. - James "DexX" Dominguez DexX is on Twitter: @jamesjdominguez

