Notre-Dame Cathedral, considered part of French history and an example of Gothic architecture, is more than 800 years old. Unfortunately, it was ravaged by a fire on April 15, and the initial damage was incalculable. Even so, restoration planning was already underway with donations from companies and members of French high society.
With work underway, the greatest challenge fell to the architects and builders, who must study high-definition photos and videos to recreate the cathedral as closely as possible to its previous state.
Among the references, something unusual emerged: one of the foundational pieces for this restoration project was Assassin’s Creed: Unity, a game from Ubisoft's famous franchise.
It Is a Very Realistic Replica
Assassin’s Creed: Unity takes place during the French Revolution in the 1780s. The game features realistic, highly detailed recreations of several Parisian buildings, with Notre-Dame Cathedral among the most carefully made.
Unity artist Caroline Miousse spoke to The Verge several years ago about creating the cathedral in the game:
"I did other things in the game. [...] but 80% of my time was focused on Notre-Dame."
The website states:
"Artist Miousse spent years working on the building's details. She pored over photos to get the architecture right and worked with texture artists to make sure every brick looked as it should."
She even had historians helping her determine the exact paintings that might have been on the walls at the time. One difference between the period in which the game takes place and the present, however, is that Notre-Dame did not have its iconic spires. To bring it closer to its current appearance and avoid confusing players, Miousse added them to her creation even though, technically, they should not have been there.
Miousse's care and effort are now, in fact, part of history. It is incredible to see how games are evolving toward realism through work like this.
Game in the Franchise Teaches History Accurately
InAssassin's Creed Origins, the second game after the aforementioned Unity, there is a "Discovery Tour" mode in which players can learn real historical facts about Ancient Egypt in detail by visiting locations based on their real counterparts from the period.
In Brazil, this mode was subtitled and dubbed in Portuguese and provides a genuine history lesson for anyone who wants to learn a little about everything that happened during the game's era, making it one of our recommendations at Epic Play.
